3D Printed Quad Copter Arms coming right up.
The first four I figured out a good fit for the motor. Then I started to grow the shape out by adding a covered arm. The first few designs were too flexible / weak so I added more supports until eventully I have part number 8 that has a nice tight push fit, holes for set screws to hold the motor on both sides, hollow tube arm wtih vertical supports for strong z-axis.
The next step is to add figure out how to connect the arms to the base, and figure out how big the speed controllers are.
Next project - learn design
After many months and two 3d printers I can comfortably say I am very good at printing 3d objects, but I totally suck at DESIGNING said objects. I’m a programmer by trade, so my tool of choice is OpenSCAD. I can kick out shapes and objects pretty easily, but as my ideas become more complicated and require multiple pieces I find it a very poor tool for me mentally. Single shapes are easy for me, but the whole multi-part vehicle designs are very difficult. I can see where blender or some other cad program would be much easier to work with now.
I’m taking apart some roombas and computers and looking very carefully at how they are put together. How they are strutured so that they CAN be put together, as well as taken apart. Learning about what kind of tolerances are required for snap fit parts, water tight and living hinges. Starting with simple machines and then I wil branch out from there.
Rebuilding the Prusa…
After a good run I think the Prusa is getting a tear down. The triangle frame concept is nice, but I’m going to try some aluminum t-slot stuff and see how that works. Keeping it calibrated with all the driving it around demoing I do is getting too much time to maintain.
Have 3D printer, will travel.
Lately I really prefer the smaller footprint MakerGear Mosaic to the Prusa Mendel. It’s nice to be able to put the whole thing in a box and move it around for demos. It’s on my desk at work right now and working great while I code away beside it.
Faulty endstop switches and glass beds don’t mix well. The end stop switch isn’t just a pushbutton, it’s a pushbutton with a little arm over it. Sometimes (very rarely) the button gets stuck on the side and the level arm just bends instead of pushing the button down to make contact. The machine then keeps going down until the switch makes contact, you pull the plug or it physically rips itself apart.
I managed to get a little bit of the latter on this occasion. Time to look for another sacrificial picture frame for my print bed now.
Posting this for future reference and for anyone else who might have accidentally broken filament on a MakerGear Mosaic 3D printer below the extruder gear and is unable to get it out or put new filament in. You can’t pull the groovemount (black bottom part) of the extruder out, because the filament is still stuck up inside the white plastic pieces. You can’t push new filament in, because trying to push one piece of 1.75mm plastic with another end to end when one end is already broken and jagged just doesn’t work either.
You need to unscrew the white plastic that surrounds the extruder gear, but leave the motor and motor mount alone. Specifically unscrew the THREE screws that go through the plastic into the front face of the motor itself. That would be the screw in the corner of the fan and the bottom two srews on either side of the extruder gear, just above the groovemount. Only loosen them enough to make sure they are no longer connected to the motor. Wiggle the front plastic extruder mount around and when you get it right it should pop off very easily. DO NOT FORCE IT or you could screw up the alignment of something and have lots of sad days ahead.
One you get the extruder mount off you should be able to use a tool and pull the plastic filament out. You may need to use an exacto knife to cut the filament just above the groovemount through the little hole you can see in the front. It helps if the hot end is a bit warm, but be careful not to burn yourself or set something on fire.
Once you get the plastic out, put it all back together and run a new filament through. Make sure the hot end is up to the right temp for the plastic you are using. Push the filament in and extrude for a while until you are sure the new filament is coming out. Repeat as needed if something didn’t work out. If all else fails jump on IRC and chat with the creator of your machine and he will try to help you make it all better. :-)
Filament stuck below the extruder gears on the mosaic. Trying to figure out how to get it out of there.
About me
I'm have built my first 3D Printer. I'm in the process of building a 2nd one.
