Yet Another RepRap Style Printer

Hi there,

I made another RepRap style printer. Why? Because I wanted a 3D printer, and I wanted to roll my own design just for fun.

Now that the printer is up and running, I would not only like to share the design with you, but also discuss some of the design decisions I made. Especially those that turned out to be the wrong decisions, after all the reader should be able to learn from my mistakes.

But first some details about the printer. The frame was made using 30mm aluminum extrusions, resulting in a really sturdy, yet relatively light and inexpensive mechanical build. The two extrusions along the x axis are 500mm in length, all other extrusions are 400mm. The footprint of this design is quite large (about 580mm x 420 mm), but space was not an issue, so I am fine with being a bit on the huge side. The printing area is the standard 200mm x 200mm offered by the RepRap heated bed. The z direction also extends 200mm-ish (I have to get the exact amount of travel sometime...).