Mendel90 housing - enclosure

thingiverse

I started my project with a Mendel90 printer, which was built using files from nophead's GitHub repository with some modifications due to parts availability. The original file printed fine with PLA filament, but printing with ABS or other materials caused a small smoke smell that could destroy the print. On thingiverse and several online resources, I couldn't find an appropriate design for a Dibond version without an extra housing, so I designed one in 123D Design. My printer frame is made from 3mm aluminum sheets, but it didn't make a significant difference. Since I wasn't using the standard 300mm spool, I changed the filament and spool holder to match, as shown in this thing: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:744868. The cover plates are made from corrugated cardboard material, which is the cheapest option available. You can also use Dibond, Acrylic, or Polycarbonate with a 3mm thickness if you prefer. To minimize bending, I cut the top cover plate from 4mm material. FreeRider has posted an assembly video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBtCV-YE-bg Enjoy watching. UPDATE 2017-10: I've added the 123D Design file and STEP file to help with further development, but be aware that they may not be the best for future modifications. UPDATE 2015-04-07: Vertical stand printing has been completed, but issues arose when trying to print the other parts due to subpar filament causing print failures after several hours of printing. New material has already been ordered. Here are my printer settings: * Printer: Mendel90 * Rafts: No * Supports: Yes * Resolution: 0.2mm * Infill: 25% * Notes: + Nozzle: 0.4mm + Layer height: 0.2mm + Perimeters: 3 + Top / Bottom: 5 + Speed: 50mm/s, with decreased speed for shell and bottom prints + Infill: As stated above (25% except for the fixing blocks at 90%) * Print times and weights with a skirt of 10 lines: 2h38min black parts: 25g 20h00min white long parts: 190g 8h30min white small parts: 84g 14h12min green long parts: 136g 1h11min green small parts: 12g Total print time: 46.5h and weight of ABS material used is 447g