Building a Cheap 3d Printer

3d printing, it sounds so futuristic...

Having the ability to turn a virtual object into something you can physically hold

I have to admit the thought of building a 3d printer sounded so complex when I began this project, I thought of 3d printers like something only the smartest engineer could create. The daunting task made me hold off buying a 3d printer kit until I realized how simple it is to create.

Today I hope to demystify the daunting task of building a 3d printer.

In reality, its quite simple to make! Not only is it simple, but its cheap coming in just under $100!

In my mind, I broke the build into easy parts; The Frame, The Wiring, and Testing.

Honestly thats all there is to it!

The best part about this printer is the features! I thought for $100 US I would get a piece of plastic that barely works but no!

It has sd card printing and even heated bed

I highly recommend you build this printer!

Lets get started

Watch the Video

Watch the video for an easy to understand quick guide on the project

if clicking above doesn't work, here is the link

Please let me know what you think of the video!

Part(s)

Now normally, in my other instructables this is where the parts list would go.

However this Instructable is quite simple thanks to a great company called www.gearbest.com

Part(s?)

3d printer: http://goo.gl/xqGGKt

Thats it.

Seriously.

Plus its extremely cheap Use this coupon "DH83D" to get $50 off until June 26 2016!

That means its under $100.00 !!!!!!

The best part is that it even comes with its own tools!

Building the Frame

Using the tools that came with the printer its simple to assemble. Peel of the paper cover and screw in the plastic tabs. Its like a 3d jigsaw puzzle in a way.

Right now dont worry about the wires, just throw them to the side (organized)

One tip I have for you is to use a sharpie and write the size of screw and nuts on the bags. That way you already know which kind are which!

For me, the hardest part was tightening the belt. Really pull it with some muscle, the belt can take quite a large amount of force. The acrylic? Not so much...

Another tip, is when you are screwing in the threaded rods, I have learned most kits are too tight to screw in. The secret is a bit of WD 40 and a little muscle to get it in.

And when your done, you will have a skeleton of a 3d printer!

the acrylic looks great and fits well, the entire printer is very sturdy.

Wiring

Uh oh.

This is where I'll lose some viewers.

Now its not rocket science, but this step gets a bit difficult.

One thing to keep in mind during this step is zipties. zipties, zipties and more zipties.

What I did was sort every wire into a catagory: Extruder, Powerbox, X axis, Y axis and Z axis

for example X axis catagory; X endstop wire, x axis steper motor wire then I ziptie them together, use some tape to tag the wires and then feed them towards the controller of the 3d printer.

The Powerbox is a bit confusing, in the build instructions the pictures were outdated. Make sure the positive red wire goes to V+. Dont fry your powerbox!

The tape comes in handy, simply read the tags and plug the wires into the corresponding slots.

Done! That wasn't to bad was it?

Testing

Heres where I got my filament https://www.amazon.com/HATCHBOX-3D-PLA-1KG1-75-BLU...

I used white, but it seems to be out of stock currently

Now hopefully if you did everything right your printer should print from the start, simply plug in the sd card and hit print now. I would recommend printing something small.

Doesn't print normal?

The most common problem is an uneven bed. Heres how to fix it: put a piece of regular 8.5x11 piece of paper onto the bed. Now lower the extruder until it hovering by a sliver above the paper. Move the extruder to every corner and make sure its the same height.

Heres some of the thingiverse files I used to print (not my designs)

Sharkz by Muzz64 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:910216

V29 (Whistle) by jzisa http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1179160

Iphone 5c Case by sweaving https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:470264

test, test, and test again.

Done!

You're Done!

You just built a 3d Printer!

I recommend you check out http://www.thingiverse.com/ to go find some more files to print

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