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I planned on writing an entry about burning bootloaders and updating the firmware, but I just realized my kit comes ready to go! Yay! This is a major advantage to purchasing the Generation 3 Electronics kit. If you're making you own boards, be sure to check out these detailed instructions on burning bootloaders and updating firmware before going any further.
Here's the description of the Generation 3 Electronics kit [Mostly Assembled]:
This is a kit of mostly assembled electronics. All of the hard stuff is taken care of for you, and the only soldering that remains is the opto endstops which are very simple (only through hole components, no SMT). The stepper drivers, extruder controller, and motherboard all come fully assembled and ready to use. The extruder controller and motherboard have been pre-programmed with the MakerBot firmware and Arduino bootloader.
I know, I know, it's been a while since my last entry, and I apologize. The truth is, I was a bit under the weather last week, and my CupCake CNC kit had to sit and wait patiently for me to recover. The good news is, I'm feeling much better now and am super motivated to start printing parts! The next entry will be packed with CupCake building goodness. Promise!
Next up, making the pulleys and enclosure. As you can see, I chose a butchers wax finish. It's nontoxic, and nonflammable, which makes documenting it in my studio a lot easier. Also, it preserves the beauty of the wood, including the laser burns! Besides, if I don't like it, I can always cut out a new enclosure.
Ask questions! Do you want to see a better picture of a particular part, a different camera angle, a video perhaps? Maybe you have a suggestion for a cool mod or hack? Let me know in the comments. I'll try to answer them as best as I can. Thanks!
Build history:
- Part 1: Introduction & background
- Part 2: Unboxing
- Part 3: Electronics
- Part 4: Update & burning the bootloaders
- Part 5: Pulley & enclosure finishing
- Part 6: Building the enclosure
- Part 7: Building the Y-stage and adjusting the Z-stage
- Part 8: Building the X stage
- Part 9: Installing the X & Y stages
- Part 10: Installing the endstops & electronics
- Part 11: Building the plastruder & testing
- Part 12: Installing the electronics
- Part 13: Software installation & tuning
- Part 14: First print
I just thought of something. Doesn't wood warp? How can it be accurate in a printer?
(please detail the printing process. A full video of the print would be nice.)
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Yes, wood warps..and that's a good reason to apply a finish. I don't think warpage is a major concern since it is over a long period of time. Remember it's a sub $1000 3D printer, any other material would be too expensive.
I will definitely shoot a lot of videos of printing, designing, etc.
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An it can print reprap parts. I wonder if reprap has outsourced like makerbot did. I look forward to your next tutorial.
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Yes you can print RepRap parts. Technically the CupCake CNC is a RepStrap machine, and it's all open source!
More about RepStrap machines can be found here:
http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/RepStrap
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Actually plywood is pretty dimensionally stable.
Much better than 'ordinary' wood, as the grain is alternated by 90 degrees for each layer.
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Good point!
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Why do you even need a stepper motor Driver? And how do they work?
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The stepper motor board generates the signal to drive the motors. Steppers require a specific timing sequence to drive the coils. Having a separate board severs 2 purposes (actually more, but these are the big ones). 1 - offloads the task form the main board, 2 - allows for easier replacement, upgrade, etc.
More info about stepper motors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepper_motor
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