Hello,
I have seem several 3D printers offer their printers in metal or wood frames.
Has anyone noticed a difference in quality in having a metal vs wood frame?
I’m assuming the advantage of having a metal frame is increased mass therefore dampened vibration in the overall printer when the head zooms around. This should theoretically lead to better prints.
Thoughts?
Thanks!
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MB3D
2
Dis-/advantages of metal frames: -More expensive +Do not age or degrade +basically no deformation with rising temperature / differences in moisture +flexible to machine (cut, drill, taper threads) +available in a huge variety of materials +metal gives a more “professional appearance” -> the printer looks like a high end machine compared to wooden frames printers Dis-/advantages of wooden frames: +cheap -Deforming with changing temperature and moisture uptake -Deformation requires very frequent recalibration -Less even surface +you can cut it on basically any lasercutter (great for someone, that is building his own printer from sketch without much budget) -Biodegradable Oh and regarding your poin: Indeed the heavier the printer, the less it wobbles when a light part if it is moving, however the printhead should be as light as possible, if that’s made out of metal too, then the results should be about identical. Most printers aren’t made to such precision (talking about a few hundreds of a millimeter) so they need toe wobble / vibrations in order to not block up any moving part. If you want to reduce the noise I would advise you to lubricate the bearings or even replace them for gliding IGUS bearings (which have no rolling elements). You should also print some dampeners to place under the feet of the printer. Tightening the belts might help a bit too, but don’t pull on them too much due to the explanation above. Oh and of course keep everything (especially the rods) as free of dust as possible. Cheers, Marius Breuer
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Wow. Very helpful and informative. Thank you!
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I agree! Very helpful information, Marius. Appreciate it!
