Best type/style for a second DIY small build capacity, hi-detail machine.

3D Printing
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Best type/style for a second DIY small build capacity, hi-detail machine.

Hi,

I have just finished rebuilding/upgrading my first printer (cartesian) and I’m ecstatic with the results I’ve achieved. I’m basically aiming to build RC yacht hulls ( my current machine is great for this) and some quite small parts for rigging etc. I bought a 0.2mm nozzle for these small bits but started wondering if it would make more sense to build a small volume printer that has the 0.2mm head permanently installed.

I’m thinking of a build volume of about 100mmx100mmx100mm and not really worrying about speed.
Is it worth pursuing - would a smaller frame give better definition?
Which makes more sense - Cartesian/Delta (I cant imagine Core XY on this scale being easy)

Does anybody know of a DIY that has already been done? Everything I find seems to be geared around getting bigger build volumes.

Thanks as always.

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DICE :slight_smile: http://well-engineered.net/index.php/en/projects/12-dice-english

Rene is also quite active and very helpful, so may be worth talking to him about it.

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That things amazing!!!
I’m downloading the files/BOM to look at now. it looks like exactly what I was hoping for so thanks a lot

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dont thank me :slight_smile: thanks to the author for making it in the first place :slight_smile:

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Yeah, DICE is the go-to design for “small CoreXY” for sure :slight_smile:

Yes, smaller printers will produce higher-quality results. You get less flex and stretch all over the place.

When you’re getting into the <=0.25mm nozzle size range, I would personnel recommend ditching FDM and switching to DLP/SLA. FDM prints through a small nozzle are crushingly slow, and you have a lot of tuning issues to deal with like print cooling during small fast layers. You can get some nice print quality with small FDM nozzles but at some point it makes more sense to switch to a different technology that is better-suited to fine detail work.

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I would think with FDM you can’t achieve high detail without use of PVA so that means dual extruder heads. So far those kind of machine are huge.

I’m building smaller printer exactly for the purpose you stated. It’s nowhere near completion still work in progress :slight_smile:
http://www.openbuilds.com/builds/zidex.5259

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But yeah if you want something ready to go and build I reccomend DICE

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I was on openbuilds earlier and got sidetracked by the dice lol.

I’ll definitely have a look there.

I was avoiding the resin etc. printers as this is for my personal use and figured that they are incredibly expensive in comparison. In retrospect the Dice is probably up there in any case… a home build lets me spread the costs over time I guess.

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@Step_Cia

Your machine looks great and quite fun too!!! Your comments on the design idea also seem to hit the nail on the head for my needs. I’ll do a proper read through later

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@Andrew_Stansfield Wanhao Duplicator 7 is $500 and produces higher detail prints than any FDM machine. The real question is how you feel about handling resin. Filament is a lot more desktop-friendly than liquid photopolymer.

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I’ve melted lead and cast it, so a bit of resin doesn’t scare me :stuck_out_tongue:

Thanks for all the replies. There’s a lot of things I didn’t even know were options . I’ll get reading/following and bump this up again when I’ve done my homework.

Ps. I see that Delta didn’t even crack a mention so I’ll strike that off the list for things to chase.

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Custom delta builds are a labor of love. Calibration to get dimensionally-accurate prints is quite difficult. And there are lots of weird motion issues that can arise during low-speed high-precision printing because of the arm kinematics. There are some good auto-calibrating delta kits, but in my personal opinion you want a delta if your hobby is 3d printing, or you want a cartesian/coreXY if 3d printing is just a tool to support your actual hobby.

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Our Printrbot Smalls is definitely small, cheap ($298) and a kit. For more rigidity, the Smalls LE (Limited Edition) is really really nice. Incredibly rigid.
Brook