Printer consists of a 300mm x 300 mm build plate with a direct drive e3D Hemera Extruder and a Duet 2 board to control stepper movements, heat bed, extruder temperatures and lastly wifi connectivity.
Firstly, I designed a simple cartesian structure using Fusin360. I adopted the V-rails from open rails and took inspiration from models from Creality and Zidex Printers
After refining the design vis Fusion360, I proceeded to source for parts, mainly from China since the market offers more diversity and the goods are more affordable.
My design included multiple 3D printed parts and I was lucky enough to find affordable 3D printing services that would print my parts in stronger black nylon. I wanted to get the best extruder out there and landed myself with Hemera from e3D. I stuck with a direct drive system as the printer I designed is able to support the added weight and wanted to avoid any common filament delivery problems associated with a bowden system.
I chose the Duet 2 Board as the tmc266 stepper motor drivers are much more reliable. The paneldue board also enabled me to use a touch screen interface to control my prints and variables.
The overall assembly was fun yet challenging, I faced numerous connectivity issues as I was relatively new to electronics. I had to resolder and recrimp my board and connectors numerous times. Some parts that I bought are also inconsistent and I had to improvise and reroute numerous sensors and heating elements. The worse part of doing the circuitry was the manufacturing problems of the Duet 2 Board. There were many traces that were not connected and I had to diagnosed the problems and route the traces physically using jumpers.
Finally, the code was relatively easy. I updated the json config file via an online RepRap Firmware tool. Using cura, I was able to add my own configurations into its GUI and the software does all the slicing and calculations for me.
Overall, this was an interesting project and I am glad that I was able to stick to the project and finish it in the end during a tough training regime in National Service
