MAXX-

Simple yet effective!

BACKGROUND:
The current world of 3D printing has machines which are primarily designed
to focus on a single task i.e. 3D printing, but still they are not perfect enough
to eradicate the common issues related to the 3d printing. Today 3D printers
are mostly used in areas like the rapid-prototyping market, low-volume
production runs (on very high-end machines), medical, aerospace etc. But it
is not used as an everyday household object and cost is a major factor
behind this. Thus there was a necessity to design and invent a low cost
dynamic 3D printing machine, which not only has the caliber to manufacture
perfect products by eliminating the common 3D printing issues but is also a
modular robot capable of doing multitasks with ease. After doing an
extensive research on the existing popular 3D printers and related 3d
printing problems, following results came up:

Existing 3D printer issues

Difficulty in assembling, reconfiguring and repairing the printer

bed-levelling issues
issue of filament ran out and filament tangling during 3D printing
backlash problems(recoil arising between parts of a mechanism)
Complex and messy wiring in the electronics section
Slow printing speed, expensive and non-portable
Safety during 3D printing (for both user and printing object)
Suited for doing a single task i.e. 3D printing

OUR DESIGN:

We designed a 3D printer from scratch which is a delta linear robot, with

multiple attachments.
In addition to the basic 3D printing, Maxx is equipped with many built-in 3D
functions and supports a number of interchangeable modules. Along with
this, we have also developed some auto-sensing mechanisms to detect any
common 3D printing errors and respond accordingly without the need of any
human intervention.
Maxx is elegantly designed, easy to use, has an unlimited capacity for
expansion while keeping costs down in order to achieve a great price. It is
simple to set up and therefore it is the perfect choice for everyone meeting
not only our 3D printing needs today, but also of all our tomorrows.

WHY DELTA?
Originally, the Delta technology was invented in 1985 by Doctor Reymond
CLAVEL of the Polytechnic School in Lausanne. This technology was patented
but is now off-patent and in the public domain.
SIMPLE - Using a 3D Printer shouldn't be a hassle. We designed our printer
so that it requires minimal set-up, and so that there's effectively no longterm maintenance.
EFFICIENT - The polar coordinate system allows for faster movements while
achieving a 100 micron resolution.
AFFORDABLE - It doesn't need as many parts as other 3D printers, we can
pass the savings on to us. Delta technology offers component optimization. The
three axis, carriages and mobile arm assemblies are strictly identical and
interchangeable.

Current designs rely on moving lots of machinery to put the head in the
place it needs to be to extrude. Linear deltas do the reverse - they have very
little weight, have very limited rotational torque, and if built properly, will
produce absolutely amazing prints.
The biggest difference between a Delta and 80% off all other 3D printers is
its method of moving. Most printers use the Cartesian system (left to right,
front to back and up and down). This is the easy way of getting from point a
to point b because a straight line is just one plane or one axis moving. The
downside is that the moving parts are quite heavy. A 3D printer needs to be
able to change its direction instantly and as fast as possible. The heavier the
moving part, the harder it is to make it stop or change direction in an instant.
The benefit of a Delta is that the moving parts are lightweight so that its
easier to travel. That results in faster printing with greater accuracy. Most
traditional printers have a moving build platform. This means that the
object you are printing is always moving which can lead to prints coming
loose due to the constant jerks and to inaccurate prints especially when the
prints get higher.
Deltas usually are generally better in building higher objects like for instance
a vase because the build platform is fixed. They tend to be higher anyway
which creates a bigger build volume. Because of the way they are build it is
also fairly easy to make them bigger (in width but certainly in height). The
overall construction is much less complicated and uses less parts reducing
maintenance and costs.

AUTO-BED LEVELLING PROBE

Introduction:
Achieving high quality and accurate 3D prints depends mostly on how
precise the print-bed is leveled, particularly at higher resolutions. "Bed
leveling" is probably not the best name for the process since the bed is
leveled in relation to the plane of relative x-y motion of the nozzle. A level
print bed is crucial to achieve consistent first-layer adhesion and first layer
quality. Apart from having a level bed we also need to set the distance
between the bed and your nozzle. The nozzle should be a paper thickness
above the bed at the start. The majority of beds in 3D printers are leveled
using adjustment screws and nozzle height is adjusted using a conventional
technique of placing a paper between the nozzle and print bed. Thus the
motivation to invent this feature is to replace the orthodox hectic bedlevelling mechanisms by completely eliminating the need of any human
intervention.

Overview:
The goal was to create a Z-axis probe that works as both an auto-leveling
sensor and as an end stop. The sensor uses a retractable touch probe that is
located near the extruder nozzle. We used a solenoid actuator with an
optoisolator to determine the position. The actuator extends an M3 screw
which will touch the bed as the position is adjusted, it is possible to adjust
the bed using software for a perfectly level bed, every time.
With solenoids we could perform automatic zeroing and leveling ahead of
every print within a few seconds. Basically unpowered, the probe stays up,
powered, it's able to push the micro switch down, and as the axis goes and
touches the bed, it releases the micro switch. As the switch is held down
during homing, and a release of the solenoid triggers the switch, then we will
be using the Normally Open (NO) pins on the switch. This switch plugs into
Z_min on the ramps board, replacing our old Z-min switches.

COMPONENTS:
MOSFET STP55NF06L (mosfet can optionally be replaced with a solid state
relay that works with 5v DC)

DIODE 1N4004
10k Resistor 1/4W 5% tolerance
Step down power converter DC-DC LM2596
Solenoid - 5v (small)
MICROSWITCH

MOSFET CIRCUIT:

Reference Links :( not for patent)

https://plus.google.com/+AnthonyMorris/posts/es6J8EEocmq
http://hackaday.com/2014/10/05/bed-leveling-with-a-solenoidactuator/
http://community.robo3d.com/index.php?threads/mike-kellyssolenoid-auto-level-for-stock-r1.3864/

FILAMENT SENSOR
Introduction:
The purpose of this invention is to solve the issue of filament ran out
during 3D printing. It is a cheap little device to detect when a spool is almost
finished, and auto pause accordingly. It triggers a Pause Print to printer
firmware for any of the following causes:

Filament Empty
Total Filament Clog
Filament Spool Tangle

We have previously designed a simple filament-out sensor that uses a

lever micro switch for detection. When the filament runs out, the switch lever
opens. But it was limited to detect only the filament empty issue and other
issues like filament tangling and clog were still not resolved. Thus, this
motivated us to improve the design and invent a complete auto-detect
device that can auto-pause accordingly during any fault so that user can
replace the filament in meantime and resume afterwards.

Overview:

The Filament Monitor uses a mechanical 24PPR wheel encoder to detect both
forward and reverse filament motion. When filament motion is not detected
for an extended (programmable) period, a pause signal is sent to the Printer
Motherboard.

Filament Monitor Alarm Signal:

We have used AUX-2 connections on the Ramps 1.4 board. The Filament
Monitor alarm signal is connected to Pin 44 on the RAMPS 1.4 circuit board.
This pin is located on the RAMPS 1.4 AUX-2 connector. There are also +5v
power, ground pins as well as a spare I/O pin D44 on the same AUX-2
connector. The filament monitor has 3 wires, 5V, 0V and PAUSE. The pause
line goes from 5V to 0V when a problem is detected, so a GPIO on the marlin
board is configured as a pause trigger line, kind of like an end-stop.

Red = 5V
Black = 0V
Blue = Pause Signal Line

Firmware Modification:
The standard Marlin firmware does not have the built in capability to
recognize the filament monitor alarm and to automatically pause the print
and resume when the filament problem is cleared. Automating the "print
pause/filament change" in Marlin required some modification in the firmware.
The Filament Change function in standard Marlin assumes that an LCD

Controller display is connected to the printer and RAMPS 1.4 board is used as
the printer driver, interface and connections board.
Note that the alarm is expected to be a LOW signal on Pin 44. The Marlin
modification assumes that alarms (i.e. Pin 44 going LOW) will only ever be
received when the printer is actually in operation and printing (i.e. using
filament). We can modify the X, Y and Z parameters (in the modified
firmware) to suit where we want the extruder to move, so that we can
change or untangle the filament. The X, Y and relative Z position for the
change is set in the configuration adv.h file. The Z value is relative to where
the Z was when the print was paused.
Filament monitor alarm function:
After receiving the filament alarm, the modified Marlin react as follows:

Printer responds by completing the current Gcode command

An M600 change filament Gcode command is generated which causes
the printer to stop printing and move the extruder up from the print and
to a position where the filament can be changed.
The alarm buzzer on the LCD Controller sounds followed by a Filament
Change message on the LCD display.
A M600 log message is also sent to the host PC(using this the host
software can pause the print, in a case when there is no LCD controller
connected and then manually resume printing by host command)
The extruder and bed remain heated to their current temperature settings
during the pause.
After the filament is changed we can resume printing by pressing the
encoder button on the LCD Controller. The alarm buzzer is then cancelled
and the extruder moves back and resumes printing exactly from the
position where it paused.

Design benefits:

Very simple to use

Low cost

Small Possible size

Minimum Necessary Connections

Minimum number of Components used

Expandable to 2 Encoders

Pin Accessibility

User Programmable Timeout

Reference Links :( not for patent)

http://tunell.us/
https://goo.gl/kOerJv
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:345216

Ramps and Arduino design

Case

It is a neat plug and play case

It is helped to get rid of messy wirings in electronics section and
make ramps and Arduino modular
We can comfortably switch the ramps and Arduino board within few
seconds in case of faults
It enables us to customize according to users needs and other
extensions (like GLCD, sd card, power banks etc) can be plugged
easily without affecting the inner wirings.

Reference Links :( not for patent)

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10926

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:185283
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:291001/#files
and many more in thingverse page

End-effector design and

Carriage design

Unique and attractive design which has contributed significantly to

make the 3D printer modular and multifunctional
End effector has very less weight which contributes significantly to the
print speed
It has engraved neodymium magnetic cylinders which are attached to
the steel balls and reduces backlash (recoil arising between parts of a
mechanism). Each rod end has a spherical bearing surface which fits
exactly to the diameter of the spheres, thus avoiding any rubbing of the
magnet on the ball. This design simplifies maintenance and cleaning of
the nozzle. Further enhances print quality and print softness.
The conventional 3D printers had hinges that were complex,
permanent and used fasteners whereas with the help of magnetic joints
we can attach different toolheads to the end-effector (such as 2D
plotter, laser engraver, pcb engraver, pick and place, wood burner etc.)
Maintenance friendly, easy to calibrate and easier to
assemble/reconfigure/repair the printer