This is the question out of curiosity, my MPCNC is still printing. I understand that there is a separate project for mp3dp but if possible I’d love to just change the tool on MPCNC and use it as 3d printer on the fly whenever i want.
I have seen some people use their MPCMC as a 3d printer. What does it take to do that? I understand that my z axis is pretty small (only 3.5 inches) so i am limited to that height. I think, I need an open slot for the extruder motor on the board. And an actual extruder itself. Is that correct? How would I print the mount for the extruder to fit on the MPCNC?
Is it possible to just change the z height for the rails without changing the leg assembly size?
My current MPCMC has a small build area for sturdiness, here are the details:
I have heard of at least one person switching z rails to gain hight. If you need more “leg” hight you can use a drop table. You will also want a heated bed if you plan on printing.
@forcerouge do you have any tips for him? I know you used the mpcnc as a printer for a while.
The green one was the first test that I tried at 60mm/sec ended up stalling at about 75% due to some board malfunction. The white one was printed at 40mm/sec at .2mm layer height.
As for the height, you would have to cut longer legs to accommodate the longer Z axis. My guess is that the increased Z and leg height wouldn’t adversely effect the operation as there wouldn’t be any lateral strain on the Z since there isn’t any real contact like you would have with a bit plowing through stock. But I’m no kinda engineer.
There are too many things to say about how to convert the MPCNC to 3D printing, so maybe you can check my old build’s thread first:
No need to read everything, but you should find the answers to most of your questions there
Basically you’ll have to add:
-an extruding system (motor, hotend, temp sensor, cooling fan for the cold side, etc).
-endstops, for homing on all axes
-fans for cooling the part
-a probe system to measure bed’s flatness. This is not entirely mandatory but it helps so much in getting a decent first layer that you really should consider it from the beginning
-a bed heating system. Not mandatory if you plan on printing small parts with PLA.
You’ll have to adapt the firmware a little bit but we’ll be there to help you.
One thing is that you can’t use the autosquare function in CNC mode, because you’ll need 4 axis for the printer.
Good luck and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any problem
You could use the autosquare with 3d printing, you just have to have at least 6 stepper drivers. 2 for x 2 for y 1 for z and 1 for extruder. unless I’m missing somthing?
unless I’m missing somthing?