I’m surprised to not find much chatter here or on a lot of the internet (save for nophead and other’s device specific blogs) regarding the Mendel 90 (kit). With a sturdy design, well made kit, and affordable price point for amazing quality prints and speed - am I missin something? Perhaps the inaccessibility of the kits and BOM to most people?
Come to think of it, I’m not sure why I’m not more interested in it than I am. Maybe it’s just the use of “Mendel” in the name, making the design seem stale on arrival (even though it bears little resemblance to a Mendel). It also seems to have a very poor internal/external volume ratio, which is a real sticking point with me.
I love the way the wiring is done, though.
19" wide for an almost 8" cubic build area doesn’t seem to terrible - but I see your point.
Reason I don’t like it is the materials used. There are so many flat surfaces oriented in ways that just feel weird to me. Also the lack of a build log to follow, documentation, etc. The whole reason I built an i2 is because @Gary_Hodgson had that wonderful build guide.
i think it’s called a mendel because the whole having the x axis mounted on the z axis thing was maybe ed sell’s idea or at least the mendel was the first time i saw it used. i really like using flat sheets at 90 deg + buttresses & have done so since the beginning. It’s incredibly sturdy in every direction. I’m considering saving/buying for a kit just to support nophead for all the work he has done for the community and to have one for historical purposes and i recommend his kit to anyone who tells me they are interested in getting involved.
As a Mendel 90 user, I can absolutely recommend the design. It’s enough of a fresh start (over the Prusa v2, for example) to eliminate many of the issues we’re having with the triangular designs.
The use of sheet material makes it incredibly easy to build - no frame adjustments needed and you get a super sturdy frame with very little material.
It also has lots of space to mount e.g. electronics.
As far as the build manual is concerned - you don’t need one. Really all you need to do is look at the pictures and screw stuff together. It’s so much more logical (and, as mentioned needs no adjustment!) than a Sells (lol) and, due to the lack of a rod frame, also easier than a Prusa.
Personally, I redesigned a couple parts, made the machine larger and used thick plywood sheets and 12mm smooth rods since I’m planning on mounting a dremel for some light milling.
Oh, one more thing: since the whole machine is programmed on Openscad, you can just hammer in your parameters (build volume, sheet thickness, rod size…) and it will give you drill plans for the sheets and a set of stls specifically for your machine.
@ThantiK Nophead has created a very thorough manual for the dibond version of the Mendel90 (which is virtually the same for the acrylic and mdf versions) - https://github.com/nophead/Mendel90/blob/master/dibond/manual/Mendel90_Dibond.pdf?raw=true
I’m actually planning on building one of these later in the year as an upgrade to my Prusa i1.
Yes it has more comprehensive documentation than most machines, including step by step build instructions with exploded diagrams and also the design rationale is in my blog.
There are BOMs for all three versions on github and they include every single part down to heatshrink and wire lengths.
The external dimensions are smaller than a Mendel or Prusa for a bigger build volume and it is also lighter.It looks bigger than the triangular style but it actually fits in a smaller box,
The depth is about as good as it gets without going to Bowden and / or the Ulitimaker style axes, unless you cheat by having the carriage move outside its own bounds. In that case the footprint is actually bigger but the machine itself is smaller.
It could be a little less wide with a vertical X axis but then there would be no room for an ATX PSU.
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