Pages

Friday, August 21, 2009

Mendel Sighted In The Wild


A structure that could be the beginning of a Mendel has been seen lurking in the workshop. It must be stressed here that Mendel is not yet even in alpha status, so changes in design are almost guaranteed. But thanks to the miracle of Open Source, those who enjoy building stuff that hasn't been designed yet can join in the fun.

Because this one is being printed by Phoenix, the original Child RepRap, I've decided to call it "Mendelssohn." This will make Mendelssohn a 3rd generation RepRap. Although it looks - and is - a lot smaller than the Darwin design, Ed's cunning artifices have made a machine with a greater printable area than the original Darwin. It'll be a lot easier and cheaper to put together too - after we've fiddled with it for a bit.

Now to convert the rest of the pieces into gcode...

Vik :v)

10 comments:

  1. Looks great! Is the drawing in the background available to download anywhere? Would like to see it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So you're planning on running it with NEMA 17's?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent work. Even better coming from "Phoenix".

    I'm looking at the drawing and have no clue how the z-axis works. Definitely more room at the base to build if you can make it work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It should work with both NEMA 17s (for those that have them lying about unused :-) ), or NEMA 14s for those that are buying new, want less weight and have less money...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Arvin, take a look at the attachments to http://dev.www.reprap.org/bin/view/Main/MendelUnderDevelopment

    Forrest, I'm using NEMA 14/17's simply because DC servos are not yet developed. There's a lot to tinker with from X carriage design to adapting it for ball-chain, to making clamps that can take bamboo instead of threaded rod and the head exchanger. Oh, and the build-from-scratch edition.

    Get a life? Where can I download one?

    Vik :v)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Where do you get NEMA14's from? They don't seem very common and ridiculously expensive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I dunno where NEMA14's come from. Mummy NEMA14 and Daddy NEMA14's really love each other? I think this one is from a hard disk drive. Doesn't work very well - will be using NEMA17's

    Vik :v)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Interestingly these seem mainly to be available in Africa and the Far East.

    For example:

    http://www.mantech.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?Item=80M0010

    is about 220 Rand (= £17).

    The main manufacturer is Chinese, I think:

    Fulling Motor:

    http://chinasteppermotor.com/jsp/productshow78.html

    The best one is part number FL35ST36-1004B

    ReplyDelete
  9. How is the printable space bigger?

    What is the estimated Printable/non-printable ratio going to be?

    ReplyDelete