Vorpal 180 - A Printed Printer

[atrushing]

On these smaller printers, I prefer to have a removable door panel. The lower screws need to be ferrous to work with the magnets.

There are also hooks and magnets that allow for stowing the door on the side.

[atrushing]

Difficult decisions... I think the tall tophat looks out of proportion but the shorter tophat would require re-printing quite a few pieces.

[atrushing]

I have been preoccupied lately and my progress on the Vorpal has stalled a bit.. Fortunately, one of my side-projects is looking rather promising!

The 4010 blowers that the Mini Stealth uses have a bit of an inefficient design. The outlet shape introduces turbulence in the highlighted area.

I worked up a small air guide that can be glued into place and I adjusted the Mini Stealth duct to match the new blower outlet. This produced a 10% increase in airflow!

  

I have only modified the one side of the shroud so far but I am looking forward to trying to print some stubborn PLA overhangs again soon. It won't be a magic bullet, but every little bit of cooling helps!

[Buurman]

Loving the projects!!! I have so much respect for the design, your perfectionism, the ideas!!!

Hope to see so much more, really enjoying it!!!

[atrushing]

I have printed out the tophat and done a test fit.

Unfortunately I got the Y dimension wrong somehow..

Since I need to re-print two of the pieces, I will choose the back half. This way I can add a stop feature that I forgot to include before.

[atrushing]

I think I will adjust the design before publishing it by extending the sides higher while making the tophat shorter for better proportions.

I also need to incorporate handles into the design as it is awkward to lift/move the printer.

[atrushing]

I am facing the minor challenge of trying to change too many things at the same time. Before I wrap up this design, I am trying to include the improved part cooling on this printer as well as a modified Sherpa Micro that I am designing around the RIDGA drive gears from the VZ Hextrudort.

An interesting secondary feature of these new BMG style gears is that they are shorter and allow the Sherpa Mini/Micro to be made almost 5mm smaller in the Y dimension. This means that the Sherpa could be a viable extruder option in the Stealthburner as well.

[mvdveer]

Love your work. A pleasure to follow

[Killajoedotcom]

Such a fantastic project. Look forward to the release.

 

[sparky06757]

Still looking amazing!  Can't wait for the release!

[atrushing]

Well it looks like the Sherpa Micro Vz-RIDGA extruder will work!

Now I just need to build it into a new Mini Stealth shroud...

Mirrored_Sherpa_Micro_Vz_RIDGA.zip

[PFarm]

On 6/14/2023 at 12:05 PM, atrushing said:

I've added the side panels but I'm not sure how much they are helping with the vibrations. I still plan on adding a clamping cross brace as a part of the tophat. It looks like I might need to make the tophat a bit taller though. With the X/Y extra travel, the umbilical ends up higher than on the V0.1..

And the Vorpal 180 with its big brothers..

I see you have converted your Artillery do you have it documented in one of the forums? I have four that I need to convert.

[atrushing]

Just now, PFarm said:

I see you have converted your Artillery do you have it documented in one of the forums? I have four that I need to convert.

I didn't really document that build. I was designing new parts as I built it.

I wanted to maximize the X travel (308mm as built) so I made new top and bottom corner pieces and changed some of the screws out to flatheads to allow the X-axis to sit closer to the frame.

You might also notice that the Y-axis is converted to linear rails. That was a fun design challenge.

The biggest problem with the Sidewinder is that the bed is not close to flat. The Biqu Microprobe generates a fine mesh but the bed also moves a lot as it heats up.

If this comment gets a few likes I might have to go back and make a retroactive build diary with some of the custom files.

[sparky06757]

4 hours ago, PFarm said:

I see you have converted your Artillery do you have it documented in one of the forums? I have four that I need to convert.

I am currently working on a CR10S switchwire conversion but most of the parts I am using have been designed for the Ender 3 conversion.  I am no good at designing so I have to utilize the work of people that have more skills than myself lol.  Not sure how the artillery frame lines up with the creality frame but you could look at those options

 

[sparky06757]

On 7/10/2023 at 2:53 AM, atrushing said:

I have printed out the tophat and done a test fit.

Unfortunately I got the Y dimension wrong somehow..

Since I need to re-print two of the pieces, I will choose the back half. This way I can add a stop feature that I forgot to include before.

Would you be willing to release the tophat in one piece when you release this work of art?  I only ask because I think that it could add to the rigidity of the machine for those that have the ability to print it.

[atrushing]

17 minutes ago, sparky06757 said:

Would you be willing to release the tophat in one piece when you release this work of art?

That should be easy enough if I can remember . The only problem is that it will require a minimum 320x320mm build plate..

When I get the tophat installed I need to try printing parts with my standard ABS settings because I might have been a little harsh judging this printer based on its PLA performance while also pushing the speed. Also I was using very cheap BMG clone gears so I get to see if the Mellow RIDGA gears improve the print quality.

I also need to modify the Z stepper mounts to allow gear mesh adjustment. I have noticed backlash in the Z belts and running Z-Tilt almost always takes at least three cycles.

[sparky06757]

40 minutes ago, atrushing said:

That should be easy enough if I can remember . The only problem is that it will require a minimum 320x320mm build plate..

When I get the tophat installed I need to try printing parts with my standard ABS settings because I might have been a little harsh judging this printer based on its PLA performance while also pushing the speed. Also I was using very cheap BMG clone gears so I get to see if the Mellow RIDGA gears improve the print quality.

I also need to modify the Z stepper mounts to allow gear mesh adjustment. I have noticed backlash in the Z belts and running Z-Tilt almost always takes at least three cycles.

I just so happen to have a buddy that has a 400 ratrig and I am building a 350 voron 2.4 so one way or another I should be able to get it printed if you put it out there.  Just so that you are aware I am thinking about building this and taking it to MRRF here in the US next year to showcase it but I wanted to make sure that you would be okay with me doing that since it is your creation.

[atrushing]

9 minutes ago, sparky06757 said:

Just so that you are aware I am thinking about building this and taking it to MRRF here in the US next year to showcase it but I wanted to make sure that you would be okay with me doing that since it is your creation.

That would be great! If I was in the States I would love to go to some of these events but it doesn't look like I will get that chance anytime soon..

I really need to finish this design and start working on an assembly manual.

[sparky06757]

10 minutes ago, atrushing said:

That would be great! If I was in the States I would love to go to some of these events but it doesn't look like I will get that chance anytime soon..

I really need to finish this design and start working on an assembly manual.

Not exactly sure where you are but there is one that is going to be on the other side of the big pond.  I don't remember exactly what it is called or where but I can try to find out and post it here.  There is no rush at all.  It is about 11 months till MRRF next year. 

[atrushing]

7 minutes ago, sparky06757 said:

Not exactly sure where you are but there is one that is going to be on the other side of the big pond.

I grew up in California but I've ended up in Luxembourg. I feel a bit like a stranger in a strange land..

[sparky06757]

24 minutes ago, atrushing said:

That would be great! If I was in the States I would love to go to some of these events but it doesn't look like I will get that chance anytime soon..

I really need to finish this design and start working on an assembly manual.

Its called SMRRF.  It is December 2nd and 3rd at Oxford University but I also found this page that I will link

https://3dwithus.com/3d-printing-events-shows-fairs

[3dKaosMonkey]

Cool build - is this an open source build ?   I couldn't find anything on Thangs or Printables.

[atrushing]

1 hour ago, 3dKaosMonkey said:

Cool build - is this an open source build ?   I couldn't find anything on Thangs or Printables.

It will be licensed under the GPL V3 when it is finished. I am just documenting the development process for now. There are still a few things that need to get fixed before it's ready to publish and then I have the pleasure of making the documentation!

[3dKaosMonkey]

15 hours ago, atrushing said:

It will be licensed under the GPL V3 when it is finished. I am just documenting the development process for now. There are still a few things that need to get fixed before it's ready to publish and then I have the pleasure of making the documentation!

Thanks for the information... looks like a great build.  You are very talented and great to see you sharing that in the community so others can grow.

[atrushing]

I have re-worked the ducting around my new blower insert guide to make the complete air path as smooth as possible. I guess what this really shows is that there was a lot of room for improvement from my early design.

 

Now I get to rebuild the toolhead yet again and try to wrap up my Vorpal 180 build.