Greg’s Accessible Extruder Assembly for Kossel Mini

I started out with Airtripper’s direct drive extruder on my 3D printer and while I liked it a lot I found out that normal stepper motors will not work. You need a hefty stepper motor and even at that I doubt the ramps stepper drivers can handle it. It is suggested to use a gear reduced stepper with something like a 4:1 step down, these are fairly expensive so I opted to build a Greg’s extruder which has the approximant 4:1 step down that I needed.

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Kossel Mini 3D Printer Vertical Movement Tutorial

Vertical Rail Options

kossel movementThere are several options available for the vertical movement carriage of the Kossel Mini.  The thing is some options cost a LOT more money. I will show some options along with prices as of 1/1/2014.

 

 

$(KGrHqMOKooFIM4k2M6PBSJpoi,Gwg~~60_31. Use MR12 MGN12C HIWIN rail and truck currently about $140.00 after shipping…

 

 

 

 

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2. Use an additional printed carriage with Dual 623 V rollers currently around $80.00 after shipping…

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Kossel Mini Tutorial, Push Rods, Effector, Auto Level Probe and Hot End

In this video I assemble the push rods, effector, and auto level probe.

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Push rods: They should be around 180MM and MUST be exactly the same length. If they are all a little bigger or smaller you can adjust in the software. Cut the head off of 12 M4X20 screws and screw the ball joint ends on to the rods, be careful not to split the rods so a tap may be needed.

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How to Build a Kossel Mini Tutorial, Frame

Why I am building a Kossel Mini

My first 3D printer was a Prusa Mendel V2 Reprap, after seeing the speed and precision of my bosse’s Rostock Max and drooling over his Kossel mini I decided it was time to make another printer. (You can find my Prusa Mendel V2 Reprap post here) I have found that half the fun of 3D printing is building the machine… especially if you are the type that enjoys tinkering and fiddling with gadgets. I have also found that 3D printing is absolutely a hobby, though, I am to cheap to try some of the more out of the box printers that are developing nowadays. I am not sure if the urge to build things or my cut-rate pocket-book drive my DIY printing hobby more…

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DIY The Most Useless Machine

The useless machine is a simple box with a switch and motor, when you turn on the switch the lid opens and the arm swings out and turns off the machine and then retracts. It is so simple but brings a smile to the face of everyone that tries! The Useless Machine was not created by me, it can be found in Make Magazine and in numerous Instructables and DIY articles online.

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RepRap Prusa Mendel V2 Complete Build

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Building my very first 3D printer was quite traumatic and time consuming but also fun and rewarding! I don’t suggest building your own unless you have a love for tinkering, and making. There are some other qualities that will come in handy such as tendency’s for hacking, electronics, and computers. As this is a computer controlled machine complete with a microcontroller you MUST know how to turn a computer on. Be aware that building your own RepRap is more like getting a hobby than getting a project.

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