Five-axis 3D printing has many advantages
over conventional planar 3-axis 3D printing,
but when we searched for an affordable 5-axis
3D printer for a desktop environment, we
couldn’t find a suitable machine. (We did find one
multi-axis CNC machine with filament extruder
attached, but this was quite industrial and unable
to use any of the open-source firmware such as
RepRap.) So we decided to build one ourselves,
and to share it so you can try it too.
Why 5-axis? By adding two rotating axes of
motion, you can do all kinds of new tricks: print
without support (Figure
A
), do curved layer
deposition for optimal mechanical strength
(Figure
B
), achieve smooth, conformal surface
finishes without the “staircase” effect, and even
add colors and patterns on the surface cleanly
without oozing or stringing (Figure
C
).
Instead of building entirely new 5-axis
hardware, we decided to convert an existing
Cartesian 3D printer — the Prusa i3. It’s the most
commonly owned 3D printer, and it’s also entry-
level hardware, which means that those who
have moved onto more complex 3D printers may
own unused i3’s that they can experiment with.
The primary aim of our Open5x project was
to develop a conversion kit (3-axis to 5-axis)
that is highly affordable, easy to follow, and
customizable (to other 3D printers) to invite more
hobbyists and makers to try 5-axis 3D printing.
We’ve also developed a GUI-based conformal
slicer, integrated within a popular CAD package
(Rhino/Grasshopper). This CAD software is not
free license, which may limit some users, but we
aim to implement the slicer onto open-source
platforms going forward.
Excluding the Prusa i3 and the cost of 3D
printing the kit parts, it cost us roughly £400
($500) to buy all the mechanical and electrical
hardware for this 5-axis upgrade. It’s a great
project for someone who has built open-source
3D printers before, and has some knowledge of
G-code and custom slicing.
TIME REQUIRED:
A Week
DIFFICULTY:
Moderate
COST:
$480–$500 for Upgrade
MATERIALS
» Compact stepper motors, NEMA 17, 0.9° step
angle, 40mm body length (2) e3d-online.
com/products/motors
» Pulleys, GT2: 60 tooth, 8mm bore (2) and 20
tooth, 5mm bore (2)
» Timing belts, GT2, 6mm wide: 224mm/112
tooth (1) and 200mm/100 tooth (1)
» Brass nozzle, 0.4mm, extra long nonplanar.
xyz/product-page/0-4mm-non-planar-nozzle
» 3D-printed parts: print bed, rotating gantry,
etc.
» Various bearings and hardware See the full
list of materials and vendors at github.com/
FreddieHong19/Open5x.
TOOLS
» 3D printer to print the hardware parts for
this conversion
» Computer with Rhino/Grasshopper CAD
software The current development of the
conformal slicing runs on Rhino/Grasshopper,
which is not a free license software. We hope
to develop and implement the software
on a more accessible CAD platform.
» Pliers
» Wire cutters
» Hex keys
» Table clamps or vise (optional) useful
during assembly
A
A
B
C
89
make.co
M83_088-91_5Axis3DP_F1.indd 89M83_088-91_5Axis3DP_F1.indd 89 10/11/22 9:41 AM10/11/22 9:41 AM
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.