Build Update - The Printer Structure

Ok.. ok.. so looking though my photos of the build so far, I noticed one of two terrible things had happened: -

1. I had some how not uploaded pictures of the assembly process from my phone before it died
2. I had forgotten to take pictures of the build process.

I was sure No.2 was not an option, but it has been a while since this was completed, so I cannot be 100% sure. So i'm putting this down to Newbie Mistake No.1 - "Not taking enough pictures during the process!".

In spite of this I will attempt to recant the process and submit new pictures to fill in the gaps.

So the time has come to put all of this together, and hopefully get a printer at the end of it.

First I needed to cut out the printer bed. This is where all of the printing will take place and needs to be as accurate as I can make it. Thankfully I had some 12mm plywood left over from some DIY work in the house that could be re-purposed for this. I downloaded a drawing of the base which had all of the measurements.

I then printed this out on paper at a 1-to-1 scale and measured it for accuracy. Once I was happy, I stuck it to the ply and proceeded to cut it out with a jigsaw.

Once cut out, I drilled the 6 holes out with a 4mm bit on my drill press where the motor mounts would be fitted. I then took a similar sized board and screwed it to the cutout though 3 of the holes I just drilled. I then setup a router table with a straight cutting bit with a bearing. Using the first cutout as a template, I used the router to cut out the top. I then drilled out the 3 of the holes, moved the screws one by one, and drilled the remaining 3, again using the first cut as a template to ensure they were both exactly the same. 

For the very bottom, I decided to trace around the bed and extend by 25mm all the way around and extend at the front. this gave the motor mounts and the LCD something to sit on.

Now all of the wood cutting had been completed it was time for assebly. One by one, I fixed each of the 3 the NEMA17 motors to the motor mounts with 4 10mm M3 hex screw and washers. I then inserted each of the 6 8mm smooth rods into the motor mount and tightened with 6 15mm M3 hex screw, a washer and nut. Each of the 3 assemblies were then screwed through the base giving the first signs of the size and scale of the printer.  

I then assembled the 3 idler brackets with a bearing that would hold the timing belts that would run the printer. This was done using an M8 hex screw and nylock nut. These were then attached at the other end of the M8 smooth rod at the top of the printer and tightend with 4 15mm M3 hex screws, a washer and nut. 

Things had come together quickly to this point so I decided to get an imopression of the final size . I attached the GT2 drive pulley to the NEMA17 motor shafts and placed the top on the printer. I knew the top and idlers would have to come back off to attach the end effector assemble, but I wanted to get a feel for the final look.

So far so good, but I knew the next step would be challenging. Getting the electronics installed and working.