4/12/2014

Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

Annoye d and frustrate d by 3D Syste m s buying out and the n stopping the
MAKE YOUR OWN
3D DELTA PRINTER FOR production of the R apMan 3D printe r. This was the first k it printe r Be lgian
de sign duo Unfold adapte d to print with clay and has subse que ntly be e n
CERAMIC
copie d and wide ly use d by othe rs, I de cide d to de ve lop m y own

re place m e nt 3D printe r. Base d on the de lta type of 3D printe r m y aim has

be e n to use parts that can e ithe r be m ade with basic DIY tools and sk ills,
or orde re d off the inte rne t. The de sign is spe cifically for printing in clay but
could be adapte d to work with othe r m ate rials. Many othe r se lf build 3D
printe rs use parts printe d in plastic but with this proje ct I did not want to be
re liant on alre ady having acce ss to a 3D printe r.
This docum e nt is not a blue print for building a 3D printe r but m ore m y
docum e ntation of what I have done . My e x pe rie nce is as an artist and not
as an e ngine e r or com pute r spe cialist so I am sure the re are m any
im prove m e nts that could be m ade but this is what work s for m e . I
we lcom e othe rs to tak e up the de sign and de ve lop it furthe r but only in a
private or re se arch and e ducation conte x t. Ple ase re spe ct m y e thos of
sharing and the hum anity to be found in ge ne rosity. This proje ct was
borne out of the disgust of the practice s of big busine ss so ple ase do not
blatantly use the inform ation I am offe ring for com m e rcial gain.
Be ing m ore inte re ste d in what m ight be cre ative ly produce d with 3D
printe rs I am happy to contribute ope nly to the growing k nowle dge base d
around clay and com pute risation but it com e with a warning. As difficult as
it is to pull all the te chnology and com pute risation toge the r I sugge st it is
e ve n m ore difficult to do som e thing cre ative , fre sh and m e aningful with
this te chnology. I look forward to se e ing what othe rs can do with it. By 3D
printe r standards this is a rathe r prim itive tool se t, but it doe s offe r an
acce ssible way into a ve ry e x citing ne w way of work ing with clay.

PARTS
MDF and Plastic W he re m ore stre ngth is
ne e de d I have use d 15m m
MDF but som e parts are
12m m . The plastic parts are
10m m . My cutting te m plate s
whe re sk e tche d out in
Microsoft W ord so are not
ve ry accurate but are
printable on a standard A4
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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

printe r and give s a basic

cutting patte rn that I have
alte re d as I have gone
along.
PDF
PDF
PDF
PDF

All parts
Base A4
Fram e parts A4
Moving parts A4

C AD file s thank s to John

Nicholson (update March
2014)
PDF Base
PDF C om pone nts
PDF Top Asse m bly
DXF Base
DXF C om pone nts
DXF Top Asse m bly
DW G Base
DW G C om pone nts
DW G Top Asse m bly

Me chanics *6 x 70cm 12m m ste e l rods

*6 x line ar be arings to fit
ste e l rods
*3 x High Torque Hybrid
Ste ppe r Motors
SY42STH47_1684A (Holding
Torque 4.4 Kg-cm )
(All the above I ge t
from Zapp Autom ation, UK)
*6 x arm rods with ball joints
(The se I m ade up with
alum inium rod and m ode l
car Trax x as R od Ends)
*3 x 1164m m le ngth 6m m
wide GT2 pitch (2m m ) be lts
(The se I ge t from fabste r3D
on EBay se e be low)
*3 x Alum inium GT2 Pulle ys
for the ste ppe r m otors
(Part of fabste r3D ULTR A
SET se e be low)

Ele ctronics I ge t the ULTR A SET

from fabste r3D on EBay.
From the UlTR A SET I use
*1 x Arduino Me ga 2560
m icrocontrolle r board
*1 x R AMPS 1.4 se t that is
com ple te .
*1 x LC D and SD card pane l
that plugs into the R AMPS
*3 x Me chanical Endstops
(Anothe r 3 e ndstops in the
se t that are unuse d)
*3 x Alum inium GT2 Pulle ys
se e m e chanics
*100k the rm istor (Not
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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

ne e de d for clay but ne e de d

to k e e p the firm ware happy)
A good se le ction of cable s
Powe r supply options
Le ft, X Box
R ight, Ge ne ral purpose
powe r brick s 12V 220W
(Both available on Am azon)
Be low a pictorial bill of parts
base d on supplie rs
conve nie nt to the UK. (This is
only considered as a helpful
guide and no responsibility
is taken for this information
so please check all items
before ordering for your
suitability)
De lta C e ram ic 3D Printe r Bill
of Parts

Firm ware I use Johann R ocholls

m odifie d Marlinfirm ware . I have had
a look at the R e pe tie r firm ware but
got the Marlin going first so have
stuck with it. He re is a copy of
the C e ram icPrinte r_MarlinLC Dfirm ware
that I have se tup for this build. The
Download ZIP is lowe r right on the
link page . Se e the 'Build your own
C e ram ic 3D Printe r' Google +
C om m unity page for m ore
inform ation.
Software To cre ate and e dit 3D
file s I use the ope n source 3D
m ode ling program calle d Ble nde r.
To slice up the .stl file to gcode
re ady for the SD card that carrie s the
inform ation to the printe r I
use R e pe tie r Host.
De lta and clay Se ttings for R e pite rHost PDF Download
Printhe ad
The clay e x trude r is sim ply
parts adapte d from the
adhe sive s industry . I use
parts from the Te chcon
Syste m s TS Se rie s
dispe nsing gun, using the
cartridge s, re taine r body and
cap but not the gun grip right.
Le ft - syringe s originally
use d. The clay is e x trude d
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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

with com pre sse d air.

BUILD
Basic Fram e The ste e l rods
offe r ve rtical rigidity while
also be ing the runne rs for
the plate s to which the print
he ad arm s are attache d. To
e nsure the whole structure is
rigid the rods are a tight fit
top and bottom whe re I
have double d up on the
thick ne ss of the MDF to
he lp.

Motors the m otors are

m ounte d at the top to k e e p
out of the m e ss from clay
and clay dust. For the sam e
re ason the controlle r is
se parate d from the m ain
print unite . The m otors are
he ld in place by the MDF top
e le m e nts and se cure d down
with plastic pull tie s. The
pulle ys are supplie d in the
ULTR A SET from fabste r3D,
including alle n k e y that is a
nice touch.

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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

Be lts The be lts I use are

continue s so e asily
te nsione d up on a se lf m ade
pulle ys he ld by the plastic
plate s attache d to the ste e l
rod. (R e turn pulle ys m ade
from two tap washe rs, or
6m m the n x m m plastic
tubing on cut ste e l nail)

Arm s and e x trude r m ount

The arm s are m ade up
using a jig to e nsure the y
are all the sam e le ngth.
Mode l car ball joints ar glue d
into alum inium rod from a
DIY store . O n the jig the
nails that the rose be aring
at e ach e nd of the
alum inum rod push onto are
24 cm apart. So the arm
le ngth to pivot point on e ach
e nd is 24 cm . I calculate d it
by the stre tch the arm s
would ne e d to m ak e to
scribe the 20cm m ax
printing circle within the
thre e support colum ns. I fe lt
at full e x te nt an arm would
be st be just off horizontal.
The arm s are the n pinne d
and glue d into the runne r
m ounts and e x trude r m ount.
The e x trude r m ount has a
sim ple cradle to hold the
clay cartridge .
R unne r plate s From
e x pe rie nce it is im portant to
have a good and square fit
be twe e n runne r m ount plate
and be arings. W ith a se lf
m ade tool I sand a hollow to
be d the plate up against the
be arings. The plate s are
se cure d with plastic pull tie s
onto the be arings. The be lts
can the n be se cure d onto
the runne r plate .

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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

End stops I only have

e ndstops at the top whe re
the print he ad ze ros be fore
e ach print. The wiring
configuration is trick y but by
trial and e rror I got it
work ing use two te rm inals on
the m e chanical e ndstops
that are provide d in the
ULTR A SET.

Proce ssor I ge t the ULTR A

SET from fabste r3D on EBay.
The y have be e n ve ry good
and de live r to the UK from
Hong Kong in thre e day. The
se t is sold for plastic printe rs
so include s a MK2a he atbe d
that is not ne e de d with clay
so ne gotiate a swop for 3 x
1164m m le ngth 6m m wide
GT2 be lts.
In the ULTR A SET the R AMPS
board arrive s sitting on the
Arduino re ady to go. The
gadge ts3d.com R AMPS
board is we ll m ark e d out for
what goe s whe re . The re is
an e x tra m ini SD card and
board attache d that ne e ds
to be re m ove d first so the
m ain LC D scre e n and SD
card board can be plugge d
into the R AMPS board. I pair
up the m otor and e ndstop to
an X a Y and a Z colum n
(although for the m ove m e nt
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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

of a de lta printe r the x , y

and z is not m e aningful) so
the y corre late with how the y
are m ark e d on the controlle r
board. W ire s are twiste d
toge the r with a drill, cut to
le ngth and the re le vant e nd
fitm e nts solde r on k e e ping
all colour coding. The e nd
stop wire s are plugge d in
e nsuring the y are in the slot
for the top e ndstops se cond slot for e ach x , y, z
m ark on the board. The
the rm ostat I cove r be low but
in the vide o I slot that in
ne x t. The X, Y and Z m otor
drive rs are cle arly m ark e d
on the board, as is the
wiring for the LC D scre e n
and SD card. W ith clay
printing I am not using a
he at be d so powe r is only
attache d to the 5A +-, se e
powe r be low. This le ave s
m any slots on the R AMPS
board unuse d.

The rm ostat The program

running the printe r
firm ware , che ck s for a
the rm ostat as it is
program m e d for plastic
printing. Printing in clay no
the rm ostat is ne e de d but
without a the rm ostat
plugge d into the R AMPS
board it will not run. A sm all
re sistor or the 100K
the rm ostat supplie d in the
ULTR A SET plugge d into the
first te m pe rature slot se e m s
to k e e p the firm ware happy.

Ste ppe r m otor tuning - Each

ste ppe r m otor drive r board
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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

has two star he ade d

adjustm e nt scre ws. W he n I
first starte d up m y printe r
although the m otors m ade a
hum the y would not m ove .
Each scre w has one flat side
that whe n fully turne d down
anticlock wise , sits at about
10 oclock . W ith the powe r
off I gradually turne d up
clock wise , the top scre w for
e ach m otor. Too m uch and
appare ntly m ore powe r goe s
to the m otors but the n the y
he at up. I have found
turning the flat side to
around thre e oclock is
strong e nough without the
m otors ge tting too hot
during continue s printing. I
am not quite sure what the
lowe r scre w is for but on the
fabste r3D EBay we bpage
the y sugge st le aving the m
turne d fully anticlock wise .

Powe r supply I have trie d

both a LED Strip light powe r
supply, 12V 20A 240W (le ft)
and an XBox 360 175W
powe r supply (right) and
both do the job. I am not
qualifie d in the fine r de tails
with re gards e le ctricity so
would not lik e to pass on
any incorre ct inform ation but
as with all the inform ation in
this docum e ntation it can
e asily be found on the
inte rne t. I have put an inline
switch just be fore the plug
that goe s into the control
board so the printe r can
quick ly be turne d off if the re
is a proble m .

Printhe ad The clay

e x trude r is sim ply parts
adapte d from the adhe sive s
industry. The soft clay is
e x trude d out of the cartridge
with the use of com pre sse d
air, around 30 psi (pounds
pe r square inch) or 2 bar.
The air pre ssure se t against
the consiste ncy of the clay
controls the rate of flow of
the printing m ate rial. The
e x trusion rate is around
1m m pe r se cond. Ex cuse
be ing vague with this
inform ation but, one I am
not m e thodical about e ach
se tting as the re are so m any
variable s I re lying on m y
tacit k nowle dge of work ing
with clay and the ge ne ral
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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

fe e l to ge t it right not
he lpful I k now. Se condly I
use diffe re nt se tting for
diffe re nt scale s of work and
diffe re nt clays and diffe re nt
shape s. Sm all work will be
e x trude d with a 1m m nozzle
while large r work s will use a
2 m m nozzle . Sm all work is
slice d at .5 to .6 m m pe r
laye r while I scale up to .9,
1m m for large r prints. Most
work is printe d with a single
wall but form s that flare out
such as bowls it can be
use ful to print a double wall.
C opying the Unfoldte chnique
I originally use d syringe s to
hold the clay, as big as I
could find and would glue
two toge the r to ge t a be tte r
volum e of m ate rial. The n I
found the Te chcon Syste m s
TS Se rie s dispe nsing gun
and so m ak e use of the
cartridge s, re taine r body and
cap but not the gun grip. I
attach a standard inch ball
vale on/off switch onto the
cap whe re the air pre ssure
hose com e s in to m anually
switch the pre ssure on at the
start of a print and off at the
e nd. During the print the
flow of m ate rial is continue s.
A te chnical point that could
be im prove d for shape s
whe re you want the build
m ate rial to stop and the n
be gin again at anothe r point
as the print he ad k e e ps
m oving.

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FURTHER REFERANCE
Johann R ocholls online docum e ntation is ve ry use ful - R e pR ap wik i and Thingive rse .
R uss Grie s De lta 3D Printe r Proje ct on YouTube has be e n use ful.
UNFO LD blog is good about clay e x trude rs.
Se arch YouTube for loading Marlin (or R e pe tie r) firm ware and you will ge t lots of use ful advice .
Google Group - De lta robot 3D printe rs.
Fabste r3d is the e Bay nam e for gadge ts3d.com that is a we bsite that se lls all the sam e stuff.

HOW TO USE YOUR PRINTER

(Film e d for the Inte rnational C e ram ic R e se arch C e nte r, Guldage rgaard, De nm ark )

R e pe tie r-Host for C e ram ic 3D Printing - De lta and clay Se ttings for R e pite r-Host PDF Download

C lay pre pe ration for De lta 3D Printing

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Jonathan Keep, Self build Delta 3D printer

Printing with the De lta C e ram ic 3D Printe r

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