How to make a 3D printer yourself?

Not having time to appear, printers of 3D format have already loudly announced themselves. These devices have opened many new opportunities for professionals and fans of volumetric modeling. However, there are a lot of such printers. How to act, If the device for 3D-modeling is necessary, and purchase it not on what? The answer is simple: try to design a 3D printer with your own hands.

Despite the simplicity of the answer, it is quite difficult to create a 3D printer. This requires a practical knowledge of electronics, experience in repairing CNC machines and gold hands. But first you need to determine the type of device. All 3D printers, depending on the purpose, are divided into several types. Most of them are devices that form a three-dimensional object from molten and liquid plastic. Used in printers and other materials. Some devices work on a gypsum and create an object layer by layer with the help of an ink jet head. There are also devices using the polymer. In them, objects are created by a laser beam. It is almost impossible to create such a 3D printer with your own hands, since its parts are very complicated and expensive. In addition, polymer models are very fragile and are used only as samples.

In contrast to polymer printers, plastic devices are much simpler. Beneficial to use and ABS plastic - the objects created from it are very durable, so they can be used immediately for their intended purpose. This type of printer is used most often.

Before you create a 3D printer with your own hands, it's worth investigating what it's made up of. Its main components are controllers, power unit, printhead, stepper motors and guides. All this is enclosed in the body. If you remove the print head, the system resembles an engraving or CNC milling machine.

In practice, creating a 3D printer can be an insoluble problem. First, the system must be perfectly balanced. The slightest misalignment will prevent the printer from operating normally. Most often, the play occurs in systems of the cheapest components. The second problem is the controllers. Control chips, designed for 3D printers, are not on sale, and the available controllers will have to be altered. The result of this alteration will be permanent failures and "glitches". The printhead can not be bought either. Usually it is hand-stitched. The details produced by such a head will be coarse and not particularly accurate.

And now let's talk about prices. How much does it cost to build a 3D printer with my own hands, and will the finished device cost less? Ready-made devices cost 1.5-3 thousand "conventional units" - not such a large amount for such a high-tech device. Components for a homemade printer will have to buy very high quality, otherwise the device can not earn. All components will cost 760-1.520 dollars. Sets for assembling printers, the so-called KITs for 500-900 dollars, consisting of basic parts, should not be bought. As a rule, the systems assembled from them do not work at all.

It's very difficult to model a 3D printer with your own hands. This will take a lot of time, strength and nerve cells. It is up to you to decide whether to take this difficult task, but it will be much easier and not much more expensive to buy a good balanced device.