Gantry finished (X axis) !

What i did today :

Today i finally added the XY joints with their (toothed) Idlers, and positioned the X axis inside them. The X axis is just going to be another 2020 extrusion with a rail (and carriage) strapped to it

I addded the idlers inside, and also considered actually somehow adding the belts to the CAD, but i later gave up that idea cause i have no idea how to do that and it would be way too complex

What’s next ?

Now that im done with the motion system
i have to move on to the Toolhead + Hotend

What is a Toolhead/Hotend ?

The toolhead is like a box for the hotend and whatever else we want - its usually 3d printed, and holds the actual thing that heats up filament and deposits it on to the print bed - that part is called the hotend.

There are prebuilt toolheads from the community like The Mantis (see below) or the Eva - just search that one up if you wanna see.

Since i want funding from Hack Club, i have to design one myself - im not exactly sure yet as to what hotend i will use or nozzle size, but i will do some research and have a LONG chat with opencode

Apparently (i havent done research yet, just talking bout what ive heard !) the hotend is (duh) the part that heats up the filament - but it also needs to be cooled . Most probably it also has a motor that presses filament out. Apparently they come in different sizes and weights, and have different flow rates - the hotend choice influences what speed the printer will have. also, i think the nozzle is a different part . I think that the nozzle is what the extruder presses filament out of, so it decides how much quality the print has - smaller nozzle is equal to more resolution, but also more time needed. The nozzle can also be made up of different materials, and some materials are better for some materials - for example brass nozzles can be used well for PLA and PETG, but not for filament that needs to be heated up more, like ABS.

So yeah, im gonna work on the toolhead and nozzle for a while :D