instructables
Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer
by mrogivue
UPDATE: Our first crowd funding campaign is live
on SparkRaise.com!
The aim of our campaign is to donate 3D printer
kits to needy schools, institutions and other
groups around the world who then arrange
workshops for children 8-12 years old who
otherwise could not afford a 3D printer!
Please help us to achieve this worthy and
ambitious goal! Just 99USD is enough to spark
the curiosity of a child and give him or her the
Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 1
Co-developed with the Poly University of Hong Kong,
the Curiosity is an easy-to-assemble educational 3D
printer which offers a super low-cost platform for
educational purposes. 3D printing closes the gap
between an idea or inspiration and the first prototype
and enables people of all ages and backgrounds to
make the leap to become an inventor!
However, since most 3D printers still cost hundreds
or even thousands of dollars, the price has remained
a huge barrier for most schools, parents, educators
and kids. The Curiosity tries to close this gap! By up-

chance of becoming tomorrows Innovator! Other
Perks start as low as 5USD!
You can also help by just spreading this link to
your friends, family, peers, colleagues on your
social networks, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc.
Thank you so much!
Please join our Facebook group in order to enable
more and more people into the world of 3D
prototyping: Curiosity Facebook Group
Introduction & Vision
https://youtu.be/KTlCHnwQxFs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ADmDbiKnlU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OH_NHCsG1k
Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 2
and kids. The Curiosity tries to close this gap! By up-
cycling eWaste such as old DVD drives and PC
Power Supplies, the Curiosity not only costs less than
USD150 (we hope to reduce this to around 100USD
once we can bring this project up to scale) but also
educates children and adults about eWaste,
environmental issues, recycling and up-cycling while
learning everything about 3D printing!
Similar to what “one laptop per child” has done, I
would like to open-source this technology and
encourage educators around the world to adopt this
platform and use it in their classrooms, i.e. “one 3D
Printer per child”.
Step 1: General

Please do the following when building this printer:

You can either buy the parts yourself (there is a BOM at the end of these instructions) or use the kit
sold through our crowd-funding campaign on SparkRaise.com! Note: With each purchase of a
Curiosity 3D Kit, you are supporting the education of a child that otherwise cannot afford a 3D
Printer!

Read through each chapter of these instructions to gain an idea of what is involved and how long it
might take, before starting on the work described.

Ensure you have the necessary skills to carry out the work, or enlist the help of someone who does.
Work on a firm table or bench in a clean dry well-lit area.
Observe tool safety and anti-static precautions (see below).
Ask for help if you run into any problems - our contact details are on the website and we will always
do our best to resolve any problems encountered.

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Step 2: Tools Required

Essential:

Hex key; ball ended, long arm, 2.5mm

Hex key; ball ended, 2.0mm
Hex key: 1.5mm and 3.0mm

Important: it is crucial to buy the simple hex keys with a long arm and ball end! Fancy hex keys
with handles or short keys without ball ends are NOT suitable!

Hot-glue Gun
Soldering Iron
Utility knife
Needle-nose pliers, small
Small screwdrivers flat-bladed and Philips or Pozidriv, e.g 3.0 x 75mm and PH1 x 75mm
Accurate ruler
Digital calipers
8mm and 10mm spanner
4mm Hand Drill or Dremel
Tweezers
Pen
UHU glue stick
Marking Tape
Voltmeter

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 5

Step 3: Safety Precautions

This kit includes a sharp utility knife for preparingdamage to the electronic components of this kit,
printed parts. You should observe all necessary specifically the RAMPS board, Arduino Mega and
precautions when using this, such as those at http://s
LCD controller. These components are fully tested
afetytoolboxtopics.com/Small-Tools/utility-knife-safety
with the other electrical items before packing the kit,
.html. and wrapped in protective anti-static packaging.
Damage by electrostatic discharges during
Printer assembly may also involve the use of other unpacking, assembly and normal use is not covered
potentially dangerous tools. You should be competent under our warranty. You should therefore observe
to use such tools and observe reasonable reasonable anti-static precautions which are widely
precautions in doing so. published on the internet. For a short and simple
overview see Antistatic Precautions for Electronic
Components on eBay. A more comprehensive
Electrostatic Discharge Precautions document by Mini-Circuits can be found here.

You should be aware of the risk of electrostatic

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 6

Step 4: Preparation of DVD Drives

Disassemble 2 x DVD Drives

Tools needed:

- Various Philips screwdrivers

- Scissors
- Utility Knife

As every DVD Drive is different, we cannot give precise directions as how this is achieved.

In general these are the steps:

1. Remove top panel from DVD casing

2. Remove electronic board, cut flat ribbon cables
3. Remove DVD slide and front panel
4. Separate the metal frame (which holds stepper motor, DVD motor, laser and electronic board) from
the casing
5. Remove DVD rotational motor and electronic board from laser head. Cut away flat ribbon cables
etc.

You should end up with the metal frame that holds the stepper motor (in the picture on top) and the slider
assembly (black part). The slider assembly should be as flat as possible to allow a good bond with the floppy
drive later. If any plastic pieces extrude, cut or file them down.

Keep all rubber dampeners!

Repeat with second DVD drive.

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Step 5: Preparation of Floppy Drive

Tools needed:

- Various Philips screwdrivers

- Scissors
- Utility Knife
- Band saw or Dremel

As every Floppy Drive is different, we cannot give precise directions as how this is achieved.

In general these are the steps:

1. Remove top panel from Floppy casing

2. Remove electronic board, cut flat ribbon cables
3. Remove front panel and the metal slide
4. Separate the metal frame (which holds stepper motor and read/write head) from the rest of casing
5. Cut as much metal away as you can so that you end up with only stepper motor and read/write head

You should end up with a piece of the metal frame that holds the stepper motor and the read/write head
assembly (black part). Make sure you don’t cut too much away! The read/write head assembly still needs to be
fully functional. On the other hand, the piece should be as light as possible!

Solder Cables to the three Motors

Tools needed:

Solder Iron
Voltmeter

Note: To make this step more clear, I have removed the stepper motor from its frame. You do NOT have to
remove it!

Make sure all your motors have 4 connectors on them (as in the picture). If there are only two connectors, it is a
DC motor and cannot be used.

Using a voltmeter, find the two pairs of connectors A+/A- and B+/B-. Each pair has a resistance of about 15 Ohm,
if you have infinite resistance, it’s not a pair. It doesn’t matter which pair is A and which is B, as long as you don’t
mix the two pairs. Now solder the jumper cables to the two pairs of connectors as follows:

Pin 1 -> A+ or B+
Pin 2 -> A- or B-
Pin 3 -> B+ or A+
Pin 4 -> B- or A-

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Step 6: Step 1 – Frame Pre-assembly

Frame

Parts needed:

Laser-cut frame
8 M3x8 screws
8 nuts

Tools needed:

2.5mm Hex Key

Before starting with the assembly of the Curiosity, it is a good idea to lay out the frame on a flat table and to
remove all unnecessary parts. This will give you a good understanding of which panel goes where. The panels are
laser-cut in such a way that they cannot be assembled wrongly as long as you keep the logo facing forwards.

Then you can temporarily assemble the frame but do not mount the screws yet as we still need to drill the holes for
the drives.

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 11

Step 7: Step 2 – Add Extruder to Frame

Parts needed:

Assembled Frame
Nema 17 Motor
Metal Extruder kit

Tools needed:

2.5mm Hex Key

Philips Screwdriver

Add the spur gear to the motor axis and connect it by tightening the grub screw. Make sure the grub screw is
pushing against the flat part of the motor axis! Tighten well.

Then assemble the red lever (see picture):

Insert the ball bearing wheel and secure it with the M3x10 screw. Make sure it turns freely
Insert two washers and a M3x20 screw into the hole on the bottom right
Insert M4x20 screw horizontally in the hole on the top

Connect the Nema 17 Motor to the back panel of the frame. Note the direction! Secure it with three screws (see
picture):

Top left and bottom left: M3x25

Top right: M3x10 (with round head)

Now add the assembled red lever to the bottom right hole. Make sure the screw is tight but the lever should still
move freely.

Now add the M5x8 screw to the spring and push it between the black metal part and the red lever.

Hold the spring in place by inserting the M4x15 screw through the black metal part.

Note: The extruder should be facing outwards, while the motor is installed from the inside of the frame.

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Step 8: Step 3 – Assemble X and Z-Drive Motors

Parts needed:

X-Drive Motor x 1 (DVD Drive)

Z-Drive Motor x 1 (Floppy Drive)

Tools needed:

Hot-glue Gun

Align X and Z Motors

The Z-Motor (Floppy Drive) needs to be fixed perpendicularly on top of the X-Motor (DVD-Motor). The connection
between the two motors will be made with hot glue. Make sure that the motor of the floppy drive can pass below
the motor of the DVD drive! Both motors should move along the entire axis without obstruction.

Glue the Z-Motor to the X-Motor

Turn both motors over and use hot glue to glue the Z-Motor (vertical) onto the slider of the X-Motor (horizontal).
Make sure that the glue does not connect with any movable parts or obstructs them.

Check the pictures for views from below, top, right and left side.

Note: Floppy motor must pass the DVD motor without obstruction!

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Step 9: Step 4 – Assemble Printbed and Y-Drive Motor

Parts needed:

Y-Drive Motor x 1 (DVD Drive)

Printbed

Tools needed:

Hot-glue Gun
Marking tape
UHU Glue stick

Align Printbed and Y Motor

Place the printbed in the center of the second DVD drive. Make sure the printbed does not touch the motor! Also,
the printbed should not extrude beyond the back nor front of the drive when head is in back or front most position.

When applying the hotglue, make sure that it does not end up on any of the moving parts! The slider should move
the entire length.

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 18

Step 10: Step 5 – Assemble Hotend and Z-Drive Motor

Parts needed:

DVD/Floppy Assembly from Step 3

Hotend Holder
Hotend Assembly

Tools needed:

2 small Screws (from disassembly of DVD Drives)

2 M3x8 screws
Philips Screwdriver

Mount hotend holder to Z-Axis (Floppy Drive)

Place the hotend holder on the floppy read/write head and secure it with two small screws that can be recycled
from the DVD disassembly.

Now insert the hotend assembly into the grooves of the hotend holder, then secure it with the top latch and two
M3x8 screws.

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 19

Step 11: Step 6 – Prepare to Mount DVD Drives to Frame

Tools needed:

Pen

4mm Hand Drill

Mark Position of X/Z Drive

Position the X/Z Drive (DVD and Floppy Drive from Step 3) in the middle of the wooden piece with the handle.

Mark the holes with a pen or screwdriver.

Mark Position of Y Drive

Position the Y Drive (DVD and printbed Step 4) in the middle of the frame base.

Mark the holes with a pen or screwdriver.

Drill holes for X/Z Drive

Now use a 4mm hand drill, Dremel or equivalent, to drill the holes at the marked locations.

Drill holes for Y Drive

Repeat for the base.

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Step 12: Step 7a – Mount X/Z Drives to Frame

Parts needed:

DVD/Floppy Drives from Step 3

Top Frame with Handle
4 M4x20 screws
12 M4 nuts
8 M4 washers

Tools needed:

3mm Hex Key

Needle-Nose Pliers

Insert 4 M4x20 screws from the back through the top frame and secure them with 4 M4 nuts. Then add another M4
nut to each of the screws. Add a washer if necessary.

Then add the X/Z Drive assembly. All four corners should sit on the second nut or a washer. Then secure the drive
with a third nut. Again, use a washer where necessary.

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 22

Step 13: Step 7b – Mount Y Drive to Base

Parts needed:

DVD/Hotbed Assembly from Step 4

Frame Base
4 M4x40 screws
12 M4 nuts
4 M4 washers
4 Rubber Bumpers from DVD disassembly

Tools needed:

3mm Hex Key

Needle-Nose Pliers

Insert 4 M4x40 screws from the back through the frame base and secure them with 4 M4 nuts. Then add another
M4 nut to each of the screws.

Add a rubber bumper to each of the screws.

Then add the Y Drive assembly. All four corners should sit on the rubber bumper. Then secure the top of the drive
with a washer and third nut.

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 23

Step 14: Step 8 – Mount Electronics to Frame

Attach Arduino to Frame

Parts needed:

Arduino Board (blue)

Back Frame
2 M3x8 screws
2 M3 nuts

Tools needed:

2.5mm Hex Key

Needle-Nose Pliers

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 24

Align the Arduino with the 6 holes on the back frame. Then insert two M3x8 screws. You only need two screws to
attach the Arduino securely.

Fix them with two nuts.

Attach Ramps and Pololu Motor Shields to Arduino

Parts needed:

Back Frame with Arduino Board installed

Ramps Board (red)
Back Frame
2 M3x8 screws
2 M3 nuts

First check, whether all 5x3=15 jumpers are pre-installed on the Ramps.

Then install the 4 Pololu Motor Shields on top of the jumpers marked with “X”, “Y”, “Z” and “E0”.

Note1: Make sure the small silver potentiometers face away from the green power plug!

Note 2: “E1” remains empty!

Stick the heat sinks on top of the motor shields IC’s.

This is how the Ramps looks like after installing the Pololu Motor Shields and the Heat Sinks (see picture).

Now add the entire Ramps assembly to the Arduino Board. Make sure all the pins are aligned and connect
properly with the Arduino sockets!

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Step 15: Step 9 – Connect All Wires to Ramps Board

Start with the Extruder: Connect it to the Pin marked the green and black connectors to make it work! You
with “E0”. Note that the green cable should face can use a jumper cable as shown in the picture or
towards the green power plug! you can use a simple paper clip to achieve the same
result.
Continue to connect the X, Y, and Z motors.
Connect the green plug with the Ramps board. Check
Note1: There are two connectors for the Z motor. You again the correct polarization.
can use either one.
Now clean up all wires. Use zip ties where
Note2: The polarization of the cables does not matter necessary. If not already done, you can start to
at this time. Later we will find out the direction of the assemble the left side of the frame, but leave the right
movements and need to turn the plugs if necessary. side open as we still might need to access the Ramps
board.
Now connect the two white cables from the thermistor
(heat sensor) to T0. Polarization does not matter. The frame is held together with the help of 8 M3x8
screws and nuts. Insert the nut into the gap and
Then connect the two fat red cables from hotend to tighten the screw accordingly. Do not overtighten!
the D10 clamps. Make sure the clamps connect
properly with the cable and not the insulation! Connect PTFE tube to Extruder

Next connect the red and black cables from the fan
with the D9 clamps. Note the polarization! Black
cable connects with (-) and red cable connect with
(+).
Next connect the power supply. Note the polarization!
The green power plug on the Ramps can be removed
for easier connection. If you use an old PSU from a
PC, connect the yellow cable to (+) and black cable
to (-) connector on the Ramps. If you use another
power supply (+) is usually red and (-) is black.
Now add the brass PTFE tube screw to the extruder.
Cut the white PTFE tube to a suitable size and insert
it into the brass nut.
Connect USB cable to the Arduino Board.
Congratulations, this concludes the assembly of your
Curiosity 3D Printer!
Please do NOT plug in your USB yet as we need to
install the drivers first!

Note: If you use an old PC PSU, you need to short

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Step 16: Step 10 - Commissioning, Calibration and Testing
Overview - CAD/CAM Toolchain and Software
The installation of all the software will be covered in
detail later on in this chapter. This section provides a
general introduction.
The sequence of processes involved in producing a
physical object by Computer Aided Design (CAD)
and Manufacturing (CAM) is known as a toolchain.
The picture below from the RepRap wiki illustrates
this sequence. Versions of all the computer programs
needed for the toolchain are available for download
as Free and Open-Source Software, in keeping with
the philosophy of the RepRap Project.
CAD design and production of 3D .stl models is well
beyond the scope of these instructions, but a vast
range of prepared designs for printable objects is
available on sites such as Thingiverse.
Turning a design into printable Gcodes using a utility
such as Cura or Slic3r is also outside our scope, but
is well documented on the respective websites, and
we provide setup files to suit the Curiosity. Optional
but certainly helpful for calibration is the
communication program Printrun/Pronterface which
you will need to install to start commissioning and
testing your Curiosity. Mac OS X and Linux versions
are also available for download.
A pre-configured Version of the controller firmware
Marlin is already pre-loaded on your Arduino Mega.
You do not need to upload it again.
Software supplied
The programs and configs that are supplied or need
to be installed are:
Download: Printer Control: Printrun/Pronterface:
Printrun/Pronterface
Slicer: Cura: https://ultimaker.com/en/products/cura-s
oftware
Supplied: Cura config files
Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 31
Windows should tell you the COM port number it has
assigned to the Arduino Mega during driver
installation, or you can get it from Device Manager.
Make a note of it as you will need it in the next stage.
Note for Windows 8
By default, Windows 8 will reject third-party drivers
like "arduino.inf" because they are not digitally
signed. You can turn this behaviour off by following
the instructions on the Arduino forums.
Mac OS X Users
Note: For Mac users, it is essential that your MacOS
is updated to the latest version. If you have not yet
updated your OS please do it before trying to install
the Arduino drivers!
After updating your OS, the Mega should be
automatically recognized and installed. It may be
recognized as a USB Modem by your Mac but this is
not a problem.
Checking connectivity
Windows Users
Download latest version of Printrun (Printrun-Mac-
10Mar2014.zip at the time of writing) into a folder of
your choice, then run the program pronterface.exe. It
opens immediately - there is no installation process
required. You may like to make a desktop shortcut as
you will be opening it frequently during calibration.
Check that the COM port (COM 8 in the above
example) and speed (250000 Baud) are correctly set
and connect to the printer. You should get a screen
display similar to that below (SD init fail is a correct
error message as you have not connected a SD
card).
Mac OS X Users
Install Pronterface

Marlin: Special pre-configured version of Marlin
already pre-loaded on your Arduino
(Unconfigured version can be found here:
https://github.com/jcrocholl/Marlin)
Please install Cura first, BEFORE you connect
your printer to your computer!
Cura will also install the Arduino drivers. After they
have been installed, you can connect USB to the
printer and your computer.
Windows Users
After Cura (and Arduino Drivers) have been installed
successfully, Windows should find the Mega as new
hardware and try to install it. Otherwise, please follow
the instructions as described at http://arduino.cc/en/G
uide/Windows#toc4
Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 32
Install Pronterface
Follow the instructions here: http://reprap.org/wiki/Prin
trun#Mac_OS_X. The link there will take you to http://
reprap.org/wiki/Printrun#Mac_OS_X. where you can
download the latest version (Printrun-Mac-
10Mar2014.zip at the time of writing). Once it is
downloaded and extracted you may want to move it
to your “applications” folder. The file name will start
with “printrun”.
Open printrun, check that the port and speed (250000
Baud) are correctly set, and click connect. You
should get a display similar to this (SD init fail is a
correct error message as you have not connected a
SD card):
Now you can follow the Calibration Tests instructions
below.
Step 17: Step 11 - Run Calibration Tests

Throughout the following sections there will be reference to commands, called G-codes, which are the instructions
the printer follows. All manual commands, as well as files to print, consist of G-codes. Manual commands are
entered using the text entry box and the Send button at the bottom right-hand corner of the Pronterface screen.
Manual commands can also be sent by clicking on the buttons within Pronterface. Some G-codes cause the
printer to undertake an action, others report back in the text area above the box on printer status.

If you need to look up a G-code (most of which, confusingly, start with M not G), there is a complete list on the
RepRap G-code wiki. They must be entered in UPPER CASE. Note that not all G-codes are supported by all
varieties of RepRap firmware, including Marlin which is running on the Curiosity RAMPS board by default.

Some of the more commonly used G-Codes (do NOT try them yet):

G28 Home all axis

M106 S255 Fan On
M106 S0 Fan Off
G1 X0 Y0 Z10 Move head to the front left corner and 10mm above the printbed
G1 E50 F100 Extrude 50mm of Filament at 100mm/s speed
M302 Override “Extruder Safe”

Connect power supply to printer and check motor direction

Before we continue, we need to test the direction of the three motors. If they are running in the wrong direction, we
need to flip the respective plug on the Ramps by 180 degrees.

Make sure the printbed is installed in such a way that it cannot obstruct the movement of the hotend! Power
on the printer, then send the command G28 or click on the Home All button:

All three motors should now move towards their home position and make some noise. This is normal during the
homing procedure.

Check Direction of X Axis

Now click on the outer ring of +X. The X motor (hotend) should move to the right. If it moves left or if the motor is
already in the rightmost position, power off the printer, disconnect in Pronterface, unplug the X motor cable from
the RAMPS board and plug it in the other way round to reverse the direction of motor rotation.

Check Direction of Y Axis

Now click on the outer ring of +Y. The Y motor (printbed) should move to the front (the hotend therefore moves to
the back of the printbed). If it moves back or if the motor is already in the frontmost position, power off the printer,
disconnect in Pronterface, unplug the Y motor cable from the RAMPS board and plug it in the other way round to
reverse the direction of motor rotation.

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 33

Check Direction of Z Axis

Now click on “10” of +Z. The Z motor (hotend) should move up 10mm. If it moves down or if the motor is already in
the uppermost position, power off the printer, disconnect in Pronterface, unplug the Z motor cable from the
RAMPS board and plug it in the other way round to reverse the direction of motor rotation.

Troubleshooting:

If nothing happens, double-check the power supply connection to the RAMPS board (green plug), there should be
12V present on the plug. Also check the polarisation.

Check Distance between Hotend Nozzle and Printbed

Now we need to adjust the height of the printbed. Move the Z Axis to the lowermost position and move X/Y to the
front left corner. Adjust the front/left nut of printbed in such a way, that the printbed is 0.1mm below the nozzle of
the hotend (the thickness of a common piece of paper). Repeat this step with the other 3 corners of the hotbed.
Then re-check until all four corners are adjusted equally. This is a very crucial step and it is important that this is
done properly. If the gap is less than 0.1mm, the extruder will not be able to push any filament through the hotend.
If the gap is more than 0.1mm, the filament will not be able to stick to the hotbed.

Check Fan Rotation

With the power on, enter command M106 S255 and the hot-end cooling fan should start to rotate counter-
clockwise and so be blowing towards the hot-end.

Troubleshooting:

If the fan is not turning on, reverse the orientation of the plug on the RAMPS board If the fan is blowing away from
the hot-end then unscrew the fan and reverse it

Test Hot End

Make sure the fan is on and blows towards the hotend whenever the Hotend is heated up!

Then select Heat 185 (PLA), click Set and check the Watch box. Confirm the graph line rises to 185C and steadies
there.

To achieve a good adhesion of PLA filament of the printbed, use UHU glue stick and apply a thin layer of glue on
the marking tape before each print. Replace the marking tape as needed.

Check the extruder

Do not load filament yet! Send M302 to override cold extrusion prevention in Marlin. Set Pronterface to extrude
10mm of filament and click “Extrude”. The large gear on the extruder should rotate clockwise viewed from the
Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 34
back. Click Reverse and confirm it rotates counter-clockwise.

Temporarily detach the PTFE tube at the extruder by pressing in the black or blue plastic flange while pulling the
tube gently out. Alternatively, you can also unscrew the brass nut from the extruder. Then squeeze the red lever so
that the tension wheel is disengaged from the extruder gear and feed the pointed end of the filament into the
opposite side of the extruder from the PTFE tube. Once it emerges a little way from the extruder, re-insert the
PTFE tube into the brass nut.

Check that the hot-end is still set at temperature 185 (PLA). Once it reaches this temperature, use the Extrude
button to feed 100 mm of filament at a time at 100 mm/min until it is close to the effector end of the Bowden tube. It
should need about 3 goes.

Then feed 20 mm at a time at 100 mm/min until molten filament begins to emerge from the tip of the hot-end.

You have now successfully completed the calibration process!

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 35

Step 18: Appendix – List of Materials

Self-supplied:

2 DVD Drives
1 Floppy Drive
1 Power Supply
1 Power cable

Supplied in Kit:

1 Laser cut CURIOSITY 3D Frame

1 Hotend Holder

Screws, nuts, washers and cables etc:

1 M3x10 screw with round head

12 M3x12 screws
1 M3x20 screws
2 M3x25 screws
12 M3 nuts
4 M4x20 screws
4 M4x30 screws
16 M4 washers (with 12mm outer diameter)
24 M4 nuts
3 20cm cables w/4pin female header and 4 bare wires at other end
10 zip ties

Electronics:

1 Arduino Mega 2560

1 Ramps Board
4 Pololu Motor Shields
1 USB Cable for Arduino Mega

Extruder:

1.75mm filament full metal extruder w/PTFE tube and 1 brass connector
1 Nema 17 Stepper Motor

Hotend:

Complete Hotend w/0.4mm Nozzle, 100K Thermistor and Cooling Fan Assembly
1 Extension Cord for the Fan, 20cm

Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 36

Where can I download the preconfigured Marlin?
Just use standard Marlin and adjust to printer specs

whats the rated current on a floppy drive motor? cant find it when i google
5V, but they run ok on 12V

I am building the printer at home and I can't fined all the code and extensions I need to download it.
If you had the links that would be great. But no pressure.;)
You can use open source Marlin and adjust it to the printer specs

I just finished completion of the kit. But it will not run. Print run says "[ERROR] Could not connect
to COM8 at baudrate 115200:
Serial error: could not open port COM8: [Error 2] The system cannot find the file specified."\
What do you think the problom is?
USB issues. Check the Arduino forums

I'm building this myself, and where can I find the preconfigured marlin firmware? Or what should I
change to the unconfigured firmware I'm currently using? The thing is my motors make sounds
every time I try to make them move in pronterface but they dont move/are inconsistently
responsive/sometimes needs me to provide a force for it to move. How can I fix this?
Adjust the potentiometers on the driver boards

Ugg My stepper motor just moves back and forth, anyone understands why??
Isn't that what they're supposed to do?

problem here, when i connect the power supply to the power i lose connection to the printer(time
out)
solved by using a notebook Running on the battery, but i fond a new problem, the dvd/flop drive
steper's are getting stuck midway, some times they only move one way then don't move in reverse,
some times it is the inverse, and some times they don't move at all, are they defective? or it cold be
something else?
Adjust the potentiometers on the driver boards

Hey guys.. I have a problem with stepper motors..it doesnt move it just viberates and make some
noise.any solution for this
Adjust the potentiometers on the driver board until it just starts to move

Hi, can someone say me the thickness of the frame please?

I've opened the dxf file and it seems from the joints in the bottom that the thickness should be 6
mm. I'm not totally sure about this, but you can do the same and figure out from these joint parts.
6mm is correct

Very cool project, made this for my IB personal project. Took about 4 months working at the
weekends. I tried changing it a little, by combining elements of this project with other CD drive, 3D
printer projects. I discovered you can build your own extruder motor instead of buying one if you
use a printer motor and attach some springs, with screws, which saves about £15. The final cost of
Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 37
the project was about £40 with the homemade extruder and £54, with a store brought extruder. I
used a j-head bowden extruder, which I got for £13 off amazon. Originally I got a cheaper one, but
it turns out a fan is required to prevent the filament expanding and getting stuck. I used an old PC
power supply, which worked well. Lastly, I used three regular CD drives, I don't recommend using
a floppy disk drive as they are hard to find, and not as large. I created a 14 part youtube series
detailing every part of the project. link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=6wLm1_CU8wQ&t=1s&ab_channel=JoeClinton

Can someone tell me the steps per millimeter for those larger stepper motors?
I understand it is different for all steppers...but in your particular case, how many steps per
millimeter are your two larger steppers?
and its Alive

Hi, I've got a question. What is your DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT values?

I don't find any information about dvd stepper motor steps per unit ecc. Can you help me?
It depends on your DVD motor. You might have to have to adjust each one individually. Basically
move the motor 10mm and measure how much it actually moved and adjust accordingly. Good
luck!
Hi, thank you for your reply. I check the movement: when I send via pronterface 10mm movement,
my motor moves 10mm. My problem is different. When I try to homing all axis , they moving for
about 10 cm. I modify the X_MAX_POS (and other variables) to 20mm and X_MIN_POS to 0, but I
have the same problem. How can I solve that?

Anyway, congratulations for the guide and the project!!

Is this printer based on this?
https://www.instructables.com/id/eWaste-60-3DPrinte...
After doing some printing, I have run into a problem. There is a blockage in my hotend for some
reason, and the plastic will not feed through anymore. Is there a known method to remove the
blockage? Alternatively, How can I get another "Complete Hotend w/0.4mm Nozzle, 100K
Thermistor and Cooling Fan Assembly"?
You can remove it by disassembling the hotend. With all metal hotends you need to be careful to
run the fan at all times. Otherwise it blocks easily.
Thanks!
As it turns out, this is not as difficult as I once thought. I let the hotend heat up in order to unscrew
the nozzle (the plastic must have made some sort of seal), unscrew the nozzle, then unscrew the
heatsink from the heater, and then finally unscrew what is inside the heatsink. Basically a metal
tube with 2 threads on either side. I took a drill bit and cleared out the plastic and bam! it works
again. Just be sure when working in pronterface that you spam M106 to keep the fan on (for some
reason on my pronterface, when you start the print it turns the fan off).
One more question!! If you want to modify the printer to print taller where would you edit the code if
you bout the kit? And if you did buy the kit and you modify it, will it need lots of calibration?
Curiosity 80$ EWaste Educational 3D Printer: Page 38
 Small adjustment in Cura. The printer virtually doesn't need any calibration at all (just adjust the
height).
if you buy the pre programed kit, how can you adjust the code?
If you but a reprap ramps with an Arduino, where do you get the code to run as software? Or does
it come pre programed?
Also, do stepper motors run on the same voltages the dvd drives run on?
Yes the kit comes pre programmed. The drives run at 5V. They get hot but so far none has burned
out. I did adjust the potentiometers to the minimum however.
may i ask which settings that are use for the floppy drive motor in marlin? And how much the
current is set to on the driver? Cant find the information
Marlin settings largely depend on the motor. You usually just have to adjust the steps per unit.
Current is as low as possible but still enough to make the motor move.
thanks. i did decrease the current below what i thought was possible and still got the motors
moving. the sound almost disappeared.
one more question. i have now connected all my motors and the hotend. everything moves when i
use pronterface to test stuff. but when i use cura the hotend warms up to the preheat limit, then it
slowly sinks down again, without any motors starting. what could it be?
What's you heat settings?

the pre heat is set to 170 or 185 degrees. when it reaches that temperature nothing more happens,
besides the temperature sinks again..
Did you check the thermistor? If thermistor gives wrong readings, the hotend will shut down. Check
for shorts near the screw that holds it in place. If you heat it in printrun, does it stay at the temp or
also shut off? Finally, check your gcode file.
I have an issu.
I connect my pc to the arduino mega with usb. All fine. But when I turn on the power supply, my PC
shuts automatically down. Why??
solved. the voltage regulator on the mega board was fried. impossible to see, but when voltage
was measured over the regulator, it showed 8V. and it should be 5V
Really cool idea!! One question, why the printing dimensions or only up to 4cm? Dvd drives open
like 15cm can't you use that? Or am I overlook something?
You use the motor thar moves the head and not the opening mechanism as that's not a stepper
motor
Ah ok thanks :)
are only up to*
How did you handle the different motor types as they do not turn in the same speed if I may ask?
That seems to me to be quite a problem..
It doesn't matter if motors run at different speeds. However, some motors have different steps/unit
and if that's the case, this needs to be adjusted in the Marlin firmware.

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