The short Rostock MAX build and initial operation review:
My use case for 3D printing is the production of strong, medium to large parts for the research and development of ocean going robots. As such, my personal Mendel 90 was only going to keep up so long - and so after some rigorous research, I settled on the Rostock Max to compliment it. I print exclusively in ABS or higher temp filaments (PET, Nylon, Polycarbonate) and so needed a heated bed, with the larger the build area, and the faster the print speed, the better.
The kit came exceedingly well packaged (even if you hate foam peanuts.) The time between order and delivery was ~ 1.5 weeks, but had xmas right in the middle of it, so would likely be quicker for most people. I decided, somewhat last minute, to paint about half of the components to give the printer a two-tone look. The melamine takes a coat of spray paint quite nicely.
The build started Saturday morning, I had a couple helpers fora couple hours that afternoon, and I wrapped up and began calibration Monday at noon. I worked on it from about 10AM to 630PM each day. The base went together quicker and easier than expected, although the mechanical aptitude of 3 degree’d mechanical engineers might have helped things go smoother. By the end of the first day, the base, towers, and top were assembled, only the arms/carriages, and electronics remained. Day 2 I was on my own - the carriages went together nicely, and for the first time I came up short on some hardware - the short, #4-40 socket head cap screws. At final count (I had left some in T-nuts in the base) I was short only one, but this is minor in the grand scheme of things. I really like the belt routing, and found the process of attaching the belt to the carriages easy with the help of a zip-tie wedge.
The electronics similarly went together well - I don’t like that no clear method of routing the wires to the top is provided (outside of the appendix that has you printing and adding parts in) - but I made do. The only part of the entire kit I strongly dislike is the hot-end. It seems to be performing OK so far, but it’s design and user assembly is ridiculous. The power resistors need to be wrapped in tin foil, taking care not to allow for it to short out, before being inserted and glued in. Why couldn’t the holes be machined smaller, or a larger diameter resistor chosen?! The RTV glue and small lengths of PTFE for the leads are not provided - which doesn’t make any sense to me.
The electronics were wrapped up around noon on Monday, and the calibration process was surprisingly painless. The assembly guide does a good job documenting the steps, and while I don’t like the limit switch - screw approach, it will do until I can add some auto bed leveling. (Anyone know of a proven, easy design for that with deltas? I have run 2 extra conductors to the effector, and have 12 V for the fan on the E3D hot end available as well…)
The first couple prints of a calibration cube I stopped mid print to re-apply ABS juice or adjust bed temps, run another PID auto-tune, and make a very slight adjustment to my z-offset. I’ve included a gallery of some of these parts and a video of its current operation. I’m running around 60 mm/s, which is fast enough for me, with ABS and no fan on the hotend.
All in all, if you want a delta without going to the trouble of self-sourcing parts, or paying the slightly higher price for a pre-assembled unit (without the fun of putting it together & the tweaking knowledge that comes with) I highly recommend this kit. I’m a fairly well versed rep-rapper, and found its assembly slightly more complex and time consuming than nophead’s Mendel 90.
tl;dr : Rostock Max is a great deal at $1k. But get an E3d hotend. The build went smoothly. Expect to do one or two upgrades. Prints shown are good, but not 100% dialed in yet. @OctoPrint is running the show already!
