Over the past 3 months I have been building a number of larger 3D printers and I would like to share what I learned with you!

The first thing is you set your sights at a reasonable target. This was a fairly simple for me, I wanted to make a 12’x12’x12′ printer to print computer parts. The focus in this case was speed and volume. I wouldn’t be printing any small figurines because they simply don’t pay.

I modeled the design on the Lulzbot, go big or go home. So lets jump into what I built. This printer can print at roughly 100 to 125mm a second with no issue. This is due in part to the fact that the X-axis is very light and I have two steppers driving the Y-axis.

 

As you can see this is a fairly large printer.

Starting with the frame assembly I required 8 pieces of 80/20 1’x1’x18′ extrusion, that is right this was built using American measurements. So each piece of extrusion is 18 inches long and was cut with my miter saw which has a carbide blade. I then printed 8 corner brackets, 2 Z motor brackets, and Z top brackets.

 

This is the corner bracket that you will need 8 of to complete the project. The holes are sized for 1/4-20 screws.

 

 

This is the top bracket that the Z-Axis screw goes through. As you can see its fairly simple. It is specifically meant to be used with 1’x1′ extrusion not 20mm extrusion.

 

This is the bottom bracket that the Z-Axis screw goes through. This is a little more complicated but you get the idea. Essentially the Z-Axis components tie both the front and back half of the frame together.

 

You ultimately end up with a frame that looks like this.

 

This completes the first portion of the printer more to follow in the next few days.