Test Tube Mendel
Release status: experimental
| Description | Test Tube Mendel is a vinyl tubing vertex based Mendel.
|
| License | [Creative Commons attribution share alike]
|
| Author | |
| Contributors | |
| Based-on | |
| Categories | |
| CAD Models | |
| External Link |
6-2-2011: The vinyl washer vertex posted on thingiverse recently inspired me to work on a Mendel derivative using that idea that would have a much lower print/replication time. So far I have only built a frame to play with, and I hope to be able to reuse some of the Prusa printed parts. I consider this project still a reprap (rather than a repstrap) though others may disagree. I think the use of another vitamin (vinyl tubing) is justified by the dramatic savings in cost and time to print a duplicate. Goals of the project are
1. Dramatically reduce printed parts
2. Reduce total build cost
3. Push the boundaries of simplification
4. Have a good time
The initial frame seems to be adequate in stiffness but will likely need an electronics mounting board attached to the frame to add lateral stiffness. I have decided that a large hose clamp will be my Y motor mount. I tried using nuts and washers to clamp the motor, but they just slid off. The hose clamp is cheap and it provides a much stronger mount than the printed part while simultaneously reducing printed part count. For those that already have a printer the cost savings might be minimal, but if you have to buy printed parts, the dollar spent on the hose clamp is more than made up by the current cost of printed parts.
6-7-2011
Got a rough draft version of the Z motor mounts. Files are on thingiverse for now as I don't have a github account nor do I know the first thing about openscad. I am using a 1/4 inch cross bar a strap of some sort (twist tie, zip tie ...) and some small printed parts for the z motor mount. I am probably sacrificing some build height doing it this way, but that was a design compromise I had to deal with. All the threaded rod for the frame are the same length. My frame is currently built using 15 inch lengths. That is a very wasteful length, but it should end up with a similar build volume to the other Mendels out there. Since the frame is made from a single length, it should be easy to scale up or down. I think a 12 inch and an 18 inch version would be naturals. Both would make better use of commonly available lengths (usually 3 ft at Lowes/Home Depot).
X motor mount and idler are next. Might take me a while. I'm thinking of something similar to Prusa's but backwards and possibly upside down since my smooth rod is inside the threaded rod rather than vice versa as on the Prusa.
