Replikeo Prusa i3 Rework Build - Part 2: Assembly

Part 2 will describe the process of building my Replikeo Prusa i3 Rework. Having already taken inventory in part 1, I will continue following the wiki instructions with Y-axis assembly. Below are the pictures from the build.

Y axis assembly

Y axis assembly with carriage

X and Y axis assemblies

X, Y, and Z axis assemblies

Z Steppers added

Attach uprights to base and add X,Y steppers

I don't remember having any serious problems with this portion of the build. I was able to put what you see above together in a few hours. Some screws were too long as I had seen documented elsewhere. I just put some extra washers underneath them. On the z-axis threaded rods, the nuts did not fit snuggly into their housings, so I added a drop of hot glue to each. Other than that, I pretty much followed the instructions. Next was the extruder assembly.

The extruder assembly required a little teasing. It is worth noting that this is the only printed part that is included in the kit. As such, some trimming of support material was required. I was not overly impressed by the print quality. I plan to print a replacement at some point and expect mine to come out much better. The biggest problem was that the hole for the j-head was not round. Luckily the j-head is almost exactly the same diameter as the drum sander attachment on a dremel tool. A bit of sanding and it was good to go. Below are some pictures.

Assembly before stepper

J-head hole enlarged

Hot glue added to keep bearing in place

Fully assembled extruder before stepper

At this point the only things left to do were add the heated bed and wire everything up. Wiring will be in part 3, but I will put the heated bed pictures here. I debated for a while how to best attach the thermistor. Eventually I ended up using silicone sealant and some kapton tape I had. The wide kapton was not included in the kit, but many smaller pieces of the stuff included in the kit could be used if that is all you have. In the end, the silicone did nothing. I would just leave that off.

Thermistor included in the kit. Wires are presoldered and heatshrinked

Thermistor taped to heatbed

Printer ready to be wired

Its worth noting that I used springs to support the heated bed instead of washers like in the wiki instructions. I think it's fairly obvious how to do this; the springs are included in the kit.

At this point the only wiki page left is Electronics and Wiring. Part 3 will address wiring and initial software setup.

-Matthew