Building the 3DR Simple Delta

A few months ago, after having built the Printrbot Simple, I was browsing the Printrbottalk forums and came across a rather interesting post by JohnSL. John had modified the RichRap 3DR design to allow it to be built with the components available from the Printrbot Simple. Specifically, the design reused the most valuable components from the Simple: four stepper motors, the Printrboard and Ubis hotend.

I had seen a few Delta printers at various Maker Faires up to this point and was quite curious to try my hand at building one. Given that I already had a number of the costly parts required for this design, I decided to have a go. John put together a fantastic set of blog posts including the bill of materials and all necessary steps required to get up and running, so instead of recreating his documentation, I will just include a few shots of my build below.

I’m quite happy with the design and it is fun to watch print. Since Delta print beds don’t move at all, they’re very well suited for time lapse photography as seen at the bottom of this post. If you are interested in building one of your own, I also suggest taking a look at the 3DR Simple Delta thread on the RepRap forums.

2014-01-12 21.29.29Base of frame assembled. Extrusion, smooth rod, linear bearings and Delta arm connection plate installed.
3DR Simple DeltaTop of frame assembled and installed. Delta rods installed along with print head platform. Motors and fishing line installed.
UntitledBowden extruder, Ubis hotend and Printrboard installed.
First movement after finishing wiring at 1am.
3DR Simple DeltaFirst test print. #fail
3DR Simple DeltaSecond test print! #winning
Tall calibration cylinder test print to check symmetry and max z-height of printer.
Burn-in test fail. 7 hours of printing and then Beethoven got a funky haircut.
The cause of Beethoven’s haircut, a set screw that held the spool to the motor shaft had worked itself loose.
Successfully testing the 200mm build height with a twisted vase print.
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Pierre Baillargeon

Pierre Baillargeon is an engineer from South Florida who holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering, having graduated from Florida Atlantic University in August of 2005. Pierre currently works as a Robotics Engineer at a non-profit biomedical research organization and is known to enjoy photography, gadgets and skillfully constructed pizza.

1 Comment

  1. Pingback: House of Engineering Funk – Building the Printrbot Simple Beta

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