UPDATE- THIS PROJECT WONT BE GOING AHEAD ANYMORE!!

Introduction

The 3D printing world has become saturated these days with cloned printers and components which some are good and some can leave disastrous effects. This leads up to my question numerous times on social media – “Do all these cheap components and printers come at a cost to the consumer?” I am not against printers and components from around the world.

There is truly some great things out there but there is some garbage too. I don’t believe in the old saying “You get what you pay for” shouldn’t be used no matter what the cost. It should meet the standards, just like our conditions and regulations in the UK and other EU countries. 3D Printers seem to be more frequently made in factories by staff that don’t have time to take care of the job at hand, due to having to make certain deadlines.

So the idea came about to make our own 3D printer, our goal is to build a UK supplied and fully built 3D Printer. With thanks to the following sponsors, E3D-online, Duet3D, Ooznest, 3DPrintz, Eryone & Inov3d we have been able to create “The Big Build” project!

The aim is to get quality components that are built with care and checked to ensure all is secure and tested before shipping. Maybe this will happen, time will tell. Subscribe to our YouTube channels on Mancave UK and Inov3D to keep informed as to when the next episode goes live! also check out this article regular as there will be updates of all parts.

Here there will be a list of all the videos and our sponsors

Videos:

Sponsors:

Episode One

So we are finally getting to start building the right hand side of the big build project!

I initially did have trouble with the square nut’s fitting in the v slot’s and sadly, the ones I did order had a rounded edge. This stopped the nut from sliding into the v slot of the extrusion so bear that in mind and don’t make the same mistake I did. By the end i had to up use T nuts instead. These do work, however, I just found them a little fiddly for my finger’s. These are smaller than my usual ones I have on my simulator rig but they should be ok for everyone else.

The right idler was a bit of a challenge from the start, getting those bearings to line up with the washer in the middle to then feed the hex bolt through was a fiddly task to do. For the right idler it was made with PETG from 3Dprintz Ltd, OH guess what I got some lovely chocolates from them too…a nice touch!!

It took me several attempts to get it right and I probably did it wrong. The tolerances of the opening’s are very tight and there is no room for adjustment, if you are short of time, be wary of this. Once I finally conquered the idler, the rest was fairly straight forward. I feel there must be a better way to do this that I may have missed but we got there eventually!

Finally the right idler is complete and attached to extrusion ,when you get the knack of doing this for a while, it does become fairly easy so don’t be put off by me and how I struggled with it at beginning.

And there we have it!

Sadly my hands are totally shot now due to a old work injury and a horrid illness that weakens my hands as the year’s go by but despite this I’m not one for given up that easy, I just find other ways to overcome the challenges.

Now I don’t want to make these articles too long. If there is anything that you would like to see or want to get involved then please send me a message. Overall the first episode was a challenge but thoroughly enjoyed the process and look forward to part two in the new year.

So until the next episode in January, I wish you all a happy Christmas and a great new year! happy printing!!

Episode two

Christmas is out the way and we are into a new year, the big build project is back in full swing albeit a minor delay. This was due to having a revamp and actually getting setup in the Man Cave at last. After all, that’s the name of my website and my aim is to run and use the cave for all my 3D printing and other hobbies. So without further hesitation let’s crack on.

We are looking at getting the bed assembled. Once we get that finished the left and right sides can finally be connected to each other. There was some slight issues with one corner but managed to fit it after a bit of persuasion. So my thoughts on the build so far. For a minute i did struggle with the T nuts a fair bit due to my hands not working well and feeling is limited at best of times but I’m not one to give up.

We got through the hardest part of getting the frame put together. As mentioned in the video, Went ahead and squared up the frame and wasn’t far off so was very happy there. Black Extrusion is wonderful but can be a nightmare too. Having previous experiences with it, trying to be really careful not to scratch it was cumbersome but manageable job. If you not seen my other hobby I put a picture here.

We have an actual frame to work with, First impressions are really good, The black makes the red PETG stand out really well and is supplied by 3D Print. If you not seen the article that was done on the crystal filament by 3D Printz then why not check that out afterwards.

Extrusion from Ooznest is really nice and smooth and no blemishes. There Black is really nice and the ends are tapped too, So you can secure the frame nice and tight against the brackets. Ooznest Highly recommended Service, they go out of there way to help. They helped with the D Bot and got it shipped really quick. Did have to wait on the stepper motors and Ryan kept me informed till they arrived. well done lads.

D-bot is really nice bit of kit. Found it to be really strong and found no wobble with the 3D printed parts. Some comments on social media about printed parts is, They don’t like a printer with 3D parts. why not? let us know your views on this.

Well I think if done correctly with PETG or ABS it is really strong and stable and you can choose your colours as well. Yes we could go out and spend more on aluminium parts. Sadly then the cost is going up way over what I would like to pay and achieve.

On the other hand. 3D enthusiasts came to me for one of these and the interests is there. Then yes definitely would look at doing that for sure. So lets get on with the video. Hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did making it, after about a dozen retakes!!

Planning to make Part 3 in two weeks time where we will start adding in the duet WiFi and i have printed the case and cover for it. We will talk about placement and also get the steppers installed as well if time is good.
so until next time happy printing.

3D Printer Project