
00cheater
585
3
1

Hi all, I wanted to experiment with a mechanical design that's similar to 3D printing, but doesn't actually print. I'd like to build an XY positioning gantry for 3 relatively heavy sensors. If you imagine a cube, I'd like to have an XY system on the top, left, and right, with a podium that doesn't move and isn't heated, but has a turntable. What are the relatively cheapest parts I could get to build the mechanical aspect of this and experiment with the idea? This is adjacent enough to 3D printing that I hope someone can suggest inexpensive parts. I don't need massive precision (down to 1mm precision is fine enough) and I don't need a large volume (20x20x20 cm is fine, a little smaller or a little bigger is fine too), but it would be nice not to have to recalibrate things at every start, and I would like the thing to be somewhat stiff (each XY setup should hold 0.2 kg easily). I would be doing the digital control myself so I don't need that, and it's not 3D printing so no need for a hot end etc.
I'll need:
- frame (but I can buy standard alu extrusion frames to build the cubical outer frame)
- rails
- positioning hardware
- motors
- motor drivers
- any relevant brackets
- position sensors / encoders
- a cheap motorized turntable
What are some inexpensive, readily available parts that I could buy? Are there any stores that I could browse for inspiration? I'm located in the EU, so stores here are fine, but I'm also happy to buy from China, since that usually ends up being much cheaper, and I'm not in a rush.
Currently I'm looking for the cheapest things I could buy or one step up from that, just to play around with, with full intention that at some point I'll probably scrap the project and buy more suitable parts to build a version 2.
Thanks!
Snufflegrumpagus
I would look at Core-XY printer designs. It shouldn't be too difficult to copy the mechanism at the top to the two sides, although there may be issues with interference depending on how close you need the points on the side Y-Z planes to get to the top X-Y plane.
UnitConversionBot
1mm ≈ 39 thousandths of an inch
UnitConversionBot
0.2 kg ≈ .031 stone or 7 0/8 ounces
stercusmoriturussum
3d printers (usually) work without position sensors - and a direct extruder usually is heavier than 200 grams. Question would be - how many o these sensor heads do you want to/need move independently, and if the answer is >1, how are you going to handle collision avoidance/detection? Otherwise, for a single head, any 3d printer will serve for the basic structure, plus the turntable.
00cheater
each wall will have one sensor. They will not intersect, the control software will take care of that.
00cheater
not necessarily looking for a whole 3d printer, more for some basic parts to do the things that i need - the XY positioning and the motorization.
stercusmoriturussum
You might be able to save a bit money by using sliders that are running directly inside the grooves of the alu extrusions, but friction and accuracy will be horrible. Might as well use Lego...
stercusmoriturussum
Cheapest source for that is usually China - just did a short search, a basic CoreXY frame (which would cover one of your sides) will round at ~150...160 €. That includes the mechanics and the steppers. Look at e.g. https://de.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-corexy-frame.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.search.0 and see if that is approaching what you're looking for. I got no idea whether stepping down from the usual 50µm resolution to 1 mm is going to save you a lot of money.
00cheater
thanks! damn, aren't there whole printers that cost less than that? what's going on?
stercusmoriturussum
Not as CoreXY (as far as I'm aware). CoreXY uses linear rails, which tend to be expensive. Simpler printers use pairwise rods, which are cheaper. Cheap would be profile sliders like this one https://www.alu-profil-technik.de/Profilgleiter-Gleitschlitten-Aluprofil-40-45-mittig-mittig-Nut10-Aluprofil-Bosch-Raster-Nutprofil-Strebenprofil.html - could be good enough for your 1 mm resolution, but I have no idea if they can handle a CoreXY setup.
00cheater
thanks for the info!