Hello Fellow 3D Printer Enthusiasts,
I am working with a friend on a project to enlarge a Prusa Mendal I3 off-brand printer to print objects 500x500mm. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what to make the bed out of and how to attach it to the liner bearings. Please look at the attached image to get a better idea of what we are trying to build.
Designs where the bed moves for the y axis are my favorite but you start to run into problems as you scale up.
No matter how big you scale the machine, the extruder stays the same weigh which means the mass moving back and forth in the x axis stays the same. However, every increase in scale for the x & y axis means a bigger bed which means a larger mass. As the bed gets more heavy, the top speed for a decent looking print gets real low. You get what’s calling “ringing” which is ripples every time the y axis stops or changes direction.
I can tell you from experience that the trick to squeezing the most scale from this kind of design is getting that bed as light as possible without sacrificing rigidity and flatness. I usually start with a 1/4" plate of 6061 precision ground aluminum and mill out as much excess material as I can. Get creative. Good luck.
-Jesse
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