HE3D Prusa Mendel future build

[bgkdavis]

I bought a he3d delta…and like you regretted it!

Since then ive renovated it and its now by far irs my best printer, but it wasnt a cheap renno.

Id reccomend you start by buying the following parts

P3 steel frame

E3d titan extruder

E3d v6 hot end

Duet wifi control board

With these and some hardware off your original printer you may have the makings of a reasonable printer… you may need to buy a heatbed too, and a few other bits and pieces… and you may need to get a p3 plastics kit from the same place as the frame

[bgkdavis]

Best go to the e3d website for the extruder and hot end, ebay for the p3 steel frame and duet wifi for the duet you may get them from amazon but going direct to producer is better…and going direct to duet wifi will give you essy access to one of the best support networks for this kind of rebuild.

[broncosis]

I would agree worth the e3d but the duet or duet wifi is not really worth the money in this application $100-120 control board and wifi in general is a waste you still have to make sure there is nothing on the print bed and go take the part off not much need for wifi

[bgkdavis]

On my laptop so can give a more comprehensive answer

Starting with a good solid frame is essential, if the frame flexes then you will just get crappy and inconsistent prints, the P3 Steel is a great solid frame, be advised that the steel kit will lack a lot of plastic parts for making the X axis, so if you don’t have access to a printer buy a plastics kit as well… make sure its suitable for the E3D hot end

The controller may be a matter of taste, but the wifi is by far not the top feature of the Duet, if you like to hear stepper motors wining away all day then other controllers are fine, but the Duet is silent, and being able to control your printer directly via the web interface without any need for a direct and permanent connection of a computer scores well too, Im sure there are other controllers that can match these features but this is the one I know that works and works well.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking your HE3D extruder and hot end are OK, they are by far not OK, the hot end and extruder are the heart of your machine, if they don’t work perfectly and reliably the whole machine is a waste of time, and don’t be tempted by copies, get a genuine E3D and you will never look back

links to supplies, you may need to look for local options

The home of E3D

https://www.duet3d.com/

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3D-printer-Kit-Reprap-P3STEEL-Prusa-i3-Frame-Stainless-Steel-Rods-Hardware-/252679410549?hash=item3ad4ddd375:g:gCkAAOSwstxVZNMa

At the end of doing this you will look at the box of junk and regret going HE3D, but you will have a good printer and will have learnt a lot… I didn’t have high hopes for the Delta I bought and always intended to upgrade it myself, I just underestimated how bad it was, but

[agheathbar]

Wow. I’ll look into it. I’ll definitely upgrade the hotend to a E3d. How much do you think the renovation will take if I just use a regular controller board ($)? I don’t need the silent motor option, and I have a raspberry pi with octoprint for the wifi.

[broncosis]

Ok great sales pitch I think you may have missed some points in this thread. The OP has a second machine But he is looking to renovate this printer not build a new one My prusa has been a good stable machine for almost 5 years But you make some good points a rigid frame is important so now is a good time to go through and tighten everything and make sure everything is true and square I agree the e3d is a great upgrade get your machine up and moving again First your extruder / hot end worked before so you can use it to calibrate your new control board and stuff while you print your new carriage for the e3d if you need I would recommend a auto leveling up grade for sure it was the single best upgrade I made to my machine it went from failing 50% of the time and constantly leveling the bed to just pop in the and card and print. The auto leveling setup on the carriage I posted uses a touch probe which lets you use and build surface you like, where a inductive sensor needs a aluminium or copper or steal bed. I use glass on mine. My second printer has a steal bed with a inductive sensor on a boxed wood i3 frame with one piece printed ends and I would say its probably more rigid than any plate style prusa i3. But my j head and touch probe on my prusa just work With a little aquanet on the glass I can print pla with a bed temp of 60c and get a glass transparent and smooth base

[broncosis]

If you get a i3 frame you will need new smooth rods as well at least 2 of them will be 2 short

[agheathbar]

Yeah. I don’t think I have the budget. I’ll just get mine up.and running with new extruders and a board. Then work up from there.

[bgkdavis]

I think you misunderstand how crap he3d products are…sure a tightened frame may help, but if your going to rebuild a printer then do it right and do it once… sticking with a poor frame that needs retightening and resquaring once a week isnt really worth the time…as for sales…meh, i just reccomend parts that i have personally used and know do a great job, i dont make a cent from reccomending anything and Im sure there are others that can do the job, but im not in a place to reccomend them.

[broncosis]

There are a few other great printable upgrades like wobble isolators bearing holders for the bottom of z rods one piece motor mount and top frame parts I will this evening compile a list of thingiverse links for you that I would recommend

[broncosis]

Ok fair enough all prusa printers suffer from loosening up that’s were a little penetrating thread locker and a few extra nuts are for I am sure that any prusa I1/I2 style would be crap to you it is a 6 year old design how ever your printer the i3 was the evolution of this design and has a few flaws too I am sure as most machines do Glad you enjoy it

[agheathbar]

That would be great. Thanks!

[free_Joules]

I have a prusa I2. I just installed the e3d titan and e3d hotend. It was a trick to get it on those horizontal parallel rods. Look.

[broncosis]

upgrades I would do

x carriage

prusa x carriage with auto leveling probe by broncosis

frame braces

Mendel Prusa X Stabilizer by exosequitur

extruder with a mk7 gear

Extruder direct drive Nema 17 1.75 with Jhead adaptation (for prusa?) by ghunt

z rod clamp

Mendel Prusa Z clamp by infodude

z motor mounts

Integrated Z motor mount, frame vertex, rod clamp and reel holder for Prusa...

z screw isolator

Parametric Prusa Z Screw Isolator by llluis

or

Anti backlash Z isolator for 3D printers by thiagopeixoto16

and then find a fan mount kinda like this

Adjustable Blower-Fan Mount (Brix based) by jdrgoldeneagle

these should all be pretty inexpensive and were most of what I did to my machine it made a big difference

with a e3d hotend you should be good to go for quite a while I would just get a heater pcb and

[PalmersPursuit]

I’ve had good luck with a MKS 1.4 board and and E3D clone hotend on my all metal HE3D Delta 600. The only drawback to the clone hotend is you need to drill and chamfer the push connect fittings.

[broncosis]

Hobby shops or digikey.com Maybe if you have a radio shack like shop Amazon probably as well

[agheathbar]

Hmm. Could your motors handle the extra wieght of the Titan extruder? I’m not sure mine could.

[agheathbar]

Cool. Do you think my x motor can handle the extra weight of a direct drive, or should I keep it a bowden?

[broncosis]

I am sure it will be fine

[broncosis]

With a good controller they will be fine But if you want to be sure post a pic of the label on the motor if there is one But they look bigger than the motors on my prusa really its not much more load as it’s a pretty low friction setup you might have to adjust your x jerk setting but I can help with that