prusa i3 aluminum frame w/ aluminum upgrades

thingiverse

I've modified Twelvopros' i3 design and enhanced it by replacing most printed parts with 1/8" aluminum pieces, while retaining the x-carriage, x motor bracket, x idler bearing bracket, heated bed lm8uu holders, endstop brackets (from Obi Juan), and belt x tensioner (from Thinkyhead) in printed form. The design supports M10 and M8 threaded rods, M8 smooth rods, T2.5 belts, grub screws, lm8uus, Buda Schnozzle or Prusa nozzles, Greg's extruder, and a RAMBo Board with Repetier Host, Firmware, and Slic3r. The build is complete and calibration has been done. The firmware has also been tweaked for optimal performance. A new 0.4mm Prusa nozzle has been installed, and a video showcasing the printer is coming soon. The sourced parts include M10 and M5 threaded rods, M8 smooth and threaded rods, Budasnozzle and RAMBo Board from Lulzbot.com, printed parts, NEMA 17s, lm8uus, and everything else from eBay, and Prusa Nozzle from rerapdiscount.com. The cut list includes the required lengths of threaded rods for each axis. In the second build, M5 and 5/16" threaded rods were used instead, and the y-axis length was reduced to ease belt tensioning. After using air drills to improve the smoothness of bearings in the first build, LM8uus from EasyReprap on eBay were found to work better in the second build. Marlin firmware issues led to switching over to Repetier Firmware. The printer is now up and running as of 4/20/2013. Updates include adding heatsinks to drivers, a fan for RAMBo Board cooling, and an LED ring around the nozzle for better visibility during printing. A Prusa nozzle was added on 5/18/2013.