3D Print
Note
An enclosure box for the 24V power supply is currently in development and will be released later.
PETG is recommended for all parts except the casing and the yoke handle where PLA can be used instead. PETG is stronger and can handle higher temperatures. The motors can become warm and PLA softens around 60 degrees. PETG can handle up to 90-100 degrees before softening. It is also best to make the chain link from PETG as that material is more springy and does not create slop over time if under constant load. PLA on the other hand loses its springiness over time if under constant load.
There are some bumper parts that should be printed in TPU, or a similar flexible material with a low setting for infill to soften them a bit. These are easy prints and made to be attached with glue.
Other general settings
- 4 walls (perimeters)
- 20% gyroid infill (or other high strength mode)
- Support is needed in a few places. These details are outlined below.
- The frame needs no support. The cavities for the IR sensors are designed to print without supports.
- The 30T printed pulley and magnet mount parts on both axes need special care to be printed perfectly round so that the 6 mm magnet is properly centered. Use Scarf seams, if available, otherwise random seams, or scrape or sand the seams so that they are even. Even a 0.5 mm offset of the magnet centering for the magnetic encoders can affect the accuracy. (You can learn about scarf seams here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl0FT339jfc)
The frame is the main component of the yoke. It needs to be printed strong. But also keep in mind that we want this piece to be as lightweight as possible to minimize mass and inertia. General settings above are what I used here.
Support is needed only on the recessed holes in the bearing clamps. Use manual paint-on support only in the marked position (green). (If using Cura slicer.. support blockers... see this video for a full treatment on adding and removing supports in Cura https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJMde35a9ZM). Again, the cavities for the IR sensors at the bottom need no support.
The pulley parts are just to print as indicated. No support needed.
The magnet holder has a small chamfer on its ring, so it needs no support either. The hole for the magnet needs to be as round as possible. Use scarf seams or random seams to even it out. Or use a knife to trim the seam. The magnet needs to be as perfectly centered as possible and even 0.5 mm offset may impact accuracy. I did not notice any problems at all even if my hole wasn't fully perfect. There is a hole through the part to help with removing the magnet if needed.
The Yoke Column Endstop part has two TPU bumper pieces that are glued in place.
Nothing special here. Just print with general settings, no support.
The pitch pulley components just need to be positioned as indicated, flat to the bed. The magnet mount is set with the magnet recess facing the bed (with support). Same cautions for the roundness of the magnet hole as for the roll magnet holder. Also the printing and roundness of the 30T pulley parts may affect the magnet centering. The Pitch Pulley Mount L part needs support in the gap and in the recessed screw holes on the outer side (same as the frame bearing clamps). I used "snug" support.
Support is needed in 4 places, indicated in green here:
The chain link is printed as indicated with no support. Note that there is a need for only one double "male" part (endLink). That part has notches in both ends that will mate the chain with the anchor piece (cableChain-Mount) in either end. There is a need for about 13-14 links in all including the endLink (but not the mounts).
Just print flat face down, PLA is fine here.
Best printed in PLA and with support. It also needs good strength, so the general settings apply here too. I used a pretty low layer height for the handles (0.12 mm) for a nice finish.
The lid of the centre compartment (Console Front) is composed of several internal parts for the logo. In the slicer these parts can be set to a different color for a nice effect if you have a printer capable of multi color print. To utilize that you need to use the .3mf version of the mesh file that supports this. For a standard one-color print, just use the Console Front.stl mesh file.
In the slicer (Prusa, Babmbu Labs, Orca has similar settings as the image shown here), after loading the Console Front.3mf mesh file, open the Objects settings tab to see the individual objects. Make sure you have at least two filaments loaded in the slicer and then you can set each individual object to its own color. Also note that a prime tower is not necessary here (I did not use it), but can be used to ensure the cleanest result.
The handles are printed with the flat side down and with support enabled. You may want to avoid support inside the longer cylindrical holes for thread inserts as that may be hard to remove.
Picture showing handles from below, support in green.
The casing is split in four parts which all are printed with the top side laying flat down. No support needed. The front and back panels are also split in two each and printed flat down. Support is needed for the sliding lid above the tube hole. Print both the front panel and the tube lid with side facing outwards down. The reason for having both in the same orientation is to get the exact same texture on the front face, especially needed if a textured PEI bed or similar is used. The lid then slides down in the slot and becomes virtually invisible.
Also print the number of dowels needed. Note that the holes get a bit cut off in the top end, an effect of the 3D print process. The dowels take this into account and are also a bit cut off to counter this. :)
The pieces have a lot of holes prepared for assembly with CA superglue. Add a little glue to the sides of the ridges and the dowels and clamp down. Be careful with the glue so it does not squeeze out to the front. If it does, do not try to wipe off! It will just create a mess! If left alone, it will dry to a matte surface.
Leave to cure for at least 15 minutes.
These need to be printed strongly, a bit over the general settings maybe and in PETG. The clamp screw may be printed in PLA. You can enable some (tree) support for the thraded hole in the clanmp.
