Time to start a build thread on the second printer, we’re tweaking the design a bit though. This one has a 300x380mm footprint using a 600W silicone heat pad with glass for the build area. So far we have a mock up assembled with foam board, though all the printed parts are done. We’re thinking of remixing a few parts, but the bulk are stock. First image still needed some resizing of the routed parts, second is much closer to right. I put the pulp magazine from the 1930s to give an approximation of size (about 7x10").
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Looks awesome. I don’t have a pulp magazine from the 70s as reference. 300x380 seems pretty big though.
You’ll have to put it next to the other one and take a pic when it’s done.
That is awesome! Nice work Bill. Now you can print me the Cyclone Dust Collector (which wont fit on any of my beds), LOL.
I would love to see a side by side as well!
Neil
Will do. I get back home the end of the week so it’ll be a few days. My partner on this needed one big enough to print skate shoes for one of his projects and his should work just fine! 
Skate shoes? Sounds interesting. I hope someone is finally making legit hockey skates that don’t require all the lacing. Just a big strap or something. If you have the time, can you also make the “Hockey Onesie” I’ve been thinking about? It’s a full jumpsuit with all the pads sewn into it, just put in two legs, then zip it up, go out on the ice/roller rink. I spend about 40 minutes getting dress/undressed for a 1 hour game, so I have a lot of time to think about these things.
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I would be interested in seeing a write up on this when you are finished!!! Good luck!
@Jeff Can you imagine the stink of a hockey onsie!!?? At least you can wash the regular jersey!
I mean, you can wash them…
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OK, getting a little closer. This time with unfinished wood, it’s about 1/4" Russian plywood, slightly modified since the foam board mockup. The larger surface at rear allows a couple of threaded rods to be placed across the X axis with rollers on them that will hold spools of filament. John is doing the finish work to the wood this afternoon and the next step is deciding if we’re going with the MK8 extruder or an E3D v6 with bowden tube. The advantage to the latter is the weight removed from the hot end, the advantage to the MK8 is the endorsement here…
What do you think? Too many spools? 
We’re thinking of switching from the spring separated rollers to a full width piece of PVC with bearings mounted on each end. No need to adjust for different spool widths that way. Has anyone tried something similar? Are there issues with the spool shifting left and right during a print?
That’s awesome. I was thinking of customizing the dxf files the other day, and I thought I would do it in OnShape, which would mean I could share it, and have variables for the bed size, material thickness, etc. Any interest? I like the spool holder built in. If anyone wants to do that before I get to it, be my guest. I always have more ideas than time to finish them.
Different spools have different sized holes. I guess you could print a spacer to go to the larger one.
The spool holders I’ve had always have plusses and minuses. The ones that hold the bottom, like this one, have a tendency to screw up when the spool is nearly empty, and the filament is rolled very tight. They tend to pull the whole roll off the stand. But the kind holding the axle always has a problem with full spools, where one or two loops of filament can come off the side and bind on the axle. IMO, you need something that holds the axle, and also has sides, to prevent the filament from u looping over the sides. Does that make sense? Hard to explain without pics.
Putting the spool holder in the right position and setting the bearings for the easiest spin is all you need to do to minimize problems near empty. I’ve never run into any issues with mine and had one part pull until there was only six inches or so before the print finished. I think I’ve got a half dozen or so wraps on my red spool right now, but I’m more likely to use that for a color layer in something rather than starting a part on it.
My spool holder sits on it’s side, so I just use my bottle of windex or paper towel roll to keep it from unspooling onto the table. I just push them against the spool, also adds a little drag so it doesn’t unwind when the effector goes down to print.
But then what happens when the Windex is almost empty?!?!
Well, obviously you refill the bottle. Not a problem with the XL…
With a little diligent searching we found a pair of aluminum tubes at the local not-so-big box store that just fit the bearings. The bearings fit with a little bit of glue into the small tube, the small tube fits snugly into the large tube and together they hold the spool(s) while allowing smooth movement with just enough drag to keep things sane.
I keep telling him he’s too picky, but the finish is finally nice enough for us to continue. We’re ready to do some actual assembly!
And… A few mods we were able to do with the bigger frame. First notice we have four linear bearings under the bed instead of three. We could do that because the Y axis stepper wasn’t going to be in the way. It also looks like we’ll be able to get closer to the front and back of the bed. Next we redid the rollers for the belts to use toothed pulleys, this keeps the belt from wandering to the side. On my mostly stock MP3DP both the X and Y belts are grinding against the plastic.
That looks really good. Did you double up the front/back? It looks thicker.
Your XL is looking great! It is going to open up a lot of printing options for you.
Jeff, yes we’ve got two thicknesses of the wood at front and back. That decision was made the first time we noticed how bowed the front and back were on mine… Possibly too tight of belts, but definitely an issue. I haven’t decided how to address it with my printer, but I’m certainly going with more stiffening on the third printer. There’s an issue potentially with the XL in terms of side to side sway at the front. I think we’re going to go with a base to hold it in and possibly angle brackets until the base is made.
Jim, you bet! I’m printing pieces for a Lyman Filament Extruder right now, and I’m going to have to wait for the XL to be finished to finish the Lyman, some parts need an extra inch that’s just not there with a 200x200 base.