I'm thinking of converting a to become a style .

3D Printing
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I’m thinking of converting a #Prusa #i3 to become a #gantry style #3D #printer. This means the print bed stays #stationary and the Y axis movement is made using the gantry moving back and forth.

Sharing help request here for broader reach (apologies for the dupe on RepRap forum) Need advice & help building a RepRap gantry style printer

I would appreciate any advice & suggestions to make a gantry printer from reprap parts.

I’d like to add this style to the RepRap community models later once the printer is working with a proven design.

The first thing I need to do is build a skeleton box to mount the rails and stepper motor for the gantry’s Y-axis stepper. I’ll be reusing the existing Z mechanism with the gantry so just need to bolt it on to the moving gantry’s Y axis.

Second, I’m thinking the wiring doesn’t need to be modified (I take the Y-axis stepper along with its wire and mount on the gantry).

Any advice? Avoiding rod sag and backlash? Gotchas? Any other things I missed? Has anybody done this before, just so I can have camaraderie :slight_smile: and/or can help/mentor me?

The reason I’m doing this is to get a larger printbed (say 500mm x 500mm x the current Z height), with low cost for the conversion so others can do the same), and for others to build themselves from parts.

I also want to use this as a paste extruder later using Rich’s paste extruder design on Thingieverse (cookies, cake icing, chocolate, clay, etc.). I plan to print pretty small height but large diameter/rectangular stuff, put a cooked iced cake on the bed and print a design (“Happy Birth Day Mom!”).

Having a larger bed would also help mounting a larger extruder, opening up a possibility of using 4 extruders (Red, Green, Blue, Black) to print in varying color shades (sort of an like inkjet printer with really coarse resolution).

Many Thanks in Advance, Caesar.

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Why convert the i3? You will basically scrap most the machine. Surely its easier to start again and give the i3 to a buddy?

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I want the RepRap community to have an option for a gantry style printer. Converting one hopefully costs less.

It would help if you could elaborate on scrapping most of the machine?

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The frame is a big part of the machine, theoretically the rails would be a different size in a gantry based machine. The plastic bits that hold the vitamins will need to be redesigned.

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Yeah you’re right about that. Reusable: stepper motors, couplings, bolts & nuts, rods if I keep the size the same, belts might need additional length splicing, electronics, power supply. There’s really no frame to speak of for Prusa.