Aluminum Mendel

thingiverse

This MendelMax inspired printer is compact, lightweight, and totally self contained. Nothing protrudes beyond the frame. Z axis motors are mounted low, and thrust bearings carry the weight. Note that the z axis uses the aluminum extrusion for a guide, saving space and expense. The linear bearings and belt and pulley upgrades give high quality prints. All dimensions are chosen so that you can use 4 smooth rods and 2 threaded rods, plus all other parts from you mendel. All parts are easy to print without support. The 60 W onboard power supply runs the motors and extruder heater. The heated bed used a 120 vac and a solid state relay. The extruder is very accessible. The heatsinks on the extruder are optional, but help keep thing cool when printing ABS. See BOM and exploded veiw of X axis below I added a pdf of an exploded frame drawing 1/19/12 Wire clips and T-slot cover for Misumi extrusions are at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16344 Below is a zipped archive of all the Inventor source files. Full BOM added per several requests. .stp files added. See video of this printer at http://youtu.be/JysNv3Hi67k Instructions Note: MakerGear has changed the Stepper Plastruder and it will no longer fit on the x carriage. Use the low mass gearExtruder http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:61818 instead. This will give better performance. PLA can be drilled and tappped if you go slowly. This design requires the use of a 6-32 and 8-32 tap. These can be obtained from any hardware store. PLA also holds sheet metal screws very well if you drill the appropriate size hole. I use a 1/8" drill bit for a #8 screw. This is much easier and stronger than trying to use captive nuts. I will work on a exploded drawing to aid assembly if there is interest. The parts were designed with Autodesk Inventor, and I will provide files if requested. The BOM has the parts and sources for converting a prusa mendel to this model. There are a couple of omissions on the Full BOM. You actually need 4 stepper motors, not 3 as listed. You also need two 608ZZ bearings, available at Ultimachine.com. Let me know if there are other omissions.