Thanks for joining me!
Building a 3D printer is a journey itself.
Having purchased a small home 3D printer some time ago, and being very pleasantly surprised by the results it could produce, I started looking at more capable platforms. While there are commercially produced printers that can make some amazing prints, I wanted something different.
A short explanation may help: Fused Deposition Modelling or FDM is the most common 3D printing technique available at home. Although it is possible to build home laser-sintering or vat photopolymerization setups, these are generally expensive and require some modification of the printing environment for safety reasons. So most home 3D printers extrude hot plastic and build it into layers which make the model.
Amongst the FDM printers there is further categorisation. Some move their plastic-melting nozzle (called the ‘hotend’) using long metal rods. Some move the bed left and right, back and forward using small stepper motors. Some move the hotend using those same motors and keep the bed stationary. This latter type of printer is called a ‘corexy’ as it moves the nozzle in a x-y direction. This is the type of printer I am building.
The home 3D printing market attracts a lot of ‘makers’ or home technicians. These may have played with high-fidelity audio equipment in the past, or built specialised motor cars, or joined the ranks of radio amateurs. Now, with 3D printing, they can explore the world of additive manufacturing. Some of their designs are published and the better ones attract a following — and one of these, the D-Bot by David Spaulding, is the printer I am building.
At heart it is a CoreXY printer with a ‘build plate’ of 300mm square. This means that I can print some very large objects that possibly will take many days to complete. But it will also mean that I have much more capability to print interesting and intriguing objects to sell in my shop.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Curious Objects 