TankRap by 3dGringo

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBOkLRoWxTE&feature=youtu.be
NOTE: The company that sold the lead screw drives for this design (Trinity Labs) has gone out of business. I have not yet found a replacement. That does not mean they are not out there somewhere. Just make sure you have them in hand before dedicating a tremendous amount of plastic to the construction of this machine. I do plan to revise the design to also use common off-the-shelf hardware, in which case it will be truly scalable on any axis.
BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE LATEST BUILD PDF!
TankRap #1 has been commissioned and is working properly. Notes are in the construction PDF. Yoda tested at 70% reduced size, with .5mm hot end (white ABS, yellow PLA, see photo).
The TankRap is an easy-to-assemble 3D printer, built like a tank, with accuracy in mind.
TankRap #1 survived international transit as checked luggage, and nothing broke. Testament to its ruggedness :)
This is a complete file set to build a TankRap 3d printer with lead-screw X and Y drives.
This design is easily scalable in any axis, and the frame axes are designed to mount to plywood or acrylic to both enclose the work area and prevent frame torsion.
THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. I have just finished constructing it and am now testing. So far the basic first design works correctly.
I do not recommend this project for someone's first 3d printer; it takes quite a bit of plastic to print everything, and the design may not be as easy to understand as some of the other opensource repraps available.NOTE important: I originally designed this machine around the Bulldog XL extruder, but while testing, I have found the problem I have been having with extrusion lies not with the hot ends I have been using, but with the extruder itself. Perhaps I received a lemon, but until I get a replacement that works, I cannot recommend the Bulldog. I have redesigned the X carriage to hold a Greg/Wade Accessible Extruder and whatever hot end you can attach to it (I prefer my tried-and-true Buda hot ends from Airwolf 3D)