Prusa Mendel
Translations of this page
Dutch: Prusa Mendel in het Nederlands
Release status: working
Description | Prusa Mendel is a simpler remix of normal Mendel.
|
License | |
Author | |
Contributors | |
Based-on | |
Categories | |
CAD Models | |
External Link |
- If you are building this machine using SAE (imperial) fasteners, see also SAE Prusa Mendel.
Prusa Mendel is the Ford Model T of 3D printers.
The Prusa Mendel is a simpler remix of the original Mendel. By default, it uses printed bushings instead of regular bearings, though options to substitute inexpensive lm8uu linear bearings or other types of bearings or bushings are available. The current version uses three 608 bearings in total, one for the X axis and two for the Y axis. The 624 bearings are gone altogether.
Prusa's main goal is to be the purest and simplest 3D printer you can build.
- It's much simpler to build it.
- It's much simpler to modify it.
- It's much simpler to print it for your friends.
- It's much simpler to repair it.
Because of it's complexity, the Prusa Mendel can be a living thing. I update it all the time. It's a unique feature but it should be standard. We are living in feature, we don't care if it's a bit different every time; our printer will print it in same time ;-)
Contents
<videoflash>tyVM3-v84I0</videoflash>
Development
The development of the Prusa Mendel is hosted on github: http://github.com/prusajr/PrusaMendel.
You can follow the changes on Changelog.
You can sign up for github for free and fork the project to begin working on it.
History
Bill of Materials
Printed Parts
Non-Printed Parts ("vitamins")
Note that additional parts are required for the extruder, although some extruder parts are included in the table below.
Quantity | Description | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
83 | M8 nut | Fastener | Buy a 100-pack to be on the safe side. |
93 | M8 washer | Fastener | Buy a 100-pack to be on the safe side. |
6 | M8×30 mudguard / fender washer | Fastener | |
2 | M4×20 bolt | Fastener | To mount the extruder |
2 | M4 nut | Fastener | To mount the extruder |
2 | M4 washer | Fastener | To mount the extruder |
22 | M3×10 bolt | Fastener | |
16 | M3×25 bolt | Fastener | Or eight M3×25 bolt plus eight M3x20 bolts. The M3x25 bolts are too long for the recent Prusa z-motor-holder and rod-clamp, and also for the Z motor couplings. See Section 8, steps 4 and 13 for details. |
4 | M3×40 bolt | Fastener | |
70 | M3 washer | Fastener | |
40 | M3 nut | Fastener | 8 optionally locknut / stop nut / nyloc |
2 | M3 grub screw / set screw | Fastener | M3x8 seems about ideal but anything 6mm or longer should do. If these are hard to get, additional M3×10 bolts will do the job instead. |
3 | 608 roller skate / inline skate / skateboard bearing | Bearings | |
4 | ballpoint pen springs | Spring | To fit over M3 bolts. Ballpoint pens are a common, cheap source of suitable springs. They are about 25mm long and compress to about 10mm. |
6 | M8×370mm | Threaded rod | 3 per side |
4 | M8×294mm | Threaded rod | front / rear |
3 | M8×440mm | Threaded rod | top / bottom |
2 | M8×210mm | Threaded rod | Z-leadscrew |
1 | M8×50mm | Threaded rod | or M8x30 or longer bolt for X idler. Take care: if the bolt is too long, it may not be threaded along a sufficient length |
2 | 8mm×420mm | Smooth rod | X-bar |
2 | 8mm×406mm | Smooth rod | Y-bar |
2 | 8mm×350mm | Smooth rod | Z-bar |
1 | 225mm×225mm print top plate | Thick Sheet | |
1 | 140mm×225mm print bottom plate | Thick Sheet | |
1 | 840mm×5mm T5 pitch timing belt | Belt | Y axis |
1 | 900mm×5mm T5 pitch timing belt | Belt | X axis |
5 | NEMA 17 bipolar stepper motor | Stepper | Be sure to get ones with at least 20mm of shaft length. Shorter shafts require modifications to the X pulley assembly and Z motor couplers. One of the five motors, for use with the extruder, should be capable of creating a holding torque of at least 40Ncm, at the very least. |
50 | small cable binder / ziptie | Misc | |
1 | Wade's Geared Extruder | for 1.75mm filament RepRap Universal Mini Extruder; or any other compatible extruder for either | |
1 | Electronics + endstops | This can be RAMPS (Recommended), Sanguinololu (Recommended), Pololu Electronics, Gen6, Gen7, Gen3, or anything else compatible. Endstops are either optical switches or microswitches (Recommended), and you need three, one for each of the X, Y, Z axes. |
Quantity | Description | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
3 | 30mm×10mm Optoflags | Thin Sheet | if using opto endstops |
2 | 8mm ID spring | Spring | to eliminate backlash in the z axis |
1 | object with precisely 290mm length | for frame alignment | |
1 | object with precisely 234mm length | for frame alignment |
You can combine the latter two by having a piece of thick sheet with dimensions 290mm×234mm. Make sure to mark which side is which.
When cutting the threaded rods from 1m lengths, cut them as follows:
Required: 6x1m Long 8mm Threaded Rods (or 5x1 pieces + 1x50cm piece) Rod 1: 370mm, 370mm, 210mm, ~50mm (The last piece will end up somewhat shorter than 50mm. ) Rod 2: 370mm, 370mm, 210mm, ~50mm ( Use it for your idler. Alternatively, an M8x30 or ) Rod 3: 370mm, 294mm, 294mm, ~42mm ( longer bolt can be used. ) Rod 4: 370mm, 294mm, 294mm, ~42mm Rod 5: 440mm, 440mm, ~120mm Rod 6: 440mm
The Prusa Mendel uses the 4 drivers in the standard Mendel electronics package to drive 5 motors by using two steppers wired in parallel to one driver [1].
Where To Purchase
See the Mendel Buyers Guide for information on where to purchase all of the parts needed.
Printing the Parts
Printing a Prusa on a Mendel
An easier option then individually printing each part if you are printing Prusa on a RepRap Mendel is the pre-assembled build file containing the Prusa parts. With this option you only need to print the Mendel plate and the PLA bushings to get a complete Prusa Mendel:
- Mendel Plate (contains all printed parts except the PLA Bushings)
- PLA Bushing
Printing a Prusa on a CupCake CNC
There are also pre-assembled build files available to fit your CupCake CNC's build area (download using right click => save as)
Note:
- These plates are 85x95mm in size.
Plates for the MakerBot (the plates have changed, these print times are no longer accurate):
- Makerbot Plate 1=> 6 hrs 30 min
- Makerbot Plate 2=> ~2 hrs 30 min (needs retesting)
- Makerbot Plate 3=> 5 hrs 40 min
- Makerbot Plate 4=> 2 hrs 30 min
- Makerbot Plate 5 => 1 hr 50 min
Printing a Prusa on anything else
Last but not least, if you have a machine that doesn't fit into any of the previous options all the .stl files necessary to print a Prusa Mendel are available on the PrusaMendel Github where you can download them and print them individually.
Buy the printed parts
Mendel_Buyers_Guide#RepRapped_Parts_Kits
Assembly
- Assembly instructions >> Prusa Mendel Assembly.
- Required Tools
Media
- Two printers simultaneously - Prusa and shaper cube working side by side.
- Prusa homing using endstops
- Prusa development overview
- Prusa Y axis stress test
- Prusa Z axis stress test
- Early preview of the Prusa Mendel redesign
- Fumon's Prusa build session 1 - D1plo1d building Fumon's Prusa Mendel at Hacklab.to. Should give a hint as to how the Prusa Mendel parts go together.
Prusa Improvements/Hacks
- Rob's Auto-centering shaft coupler - designed to reduce shaft/motor vibrations (print 2/replaces 2x coupler). May require widening the openings on the z motor mounts to allow the rotation of the zip tie. Use a zip tie gun to get maximum compression on the coupling.
See Also
External Links
- Prusa's Blog
- Prusa Builder Blog Feed
- Assembly photo gallery
- Prusa Mendel Visual Instructions - A nicely formatted version of the assembly process in PDF.
- Paperback version the Prusa Mendel Visual Instructions, also available in color.
- Prusa Mendel Assembly Video Tutorial This video, the first of a series, provides an overview.