Rapman-Mendel Conversion

thingiverse

At the dawn of 3d printing, I was inspired by Adrian Bowyers' ideas, so I -- and a host of others -- purchased a Rapman kit from bitsfrombytes to join the revolution. (That, of course, was the precise instant everything went wrong.) Now, years later, I am attempting to convert that useless cube into a franken-Mendel, posting whatever custom prints I make to do so. A work-in-progress, obviously. I am testing all parts before I post them however. [edit] Gearing up for 1.0 soon! Instructions As always, I post the SCAD files on bld34: http://www.bld3r.com/obj/5899501847969792 Frame: Completely made from Rapman 8mm threaded rods, and tricolor-Mendel vertex corners. Some time was spent with a hacksaw to shorten 2. Z-axis Motor Mounts: Designed a NEMA-23 motor holder instead of the Mendel's NEMA-17. The motor had to be rotated slightly to fit. (Yes, I know the motors need to point down. The ones pictured are double-ended.) zholder-nema23.stl Y-axis motor mount: 2 x ymount-23.stl Y-axis rods: Bigger frame clamps were needed to attach the Rapman's 12mm Y-axis rods. frameclip-12mm.stl Linear bearing clips: Larger-bore clips for the Rapman's 12mm-inner-diameter linear bearings. Updated for a looser fit and more rational measurements (30mm everythings!) y-bearing-clip-2.stl Horizontal shaft drive: Three bevel gears with setscrew One bevel gear without setscrew, to sit on stepper 2 x shaft-holder.stl to attach to excess threaded rod bearing-nema23.stl, to go where the motor used to be and hold a skateboard bearing bearing-top.stl to attach to bearing-nema23.stl with spacers and another bearing springs, washers, nuts, threaded rods X and Y axis limit switches: They are different due to the X needing to fit on 8mm rods, the Y needing to fit on 12, and both needing to fit the big beefy switches the Rapman used. 8mm-limit.stl 12mm-limit.stl Z axis mounts: Three big pieces to fit the left side, right side and motor, and the slide and bearings. xz-carrier.stl : Carries the X axis motor z-slider.stl: Other side of the X axis, to hold rods and bearings x-slide4-e3d.stl: Slides on the 12mm rod with rapman linear bearings. It has little arms to hold something like an E3D extruder. It has been redesigned to be sturdier, smaller, and include a 40mm fan on the back, ducted over the heatsink. Use the plus8 one if you have an x-brand e3d that's extra tall. proboscis.stl : A little square that fits on the front of the x-slide to aim cooling air downwards after it passes through the heatsink, for permanently-wired bed cooling. Z-axis belt: Uses the 5mm belt from the rapman. Not quite ideal but whatever works. T5-8-pulley.stl: Sticks formly onto a stepper motor shaft with flat. tension-arm.stl: Pivots on the bolts holding the X-axis stepper motor, to press on the X belt and give it tension. One 608 bearing fits inside. tension-arm-cap.stl: Something to glue onto the tension arm so it holds the bearing and the belt securely. Other things: Will be posted when I get to them.