Nimble I3 Titan Aero mount

Titan Aero dedicated x-carriage and matching motor+idler ends for I3 style printers using 8mm rods.

The benefit of this assembly is a nozzle that is close to the XZ plane for better use of Y dimensional space, a probe mount that is closer to the nozzle, a more stable mount with centre of gravity in-line with plane of motion. I don't think you can get a smaller more nimble mount than this for this hot end on an I3 printer.

My motivation for this was being able to have my probe hit all points on build-plate that the nozzle does, wanted less ringing of head and better quality of prints.

Also, the height profile is higher but in the end, given the lower x-bar drops closer to build plate, you only loose 6mm of build height -- my printer went from Z_MAX of 256mm to 250mm. Note that this is with the Volcano hot end, I have not checked if a shorter one is too short so check that if it applies to you!

ALSO: check out the model ‘Titan Aero E3D V6 Head and Part Cooling for Core XY’ for a part cooling solution that would work with this mount also.

Full project is at Github https://github.com/kpishere/RepRap-iTopie

Print Settings

Printer:

RepRap-iTopie400+

Rafts: 

Yes

Supports:

Yes

Resolution: 

200

Infill:

40

Filament: EconoFill ABS Black 
 

Notes: 

Printed with hot end temp of 235, bed temp of 115, in an enclosed chamber (8mil poly bag), and printed at 50mm/s max head speed. The chamber temperature was 35-37 degC and there was no part cooling.

The parts showed warping but it still managed to come together. The ends were printed standing upside down (there is a flat part on them, that was on bed). The carriage was printed horizontally with the tabbed ends pointing down. This uses more support material but the idea was that since distortion was mostly near the build-plate, having the more geometrically sensitive parts at top would work. It did work but if you're able to control your shrinkage better on your printer, I'd print the other way.

ABS is a fussy filament but still is absolutely necessary as PLA will deform from the stepper motor's heat..

You'll notice that I only put one tie on each end of the bearing cases -- this alleviated issues with warpage in the part and I'd recommend doing the same whether distorted or not.

Original files (OpenSCAD) are available in the Github repo.

On Assembly :

The fit for the belts is very tight (mostly it is the sharp angles that make it difficult) but is totally doable. There is a sample photo of how the belts are installed. When putting in the stepper, place it at an angle and use the casing's tapered corners to push the belts into position, then slip in. As you can see, those belts are not going anywhere and are locked in place and holding the motor snugly too.

PS: In one of those photos, you'll see that I have a tension spring for the belt, that is a bad idea, I've since removed that and rely entirely on rotating the drive motor in it's mount point.

Category: 3D Printer Parts