CanticoreXY - Custom Cantilever Core XY 3d printer (V1.1)

INTRODUCTION (V1.1):

After over a year of development, I would like to present the CanticoreXY. 

As the name suggests, the printer is a cantilevered CoreXY-variant. As most of you might expect, this cantilever design enjoys very few of the advantages of regular CoreXY and introduces a lot of new challenges that must be designed around like the bending of the arm at higher speeds (it would best be described as “Flacid but Functional”).

To the best of my knowledge, it is one of a kind for now which kind of makes sense considering it is a less practical variant of CoreXY. It is however very “open” in design and is very interesting to look at.  

The Canticore is very much a passion project of mine and is a stepping stone to bigger and better projects to come. I had always wanted to explore variations of CoreXY geometry and wanted to develop a custom printer of my own design. 

Did it take way longer than I expected? Yes.

Will it beat any records to be proud of? No.

Am I proud of my slow ugly baby? Absolutely :D

SPECIFICATIONS AND PARTS:

• Build volume: 170 x 170 x 155 [mm]
• Print speed: Up to 150 [mm/s]
• Firmware: Klipper (Mainsail)
• Mainboard: SKR mini E3 V3 (sensorless homing for X and Y)
• Extruder: Orbiter V2 (reverse bowden)
• Hotend: Revo Voron
• Z-probe: Biqu Microprobe
• Heated bed: Spare part for the Kingroon KP3S
• Filament detection: Yes, the cheap and dumb kind (a simple switch)
• Linear rails (MGN9) for X, Y and Z axes.
• Voron-inspired belt tensionning.

• Ratcheting adjustable bed screws (seriously, why have I not seen this before? It prevents the screws from unscrewing during printing, so in theory you never have to re-adjust the bed level once it is leveled for the first time).

• WobbleX on both Z lead screws

IMPROVEMENTS FROM V1.0 TO V1.1:

• Cleaner and more complete CAD via included STEP files.
• Both Z lead screws have a WobbleX coupling to the floating cantilever XY gantry. Initially any minor deflection between lead screws caused binding. A temporary fix while implementing the WobbleX was to have a single Z lead screw, though the gantry did slightly sag (~0.5 [mm]). 
• Cable management was a bit of an afterthought (I know, it's a rookie mistake :/ ), but small clips were designed to contain and route the messiness.

• The RaspberryPi 3B+ and SKR mini E3V3 are both better enclosed now that accessibility is less important. This includes allowing sufficient airflow.

• Custom printer, filament and print settings profiles on PrusaSlicer.

CONCESSIONS:

There are a couple of things that eagle-eyed makers might pick up on:

• Input shaping is going to be a bit of a side project on it's own. The frequency to correct will change based on the Y position of the toolhead along the cantilever arm, so this will be a fun programming project for me to get into klipper.
• Doesn't have a spool holder included.
• The reverse-bowden is not very well supported and droops a little. I am still unsure if it is worth fixing though as the problem does not cause issues as far as I can tell.
• The CAD model does not include fasteners like screws or threaded inserts (of which there are plenty). Screw sizes range from M3 to M5 with the majority being the former.

DISTRIBUTION AND LICENSE:

I used a non-commercial OnShape license to make this, meaning the files to the CanticoreXY are available to the public but cannot be sold or distributed commercially. 

If you don't mind sifting through some mess, you are more than welcome to view, download and modify and share my design. I was learning OnShape simultaneously and only figured out the versioning history way too late. The parts are also subject to change as this is definitely a work and progress and not a finished and polished product.

If you do decide to make modifications, I would love to hear about it (see the License section below)! Please don't hesitate to get in touch and/or share your ideas.

PROJECT FILE:

OnShape project URL: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bf89825134aa49ad6e57cf69/w/9695448e2a98683e55e2cdad/e/7f976b2bbf0e8bf9815f3c8c

I included the STL files for the toolhead as well as the STEP file for the most complete assembly that I have for the project.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

While I had this idea on my own, I have to admit that I was not first to come up with this kind of design. Below are a few videos from creators who explored the same concept that I came across during my research and development of the CanticoreXY FF.

CONTINUATION:

As mentioned previously, I wanted to develop a printer from scratch to learn all the mistakes from experience that I can so I can make bigger and better printers in the future. If you would like to support me in this goal, see value in my work and have the means to donate something to my projects, I would absolutely appreciate your generosity but do necessarily need it and do not expect it from anyone who uses my work (I don't even have something set up for it at the moment).  

If you are otherwise looking for someone to help out in similar projects, feel free to reach out! I love 3D printing and love participating in these kinds of projects.