FABRICATION OF DELTA 3D PRINTING PRINTER

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

SHASHANK SINGH [Reg. No.: RA1511002030050]

ABHISHEK RANA [Reg. No.: RA1511002030031]
TANAY TIWARI [Reg. No.: RA1511002030032]

Under the guidance of

Dr. ATUL KUMAR
(Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering)

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SRM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NCR Campus, Modinagar, Ghaziabad

May 2019
 DECLARATION

We, Abhishek Rana (RA1511002030031) , Tanay Tiwari (RA1511002030032) and Shashank

Singh (RA1511002030050) , do hereby declare that this submission entitled “Fabrication of
Delta 3-D Printing Printer ” is a record of original work carried out by us under the supervision of
Dr. Atul Kumar , Associate Professor , Department of Mechanical Engineering SRM IST ,
NCR Campus , Modinagar , Ghaziabad . This project has not been submitted earlier in part or
full for the award of any degree or diploma in any other college , institute or University.

Abhishek Rana (RA1511002030031)

Tanay Tiwari (RA15110030032)

Shashank Singh (RA1511002030050)

Place : SRM Institute of Science & Technology ,

NCR Campus , Modinagar , Ghaziabad ,
Uttar Pradesh - 201014

Date :

I
 SRM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(Deemed to be University u/s of UGC Act, 1956)

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report titled “FABRICATION OF DELTA 3D PRINTING

PRINTER” is the bonafide work of “SHASHANK SINGH [Reg. No.:
RA1511002030050], ABHISHEK RANA [Reg. No.: RA1511002030031] and
TANAY TIWARI [Reg. No.: RA1511002030032]”, who carried out the project work
under my supervision. Certified further, that to the best of my knowledge the work
reported herein does not form any other project report or dissertation on the basis of
which a degree or award was conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any other
candidate.

Dr. Atul Kumar

Supervisor Head of the Department
Associate Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Signature of the Internal Examiner Signature of External Examiner

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 ABSTRACT

3D Printing technology is an additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is

created. This technology is a rapid prototyping technology. The design structure that this project aims

is a PRUSA OR KOSSEL Model. The present 3D printing technology is very time consuming with a

high manufacturing cost. This project aims not only to reduce the cost of the 3D Printer but also

working upon its accuracy and time constraints. GCode / X3G files gives the instructions for the

printer .Gcode tells the machines how much to move, where to move ,how fast to move .Such types

of settings are also called as 3D Printing Tool Path. Gcode uses plain text format while the X3G uses

binary language which is used by the machine with the maker boat type firmwares. When the option

Prepare to Print is clicked the 3D model will automatically get converted into 3D Tool paths for the

machine. Factory files is a combined file to retain the simplify3D Project. It offers a unique way to

save all the data about the project into a comprehensive file called as “Factory File”. This file includes

copy of 3D models been imported, their positions on bed, process settings etc. 3D Printers typically

uses software that “slices” a 3D model into layers and then the software generates a GCode that

extrudes the plastic to fill each layer. Mostly slicer software works, CAD program is compatible of

producing STL’s. The stepper motor is an electromagnetic device that converts digital pulses into

mechanical shaft rotation. This project involves the usage of at least five motors specifically five

stepper motors .one motor to control the Y-axis, the other to control the X-axis, two to control Z-axis

and one to control the extruder. The configuration of all the five motors is same and the driver is used

to drive the motor.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Any accomplishment requires the effort of many folks and this work is not different and it is
our prime duty to acknowledge the person who directly or indirectly helped us during
completion of this report. So we take opportunity to heartily thank our project guide respected
Dr. Atul Kumar for his valuable guidance and touch of inspiration and motivation throughout
the project work without whose help the work would not have been in the shape what it has to
be.

This project is not just the mechanics but an integration of electronics, electrical and
mechanical interaction. We also heartily thank our friends who greatly helped us in our project
work without them we would never have gain the actual problem set solutions that we faced.

We also show our gratitude to all other relevant staff of various departments for their
cooperation, help and guidance from providing us all the required equipment.

Author

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF FIGURES

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1

LITERATURE SURVEY ................................................................................ 4

CHAPTER 1: 3D PRINTER AND DELTA 3D PRINTER .................................. 5

1.1 3D Printers
1.2 Delta 3D Printers
CHAPTER 2: SCOPE OF 3D PRINTER ......................................................... 10
CHAPTER 3: PRINCIPLES OF 3D PRINTER.......................................... 11
3.1 DESIGN IN CAD
3.2 SLICING
3.3 G Code
CHAPTER 4: 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES .............................................. 15
4.1 Stereo lithography
4.2 Fused Deposition Modelling
4.3 Selective Laser Sintering
4.4 Selective Laser Melting
CHAPTER 5: 3D DELTA PRINTER CONSTRUCTION................................... 21
5.1 Frame structure
5.2 Circuit connections
5.3 Homeing
CHAPTER 6: 3D DELTA PRINTER WORKING .............................................. 25
6.1 Movement mechanism
6.2 Geometry of linear delta
6.3 Reachable area
IV
CHAPTER 7: 3D DELTA PRINTER CALIBRATION ................................ 28
7.1 Firmware
7.2 Installations
CHAPTER 8: 3D DELTA PRINTER MODIFICATIONS ............................ 30
CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK ................................31
REFERENCES .......................................................................................... 32

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 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1.1 Cartesian 3D Printer ............................................................................................... 7

Figure 1.2.1 3D Delta Printer ....................................................................................................... 9

Figure 1.2.2 Cartesian and Delta 3D printers working schemes.................................................. 9

Figure 3.1.1 CREO CAD User interface ..................................................................................... 11

Figure 3.2.1 Slicing of 3D model................................................................................................ 12

Figure 3.3.1 Preview of 3D model ............................................................................................. 12

Figure 3.4.4 G Code Visualization ............................................................................................. 14

Figure 4.1.1 Stereo lithography process .................................................................................... 16

Figure 4.2.1 Fused Deposition Modelling .................................................................................. 17

Figure 4.3.1Selective Laser Sintering ........................................................................................ 18

Figure 4.4.1Selective Laser Melting .......................................................................................... 20

Figure 5.1.1Frame structure ...................................................................................................... 22

Figure 5.1.2 Stepper motor nema 17 ......................................................................................... 22

Figure 5.2.1Circuit diagram of wire connections ........................................................................ 23

Figure 5.3.1 PCB LAYOUT OF ATMEGA2580 .................................................................................. 24

Figure 6.1.1Movement of extruder with respect to columns ....................................................... 25

Figure 6.2.1Top view of arms and extruder over the heatbed .................................................... 26
Figure 6.3.1 Schematic area coverage ...................................................................................... 27

Figure 7.2.1 Arduino window screen ......................................................................................... 29

VI
 INTRODUCTION

Our report emphasizes on the design and development of a Delta 3D printer. 3D printer
basically is concept to make or print the objects layer by layer and thus making it so called
“Three dimensional”.

3D printer available is of higher costs that is due to the printing technology used and the
material used in 3D printer, so this projects sparks upon making the 3D printer low cost
by using the scrap materials and designing a frame for the 3D printer.

The main aim of this project is to make the 3D printer available to a common man making
this equipment easy to operate and automate working once the command and specific
design is given to this device. So operating time will automatically decrease as it can
handle the task without any human intervention .This also makes this device reasonable
and approachable to everyone this project. This project deals or in other words targets the
people who has cost as a main constraints and thus making a 3D printer useful in school
laboratories, making imitation jewellery for women, automobile industries, making a
prototype material in industries etc.

This project aims to produce a plastic 3D output and make it accurate as close as possible
compared to the present 3D printer requirements. This technology is a newly expanding
find in terms of increasing the efficiency, increase in accuracy of product, reducing the
cost of the printer. 3D printing technology is all about developing the self- replicating
machine and brings versatility due to which medical implants are possible through these
printers’ end products. This technology has a drastic impact and can bring a radical change
in our world as more and more people are getting accesses to these amazing machines .
The project under process has completed the Initial stage of frame assembling along with
the prescribed wiring with the required circuit connections. The arm lengths and some
minor improvements are added which are detailed in the later sections. The improvements
are done keeping in mind the required angle and the optimal positioning of the extruder.
The next stage will be the processing and synthesis of the prototype

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sample that is to be printed by the delta printer. Input is given to the electronics that give
commands to the motors according to the design in the CAD Tool.

The mechanical components including motors, extruder works accordingly and thus a
layer by layer object is printed (in layman language plastic is glued) on the print plate or
glass plate. After the 3D object gets cooled to a certain temperature the final end product
can be taken out.
In this way the simple process works to build a 3D object. Thus a prototyping of the project
also becomes easier as the specified or the required designed on an initial stage is formatted
on a CAD Tool and your printer starts to print! To get a change in the final product structure
the design in the CAD Tool only needs the change, rest all the working remains unchanged.

Factory files is a combined file to retain the simplify3D Project. It offers a unique way to save
all the data about the project into a comprehensive file called as “Factory File”. This file
includes copy of 3D models been imported, their positions on bed, process settings etc. 3D
Printers typically uses software that “slices” a 3D model into layers and then the software
generates a GCode that extrudes the plastic to fill each layer. Mostly slicer software works,
CAD program is compatible of producing STL’s.
The plastic material used in this project is biodegradable plastic materials. After the object
is finished the final object is taken out. In this way the process started with the designing
object specifically a 3D object and ended with the generating the same 3D object same object
in front our eyes This chapter includes the description of various different components used
in the development of the system project. It is really very necessary to describe the features
of the components that are used in the designing of the system. This chapter includes the
brief description of the components along with their pin configuration and different features.

Extruder consists of two parts, a cold top part that feeds the plastic filament, hot part at bottom
that melts and extrudes the plastic. The speed of the extruder head may also be

2
controlled, to stop and start deposition and form and interrupted plane without stringing or
dribbling between sections. We are using a dual extruder to print in dual colour.
The stepper motor is an electromagnetic device that converts digital pulses into mechanical
shaft rotation. Many advantages are achieved using this kind of motors, such as higher
Simplicity, since no brushes or contacts are present, low cost, high reliability, high torque at
low speeds, and high accuracy of motion.
Plastics are one of the most important materials that are required because it is the material of
which the end product is made. This project uses two types of plastics.
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Plastics, it is a common thermoplastic polymer and is
amorphous in nature .The most important prospect of this material is its resistance power
subjective to force and toughness.
Polylactic Acid or Polyactide (PLA) Plastics, it is a biodegradable plastic material which is
made from renewable resources such as corn starch and sugarcane. The main difference
between the two plastics is that the ABS plastic type is known for its toughness whereas the
other is known for its soft type of material. Thus for different purpose different plastic
materials are used.
Arduino Software, this application allows installing the printer firmware on the
ATMEGA2560 microprocessor. To update the firmware each time this installation is
required.
Skien Software, the application to slice STL files into the G-Code is called as Skein Software.
Each time the part that needs to be printed needs this type of software.
Host Software, before the print job this application is responsible for the communication with
the electronics. In simple words it makes the printing output to be ready before the actual
printing job.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

RESEARCH: Delta analysis and Kinematics of delta printers Steve graves had completely
described about the inverse and forward kinematics of especially delta 3d printers, he is one
who had given a clear cut visualization on working of deltabot. Paper also focuses on
stabilization of structure for each input and ends with the error calculation. This helped us in
understanding the kinematics of printers and give us a way think intuitively about the
movement on them.

RESEARCH: REPRAP PROJECT

Open source hardware project accelerated 3d printers use by everyone, as we know open
source projects grow rapidly because of number of developers. This project created worlds
1st open source hard and software for 3d printers. They integrate all their electronics onto a
board and named it as RAMPS motor shield which compatible for Arduino MEGA. Dev group
made it as successful, that they today compete with commercial printers. They added each
new printer developed by devsto their inventory and call them as RepRap printers, they are
almost of 40-50 printer designs available with a little span of time. This helped us a lot to
understand about electronics and gave us clear idea of making a printer from scratch.

PROJECT: SELF BUILD DELTA 3d PRINTER

Jonathan kept is an Artist and designer. He designed printer with commonly available
components, this helped us to make the printer from components which are easily available.
We replicated his design to make our project successful. He is also a creator of ceramic 3d
printers, he make many sculptures they stood best in UK art exhibition of art. Design of
printer is easy and this is a delta printer.

FIRMWARE : REPETIER HOST FIRMWARE

One of the industry standard Firmware, Which is used by almost every commercial 3d printers
today. This is complete firmware which has support for Cartesian, delta, SCARA Kinematic
motions. It even support for 49 Extruders which is a full-fledged color 3d printing. It also
support on board LCD, WIFI and Bluetooth support for your printers. We inherited our code
flow and implemented our own logic's to make our boot work according to code.

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 CHAPTER 1

3D PRINTER AND DELTA 3D PRINTER

1.1 3D Printers
3D printing is any of various processes in which material is joined or solidified under computer
control to create a three-dimensional object, with material being added together (such as
liquid molecules or powder grains being fused together), typically layer by layer. In the 1990s,
3D printing techniques were considered suitable only for the production of functional or
aesthetical prototypes and a more appropriate term was rapid prototyping. Today, the
precision, repeatability and material range have increased to the point that 3D printing is
considered as an industrial production technology, with the name of additive manufacturing.
3D printed objects can have a very complex shape or geometry and are always produced
starting from a digital 3D model or a CAD file.

The most commonly used 3D Printing process is a material extrusion technique called fused
deposition modeling (FDM). Metal Powder bed fusion has been gaining prominence lately
during the immense applications of metal parts in the 3D printing industry. In 3D Printing, a
three-dimensional object is built from computer-aided design (CAD) model, usually by
successively adding material layer by layer, unlike the conventional machining process, where
material is removed from a stock item, or the casting and forging processes which date to
antiquity.

The term "3D printing" originally referred to a process that deposits a binder material onto a
powder bed with inkjet printer heads layer by layer. More recently, the term is being used in
popular vernacular to encompass a wider variety of additive manufacturing techniques. United
States and global technical standards use the official term additive manufacturing for this
broader sense.

By early 2010s, the terms 3D printing and additive manufacturing evolved senses in which
they were alternate umbrella terms for additive technologies, one being used in popular
language by consumer-maker communities and the media, and the other used more

5
formally by industrial end-use part producers, machine manufacturers, and global technical
standards organizations. Until recently, the term 3D printing has been associated with
machines low in price or in capability. 3D printing and additive manufacturing reflect that the
technologies share the theme of material addition or joining throughout a 3D work envelope
under automated control. Peter Zelinski, the editor-in-chief of Additive Manufacturing
magazine, pointed out in 2017 that the terms are still often synonymous in casual usage but
some manufacturing industry experts are trying to make a distinction whereby Additive
Manufacturing comprises 3D printing plus other technologies or other aspects of a
manufacturing process.

Other terms that have been used as synonyms or hypernyms have included desktop
manufacturing, rapid manufacturing (as the logical production-level successor to rapid
prototyping), and on-demand manufacturing (which echoes on-demand printing in the 2D
sense of printing). Such application of the adjectives rapid and on-demand to the noun
manufacturing was novel in the 2000s reveals the prevailing mental model of the long
industrial era in which almost all production manufacturing involved long lead times for
laborious tooling development. Today, the term subtractive has not replaced the term
machining, instead complementing it when a term that covers any removal method is needed.
Agile tooling is the use of modular means to design tooling that is produced by additive
manufacturing or 3D printing methods to enable quick prototyping and responses to tooling
and fixture needs. Agile tooling uses a cost effective and high quality method to quickly
respond to customer and market needs, and it can be used in hydro-forming, stamping,
injection molding and other manufacturing processes.

6
 Fig.1.1.1. Cartesian 3D printer

1.2 Delta 3D Printers

Delta 3D printers owe their name to the way the extruder head is supported by 3 arms in a
triangular configuration. The benefit of a Delta arrangement is that the moving parts are
lightweight and therefore limit the inertia.
Printing PLA with nary a hint of trouble, this quirky little machine can churn through print after
print with relish. Minor issues before shoddy construction and quality control issues put the
brakes on our affection for Cartesian printers.

Delta printers, like Cartesian printers, also work within the Cartesian plane. However, they
use a different system to navigate and locate the print head within the 3D space.

A delta printer consists of three arms on rails that move up and down independently to move
the print head. Delta printers use trigonometric functions based on the angles that these arms
create to determine the precise location of the print head within the 3D print space.

Delta printers have circular print beds which gives them a more efficient use of the printing
space, especially when printing circular prints. Additionally, many of the print beds are non-
moving, which can be an advantage for some prints. Due to their design, Delta printers can
also print taller objects than most Cartesian printers.

7
One of the main advantages of a Delta printer is its speed. These printers were designed for
quick printing. Delta print heads are built to be as light as possible, which results in a quicker
printing process.

Delta printers often come in kits and need to be assembled before use. They are also very
advantageous when making tall objects.
A printer that the user assembles is a huge advantage over a factory assembled unit. The
reason is simple, the assembly process, as painful as it is, instructs the user in many aspects
of repair and tuning. Many people have factory assembled printers in a non- working state
that they abandon because they can’t fix it. 3d Printers take a lot of constant repair and tuning,
and your ability to maintain the system is directly related to your intimate knowledge of the
system. They use inverse kinematics calculation as algorithms These inverse kinematics
calculations are performed for each carriage to get a "carriage space" target position, and this
is performed for every path sub-segment.
The results from these steps can then be reinserted back into the standard linear path
interpolation techniques for the printer, in which it fires steps in the necessary ratios and at
the necessary rates to produce the desired straight-line motion and acceleration/velocity
profile. The net effect is that the printer will move through a series of small "linear" carriage
movements (linear meaning constant speed with respect to time) that collectively approximate
the necessary curved (quadratic position with respect to time) carriage motions required to
produce a straight-line end-effector move.This system is used in large part because support
for Delta style printers was originally bolted onto GRBL-based motion planners which were
written exclusively for straight-line motion paths in Cartesian printers. It was a relatively
minimal modification to the existing code base compared to implementing full quadratic path
interpolation.

Alternate approaches are often used: for example, the dc42 fork of RepRapFirmware
performs exact path-following without segmentation, by recalculating the proper time for the
next step after every step. This is functionally equivalent to approximating a circle with a
polygon facet count so high that every pixel on the screen gets its own facet. So it is exactly
as accurate as the positioning resolution of the motors allows.

8
 Fig. 1.2.1. 3D Delta printer

Fig. 1.2.2. Cartesian and Delta 3D printers working scheme

9
 CHAPTER 2

SCOPE OF 3D PRINTER

In recent years, 3D printing has truly begun to capture the imagination of the masses, as low
cost printers for personal use begin to make it possible for hobbyists and aspiring designers
to create objects designed in CAD software right on their desks.
The Additive Manufacturing, or 3 Dimensional printing, goes beyond the capability of printing
in the conventional sense of ink on paper, allowing for objects to be physically printed before
your very eyes. 3D printers allow you to create models,prototypes and products out of
materials such as plastics and metals. 3D printing allows individuals and companies to rapidly
prototype ideas for new products and also promises to cut down costs on the creation of
products through savings in supply-chains, product waste and storage.

The benefits of 3D printing are likely to revolutionize many industries. The automotive and
aerospace industries benefit from much shorter lead times than with associated traditional
engineering methods such as casting or machining, allowing for much faster development
and testing of components. In the future, it may even be possible for large components or
even entire cars to be entirely 3D printed, as recently demonstrated by Local Motors at the
2014 International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago, USA.
The 3D printers has ability to print electronic circuitry which adds a feature for consumers to
3D print electronic products like mobile phones, or the possibility of producing highly
customized products based on individual consumer preferences. Google has recently
partnered with 3D Systems Inc. to develop Project ARA, a modular phone which will allow
customized 3D printed personalized features, which could point to a future of consumer
electronics mainly shaped by 3D printing.
The food industry is also set for a revolution, thanks to 3D printing. NASA has invested in this
technology in the hope that one day its astronauts will be able to print their food whilst in
space. Whilst printers currently exist that allow for 3D creations of foodstuff such as chocolate
and pasta, 3D printing may in the future be able to allow fine control of the nutritional content
of many types of food, which in turn could help tackle several health problems such as obesity
and diabetes or even world hunger.

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 CHAPTER 3

PRINCIPLE OF 3D PRINTER

Below flowchart gives an idea about the workflow in process of 3d printing. It

starts with a designing of 3d model in CAD software ends with printing of model.

Design SLICING GCODE

in CAD PRINTING

3.1 DESIGN IN CAD:

One can implement their ideas by designing them in Computer Aided Design
software's. When we save them they form a STL (stereo lithography) file format,
which has information of your 3d design as points, which is helpful for
reproduction or any other purposes.
We use this generated .stl file for further step known as slicing. Used online
CAD stl generator called CREO. Easy for beginners to design things in 3d, it
is very useful for new users, GUI based interface help in making the cad files
in minutes

Figure 3.1.1 CREO CAD user interface

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3.2 SLICING:

Figure 3.2.1 Slicing of a 3D model

We were focused on fused deposition kind of printers , where slicing is the most important
task to make 3 plane then to a 2d plane and at last to usable Gcode .The slicing technique
helps in determining the part to be filled with material also where it should be ideal. This is
more helpful for making the trajectory of the extruder end of the printer.
This reduces your complex 3d image to a layers of 2d image, this is helpful in determining in
extrusion speed, head speed,temperature and fan off and on.We also have the power to
decide size of wall, pattern of movement, thickness and is area where is make you 3d file to
meet your printer settings. Such as work area, length of axial rods, max stepping angle. We
used Slic3r for our project. We also adder our own printer adding new setting some of them
delta bot printer has radial work area, we had fixed the axial rod length, constant extruder
speed.

Figure 3.3.1 Preview of a 3D model and its single layer for slicing

3.3G-code:

The type of code designed by MIT SERVO MECHANISM laboratories, mostly used for CNC
machining and industrial applications. This answers the machine to question like, which and
how it should move. This follow its own easy kind of Syntax mostly industrial use this code
their robots in the assembly line.

12
Some of the Syntax of G code that we used, we normally used G0,G1 motions which have
their own function.
● G - Information of motion.
● M- Miscellaneous functions of machine.
● G0 - Rapid move

Moves rapidly to the prescribed position in Gcode. Where the components such as drill or
Extruder in our case is in off position. As there is no such part to drill in that trajectory.Moves
may not be straight path.
● G1 - Controlled move
Move is slow as compared with G0, it should move in a straight line. Which follows linear
interpolation to map all the points in plane.

●Words after the specified motion are axis and motion in each axis. E,F gives the details
about feed rate and Extrusion. X, Y and Z gives the value beside them is motion in that axis.

3.3.1 Syntax of G-code:

G0/G1 [X{X position}] [Y{Y position}] [Z{Z position}] [E{Extruder position} [F{Feedrate}]

3.3.2 Sample G-code:

G1 F2220 X9.259 Y7.845 E103.21

The stated example gives the information of about it is a controlled move, having feed rate
of 2220 and motion 9.256, 7.8445 mm in X, Y axis respectively. Last part give the temp of
extrusion head. E plays a vital role in printers it decides the print exit or not at that place.

3.4CAD to G-code visualization:

This example would clarify doubts about how g-code is linked to a CAD file, Code below is
used to create a rectangular box having its coordinate points (-13.6, 13.6), (-13.6, 13.6),
(13.6,-13.6) and (13.6, 13.6). This is rectangle designed in cad and the coordinate are very
helpful in generation of Gcode.

13
Figure 3.4.1 Gcode Visualization

14
 CHAPTER 4

3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES

4.1 Stereo lithography

This method is the oldest method and is still been used nowadays. This method was patented
in year 1986. This process involves a stereo lithography apparatus (SLA) which converts
liquid plastic into solid 3D objects. In this method the CAD file generated creates an output in
such a way that can be understood by the electronics. The Standard Tessellation Language
(STL) is commonly used for this process. This process first produces STL file such that the
printing machine should have the information of each layer. The SLA machine uses laser to
cut the layer when a required dimension is completed and this process is repeated again and
again till the whole structure is printed on the printed plate.

After plastic hardens a platform of the printer drops down in the tank a fraction of a millimeter
and laser forms the next layer until printing is completed. Once all layers are printed the object
needs to be rinsed with a solvent and then placed in an ultraviolet oven to finish processing.

Stereo lithography is widely used in prototyping as it does not require too much time to
produce an object and it also cost effective when compared to other ways of prototype
printing. There strength could be understood from the compliment that they are even used to
build master patterns for injection moulding and various other casting processes. They now
have preferable use in medical field too as certain parts are now even designed and printed
by the use of this technology. The data for the coordinates are provided through various scans
like the CT scan, MRI scan and other scans. These scans also provide sufficient knowledge
about the layers of tissues over the desired part whose design has to be created and
implemented into a product.

15
 Fig. 4.1.1. Stereolithography process.
The disadvantage of stereo lithography is the cost of production which is abrupt in many ways.
The synthesis and production of virtual designs are comparatively easy. The cost of these
types of printers are also very high. The last issue with stereo lithography is that the photo
polymers used are very messy, sticky and have to be handled with care because of the
continuity of the strand which also helps in regulating the flow of material through the nozzle
of the printer.

4.2 Fused Deposition Modelling

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a 3D printing technique pioneered in the 1990s by
Stratasys. In fact, the term ‘FDM’ is the trademark of Stratasys. The company continues to
be a leader in manufacturing 3D printers all over the world, including India. Alternatively, the
3D printers that are based on this technology are also called as Fused Filament Fabrication
(FFF), Plastic Jet Printing (PJP) or material extruding printers, which is the generic name for
these 3D printers. The 3D printers that work on FDM technology consist of the printer
platform, a nozzle (also called as printer head) and the raw material in the form of a filament.
When the FDM printer begins printing, the raw material is extruded as a thin filament
through the heated nozzle. It is deposited at the bottom of the printer platform, where it
solidifies. The next layer that is extruded fuses with the layer below, building the object from
the bottom up layer by layer. Most FDM printers first print the outer edges, the interior
edges next and lastly the interior of the layer as either a solid layer or as a fill in matrix.In
some objects / models, there are fragile ‘overhangs’ that will droop unless they are given
some support. FDM printers incorporate a mechanism whereby these support structures
(called struts) are printed along with the object. They are later removed once the build is
complete. These struts are usually of the same material as the object. Some printers have a

16
second extruder to specifically deposit soluble thermoplastic struts when there is a need to
prevent the overhangs from drooping. These struts may be of a different composition than the
thermoplastic used for the 3D model.
A 3D printer works by depositing raw material layer by layer along the X, Y and Z axis. The
accuracy of the 3D printer therefore depends upon the minimum distance the nozzle can
travel vertically (the Z axis). Minimum the distance it can move, more the points along the
sinusoidal that it can capture, and better the accuracy.For Strathspey 3D printers, which are
the pioneers of the FDM printers, the current best possible dimensional accuracy is about
0.127 mm. Of course, the choice of raw material too plays an important part in achieving
dimensional stability. It should also be remembered that the accuracy comes at the cost of
printing time required.
FDM technology is used equally in both normal 3D printers as well as delta 3D printers. The
material that is used in this technology shows great strength, durability and also helps in
maintaining the structural integrity of the printed product. In FDM there is a wide range of
materials that can be used for printing purposes. They also have this unique feature that they
have a low turnaround i.e., they consume less time for changing of layers and getting back to
the initial end with a faster rate and turning from the endpoint is so smooth that it does not
interrupt the flow of material that is supplied to the nozzle.

Fig. 4.2.1. Fused Deposition Modelling

FDMs are used in a variety of sectors like automation, fashion, manufacturing, aerospace,
industrial, medical, architecture and for education and research purposes. They also provide
a good print for a very effective price they also tend to minimize the overall cost with the use
of good material and very low retries. The only disadvantage is that if the print part requires
a much higher level of accuracy normal 3D printer won’t be able to meet up

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the desired need, whereas the delta 3D printer does the job which accuracy and also with a
greater finish rate.

4.3 Selective Laser Sintering

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing technique that uses a laser as the
power source to sinter powdered material typically nylon or polyamide, aiming the laser
automatically at points in space defined by a 3D model, binding the material together to create
a solid structure. It is similar to Selective Laser Melting; the two are instantiates of the same
concept but differ in technical details. Selective laser melting uses a comparable concept, but
in SLM the material is fully melted rather than sintered, allowing different properties crystal
structure, porosity, and so on. SLS as well as the other mentioned additive manufacturing
techniques is a relatively new technology that so far has mainly been used for rapid
prototyping and for low-volume production of component parts. Production roles are
expanding as the commercialization of additive manufacturing technology improves.
An additive manufacturing layer technology, SLS involves the use of a high power laser (for
example, a carbon dioxide laser) to fuse small particles of plastic, metal, ceramic, or glass
powders into a mass that has a desired three-dimensional shape. The laser selectively fuses
powdered material by scanning cross-sections generated from a 3-D digital description of the
part (for example from a CAD file or scan data) on the surface of a powder bed. After each
cross-section is scanned, the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness, a new layer of
material is applied on top, and the process is repeated until the part is completed.

Fig. 4.3.1. Selective Laser Sintering

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Because finished part density depends on peak laser power, rather than laser duration, a SLS
machine typically uses a pulsed laser. The SLS machine preheats the bulk powder material
in the powder bed somewhat below its melting point, to make it easier for the laser to raise
the temperature of the selected regions the rest of the way to the melting point.Commercially-
available materials used in SLS come in powder form and include, but are not limited to,
polymers such as polyamides (PA), polystyrenes (PS), thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and
polyaryletherketones (PAEK). Poly amides are the most commonly- used SLS materials due
to their ideal sintering behavior as a semi-crystalline thermoplastic, resulting in parts with
desirable mechanical properties. Polycarbonate (PC) is a material of high interest for SLS due
to its high toughness, thermal stability, and flame resistance.
The sintering bed also provides many salient features like they have high overhanging angles
up to 45 degrees. The bed is highly complex as they have conformal cooling channels. The
have arrangements which support nesting of batch array orders. The printed parts have high
strength and also chemical resistance, they also can be obtained through various finishes.
They can also build complex hollow structures with ease. They are highly durable and can
withstand complex structural weights and are of finished geometry i.e., the parts won’t
disintegrate on colliding. The overall structure price and the printed part price is very high.

4.4 Selective Laser Melting

Selective laser melting (SLM), also known as direct metal laser sintering or laser powder bed
fusion, is a rapid prototyping, 3D printing, or additive manufacturing technique designed to
use a high power-density laser to melt and fuse metallic powders together. In many SLM is
considered to be a subcategory of selective laser sintering. The SLM process has the ability
to fully melt the metal material into a solid three-dimensional part unlike SLS. It uses a variety
of alloys, allowing prototypes to be functional hardware made out of the same material as
production components. Since the components are built layer by layer, it is possible to design
organic geometries, internal features and challenging passages that could not be cast or
otherwise machined. The process starts by slicing the 3D CAD file data into layers, usually
from 20 to 100 micrometers thick, creating a 2D image of each layer; this file format is the
industry standard .stl file used on most layer-based 3D printing or stereolithography
technologies. This file is then loaded into a file preparation software package that assigns
parameters, values and physical supports that allow the file to be interpreted and built by
different types of additive manufacturing machines.
Many selective laser melting (SLM) machines operate with a work space up to 400 mm (15.748
in) in X & Y and they can go up to 400 mm (15.748 in) Z. Some of the materials being used in
this process can include copper, aluminium, stainless steel, tool steel, cobalt chrome, titanium
and tungsten. SLM is especially useful for producing tungsten parts because of the high
melting point and high ductile-brittle transition temperature of this metal. In order for the
material to be used in the process it must exist in atomized form (powder form).

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 Fig. 4.4.1. Selective Laser Melting

The types of applications most suited to the selective laser melting process are complex
geometries & structures with thin walls and hidden voids or channels on the one hand or low
lot sizes on the other hand. Advantage can be gained when producing hybrid forms where solid
and partially formed or lattice type geometries can be produced together to create a single
object, such as a hip stem or ace-tabular cup or other orthopedic implant where osseo
integration is enhanced by the surface geometry. Much of the pioneering work with selective
laser melting technologies is on lightweight parts for aerospace where traditional
manufacturing constraints, such as tooling and physical access to surfaces for machining,
restrict the design of components. SLM allows parts to be built additively to form near net
shape components rather than by removing waste material. SLM has a high cost per part mostly
because it is time-intensive, it is advisable if only very few parts are to be produced.

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 CHAPTER 5

3D DELTA PRINTER CONSTRUCTION

5.1 Frame structure

This chapter includes the description of various different components used in the development
of the system project. It is really very necessary to describe the features of the components
that are used in the designing of the system. This chapter includes the brief description of the
components along with their pin configuration and different features.
Selection of frame is an essential part for system designing. This frame gives the support to
the printer. All the axes of the motor added to this frame. The threaded rods are mounted on
this frame and rubber strips controlled by motor action. Extruder consists of two parts, a cold
top part that feeds the plastic filament, hot part at bottom that melts and extrudes the plastic.
The speed of the extruder head may also be controlled, to stop and start deposition and form
and interrupted plane without stringing or dripping between sections. The stepper motor is an
electromagnetic device that converts digital pulses into mechanical shaft rotation. Many
advantages are achieved using this kind of motors, such as higher Simplicity, since no brushes
or contacts are present, low cost, high reliability, high torque at low speeds, and high accuracy
of motion.
This project involves the usage of at least five motors specifically five stepper motors .one
motor to control the Y-axis, the other to control the X-axis, two to control Z-axis and one to
control the extruder. The configuration of all the five motors is same and the driver is used to
drive the motor. The two types of stepper motors that are the bipolar motor and unipolar motor.
The bipolar and unipolar motors are similar, except that the Unipolar has a center tap on each
winding. The driver features adjustable current limiting, over current protection, and five
different micro step resolutions. It operates from 8 – 35 V and can deliver up to 2 A per coil.
Five drivers are used for running 5 motors. Heat bed is pasted on the ramp so that IC should
not be burned out.
After assembling the whole electronics part now it is the time for the mechanical structure to
be decided and to fit our electronics in it. The degree of freedom of the 3D printer in delta
arrangement is 6. The end effect of the structure can do 3 translations X Y and Z translations.
More than one motor has to be moved in order to execute a pure translation. The initial stage
of mapping is required to execute the motions of the motors. This function that does the
mapping is called inverse kinematic function or inverse kinematic transformation.This
common in robotics, but not that common for 3D printers. The frame structure consists of two
types of materials, i.e. aluminium and polylactic acid(PLA) components. The frame stands on
three aluminium rods of 20*20 profile, which are supported by PLA 3D printed clamps on
either sides. The frame structure is arranged in

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delta arrangement. This provides flexible translations in the prescribed mapping. The base
support consist of ACP plate on which the heat bed will be mounted.

Fig. 5.1.1. Frame structure Fig. 5.1.2. Stepper motor nema 17

5.2 Circuit connections

There are 3 Drive motors for the movement of the delta printer in x, y, and z axis as shown in
figure labeled as X Stepper, Y Stepper and Z Stepper respectively. X And Y stepper motor is
use to for the movement of printer in x and y direction and z is used for the movement in z
direction but in delta for movement in z direction all three are use simultaneously so there is
coordination of motor for movement in delta formation type bots, cnc’s, etc.
There are 2 extra Stepper labeled as Extruder Stepper which are used for the movement of
the Material extrusion from the Nozzle as we used 2 Nozzle in our CNC. We used 2 Hotend
(Nozzle) which includes a thermocouple (For measurement and control temperature of the
hotend) and heater for the heating of the nozzle. There are three end stops are used for
Homeing of the printer.

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 Fig.5.2.1. Circuit diagram of wire connections.

5.3 Homeing
This is technique for the defining the max movement of the printer and helps the printer to get
its Reference position in the space.

End stops sensor helps in stopping the printer’s all axis at their respective max distance and
helps in homeing. All 3 max end stops are connected as shown in circuit diagram at their
respective positions according to axis and labeled as X Endstop, Y Endstop, and Z Endstop.
Max End stops Home printer at Max height (0,0,350)mm similarly Min Endstops can be used
to home printer at min height (0,0,0).
Fans are connected for the cooling purpose of the Nozzle to prevent hotends from any
damage.

HeatBed is connected at Heatbed labeled position in the circuit diagram and it includes
thermistor for the control and measurement of the temperature of the heatbed. HeatBed is
important for the smooth printing using materials like ABS(which can’t give smooth print on
room temperature and printing with PLA can be done at room temperature). For Mother Board
we used MKS-BASE V1.5 3D Printer Control Board Mainboard which is Compatible
Ramps1.4 and features are as listed below:

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1. It gather all function on one board, which solved the Ramps1.4 combination interface
problem that easily out of order
2. Using 4982 as a motor drive, the SOP package, the effect of heat dispelling is better
circuit board uses the high quality of 4 layer board.
3. Optimize heat dissipation and Ramp Is 2 layer board.
4. Using special power supply chip, support the 12v-24v power input to solve the problem of
Ramps voltage conversion of chip fever.
5. Accept 24V input. Under the same system power can reduce the current hot bed to 1/4,
effectively solve the problem of hot bed MOS tube heating.
6. The firmware can use open source firmware Marlin, configuration are exactly the same
with ramps1.4 , can be directly replace ramps1.4 also can be connected directly to Ramps1.4,
2004 LCD control board and the LCD board (12864)
7. Worked on ATMEGA2580 which makes it to have much free RAM and helps in preventing
from Crash problems and can have extra pins available to have mods on the printer.

Fig.5.3.1. PCB LAYOUT OF ATMEGA2580

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 CHAPTER 6

3D DELTA PRINTER WORKING

6.1 DELTA MOVEMENT MECHANISM

When people think of 3D printers, they usually think of Cartesian-style FDM printers, such as
the Prusa i3 or the Ultimaker 2. That’s no surprise, since they’re by far the most common type
of 3D printer on the market. These printers are labeled as Cartesian because they move along
the Cartesian plane (like the one from math class). For these printers, movements
occur along the X, Y, and Z axis rods. That is, the extruder or bed move left, right, forwards,
backwards, up, or down.

Fig.6.1.1. Movement of extruder with respect to columns.

Delta FDM printers, however, use a different system of movement. Instead of XYZ rods, delta
printers support the extruder with three arms, which are attached to three vertical posts
arranged in a triangle.Each arm can only move vertically up and down, but by moving each
arm independently the extruder is able to move in all directions.Delta printers are built for fast
printing, with heavy motors and extruders fixed on the sides and top. The toolhead is kept
very light and minimal so that the printer can maintain high accuracy at high speeds.The bed
of a delta printer is usually circular instead of rectangular, and it never has to move. Though
the average bed size is pretty small, the build height tends to be much

25
taller than Cartesian printers. As such, a typical delta 3D printer has a print space that looks
like a tall cylinder.

6.2 GEOMETRY OF A LINEAR DELTA

The arm angle with effector at center is the result of the arms length, minimum angle and
angles of the arms while at maximum diameter. For minimum angle of 20°, this angle is around
60° for maximum diameter arm verticals, but if the minimum angle is increased, it may be
higher. Minimum angles of 22° will gives an angle of 63° with vertical arms. Arms may not be
able to reach the vertical due to clearance problem, notably with the part cooling fans or
effector accessories. In that case, for a given minimum angle, arm length may be reduced
and the angle while effector is at center will be lower.

Arm space does not influence movement calculation, but have an importance for the effector
stability. Best stability is obtained for the minimum offset, with the maximum possible arm
space for this offset (minimizing b dimension).

Fig.6.2.1. Top view of arms and extruder over the heatbed.

6.3 REACHABLE AREA

For a given minimum angle, the reachable area is a triangle with bulged sides, with the ends
of the triangle oriented toward the columns, which cannot be accessed without

26
impacting the column. Then, for simplicity, the reachable area is generally considered
circular. It might be interesting to evaluate the real reachable.
*Asymmetric Area :The area which may be reachable without obstacle.
*Circular Area : The practical area taking into account the clearance required between
effector and columns.

The movements of the arms simultaneously in accordance with the other two makes it easier
for the nozzle to be carried out and print a sample on a larger area which could be employed
to print a large prototype architectural project.

Fig.6.3.1. Schematic area coverage

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 CHAPTER 7

3D DELTA PRINTER CALIBRATION

7.1 Firmware
We used Repetier firmware on our board which is created using Repetier-Firmware
configuration tool for version 0.92.9 version.
The configurator is the solution to the typical configuration hell when it comes to creating or
updating a new firmware for your 3d printer. While the wanted values are quite simple, many
users get lost in the different options and when they need to be set. In this configurator it try
to hide all information and settings that are not relevant for our printer, based on previous
answers. In we have to enter information regarding our printer in the fields through the top
menus from left to right and answer the questions from top to bottom and helps in generating
firmware file which is written in Basic C language and can be uploaded to the motherboard
using Arduino IDE by selecting boards from the Tools menu as Atmega 2500 and respective
serial port in Arduino IDE. For uploading firmware Serial Communication is used.

7.2 Installation step

Development software - ARDUINO-IDE
First we need to get and install the development software. It is easy and we won’t need special
programming skills. The software is available for WIndows, Linux and Mac.We followed the
instruction on the Arduino site for installation. For firmware deployment we need Arduino
1.8.5 or higher. The IDE contains only the officially supported board driver. The next step is
driver installation. The boards all use a serial protocol. Which is fine if our printer had a serial
port. The designer of the Arduino knew this problem and have added a usb->serial converter
on board. That is the reason, we need to install the usb driver used on the board. Some board/OS
combinations don‘t need a special driver.

After understanding the IDE, we should now download the latest version of Repetier-
Firmware.It is not necessary to clone the repository. All we need is to download the contents

28
as a ZIP file. Download the file and unpack the contents. Start the IDE and go to File->Open
and select the file „Repetier.ino“ in the repetier subdirectory.Before we can compile and

upload the firmware, we need to select the board and port. We do this in the Tools menu.
Start with our board. The port can only be selected, if your printer is online and connected.

Fig.7.2.1. Arduino window screen

For a first successful upload, follow the next steps:

1. Open the register tab named “Configuration.h”

2. Search the line “#define MOTHERBOARD” and change the number behind to match your
board.
3. Near the bottom you see a line “#define BAUDRATE 250000”. Change the baud rate to
match your preferences or leave it. We used Baudrate as 115200 for our convenience
4. Make sure the printer is connected and port and board type are set correctly.
5. Press the upload button. That is the button with the arrow to the right.
6. After a while you see the length of the compiled firmware file and the upload starts. On
most boards you will see a led starting to flicker. After it stops flickering, the upload is
verified and then you see the message “Upload done” in the IDE.

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 CHAPTER 8

3D DELTA PRINTER MODIFICATIONS

After improvements in our calculation and implementations of theoretical calculation we got

final specification changed as follows:

Before Now

Printable Height : 400mm 350mm

Printable Diameter : 270mm 310mm
Arm length: 250mm 500mm

Arm length is change for improvement in the movement of the printer and to increase the
speed and acceleration during printing which overall increase the speed of the printer with
accuracy according to calculations and test runs.

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 CHAPTER 9

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

This report is the hard work of all out teammates .this report would not have been possible
without the help of our teachers, friends. Not only we learned technical prospect but also
working in team, listening to each and every group member perspective of thinking. This
project is a blend of integrated work and individual hard work too. We also learned that
everyone is not perfect in every case but if that perfectness of each group member in some
parts can be bought together than a great work can be achieved. Hence this project will benefit
too many.

Once this project target is achieved that is to “Design and Develop a Low Cost 3D Printer” our
future plan is to further work on the accuracy of the printer sooner or later we would also work
upon reducing the timing of printing the end output.
The next step will be the initializing of the printer working and printing the desired sample in
correspondence with the pre setted benchmarks.

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 REFERENCE

1. https://reprap.org/wiki/Delta_geometry

2. Person name: Adam from Tevo 3D Electronic Technology Co. Ltd.

3. https://www.repetier.com/firmware/v092/

4. https://www.diyelectronics.co.za/wiki/3DPrinters/Tevo/Monster%20Manual.pdf

5. "The Ultimate Guide to Stereolithography (SLA) 3D Printing". Formlabs. Formlabs, Inc. Retrieved 26 December
2017.

6. 3D Printing: Build Your Own 3D Printer and Print Your Own 3D Objects.

7. .Rapid Prototyping by Dr.Amitabha Ghosh

8. Johann C. Rocholl (Rostock) Style Delta Robot Kinematics by Steve Graves

9. The Delta Parallel Robot: Kinematics Solutions Robert L. Williams II,Ph.D., williar4@ohio.edu

10. Sirinterlikci, A., Sirinterlikci, S., Utilizing Rep-Rap Machines in the Engineering Curriculum .

11. https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

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