Initial Cost Projections

While the availability of most of the components is pretty high, there are some parts that will be hard to come by.

Smooth Rods (8mm)

Six of these are needed to for the three axis that will be traversed during printing.  While the design calls for 4 x 17.5cm rods and 2 x 22cm rods, coming by these dimensions may be difficult.  So I am prepared to substitute and use other lengths.

Threaded Rod (M5)

The metric M5 threaded rod will also have to be sourced.  Threaded rods in my location are all based on English units which makes a difference in the configuration of the printer.

The rest of the parts should be readily source-able...

Description	Price	Quantity	Total
12 - LM8UU Linear bearings	$8.08	1	$8.08
2 - GT2 Pulleys + GT2 Belt	$5.24	1	$5.24
10 - 624 Bearings	$2.76	1	$2.76
Bowden Extruder Drive + NEMA 17 Stepper	$17.50	1	$17.50
PTFE Tube	$2.00	1	$2.00
Arduino Mega + RAMPS 1.4 + 4xA4988	$22.79	1	$22.79
28BYJ-48 Stepper Motor	$1.65	4	$6.60
3 - Endstop Switches	$2.69	1	$2.69
Hotend	$9.99	1	$9.99
			$77.65

My Next Obsession

I have been feeling the bug for a new project, and I think I have one.  I think I would like to build my own 3d-printer based on the design found here.

The Cherry 60 Euro 3D Printer is a very simple design that lends itself to being relatively easy to build and very low cost.  The speed will certainly be the most limiting factor.  It uses very cheap 28BYJ-48 stepper motors, which are slow and don't provide as much torque as a Nema 17 stepper motor.

But they are cheap, easy to find and can be hacked for better performance.  Which leads me to my main goals for this project.

1. Inexpensive (Under $100)
2. Easy To Build
3. Functional

So stick around, as I will try to document the process here.  More to come.

What's Been Going On

Sorry for the long hiatus.

I've been mostly busy with my 3d printer.  Looking for models to print, designing new objects with TinkerCAD and OpenSCAD, and flying my quadcopters when I get a chance,

The weather here has been pretty nasty this summer so far, with rain making it wet and humid.  All together not very enjoyable to be outside.

OctoPrint Setup

One of the cooler things I have done recently is to setup an OctoPrint server to run my 3d Printer,

I am using my Raspberry Pi Model B+ to run the server software.  It was a pretty simple setup which only took about 30 minutes.  Luckily, my Logitech webcam worked with no problems and this has allowed me time lapse all of my prints.  Here are just a couple...

Anyway, I will try to make posts more often... letting you know what I'm up to!