About 5 years in the past, “belt” 3D printers beginning gaining traction. As a substitute of a traditional Y axis with a inflexible mattress, they’ve a conveyor belt. That permits infinite printing within the Y axis, so it’s attainable to print very lengthy objects. Belt 3D printers are nonetheless fairly area of interest, however the utility is interesting. Sadly, most of them are nonetheless desktop-oriented and that limits the scale of the objects within the X and Z axes. So as to print a complete full-size kayak, Ivan Miranda teamed up with Jón Schone to flip a treadmill into an outsized belt 3D printer.
A belt 3D printer is definitely a bit extra difficult than described within the introduction. The belt doesn’t substitute the Y axis completely, however moderately acts in live performance with what would usually be the X and Z axes to print at an angle (normally 45 levels). That angle is necessary, as a result of it lets the machine end a complete layer on high of the belt. In any other case, the entire half (which may very well be a number of ft lengthy) would want to maneuver off of and again on to the belt with each layer — ruining adhesion to the belt.
On this case, Miranda and Schone needed to replicate that geometry on the treadmill. The completed printer nonetheless appears to be like lots like a treadmill, which is intentional. However lots of customized fabrication went into the design in an effort to obtain the correct geometry. The Z axis, for instance, is fabricated from customized metal uprights with heavy obligation linear rails. The X axis gantry can also be customized and has a beefy linear rail of its personal.
That’s lots of weight to maneuver round, so the printer has massive, highly effective stepper motors. Miranda even had PCBWay mill customized warmth sinks to assist maintain the motors cool, which was necessary to cease them from melting their 3D-printed mounting brackets. Even the extruder was scaled-up to very large proportions, giving it the power to push the ridiculous quantity of filament essential to type a kayak via a 1mm nozzle.
To regulate all of it, they used a Duet 3 Primary Board paired with a Duet 3 Device Board. The latter is on the extruder carriage and communicates with the previous via a CAN-FD connection, lowering the variety of wires going to the extruder.
There have been, predictably, a number of challenges to beat. However Miranda and Schone had been profitable in the long run. The treadmill 3D printer labored they usually launched the kayak at Maker Faire Prague earlier this month.
