What we did this week:
We essentially finished assembly of the device with the parts we had(new cogs and aluminum table). We decided after many calculations and cost analysis, that using the plywood frame would be best. It is possible to reinforce the frame if needed, but after some initial tests, the frame is sturdy enough to handle one extruder arm moving at maximum velocity.
To see new video and pictures : MEDIA
One of the major problems we realized yesterday was heating the table. After doing basic heat transfer calculations, it was determined that about 73.3W of power would be needed to heat the bed to 100C after 15 minutes. We initially thought of a design to add a battery to the bottom the table to avoid a coil getting wrapped around the table, but the 73.3W is too much for a battery to handle. Our other option to is to figure out about electric coupling (which 5 Mechanical Engineers know very little about) to have it plug into our power source. The other option is to NOT heat the bed, which Tyler said would be okay.
What we plan to do this week:
Since we decided on the frame the way it is, we are going to just have to put the electronics outside of the 3D printer, possible in a type of computer case with fans to keep it cool. This shouldn't be too difficult. All we have left to do is some redesign for the extruder fans and limit switches. We need to test the new bed on the current rollers to see if it fixed our wobbling problem. If it does still wobble, we will need to redesign the rollers.
What we really want to do is plug this thing up and test out all the motors to see what could be fixed or changed. It's a brash way of doing things, but there are some things we can't account for that can only be seen by actually trying it out
http://i.imgur.com/eeUvaTz.jpg [Gantt chart as of 10-9-13]
We essentially finished assembly of the device with the parts we had(new cogs and aluminum table). We decided after many calculations and cost analysis, that using the plywood frame would be best. It is possible to reinforce the frame if needed, but after some initial tests, the frame is sturdy enough to handle one extruder arm moving at maximum velocity.
To see new video and pictures : MEDIA
One of the major problems we realized yesterday was heating the table. After doing basic heat transfer calculations, it was determined that about 73.3W of power would be needed to heat the bed to 100C after 15 minutes. We initially thought of a design to add a battery to the bottom the table to avoid a coil getting wrapped around the table, but the 73.3W is too much for a battery to handle. Our other option to is to figure out about electric coupling (which 5 Mechanical Engineers know very little about) to have it plug into our power source. The other option is to NOT heat the bed, which Tyler said would be okay.
What we plan to do this week:
Since we decided on the frame the way it is, we are going to just have to put the electronics outside of the 3D printer, possible in a type of computer case with fans to keep it cool. This shouldn't be too difficult. All we have left to do is some redesign for the extruder fans and limit switches. We need to test the new bed on the current rollers to see if it fixed our wobbling problem. If it does still wobble, we will need to redesign the rollers.
What we really want to do is plug this thing up and test out all the motors to see what could be fixed or changed. It's a brash way of doing things, but there are some things we can't account for that can only be seen by actually trying it out
http://i.imgur.com/eeUvaTz.jpg [Gantt chart as of 10-9-13]
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