The gears of this thing, printed vertically on the M200 with no support, using Z-ABS and 190u layers, are as absolutely perfect as anything I've seen come out of an FDM machine. Just gorgeous. A really fun and satisfying print.
The "tri-corner" hubs are more difficult - they require support and I first printed them with the curved side down, which gave a pretty ugly result. I ran out of yellow Z-ABS so I am trying these hubs curved-side-up on another printer right now. For nice curves I think you will need lots of support, like 50 or 60 degrees threshold.
The hubs and axles are designed for #10 screws; M4 socket heads are just a little too big for the counterbore holes.
Thanks, Aleksiej! The hubs came out great when printed curved-side-up (60-degree support threshold), I will post pics of the final build on Thingiverse when I get time. I used Prototype Labs (eSun) generic ABS on the Up for the hubs; the eSun is bright lemon-yellow, whereas the Z-ABS is more school-bus yellow. I'm sure the M200 would have done a fine job on the hubs though, if I hadn't run out of yellow Z-ABS.
I printed this model and it came out very well for the most part except for the connecting rods. I tried printing them on their sides with no support and they sagged into oval cross sections and then with minimal support but they warped about about the long axis and wouldn't fit inside the outer gears without binding them. Any tips on how to print the connecting rods?
I printed this model and it came out very well for the most part except for the connecting rods. I tried printing them on their sides with no support and they sagged into oval cross sections and then with minimal support but they warped about about the long axis and wouldn't fit inside the outer gears without binding them. Any tips on how to print the connecting rods?
Vertically, without support, Michael. The M200 is really good at tall vertical structures.
