Starting to get everything together for the MPCNC. I ordered the parts bundle and some sharp stuff from Ryan a few weeks back. Shortly after the bundle arrived my Prusa MK2S kit arrived. Got the kit assembled and it’s printing great! Very impressed with the result of this machine. I found a local supplier for the rails and put my order in today. Will go back hopefully Monday and pick it up. I was able to get 1"x.065 wall Stainless Welded and Drawn tubing. I will be building a 3’x2’x4" working area machine. The tube cost me $163 out the door cut to length. Keeping my fingers crossed it is what I am expecting when I go pick it up. Lol. I did print one foot so I could check dimensions on the print vs the tube before I print everything out. Will keep everyone posted on the progress.
Picked up the rails at lunch today. Will get OD measurements when I get home so I can start printing and figure out what kind of size adjustments I need to make, if any. I know the connections need to be a little snug to hold the rails firmly in place.
In the mean time I’ve been testing out the Prusa to see what kind of things it can do. This R/C Spitfire XVI is coming along nicely.
I have been very impressed with this printer. Especially when printing at .15mm. Here are a few prints I have tried. Benchy, Squirtle, and a pony for my niece. All of them nearly perfect.
Man, I can not believe those prints. I don’t see how any other printer company exists. This this has absolutely knocked it out of the park. I am very envious of the skill of Joseph Prusa and his team. And the price on that thing is great. all the other companies trying to charge double that and the prints get no where near this perfect.
I have been following some of the printers out there and some of them are really stepping up their games. Still think the Prusa is a darn good value for what you get. The CR-10 has really surprised some people. It has its quirks but at half the price of the Prusa it turns out some stellar prints. Im happy with my purchase so far and I dont anticipate that changing. Should only stay as good or get better as I learn the machine and dial in filaments.
Got a box full of parts now and the Prusa is working on the XYZ pieces now. Only things left should be the tool holder and any specific mounts I need. Which for now will be one for the 660 and then a pen holder. Eventually going to run a laser as well but will wait to see what I decide on before printing that. The early parts I printed at .2 layer height. But what you can see in these pictures is .25mm. I have done practically no tuning on this machine other than small adjustments to temps for the filament. Still very impressed with this machine.
Assembly has begun! The carrages and legs are together and the tubes cleaned and deburred. Hope to get the Z axis and middle assembly together tonight and maybe get it all mounted up depending on time. Hope to have it moving by the end of the week. I’ll get some pictures tonight. Need to run to the hardware store and get a sheet of plywood to temporarily mount this to until I get the table built.
Finally got the bits and pieces assembled. If I wasn’t so tired I would start putting it all on the rails. Maybe Sunday evening when I get back into town and have a bit to work on it. I’m ready to start making chips. I can nearly smell the wood already.
Just realized when looking at everything this morning I am missing the Roller Mounts…doh! Guess I will fire that print up on Sunday afternoon when I get home. Not sure how I missed that file. Oh well. I am man enough to admit my mistakes, LOL.
Making progress. Hope to get it wired up tomorrow night. I hope to pull together a design for a table and get that built this weekend. Assembly seems to be going well so far. I’m OCD when it comes to putting things together so I constantly go back and remeasure and check things. Hopefully it pays off with a functional and accurate machine.
I’m sure it will be worth it in the end. I end up doing most things twice, usually wish I just put the time in the first time around. To get too crazy on it though, you are going to be getting it really dirty pretty quickly.
IT’S ALIVE!!! Managed to get everything hooked up correct the first time around, except for the LCD. Had to play musical connections a few times to get it to come on but no big deal. I am very impressed so far. Can’t wait to get the table built and start making wood chips. Started with a Sharpie and then decided to try a pen. Impressed with the results from the pen for sure.
