Kossel Alt - 20mm extrusion - 8mm smooth rods

thingiverse

Having used my Prusa i3 printer for over a year, I decided to try a delta-style printer. Kossel is an excellent design, but since I had leftover 8mm smooth rods and 20mm extrusions, I opted to use those instead of precision rails. I found Zam's Kossel files and printed them out; however, the belts were misaligned with the carriages. Using older stepper motors with GT2 pulleys from a previous printer, I realized that having the belts run exactly between the smooth rods would be better. Instead of redesigning the carriage, I redesigned the frame, which was inspired by a design found at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:30611. The dry test can be viewed on YouTube at http://youtu.be/RXFzkHzH564. An update from January 2nd, 2014 reveals that the 8mm rods may not be sturdy enough for the printer's height. Stl files for a 10mm rod version will be uploaded soon for increased rigidity. If using 8mm rods, it is advised to use shorter extrusion lengths for the columns or lower the top frame by 10-20cm. Remember that this project is still in progress, so stay tuned for updates!