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SeeMeCNC DropLit Assembly Manual

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DropLit Assembly Guide
Welcome to the Assembly Guide for the DropLit 3D printer.
Version 0.50, September 29th, 2014
Copyright 2014 by Gene Buckle
Licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
Questions or corrections should be emailed to
geneb@deltasoft.com
Disclaimer text provided by LulzBot
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Summary of Contents for SeeMeCNC DropLit

  • Page 1 DropLit Assembly Guide Welcome to the Assembly Guide for the DropLit 3D printer. Version 0.50, September 29th, 2014 Copyright 2014 by Gene Buckle Licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Questions or corrections should be emailed to geneb@deltasoft.com Disclaimer text provided by LulzBot...

  • Page 2: Read Me First

    READ THIS MANUAL COMPLETELY BEFORE ASSEMBLING AND POWERING UP YOUR PRINTER! Hazards and Warnings The SeeMeCNC DropLit 3D printer has motorized parts. When the printer is in operation always be aware of possible hazards. Electric Shock Hazard Never open the electronics bay of the printer while the printer is powered on. Before removing the access door, always power down the printer and unplug the AC line cord.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    0 – Introduction and Acknowledgments....................4 1 – Required and Optional Tools And Materials..................5 2 – Visual Bill of Materials........................6 3 – Getting Started: Building the Front Cover..................16 4 – Building the DropLit Chassis......................23 Mounting the Arduino Uno......................23 Assembling the Chassis........................25 Installing the T-Slot Extrusion......................34 5 –...

  • Page 4: Introduction And Acknowledgments

    A quick note on the Arduino Uno and the gShield. These two devices work in combination to control the DropLit and are very static sensitive, so please don't take them out of the bags they ship in until you're ready to install them.

  • Page 5: Required And Optional Tools And Materials

    DropLit Assembly Guide 1 – Required and Optional Tools And Materials Before you begin assembly of your DropLit, please make sure you’ve got everything on the following list of tools and additional materials. P1 & P2 sized Phillips screwdrivers •...

  • Page 6: Visual Bill Of Materials

    DropLit Assembly Guide 2 – Visual Bill of Materials Your DropLit kit should contain a wrapped pack of Melamine parts, three bags of parts (two bags of hardware, one bag of electronic parts) a short section of aluminum extrusion and a power supply.
  • Page 7 (http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener- information/Printable-Tools/Fastener-Basics.pdf) and their Fastener Type Chart (http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Type-Chart.aspx). DropLit Hardware Bag #1 (___) (3) M5 Zinc Plated Nut (___) (6) 1/4” ID x 5/8” OD x .196” Ball Bearing (R4ZZ) (___) (57) #6-32 x 1” Phillips Pan Head Screw 18-8 SS (___) (6) #6-32 x 2”...
  • Page 8 DropLit Assembly Guide (___) (75) #6-32 Nylon Lock Nut SS Rubber foot pack containing (___) (4) Leg for 44010 Foot (___) (4) Rubber Foot (44010) (___) (4) #10-32 x 5/8” Pan Head Screw (Nylon) (___) (4) #10-32 Nylon Finish Nut (___) (4) Plastic Bearing Roller 1/8”...
  • Page 9 DropLit Assembly Guide (___) (6) 1/4-20 x 1/2” Button Head Cap Screw (SS) (___) (6) #2-56 x 5/8” Pan Head Screw (___) (6) #2-56 Finish Nut (___) (4) M3-.05 x 10mm Phillips Pan Head Screw (SS) (___) (4) #4 SAE Flat Washer (SS)
  • Page 10 DropLit Assembly Guide (___) (1) .300” OD x .030 wire x 1/2” SS Compression Spring (___) (2) #10-32 T-Nut (___) (2) M3-.5 x 6mm Allen Set Screw (___) (1) 1.5mm Allen Wrench (___) (4) #10-32 x 3/4” Knurled Thumb Screw (Black Nylon)
  • Page 11 DropLit Assembly Guide DropLit Hardware Bag #2 (___) (1) 12”, M5 Threaded Rod (___) (1) 5mm Shaft Coupler (___) (1) 15-1/4” T-Slot Extrusion (___) (1) Build Platform Standoff (___) (12) R4 Bearing Sleeve (___) (2) Hinge, 1x1 (___) (1) 75mm x 75mm First Surface Mirror...
  • Page 12 DropLit Assembly Guide DropLit Electronics Pack (___) (1) Arduino UNO R3 (___) (1) Gshield 3 Axis Stepper Motor Board (___) (1) SW143-ND SPDT Micro Switch (___) (2) Spade Terminal Crimp for Power Switch (___) (1) NEMA 17 Stepper Motor (4800gcm holding torque)
  • Page 13 DropLit Assembly Guide (___) (1) Rocker Switch (Round) (___) (1) 550W ATX Power Supply (Viotek) (___) (8) Small Wire Ties (___) (3ft) 26ga Black & White wire...
  • Page 14 DropLit Assembly Guide DropLit Acrylic & Melamine Parts The following parts will be found in the main laser cut parts package. Check off each item as you locate it. Please contact support@seemecnc.com if you're missing any of these parts.
  • Page 15 DropLit Assembly Guide DropLit Acrylic & Melamine Parts – Continued...

  • Page 16: Getting Started: Building The

    As discovered by the SeeMeCNC forum user “mhackney”, a good first step in building the DropLit is to start with the front cover. This is an excellent choice as it gives builders an easy introduction into the tab & slot construction that all SeeMeCNC 3D printers enjoy.
  • Page 17 DropLit Assembly Guide We're going to start the cover assembly by setting three #6-32 nylon lock nuts into the nut capture pockets on the left “side” of the cover. The left side is identified by the two pair of hinge holes along the edge of the side panel.
  • Page 18 DropLit Assembly Guide Go ahead and insert two more of the nuts along the long edge of the cover side as shown below. Fig. 3-6: First three nuts installed. Lay the Cover Front flat on the table and align the cover side as shown – there's only one correct way, where all three screw holes align.
  • Page 19 DropLit Assembly Guide Using your electric screwdriver (You DID buy one, didn't you? If not, you'd better have wrists of steel because that #2 Philips screwdriver is going to give you one heck of a workout...) carefully tighten the three screws you just threaded into the nuts.
  • Page 20 DropLit Assembly Guide Before we can install the right side of the cover, the acrylic window panel needs to be installed. Lay the cover down flat and slide the panel into the tabs provided, as shown below. Fig. 3-10: Window panel installation.
  • Page 21 Now you'll need to insert two nuts into each cover side in order to attach the Cover Name Plate. Now set the Cover Name Plate into place as shown below – with the SeeMeCNC logo upside down. Attach with four #6-32, 1” pan head screws. (You'll find there's an ongoing pattern with this whole screw/nut thing...)
  • Page 22 DropLit Assembly Guide The DropLit cover is now completed! Set it aside and we'll get back to it when it's time to install it on the main DropLit chassis. Fig. 3-15: Completed DropLit door! Note that from now on, if I mention inserting nuts or screws without a qualifier, I'm referring to...

  • Page 23: Building The Droplit Chassis

    Mounting the Arduino Uno First, we're going to install the Arduino Uno into the DropLit base plate. The reason for this is that the screws used to mount the Arduino Uno will be nearly impossible to reach later on in the build.
  • Page 24 DropLit Assembly Guide The four plastic bearing rollers specified are being used as spacers to stand the Arduino Uno off the base plate a small amount. Go ahead and set them down over the mounting holes as shown on the right.

  • Page 25: Assembling The Chassis

    The first step is to install the feet on the power supply base plate. Because the rubber “shoes” for the feet are very “grippy”, set those aside until you're done with the whole assembly. By leaving them off, it's a lot easier to move the DropLit around as you work on it.
  • Page 26 DropLit Assembly Guide The feet for the DropLit are installed by inserting a nylon screw through the foot cup and then putting the screw through the mounting hole on the under side of the power supply base plate. Fig. 4-7: Foot cup & screw.
  • Page 27 DropLit Assembly Guide The sides of the DropLit come in a left & right part. We're going to start the assembly using the right side as the starting point. The right side has the power switch and USB holes cut in it.
  • Page 28 DropLit Assembly Guide Insert the tabs into the bottom slots on the chassis side and fix in place using two screws. Don't tighten the screws fully – you want the vertical parts slightly loose when it comes time to install the left side of the chassis.
  • Page 29 DropLit Assembly Guide You'll need to insert two #10 T-Nuts in to the holes on either side of the dish opening as shown below. Gently tap the T-Nuts into the holes and then put a dab of super glue along the perimeter of the T-Nut in order to help keep it from popping out.
  • Page 30 DropLit Assembly Guide Install four nuts into the Tower Base as shown below. Next, install the Tower Base into the chassis side and fix in place with two screws. Fig. 4-21: Tower Base nuts installed. Next, install two nuts into the Motor Mount.
  • Page 31 DropLit Assembly Guide Insert four nuts into the Base as shown below. You'll want to lay the DropLit on its “face” in order to make the base installation as painless as possible. Make sure that you've got the Arduino Uno...
  • Page 32 Now comes the “fun” part. (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.) In order to install the left side on to the DropLit, you get to perform a magic trick that involves aligning ten tabs with ten slots while simultaneously not breaking anything or throwing the machine across the room.
  • Page 33 DropLit Assembly Guide After you're done, your DropLit should look like this: Fig. 4-29: Almost done! The last task for this section will be to install the last four nuts & screws required to fix the base to the main chassis. Insert two nuts on each side as shown and fix in place with four screws.

  • Page 34: Installing The T-Slot Extrusion

    DropLit Assembly Guide Installing the T-Slot Extrusion Now we're going to install the aluminum T-Slot extrusion into the core of the DropLit. You'll need the following components for this task: If you installed the Bottom T-Slot Mounts from the prior step, pull them from the chassis as we'll be adding nuts &...
  • Page 35 DropLit Assembly Guide Next, insert the Bottom T-Slot Mounts into the tabs provided by the Dish Mount & Tower Base. Fig. 4-35: First one side... Fig. 4-36: ...and the other! Make sure you keep the T-Slot nuts oriented vertically as I show in the two figures above.
  • Page 36 Using two screws, fix the Upper T-Slot Mount to the motor mount as shown. Now it's time to get the aluminum t- slot extrusion installed into the DropLit chassis. It's a very straightforward task, but you need to be careful as to not damage the lower tower mount as it passes through Fig.
  • Page 37 DropLit Assembly Guide Using your 5/32” Allen Wrench, tighten up the six screws that hold the extrusion into the mounts. When tightening the upper mount, do the two lower screws followed by the two uppers. Fig. 4-43: Tightening the upper mount...

  • Page 38: Assembling The Drive System & Carriage

    DropLit Assembly Guide 5 – Assembling the Drive System & Carriage Like I did in the previous section, I'm going to break up the build tasks in order to avoid a huge materials list at the beginning. The first task is going to be attaching the stepper motor to the Motor Mount and routing the wiring to the electronics compartment.
  • Page 39 Using the included Allen wrench, thread one of the grub screws into the side of the shaft coupler as shown. The stepper motor included with the DropLit has a “flatted” shaft. You want to slide the shaft coupler on to the stepper motor's output shaft such that the grub screw you just installed will grip on that flatted portion when it's tightened down.
  • Page 40 You'll notice in the photos that I've added waxed lacing cord to the wires to neaten it up a bit. I don't recommend you do this unless SeeMeCNC increases the guide hole diameter. It's just too tight to accommodate the stepper wires AND the lacing cord.
  • Page 41 Now you need to route the stepper motor wires down through the other guide holes along the inside right side of the DropLit chassis. I'd recommend “spindling” the end of the wires a bit to make them a bit easier to get through the holes – it's a tight fit.
  • Page 42 DropLit Assembly Guide Tie the two upper first and the lower three last. Clip off the “tail” of the wire ties when you're done. Fig. 5-16: Upper two tie locations. Fig. 5-17: Lower three tie locations.

  • Page 43: Installing The Carriage

    DropLit Assembly Guide Installing the Carriage Next up, we'll get the Carriage assembled and attached to the t-slot extrusion. For this task, you'll need the following components: Insert the M5 nut into the bottom of the Anti-Backlash Nut Carrier as shown. The nut may not be a tight fit, so you'll need to hold it in place until the carrier is installed.
  • Page 44 DropLit Assembly Guide Before you mount the Anti-Backlash Nut Carrier to the Carriage plate, you need to install two nuts in the pockets on the Carriage plate. Fig. 5-19: ABN Installation parts. Set the Anti-Backlash Nut Carrier on top of the Carriage plate as shown and fix in place with one screw &...
  • Page 45 DropLit Assembly Guide The next step involves installing the R4 bearings, but first you'll need to attach the Acetal “tires” to each of the 5 bearings as shown. Start the assembly by pressing an R4 bearing into the tire half as shown below.
  • Page 46 DropLit Assembly Guide Now you need to insert two of the Eccentric Bushings into both of the remaining R4 bearing assemblies as shown below. Please make sure that you've got the bushings aligned with each other – use the raised line on each as an alignment guide. Set those aside – you'll be coming back to them in a moment.
  • Page 47 DropLit Assembly Guide Now grab the other DL Carriage Plate and slide over the screws you just installed. Fix the DL Carriage Plate into place using three nuts and a 5/16” wrench. Take care to not over-tighten! Fig. 5-32: DL Carriage Plate installed.
  • Page 48 5/16” wrench. You can reach each screw head via an access hole in the side of the DropLit as shown. When you've got the top one done, just lift the carriage a bit to reach the lower one.
  • Page 49 DropLit Assembly Guide The two eccentric bearings you just installed need to be adjusted in order to allow them to grip the extrusion properly. Using one or two 3/8” wrenches, turn the eccentric clockwise to bring the bearings closer to the extrusion. Adjust both eccentrics equally.

  • Page 50: Installing The Z Axis Drive Rod

    DropLit Assembly Guide Installing the Z Axis Drive Rod Now we need to get the carriage attached to the stepper motor by installing the Z Axis Drive Rod. That's just a fancy name for the M5 threaded rod that hooks the stepper motor to the uppy/downy thingy.
  • Page 51 DropLit Assembly Guide You want to only thread the rod in a short amount – it should only be slightly above the nut inside the Anti-Backlash Nut Carrier as shown in Fig. 5-42. Insert the small compression spring between the two uprights in the Anti-Backlash Nut Carrier.
  • Page 52 DropLit Assembly Guide Take the last M5 nut and thread it on to the Z-Axis rod till it's about an inch from the end. This nut is going to act as a “jam” nut – it will prevent the Z-Axis rod from backing out of the shaft coupler once it's installed.

  • Page 53: Things Electronic

    DropLit Assembly Guide 6 – Things Electronic! This chapter will cover the remaining electronic components of the DropLit. Installing the Limit Switch First, let's get the limit switch installed. For this task, you'll need the following components: Three Wire Ties We need to start by soldering a pair of wires to the limit switch as shown below.
  • Page 54 DropLit Assembly Guide Next, run the wires through the lower hole in the upper tower mount... And finally, spindle the wires together a bit and run them down the center hole in the extrusion. Pull all the wire through, but not too tight.
  • Page 55 DropLit Assembly Guide Now move to the bottom of the DropLit and route the limit switch wires through the small hole on the side of the base, opposite the hole where the stepper motors were routed. Finally, tie the limit switch wiring in place using the three wire ties at the locations shown.

  • Page 56: Installing The Power Supply & Power Switch

    The first thing you'll need to do is cut some wires free of the power supply for use with the DropLit. The first two go to the power switch. One is black and one is green. They're found on the large connector on the power supply You'll see them highlighted below.
  • Page 57 DropLit Assembly Guide Cut those two wires flush with the back of the connector and “un-route” them from the harness and pull them free so you can work with them. The idea here is to leave the unused wiring wrapped up as it is in order to make it stay compact and all one bundle once the power supply is installed.
  • Page 58 Fig. 6-16: Nylon screws installed. Fig. 6-15: Power supply mounting plate orientation. Lay the DropLit over so the back of the machine is exposed and install one nut in each side as shown below. Fig. 6-17: Nut installed. Now you can insert the power supply into the back of the DropLit. Take care that the wiring...
  • Page 59 Fig. 6-20: Power switch and nut. Now route the wires out through the hole in the side of the DropLit and attach the power switch. Fig. 6-21: Nut over wires... Fig. 6-22: Switch wired.

  • Page 60: Wiring & Installing The Gshield

    DropLit Assembly Guide Rotate the switch as shown below and insert it into the DropLit chassis, then thread on the retaining nut. Fig. 6-23: Switch orientation. Fig. 6-24: Switch installation complete! Wiring & Installing the gShield For this task the only component you'll need is the gShield itself:...
  • Page 61 DropLit Assembly Guide Warm up your soldering iron! The first step is to solder the limit switch wires to the gShield. The black wire is soldered to the hole marked “GND” and the white wire is soldered into the hole marked “D11”.
  • Page 62 DropLit Assembly Guide Now you need to install the black & yellow power wires into the two position terminal block along the edge of the gShield. The black wires go into the position marked “GND” and the yellow wires go into the position marked “Vmot”. Please trim your wire a bit so that little or no wire is visible outside the face of the terminal block.
  • Page 63 DropLit Assembly Guide Finally, it's time to install the gShield on to the Arduino Uno! The pins on the “bottom” of the gShield fit exactly into the two rows of sockets on the Arduino Uno as shown below. Fig. 6-28: Installing the gShield.

  • Page 64: Final Assembly

    DropLit Assembly Guide 7 – Final Assembly Assembly & Installation of the Mirror Support First up, let's get the mirror support framework assembled. For this task, you'll need the following components: 1 Knurled Thumbscrew The first thing you'll need to do is use the knurled thumbscrew to create threads in the Mirror Bottom Base Plate as shown: Fig.
  • Page 65 – please make sure that the side plates are as square as possible to the base plate before gluing the mirror in. The reason for this is that the tabs on the side plates fit into slots on the DropLit, under the Dish Base.
  • Page 66 Once the glue has dried, carefully remove the protective film from the mirror. Do NOT touch the surface of the mirror! Now you can install the mirror assembly into the base of the DropLit. We'll worry about setting the height later, so for now just set it into place and thread the thumbscrew in.

  • Page 67: Final Assembly

    DropLit Assembly Guide Final Assembly For the next tasks, you'll need the following components: 3 Knurled Thumbscrews...
  • Page 68 DropLit Assembly Guide First, let's get the Top Plate installed. Insert a nut into the DropLit sides – there should be two more installed in the upper tower mount from a prior step. Next, install the top plate by aligning the six tabs on the DropLit chassis with the six slots on the top plate.
  • Page 69 Now you'll want to set the Acrylic Logo Panel in to place, fitting the tabs into the shallow notches on either side of the DropLit. You may want to lay the machine on its back to make the panel stay in place without having to tape it.
  • Page 70 DropLit Assembly Guide Fig. 7-16: Both hinges installed on the door. Now you can hang the door in place by using one cap screw at the top and one at the bottom. This will hold the door in place long enough for you to easily thread on and tighten the nuts used on the back side.
  • Page 71 DropLit Assembly Guide Now let's get the vat clamps assembled! You'll need the following parts for each one: The vat clamp is really simple to assemble. First, attach a Tall Vat Holddown using two of the #6, 1/2” Pan Head Machine screws to the Vat Holddown Top part.
  • Page 72 Now grab the four rubber “shoes” that you set aside in Chapter 4 and get them installed on the plastic feet on the bottom of the DropLit. They just slide on. Kind of like Slippers Of Awesome. :) Fig. 7-24: Shoes on, ready to dance! Next, let's get the Build Platform Installed.
  • Page 73 DropLit Assembly Guide Congrats! Your DropLit 3D printer build is now complete!

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