[rpovey]

There is nothing you'll mount after what you have there that will affect squareness.
If the 4 intersecting screwed rods at the bottom are square, pretty much everything else will fall into square.
You'll still need to measure the 2 rods at the front and back and square those, and of course check the table rails for squareness, although if they are out of square you'll feel in when moving the table.

[doorknob]

I'm following this eagerly, the play-by-play is much appreciated.

Are you recording the amount of assembly time (either per step or cumulatively) as you go along?

[mhackney]

Thanks. I am actually writing the manual for SeeMeCNC as I go so the time is not typical of what a normal build would involve. I'd like to complete the manual and then build a second machine and time as I go. I build a bit, write a bit, test what I wrote and then move on, so it is relatively slow going. There have been a few times that I missed something in the drawings and had to go back and disassemble things to correct. These get documented back at the correct place in the manual. That alone should save several hours for folks!

I'm just using my iPhone and kitchen table for the photos not my usual photo booth and Canon 7D. These photos are not intended for the manual - all of the images in the manual are computer generated from the CAD drawings. I think they work much better. There may be a photo here and there for tricky things, we'll see.

cheers,
Michael

[rpovey]

I do think a manual will help people a lot, while the SeeMeCNC drawings are all accurate some of them are at best obtuse to interpret, most especially the exploded view of the extruder. Once you've put it together the diagram makes sense up to that point there are pictures of parts with no clear indication of where they fit.

I put the majority of the mechanicals together in two sittings, perhaps 4-6 hours total and an extra couple to figure out the extruder assembly. Having said that I made mistakes and had to back track, there are also a few things I would do differently which would make assembly easier if I were doing it again.

It's a lot of parts, but it really just comes down to build the sub assemblies, put them together.

[doorknob]

I ordered the kit with the plastic and hardware parts, along with the ball bearing upgrade kit.

I already have some NEMA17 motors, a Chinese TB6560 board, a power supply and a licensed copy of Mach3.

I guess that I will either buy an Easy Stepper Driver board from SparkFun or else throw together my own driver for the extruder motor.

Also, I ought to order some of the feedstock ahead of time.

Michael, I know that it's premature to ask, but if you will be looking for a "guinea pig" to test your instructions before you release them into the wild, I would be willing to volunteer.

[mhackney]

Hey guys, in addition to having some decent instructions, I'm making a parts list - by sub assembly - for the build. I've identified lots of differences already. This should help the guys at SeeMeCNC with parts and quality control. Also, there are some undocumented (as of yet) components for things like the Z timing belt idler (see photo below).



doorknob, send me your email address in a PM. I'll double check with the guys at SeeMeCNC but I would love to have a couple of extra sets of eyes to give feedback, etc.

cheers,
Michael

[mhackney]

And the extruder is now complete and documented. Lots of parts in these!





I didn't have the high temp silicone to cement the thermistor in the Extruder Barrel. I'll pick that up tomorrow.

Now I have the mechanicals complete. I spent some time on the phone today with John from SeeMeCNC (he's following this and other threads here on the zone - hi John!) to answer some questions I need for the manual. I got the scoop on the X and Y timing belt mounting as well as validated the Z timing belt idler. It's all pretty cool.

Now that I've done this, I think I could fly through the next one, especially with the instruction manual

Cheers,
Michael

[foam27]

Ordered mine a couple of days ago as well.

The big draw for me was the molded parts

I just hope that it's rigid enough to handle higher accelerations.

I wish I ordered the bearing upgrade kit, now that I heard that the plastic ones are out of round

[rwskinner]

The bearing upgrade is well worth the money. I also used bearings for all the idler pulleys and that helped a lot as well especially on the X.

Richard

[mhackney]

Once the machine is assembled it is locked in pretty rigid. The guys on the yahoo forum and John at SeeMeCNC are running these at high rapids and getting great prints. The molded parts are a great. I can't imagine printing all those parts to make another machine! The RepRap community is a lot like the early software/computer movement - "tools to make tools" (a quote from the book Hackers). Inevitably, a new generation of users step in to utilize the technology for other purposes. Kits like the H-1 facilitate that as do pre-assembled machines.

Steel bearings come with the H-1 for the Z axis screws and the extruder idler pulleys. The basic kit has molded bearings for the X, Y and Z followers on the linear rails. I ordered the steel bearing upgrade too and glad I did. That said, they are standard off the shelf bearings you can get at Boca Bearings or VXB. You'll need thirty-two R2ZZ (1/8" ID x 3/8" OD x .156 W) ball bearings. Standard fare. The dowel pins used as bearing axels are plastic (very rigid, maybe a filled nylon?). I believe (but not 100% positive) that the same size is used for both the molded and steel bearings so the pins that come with the base kit will likely work with the steel bearings. I'll try to confirm this with Steve or John.

Cheers,
Michael

[mhackney]

Forgot to mention, John at SeeMeCNC just posted these videos where he replaced the extruder head with a dremel for engraving acrylic and aluminum. Using Mach and engraving the Roadrunner. The results look pretty good.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPdorxkQpMc&feature=uploademail]SeeMeCNC H-1 Engraving Acrylic - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LECdFEFLm8&feature=channel]SeeMeCNC H-1 Engraving 6061-T6 Aluminum - YouTube[/ame]

Check out SeeMeCNC's YouTube Channel for more interesting stuff.

cheers,
Michael

[Rescue35]

Looking good. I am hoping to finish the mechanical assembly today myself. It isn't to bad once you get past the shock of the amount of hardware that comes in that little box.

I did have to pick up some 1/4-20 allthread as my kit was short two 12" peaces and I believe I have 2 extra 10.5" peaces instead.

Keep it up this is very helpful.

[KnacK]

Hey Michael,

Out of everything make sure you document the alignment of the machine to get it square. That was one of my biggest issues and I might still be fighting a small squareness issue still.

Chris Muncy

[rwskinner]

You're right, the molded plastic parts are really nice and seem very durable and was the main selling point for me (Ah, okay, and price was too).

I want to be sure and make a comment to remind ourselves that some of the things SeeMe did was to build a great running machine for an unbeleivable price so lots of folks could dive into this fun hobby. In order to acheive that goal, the factory "out of the box" machine had to have some consessions made such as the nylon bearings as an example. They work fine and most people are going to mod everything they get anyways.

Since I have both, the Mendel and the H1 I'm doing comparisions between the machines and the different control stratagies out of curiosity more than anything. With that said, it really is an unfair comparision because I'm comparing a $400 machine to an $800 machine. It's hard to beleive that a machine that cost half as much produces close to the same results!

Richard

[LeeWay]

Looking great so far. Nice looking kit as well. I am working on a Prusa like Hoss's. I have the linear bearing kit. I have to say that the next iteration of this little machine could really use those. They are sweet. It would simplify both the amount of parts and adjustments needed I think. They aligned well in the printed parts my kit has, so I know they would do even better in molded parts.
Keep up the good work. I know documenting things are a challenge.

[mhackney]

Thanks for adding that Richard. You know, as for controls, I picked up a RepRap Generation6 board for $130 from MakerFarm. It is all inclusive with stepper drivers, temp control etc and pre-assembled. You use Open Source software with it. Replacing it for the parallel driver, thermostat (a kit that needs to be soldered), and that "little red board" in the H-1 kit would reduce cost a bit more and decrease complexity. Not an issue if you already have a Mach license.

It is also just a matter of time before EMC will run these. In fact, the new version of Slic3r generates Mach and EMC g-code so I assume it should work now. Add on a Dremel tool and you have a nice little engraving machine that could easily cut balsa wood and foam for RC models.

Very cool stuff!

cheers,
Michael

[mhackney]

Lee, thanks. Also, could you post a photo of the Prussa linear bearings? I'm curious to see what they look like.

cheers,
Michael

[LeeWay]

Like thousands of ebay listings and first builds on the Zone, they are simple unsupported round rail bearings. They fit Drill rod very well.


Here is an Ebay listing.

12pcs LM8UU 8mm Linear Ball Bearing Bush Bushing | eBay

[mhackney]

A little soldering completed (and documented). First the Thermostat. It is actually a Velleman Kit (MK138) that comes in its original packaging and instructions. I just documented a few tips.



And the Heating Resistors soldered in parallel:



And I think that's it for getting all the sub-assemblies finished! Now its wiring up the driver board, that funky little red board, the thermostat, hot end and motors. Then I should be ready to test.

cheers,
Michael

[mhackney]

That "little red board" is an easy driver stepper driver for the extruder stepper.



Michael