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Make a super cheap 3D printer using recycled parts

by Practical Techonlogy on February 13, 2014

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Make a super cheap 3D printer using recycled parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Make a super cheap 3D printer using recycled parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Build the X-axis using a printer head assembly and stepper motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: Test the X-axis using simple Arduino thingy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-super-cheap-3D-printer-using-recycled-parts/
Intro: Make a super cheap 3D printer using recycled parts
Now-a-days a lot of people talk about 3D printing and the many things that it can produce. Even the president talks about it during his state of union address. While it is
true that some of the technologies in 3D printing are new in high end models, most 3D printers can be built using existing technologies that have been around for
decades. For example, most 3D printers use stepper motors, although the microstep technology which allows finer resolution is relatively new(perhaps). The
microcontroller used in many 3D printers are based on the AVR family found in Arduino boards. While the open source firmware such as Marlin was developed based on
the GRBL for CNC machines. The word "extruder" certainly is not new to those chemical engineering students. Therefore, one can learn a lot about 3D printing from old
technologies found in recycled electronics. Here I would like to share with you my effort in building a cheap and simple 3D printer. The goal is not to build a super 3D
printer to compete with the commercial models, but rather to learn how it works and have some fun with it.

Step 1: Build the X-axis using a printer head assembly and stepper motor
A simple 3D printer has three axis, X,Y,Z, each controlled by a stepper motor, plus the extruder controlled by an additional stepper motor. Each dimension is made with
linear actuators of various designs. Here I made the x axis by using a recycled HP Inkjet printer head assembly, which consists of a motor, cog belt, the cartridge holder,
and the metal arm. Unfortunately, the modern motors found in inkjet printers are mostly 2-wire motors (with optical tapes for positioning) instead of the 4 wire steppers
needed for 3D printers. Therefore, I had to find a stepper motor with similar size. The one I found in my junk box was probably from an old floppy disk. There are two
problems I had to solve with this stepper motor. First, this stepper is a five wire unipolar stepper, which is different from the 4 wire bipolar stepper needed for the 3D
printer. However, I was lucky enough that the wiring is accessible on the stepper casing and I simply disconnected the common terminal which makes it a 6 wire stepper.
By ignoring the middle two terminals, I effectively converted it to a 4 wire bipolar stepper. Note that the old disk drives probably used high voltages. The resistance is
about 160ohm for the wiring so I guess using 12V battery is ok and that's what I used.
The other problem was that the stepper had no cog wheel on it, so I had to find one from the HP printer that fits exactly and I was lucky in finding one. See the following
video to get an idea how it works.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-super-cheap-3D-printer-using-recycled-parts/
 Step 2: Test the X-axis using simple Arduino thingy
Once I made the hardware modifications, I wanted to test it by moving the printer head back and forth. I choose to use a small chip Attiny2313 which happens to be
around, and the L293D H-bridge which can handle 600mA and up to 36V. It is conceptually simple to turn a 4 wire stepper. You simply turn on each wire in sequence.
However, my first attempt didn't work out easily because I had the L293D placed backwards on the breadboard. I am glad it didn't damage it with the abuse. I used the
Arduino software and USBtinyISP to program the Attiny2313 and now everything works fine as shown in the video.

The next steps are:

-Build the Y and Z axis

-Build an extruder
-Get a suitable microcontroller (I may initially test it with GRBL on Atmega328), then try the Mega board with Ramp1.4 and Marlin, etc.
-Calibrate the 3D printer
-Print something and have some fun.

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-super-cheap-3D-printer-using-recycled-parts/