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Best title I could think of, but PLEASE don't think this is any sort of a formal channel to the design team for this stuff.
I do NOT have approval from anyone, but I would like to see ideas for what others would like to see in the "next gen" Max.

I have already posted elsewhere that having the LCD display/control panel in the top section would be a nice alternative for machines that might have to live on the floor.
Longer ribbon cables, possibly slots for them in the upper base and lower top plates, a few more holes for mounting, swappable upper/lower side panels.
I suspect that the ribbon cables are a standard part available in several lengths - I have no idea what the length limit is before problems arise.
SOME design effort and SOME additional laser cutting and of course SOME additional work on the manual - I don't now how much of each.
An additional part may be desirable, e.g. a length of melamine between top of base and lower top plate to strap the ribbon cables to, say mid way between two of the towers ?

Option to get the printer with METRIC nuts and bolts.


I am still hunting for the tools to build the printer.


Or as an option, these could be included the printer package.

METRIC!!! YES!!

Like I posted earlier, you cannot use longer lengths of ribbon cable.

g.

Any reason swapping to metric screws would cause a problem?

Or are hole diameters anc cnc cuts specific?

I just cannot find 7/64 allen key.

teoman wrote:Any reason swapping to metric screws would cause a problem?

Or are hole diameters anc cnc cuts specific?

I just cannot find 7/64 allen key.

It's a cost issue in the US, and a convenience issue for those of us based in the US who need to replace hardware, it's virtually impossible (and obscenely expensive) in some areas to buy small metric hardware locally. Buying in bulk the cost difference is less significant.

Having said that I doubt you would find readily available metric equivalents to all of the screws, the T-Nuts in particular have to be a pretty good fit for the holes, and imperial nuts tend to be larger for equivalently sized bolts, so you'd have issues with the nuts that fit in slots.

Then maybe include the tools in the kit?

Like a complete complete kit. With rtv and everything so I do not have to hunt around. Considering the cost of fuel in my region, I would be willing to pay you 20 to 50 usd extra for the tools (where the 20 to 40 is only your profit. Plus I wpuld have gladly paid for the tools).

More clearance between the bottom of the extrusions and the slot the wiring has to pass through, it's a tight turn there and the edge of the melamine is sharp. Already breached the insulation on one wire making that turn.

More notches for wiring hold-downs pre-cut.

I'd make a separate LED board for status indications, instead of incorporating them into the heated bed.

Possibly a surface mount thermistor, or flat tape style, on the heated bed.

-Hans

Since the design is posted on GitHub, any design change that you can draw up could be submitted as a pull request. John Oly would be tickled pink if someone actually did that!

Yes that would be good. But before anyone builds one, it is not smart for them to start altering the design...

Out of topic, would having the melamine parts cut out of aluminum create any problems? Or would it have any advantages.

teoman wrote:Yes that would be good. But before anyone builds one, it is not smart for them to start altering the design...

Out of topic, would having the melamine parts cut out of aluminum create any problems? Or would it have any advantages.

Getting the same thickness of aluminum as the melamine could change the tolerances. That being said, scaling by an additional .003(just an example) could take care of that. I would like to see aluminum sheet also. Thanks. Mike

teoman wrote:Yes that would be good. But before anyone builds one, it is not smart for them to start altering the design...

Out of topic, would having the melamine parts cut out of aluminum create any problems? Or would it have any advantages.

Lots have made aluminum delta machines, one was a Rostock on this forum that came up for sale recently. Another is the Nemesis Delta from Brian at Trick Laser http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4875 which may be in production and for sale soon.

I think there is definitely an advantage to be gained, but you have to figure out if it's worth your time and cost. A lot of effort would go into an Aluminum Rostock, so it depends what it's worth to you.

You'd have some very very nice keychains and phone cases though

Ok. Fair enough.

Once I build this and gain a bit of experience I will further investigate the costs etc..

I would assume more time between calibrations. Would it influence precision? And would you need a design change?

No disadvantage to aluminum except weight and cost.

My two cents:

Kill the round or chamfered design and make the Max more enclosure friendly. I can't envision increased product cost as the result of doing this.

I am not a great fan of the melamine. It is fit for purpose but some of my parts have chips in them. Laser cutting did not go all the way, and wile removing the tape I over yanked a part and it doesnt look so great anymore.

JohnStack wrote:No disadvantage to aluminum except weight and cost.

My two cents:

Kill the round or chamfered design and make the Max more enclosure friendly. I can't envision increased product cost as the result of doing this.

Assuming you pay for something like Mic 6 or equivalent there are no disadvantages, if you try and get the panels waterjet cut from random 6061 stock or similar, you'll discover that the melamine is a lot flatter than most Al stock.
If you were building a similar printer from scratch out of Al you would probably design the base very differently, the inherent stiffness of the Al stock would mean you'd require less bracing in the base.

JohnStack wrote:No disadvantage to aluminum except weight and cost.

My two cents:

Kill the round or chamfered design and make the Max more enclosure friendly. I can't envision increased product cost as the result of doing this.

What? The round / chamfered design is what helps this stand out from the crowd! It isn't that hard to mod for an enclosure is it?

I know I'm probably in the minority but if I could have any single improvement, I would chose to re-design the kit to have fewer parts.

My fingers were cracked and bleeding by the time i was done removing the protective tape from the melamine parts when I started my build a few weeks ago. It would also provide the benefit of faster assembly.

Other suggestions...

Better ESD/EMI protection
Improved QC on the ABS parts (I have found that the ABS smoked plastic part with the 90° angle is curled poorly so the laser cut button on it "sticks" when pressed. This required much sanding to correct.
Improved QC on the melamine parts. many of the smaller holes weren't completely cut as they are supposed to be, so I have to pop them out which caused chips on the board...not happy...

Yep. It really did take me about 2 hours to strip them properly and pop out all the little pieces. And my left thumbnail hurts a bit. But worst of all, no matter how hard I tried, I still got some chips on the parts.

I am about halfway through my build. Once finished ill go over the chips with a black boardmarker. Luckily I got the black one.

Ps. Do not misunderstand my posts. So far I am very happy with my purchase.

Include the 3 4 connectors that geneb recommends in the build document.

A bit more clearance for the wires coming out of the extrusions, it's a tight turn and with the very stiff walled insulation on some of the provided wire you risk breaking or cutting into the insulation.

Better mounting system for the Rambo.

Interesting comments regarding metric bolts. I have never had a problem locating metric bolts. Maybe not AS easy as standard, but usually almost as easy and within a few cents in price.

I would think it would be easier for folks in the US to find metric bolts than it would be for anybody outside the US to find SAE.

Hmmmm, more thoughts.

I'd move the center hole in the top plate where the wires come down. I'd put it more in-line with the extruder, so that the wiring can more closely follow the bowden tube. I'd also suggest a bit of a redesign in the end-stop mounting tabs so they actually slot into the top plate, instead of having a couple millimeters of a gap in there. Would give more strength to the upper unit.

And holy moly does this thing have audible RF noise in it. I had to be considering doing some chassis grounds for the stepper motors, and I think I'll give it a try pretty quick.

Under the hotplate, the wires going to the LED do not have to be 18 gauge.
And the actual wire does not need to be so stiff. A more flexible wire would be advantageous.