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How to Build a 3D Printer From Scratch

If you are reading this article that means that you’ve probably decided to join the community of 3d printing enthusiasts and find out more about 3d printers, or maybe you have already got some experience in it and are ready to try to create your own 3d printer from scratch.

In this article you will find general understanding how 3D printers can be built as well as links to really useful resources where you can find more detailed  information with step-by-step description.

Currently there is a big variety of 3d printers in the Internet that already assembled and are ready to print right after you unpack them from a box, of course you also need to buy a 3d printer filament for it. Do not forget that not all 3d printers can use the same filament types, so please read the instruction before you purchase it.

But for some people who love to make something new with their own hands can be more interesting to build their own 3d printer from scratch. Based on our research the 3D printing community is filled with many enthusiastic people so called DIY’ers (Do It Yourself’ers), who are fascinated with building 3d printers literally almost from scratch.

Good example of it is RepRap movement. RepRap is short for a Replicating Rapid-prototyper. In other words it is the self-replicating 3d printer. In fact most of today’s top consumer level 3D printers (picture above) are originated in one way or another from RepRap.

You can find a lot of examples on how to build a 3d printer from scratch on RepRap website, but we also want to describe some of more essential steps in order to give an overall understanding of what to expect if you really decide to make your own 3d printer.

The first step is to find and buy 3d printer DIY kit. Kits usually contain most of parts needed to assemble the printer and can be divided into two main types:

Scratch Built 3D Printer – This 3d printer DIY kit is for those who prefer to build thing from scratch, or in other words go to DIY RepRap route. Apart from some essential advantages this approach has also its disadvantages. In theory it can save you some money and since you build it from scratch you will know every nut and bolt in it by the time you can use it and successfully print your first object. Main disadvantage of this method is time. Literally it will take a lot of time to deal with all these hundreds of bolts, wires, belts and much other stuff. In the end you still need to select and purchase or build a controller board, but it depends on your skills level.

Kit Built 3D Printer – This type of kit is good if you want to save some money and at the same time not to deal with all challenges described in the 1st kit type. Many manufactures sell such kits with “easy-to-assemble” instructions included. I doubt that it will be as easy as assemble a chair from IKEA, so you still have to be mechanically inclined and able to understand basic geometry. Some of such kits contain not all parts and you may need to buy something in addition.

The next step will be to determine the design for your 3D printer. In my humble opinion most of DIY 3D printers have not very breathtaking and futuristic design in comparison with MakerBot and other brands. But it is also a matter of taste, for some people the design is not very important.

Once you have got your 3d print DIY kit and chosen the design you could go ahead and start the most fascinating and time consuming part – build your own 3d printer. Be prepared for sleepless nights and a lot of fun. Maybe you will make up something new and present your findings to RepRap community.

When the hardware part of the 3d printer is ready you also need to add a software component to it. It basically does the following things: allows you to view and alter 3d graphical objects, as well as converts the 3d images into instructions that 3d printer can understand.

Finally you can 3d print your first object! If you do not have anything to print, you can find a big variety of objects on specialized marketplaces such as Shapeways, Thingiverse and others. Before printing make sure that the object you want to 3d print has the right size and fit on the printer frame.

At the end there is a list of some links where you can find more information about how to build your own 3d printer from scratch:

• RepRap options
• 3D Printer DIY: How to Build Your Own 3D Printer from Scratch
• 3D Printing: Build Your Own 3D Printer and Print Your Own 3D Objects
• Arduino Controlled CNC / 3D Printer Hybrid
• El34 World – 3D Printer Build using 1 inch T-Slot extrusions
• CNET 3D Printer Build Week

Also watch a video from Ben Heck in which he answers on some 3d printing related questions.

Related Articles:

• What is 3d printing – 3D printing technologies overview
• What is 3D Printing?
• History of 3D Printing
• Direct and Binder 3D Printing techniques
• Photopolymerization and Sintering
• 3D Printing Process
• 3D printing revolution
• 3D Printing Materials
• How to choose a right 3D printer filament type
• 3D Printer Filament Types Overview
• Types of 3D printers or 3D printing technologies overview
• How to find and buy a right 3D printer
• History of 3D printing in one picture
• Places to download 3D printer files and files formats overview
• 3D Printing Services Overview
• You Should Know These Important 3D Printing Concepts

Homemade 3D printer v3.

I present to your attention a homemade 3D printer. Assembled from plywood, aluminum, plastic and Arduino. This printer is unique in that its kinematics are peeped from Ultimaker, but made with quality improvements.

This is my third DIY 3D printer. The first was H-bot, the second was D-bot.

Ever since I learned about 3D printing, I wanted to make my own printer, but didn't really understand why I needed it. I bought the first part back in 2015, with thoughts that maybe someday I will make a printer. For three years, parts for the assembly imperceptibly accumulated, and in December 2017 I began the process. The first printing took place only at the end of February 2018. Since then, I have been addicted to 3D printing.

The first printer was the first pancake, i.e. lumpy. It was a good start, I gained invaluable experience and printed parts for the second printer. The second printer turned out better, but still did not suit me with its shortcomings in kinematics.

From the very beginning, I did not set myself the task of making a 3D printer for daily printing or printing on order. Purpose: to print plastic products for our own needs. Of course, I would like the print quality to be maximum and at the same time the price of the printer should not go off scale. Rail guides were immediately excluded from the estimate due to the price and difficulties of buying, besides, they are noisy. Round linear bearings like LM8UU will gnaw the guides over time, so after a long search & choice fell on 10 mm steel shafts and printed ABS plastic bushings.

For a long time I wanted to learn how to model my own crafts in 3D, but there was not enough incentive. The first printer I tried to build in AutoCAD. After the first few printed plastic parts, I realized that something else was needed. So I got the kick to learn SolidWorks. In it, he developed all subsequent models. I was very inspired by this program, because I love to draw!

The printer first modeled on a computer in 3D, taking into account all the details. Creating a virtual model helps development a lot, many nodes are optimized even before they are actually implemented.

Based on my first experience with building a printer body from chipboard, I used 10mm plywood for this version. All parts were cut on a homemade CNC machine and painted with white car paint.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this printer is the kinematics. I have been eyeing Ultimaker for a long time. It was bribed by the fact that his axles move rigidly, without distortions. Later I learned about the shortcomings. They consist in the radial rotation of the guides, along which the bushings also move. The key to high-quality printing with such kinematics is expensive and high-quality components. It didn't suit me. My printer should be made from cheap and readily available materials. In general, it is difficult to build a 3D printer yourself when almost all the parts have to be ordered from afar.

When designing the 3d model of the new printer, I separated the rotating and guiding rollers. So linear movement along the axes is carried out along fixed shafts of 10 mm. The belt drive is organized on separate shafts with a diameter of 8 mm. The attachment points of the belts on the moving parts are made in the same plane of movement of the axles so as not to create unnecessary levers, which, by the way, contribute to the wear of the bushings.

I set the task of being able to quickly replace any part of the kinematics without having to dismantle half of the printer. Also, all 4 motors and printer electronics are moved to the back of the printer in order to be able to make a thermal camera for 3D printing and not heat what should be cold.

Z-axis made from 16 mm furniture tubes and plastic-printed sliding plates. The table moves along the axis with the help of a conventional M8 threaded stud and a coupling. Rotation from the motor is transmitted to the stud through a belt drive.

Heated table consists of two parts. The base is made of plywood, it moves along the Z axis. An aluminum frame is attached to the base with four M4 screws and springs. The frame contains a silicone mat, heater and borosilicate glass.

It took a lot of time and effort to develop the moving/print head, cool it, and blow the part. I had to measure the details for a long time so that nothing touched anywhere during the movement. For cooling, I used coolers 40 * 10 mm. They run quietly at low speeds and give good airflow. The electronics are screwed on the back wall. There is also a cooler for cooling the motor drivers. The extruder cooler and the electronics cooler are powered in series and operate at half power, so the noise from them is very low. All electronics are powered by a 12 volt 25 amp power supply. The limit switches are all mechanical, they work to open.

I filled the thermoblock of the hot end with heat-resistant silicone. Whether it works well I can’t say, but what saves fingers from burns is for sure. I have not done any other modifications with the hotend yet, everything is standard.

The table is heated by a self-made heater made of textolite, the tracks were simply scratched with a cutter under the ruler, I was tormented, it would be better to etch it. According to experience, 2.5 amperes should be spent for every 10 * 10 cm of the table, then the table heats up to 100 degrees very quickly. The heater is switched on through a conventional electromagnetic relay.

At the moment, the 3D printer does not have a finished look, everything is at the assembly and testing stage. There are already many ideas on how to improve what is already there. In general, I am very pleased with the kinematics, the location of the elements, the body, the appearance and convenience.

About shortcomings and shortcomings.

Steel shafts must be used as guides. I did not have them, so I tried to put aluminum tubes. The first print showed that the long rails were bent due to the friction of the bushings and the insufficient rigidity of the aluminum tubes. Replacing the two long rails with steel improved the situation a little, but there was still a central rail. She hasn't been replaced yet.

Planned to use aluminum tubes as 8 mm belt shafts. They used to be on sale, then disappeared. I had to use threaded studs, and this gave a runout on the pulleys, which is transmitted to the belt and, accordingly, affects the print quality.

Bushings on the moving head I tried bronze self-lubricating ones. While there is nothing special to say about these bushings, I printed only a couple of models on the printer. I bought 10 pieces of bushings, 4 of them were with backlash. I think that these bushings are designed for radial rotation, they are hardly suitable for linear movement.

Now the printer prints badly, it is 100% dependent on the bushings and guides, as well as the stud with metric thread on the Z axis. There are ideas how to bring the print geometry to the ideal, but I will talk about this when I try everything in practice.

It has not yet been possible to make the kinematics quick-release. I will take this into account in the next update. Put motors on dampers to reduce noise. Not very nicely, I managed to make the wiring with wires. I don't like the long tube from the extruder to the hot end and I don't like that it sticks out of the printer, a glass cover was planned on top. From the front, the printer will be closed by a glass door while it is not there either. Behind the electronics will be closed with a plastic cover with slots for air movement.

There are four switches on the front panel on the right: mains, general light, light near the hot end, turning off the blowing of the part. Under the table there is a panel with holes for LEDs and switches, this is a know-how for turning off heating areas that are not used during printing. It is planned to make heating from several heaters that can be switched off, this saves a lot of electricity.

I made a desktop measuring 31*22 cm and planned to put a mirror. I decided to try borosilicate glass, I ordered a smaller glass size 200 * 213 mm, so there were empty spaces on the sides of the table. Printing on a borosilicate table without glue did not work. The plastic did not want to stick to this glass at all, so I will most likely return to using a mirror.

Initially, I thought that there would be windows with glass doors on the sides of the case. The first building made of laminated chipboard had these windows, but since the printer stands between the wall and the table, there is no sense from the windows. Therefore, the walls remained intact, inside on these walls there will be a mount for a coil with plastic.

Someone noticed that there is no screen with controls. You can set up a screen. I deliberately refused it, because. I just control from my computer. I didn’t have the need to print from a USB flash drive and it’s hardly expected.

That's all for now. And what was silent, I will answer in the comments. The printer has so far printed only a couple of seals at a speed of 100 mm / sec. The daughter is incredibly happy with the cats, which means the work has been done for the good. There is a whole list of several dozen models that I really want to print in good quality. Ahead of a lot of interesting improvements, it will be interesting. All the best!

I will participate in the competition 'My 3D printer', in the nomination '3D printer assembled by my own hands' from hardware and sticks for 200 bucks.

Building a DIY 3D printer at home: recommendations from personal experience

3D printing and assembly of 3D printers is my hobby and passion. Here I will not share detailed diagrams and drawings, there are more than enough of them on specialized resources. The main goal of this material is to tell you where to start, where to dig and how to avoid mistakes in the process of assembling a home 3D printer. Perhaps one of the readers will be inspired by applied engineering achievements.

Why do you need a 3D printer? Use cases

I first came across the idea of ​​3D printing back in the 90s when I was watching the Star Trek series. I remember how impressed I was by the moment when the heroes of the cult series printed the things they needed during their journey right on board their starship. They printed anything: from shoes to tools. I thought it would be great someday to have such a thing too. Then it all seemed something incredible. Outside the window are the gloomy 90s, and the Nokia with a monochrome screen was the pinnacle of progress, accessible only to a select few.

Years passed, everything changed. Around 2010, the first working models of 3D printers began to appear on sale. Yesterday's fantasy has become a reality. However, the cost of such solutions, to put it mildly, discouraged. But the IT industry would not be itself without an inquisitive community, where there is an active exchange of knowledge and experience and who just let them dig into the brains and giblets of new hardware and software. So, drawings and diagrams of printers began to surface more and more often on the Web. Today, the most informative and voluminous resource on the topic of assembling 3D printers is RepRap - this is a huge knowledge base that contains detailed guides for creating a wide variety of models of these machines.

I built my first printer about five years ago. My personal motivation to build my own device is quite prosaic and based on several factors. Firstly, there was an opportunity to try to realize the old dream of having your own device, inspired by a fantasy series. The second factor is that sometimes it was necessary to repair some household items (for example, a baby stroller, car elements, household appliances and other small things), but the necessary parts could not be found. Well, the third aspect of the application is "near-working". On the printer, I make cases for various IoT devices that I assemble at home.

Agree, it is better to place your device based on Raspberry Pi or Arduino in an aesthetically pleasing "body", which is not a shame to put in an apartment or take to the office, than to organize components, for example, in a plastic bowl for food. And yes, you can print parts to build other printers :)

There are a lot of scenarios for using 3D printers. I think everyone can find something of their own.

A complex part in terms of drawing that I printed on my printer. Yes, it's just a figurine, but it has many small elements

Ready solution vs custom assembly

When a technology has been tested, its value in the market decreases markedly. The same thing happened in the world of 3D printers. If earlier a ready-made solution cost simply sky-high money, then today acquiring such a machine is more humane for the wallet, but nevertheless not the most affordable for an enthusiast. There are a number of solutions already assembled and ready for home use on the market, their price range ranges from $500-700 (not the best options) to infinity (adequate solutions start from a price tag of about $1000). Yes, there are options for $150, but we, for understandable, I hope, reasons, will not dwell on them.

In short, there are three cases to consider a finished assembly:

• when you plan to print not much and rarely;
• when print accuracy is critical;
• you need to print molds for mass production of parts.

There are several obvious advantages to self-assembly. The first and most important is cost. Buying all the necessary components will cost you a maximum of a couple of hundred dollars. In return, you will receive a complete 3D printing solution with the quality of manufactured products acceptable for domestic needs. The second advantage is that by assembling the printer yourself, you will understand the principles of its design and operation. Believe me, this knowledge will be useful to you during the operation of even an expensive ready-made solution - any 3D printer needs to be serviced regularly, and it can be difficult to do this without understanding the basics.

The main disadvantage of assembly is the need for a large amount of time. I spent about 150 hours on my first build.

What you need to assemble the printer yourself

The most important thing here is the presence of desire. As for any special skills, then, by and large, in order to assemble your first printer, the ability to solder or write code is not critical. Of course, understanding the basics of radio electronics and basic skills in the field of mechanics (that is, "straight hands") will greatly simplify the task and reduce the amount of time that needs to be spent on assembly.

Also, to start we need a mandatory set of parts:

• Extruder is the element that is directly responsible for printing, the print head. There are many options on the market, but for a budget build, I recommend the MK8. Of the minuses: it will not be possible to print with plastics that require high temperatures, there is noticeable overheating during intensive work, which can damage the element. If the budget allows, then you can look at MK10 - all the minuses are taken into account there.
• Processor board. Well known to many Arduino Mega. I didn't notice any downsides to this solution, but you can spend a couple of dollars more and get something more powerful, with a reserve for the future.
• Control board. I'm using RAMPS 1.4 which works great with the Arduino Mega. A more expensive but more reliable board is Shield, which already combines a processor board and a control board. In modern realities, I recommend paying attention to it. In addition to it, you need to purchase at least 5 microstep stepper motor controllers, for example - A4988. And it's better to have a couple of these in stock for replacement.
• Heated table. This is the part where the printed element will be located. Heating is necessary due to the fact that most plastics will not adhere to a cold surface. For example, for printing with PLA plastic, the required surface temperature of the table is 60-80°C, for ABS - 110-130°C, and for polycarbonate it will be even higher
  There are also two options for choosing a table - cheaper and more expensive. Cheaper options are essentially printed circuit boards with preheated wiring. To operate on this type of table, you will need to put borosilicate glass, which will scratch and crack during operation. Therefore, the best solution is an aluminum table.
• Stepper motors. Most models, including the i2 and i3, use NEMA 17 size motors, two for the Z axis and one each for the X and Y axes. Finished extruders usually come with their own stepper motor. It is better to take powerful motors with a current in the motor winding of 1A or more, so that there is enough power to lift the extruder and print without skipping steps at high speed.
• Basic set of plastic fasteners.
• Belt and gears to drive it.

Examples of elements appearance: 1) MK8 extruder; 2) Arduino processor board; 3) RAMPS control board; 4) motor controllers; 5) aluminum heated table; 6) NEMA 17 stepper motor; 7) a set of plastic fasteners; 8) drive gears; 9) drive belt

This is a list of items you need to purchase. Hardcore users can assemble some of them themselves, but for beginners, I strongly recommend purchasing ready-made solutions.

Yes, you will also need various small things (studs, bearings, nuts, bolts, washers ...) to assemble the case. In practice, it turned out that using a standard m8 stud leads to low printing accuracy on the Z axis. I would recommend immediately replacing it with a trapezoid of the same size.

M8 trapezoid stud for the Z axis, the use of which will save you a lot of time and nerves. Available for order on all major online platforms

You also need to purchase customized plastic parts for the X axis, such as these from the MendelMax retrofit kit.

Most parts available at your local hardware store. On RepRap you can find a complete list of necessary little things with all sizes and patterns. The kit you need will depend on the choice of platform (we'll talk about platforms later).

What's the price

Before delving into some aspects of the assembly, let's figure out how much such entertainment will cost for your wallet. Below is a list of parts required for purchase with an average price.

Platform selection

To assemble printers, the community has already developed a number of different platforms - the most optimal case designs and the location of the main elements, so you do not have to reinvent the wheel.

i2 and i3 are key platforms for self-assembly printer enclosures. There are also many modifications of them with various improvements, but for beginners, these two classic platforms should be considered, since they do not require special skills and fine-tuning.

Actually, illustration of platforms: 1) i2 platform; 2) i3 platform

On the plus side of i2: it has a more reliable and stable design, although it is a little more difficult to assemble; more opportunities for further customization.

The i3 variant requires more special plastic parts to be purchased separately and has a slow print speed. However, it is easier to assemble and maintain, and has a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. You will have to pay for simplicity with the quality of printed parts - the body has less stability than i2, which can affect print accuracy.

Personally, I started my experiments in assembling printers from the i2 platform. She will be discussed further.

Assembly steps, challenges and improvements

In this block, I will only touch on the key assembly steps using the i2 platform as an example. Full step by step instructions can be found here.

The general scheme of all the main components looks something like this. There is nothing particularly complicated here:

I also recommend adding a display to your design. Yes, you can easily do without this element when performing operations on a PC, but it will be much more convenient to work with the printer this way.

Understanding how all components will be connected, let's move on to the mechanical part, where we have two main elements - a frame and a coordinate machine.

Assembling the frame

Detailed frame assembly instructions are available on RepRap. Of the important nuances - you will need a set of plastic parts (I already talked about this above, but I'd better repeat it), which you can either purchase separately or ask your comrades who already have a 3D printer to print.

The frame of the i2 is quite stable thanks to its trapezoid shape.

This is how the frame looks like with parts already partially installed. For greater rigidity, I reinforced the structure with plywood sheets

Coordinate machine

An extruder is attached to this part. The stepper motors shown in the diagram above are responsible for its movement. After installation, calibration is required along all major axes.

Important - you will need to purchase (or make your own) a carriage for moving the extruder and a mount for the drive belt. Drive belt I recommend GT2.

The carriage printed by the printer from the previous picture after it has been assembled. The part already has LM8UU bearings for guides and belt mount (top)

Calibration and adjustment

So, we completed the assembly process (as I said, it took me 150 hours) - the frame was assembled, the machine was installed. Now another important step is the calibration of this very machine and extruder. Here, too, there are small subtleties.

Setting up the machine

I recommend calibrating the machine with an electronic caliper. Do not be stingy with its purchase - you will save a lot of time and nerves in the process.

The screenshot below shows the correct constants for the Marlin firmware, which must be adjusted to set the correct number of steps per unit of measure. We calculate the coefficient, multiply it, substitute it into the firmware, and then upload it to the board.

Marlin 9 firmware constants0082