Here’s some pictures of my custom AO-101 I’m currently building. It’s going to use a 24v power supply and the latest RAMBO board. I’m thinking of switching out the pcb bed heater for a silicone heater. The lead screws are going to be 10mm thread diameter by 2mm pitch with resin nuts. I’ve upgraded the couplings to aluminum ones. It is still a work in progress. Will post more pictures once it’s finished.
Looks nice!
One thing you’ll want to account for in your design with the aluminum flex couplings, is the AO-10x stock configuration doesn’t have anything to constrain the threaded rod from moving up or down +/- z. To make a flex coupling work, you need to prevent the threaded rod from moving. You can do that with an upper end bearing plate, or a lower capture bearing. Otherwise you will get some Z layer weirdness from time to time. I tried to counter that by putting a tube sheathe over the coupler and zip tieing it at the top and bottom, but that did not work ideally. I eventually removed the helical couplings from mine.
I’m working on an all up ballscrew upgrade to go with the Linear Rail modification http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:220959. Assuming you ever convert over to the linear rail mod, you should probably be able to utilize the upper and lower bearing pieces once they are done with your own rail.
I like the all black. Looks pretty impressive. Looks like you have already incorporate the height increase modification as well.
I was going to suggest looking at Piercet’s upgrades but he beat me to it! I would check out all of his upgrades. He has got some cool stuff.
Let us know how it progresses and if you come up with any additional upgrades.
Somebody should tell that to maker’s tool works. You’ll notice that they are using their helical couplers with no capture bearings. http://store.makerstoolworks.com/printer-kits/mendelmax-2-0-standard-kit/
Although, I have used the MM2 extensively without noticing any z layer height issues. The biggest problems I had with the design were the extruder/hotend setup (which is fine i’m sure, but i’ve been spoiled by the greg’s wade jonas AO setup) and the bed leveling system which is not at all easy to adjust. When we had finally used the machine enough to wear out the y-bearings we just disassembled and salvaged parts for more ENT builds.
If it’s a stiff enough helical bearing, or a thin enough threaded rod, the issue isn’t as noticeable. The original AO-10x’s used a fairly stout 12-ish mm diameter threaded rod. The newer TAZ threaded rod on the 3.1 was a 5-ishmm thinner rod that deflected more. The mendelmax 2 uses a leadscrew suspended from the upper Z axis motors (the AO-10x rods attach to motors down at the base) and its helical couplers aren’t in compression, they are in tension, which tends to minimize the issues of uneven Z height. It’s basically the difference between trying to hang a stick from a hook on the ceiling pointing straight down, or trying to balance that same stick on your finger pointing straight up. The downside to having the motors further away from your print surface is that any errors due to the Z axis will tend to be magnified on the starting layer and get better as you go up the leadscrew. Either system can be made to work, and can work very well if they are dialed in correctly. A full up ballscrew / leadscrew setup with a proper bearing support setup will just be more accurate and repeatable.
The new Taz 4 does have a capture bearing top and bottom. My ballscrew plate for the AO-10x series will also have the same fixed / floating bearing arrangement. I really need to finish those this weekend.
I’m looking to sell my custom AO-101 if anyone’s interested. It will include everything pictured plus a printrboard, z and x axis assemblies, all hardware and wiring, 12v 30a power supply, 5 stepper motors all wired with quick molex connections, budaschnozzle 2.0c with .35 and .5 nozzle and the rest of the 3d printed parts to complete the build. I can fully assemble it for you so it’s ready to go or I can ship as is. You would just need to assembly the x and z axis and wire the printer. I will let it go at a good price. PM me if your interested.
Why are you selling?
Selling because I already have an AO-101 and I could use the money.