Comments on: Making a Box Frame Prusa i3 – 3d Printer

By: Jerin Jacob

Jerin Jacob — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 17:56:17 +0000

Thank you sir, this post really helped me build a 3d printer on my own. Hope to build many more in the future.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 23:57:51 +0000

Hey Spencer,

I purchased my plaatic parts from the below ebay item:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Reprap-Prusa-Mendel-i3-Rework-Printed-Parts-KIT-DEEP-BLUE-3D-Printer-/231218257888?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35d5ae9fe0

if you have access to a printer they most resemble these parts:
http://www.homemetalshopclub.org/projects/toolpost/toolpost.html

Cheers,
Morgan

By: Morgan

Morgan — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 23:55:00 +0000

Hey Sean,

I purchased my parts as a kit on ebay, though what I got most closely resembles the parts here:
http://www.homemetalshopclub.org/projects/toolpost/toolpost.html

Cheers,
Morgan

By: Sean Murdock

Sean Murdock — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 23:08:24 +0000

Do you know where you got the stls or atleast the x carriage for the printer I have been trying to make a box frame i3 for a while but my x carriage doesn’t line up with any extruder

By: Spencer Matousek

Spencer Matousek — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 17:25:46 +0000

Hey Morgan, I’m building pretty much exactly what you have. I have been looking for a printed parts kit for the box style frame and really can’t find anything other than some place from Spain on ebay. Did you have your parts sourced from a local place or did you order them off ebay? If so can you share the link to where you bought them?

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 03:39:25 +0000

Thanks for the link that is exactly what I was looking for. I have been down a similar journey with my printrbot plus and spent a lot of time making it more stable by removing zip ties and doing other modifications so I kind of know exactly what things will likely cause problems, that is why I was seeking that particular part out. I also built an enclosure out of plexiglass panels for that printer and plan to do the same for the prusa i3, it significantly improved my print quality with larger volume ABS parts. I will be very interested in seeing what you came up with for an enclosure.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 14:19:53 +0000

Hey Terry,

Thanks for the comment, it’s appreciated. For the parts I used in my printer checkout this page ( http://johnridley.blogspot.com/2010/10/building-prusa-i3-printer-pictorial.html ) they are the ‘Linear Bearing Holders’. I would also recommend replacing all of your zip ties with machine screws and nyloc nuts ( or nuts and lock washers ). I learned the hard way, and am now getting much better results without them. I also used some loctite as well for added security.

Also, I’m going to be putting up another post / video soon of some new updates I made. Basically I was still getting some curling / warping in the corners with ABS and larger parts. Really it’s essential to build an enclosure for the machine, and also to warm it up before printing.

Cheers,
Morgan

By: Terry

Terry — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 01:30:32 +0000

Nice build and thanks for documenting it,

I am building a Box Frame Prusa i3 “classic” very similar to yours, I am using the parts off of Joseph Prusa’s github site and printed all of my parts (I already own a printrbot plus). I used your idea to build a base using some 3/8 plywood too. I just finished 90% of my mechanical assembly and am not happy with the play in my aluminum plate after I just wire tied my plate to the LM8UU bearings. I see from your pictures you have some printed pieces that mount the plate to the bearings, I can’t seem to find ones like yours anywhere after searching thingiverse and a few other 3d sharing sites. Can you share where you found those parts?

By: Alan Long

Alan Long — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 23:00:13 +0000

Hi Morgan,
Long time since I played around with metal casting but using PLA for casting has been talked about on the Reprap forum though not sure if anyone has tried it yet – I would be interested to know myself.
Firecast resin on SLA printers has been mentioned if you wanna check that out.
http://madesolid.com/fire-cast-resin.html

Cheers,
Al

By: Morgan

Morgan — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 02:13:18 +0000

Hey Alan,

Thanks for the post! Sounds like you may have some metal casting experience? If so, have you tried using a PLA print in investment casting? I don’t have anything that I need in metal at the moment, but would be fantastic if I could use a PLA print as a replacement for foam in lost foam casting.

At this point I’m not on the reprap forum, though I should definitely setup an account there.

Cheers,
Morgan