Log #3 — Rails and Belts Everywhere!!

I started off by deleting all components, and used their body CAD instead of duplicating the components themselves. Also cleaned up my messy workspace folders and grounded a bunch of floating bodies so everything is actually locked in place properly!

New things added/done/researched:

• Linear Rails & Hardware: attached linear rails with their own slider joints onto the gantry and Z-axis assembly along with all the actual t-nuts and screws needed to mount the rails. I chose the the CoreXY mechanism for the motion system for my 3D printer as it is fast and more effective than other motion systems (cartesian or delta).

• Timing Pulleys: added GT2 timing pulleys (7mm) to all the stepper motors.

• Trunnion Mechanism: Researched into the two different mechanism needed for the tilting and rotating of the trunnion. In the end, I chose to just use belt drives for the rotating and tilting instead of gears as it’s way more cost-effective, and is shock absorbent, and requires less maintenance and care.

– How the Trunnion Works: The trunnion uses two separate stepper motors. One motor spins the circular print bed flat around 360 degrees, while the second motor tilts the entire frame body of the trunnion side-to-side. To keep the wires from twisting off or snagging while it tilts and spins, I’m using a slip ring to pass all the heated bed power and sensor wires cleanly through the pivot point.

• Miscellaneous Stuff:
  – added springs under the bed for manual bed leveling.
  – BOM: Found the actual print beds and pcb heat beds that match my custom dimensions, and took screenshots for future BOM listing.

Next Steps:
Finish the Cad for the trunnion and create the mechanism to make it rotate and tilt properly.