Hey, everyone! I’m Ethan, and I’m looking to build a printer. I am interested in the Eustathios design.
I’ve been chatting with folks in the Sublime Layers slack, and one of them sent me over here.
I’m having trouble navigating the forum. Where should I start?
Welcome! I think you just started! But beyond that, start with the category sticky/pinned post:
In that post, you’ll see a link to the github repo with the build information for Eustathios.
@Eclsnowman designed Eustathios, based on the designs he references in the github page.
What questions do you have?
Hello and welcome to the group. The HercuLien and Eustathios designs are one of many availble out there. Being the designer of a few I am partial to mine… but know there are many to choose from. As a starting point, do you currently have a printer? If not then I think starting with a HercuLien or Eustathios might be a bit ambitious for a first build. I only say this because there are multiple printed parts needed in both designs. My recommendation is usually to get a well supported printer to get your feet wet. Then branch out into the world of self sourced printers. For example and Ender3 is a good starting point since there are several times per year they can be had for $179 or less. They are imperfect printers… but the value for the money is truly unmatched, and the community around them is very full featured. From there you have the tool to build any number of self sourced printers which you can print, or modify with your own iterations. My favorite part of the Eustathios and HercuLien files release was all the people that took the design and ran with it to make exceptional upgrades and modifications.
Welcome to the group, and let me know how we can assist you in your journey.
Thanks, Michael and Eric.
I am attracted to the HercuLien design’s Z axis system – it seems very stable, though possibly too well constrained for a smaller build.
I am also considering a Delta printer for my first build. The DC42 Kossel build looks like a pretty stable frame design, and it seems reasonable from a cost perspective.
I do not have a printer at the moment. I do have a milling machine, a drill press, and a small cnc mill. I could likely use a friend’s printer to make parts as well.
I enjoy building complex projects more than I do operating them, so I would rather build from scratch than build a kit, and I would rather build a kit than buy a printer – even an expensive one. I am looking for a design that can do very fine layers, print about a 10 to 12 inch cube, and work reliably with high temperature, exotic, and flexible materials. ABS is a requirement, Acetal, Nylon, and Polycarbonate would be nice. I will probably need to enclose and vent the printer.
What are the issues with mechanical stability in these CoreXY designs?
How difficult is it to do manual bed leveling? Is this as important as the controller’s compensation for bed tilt and warpage?
What are typical build volumes and machine sizes for Eustathios and HercuLien?
Are there any reasons other than build volume, ease of using a direct drive extruder, and enclosability to go with a CoreXY build over a Delta?
Note that Eustathios isn’t a CoreXY, it’s an ultimaker-style XY. CoreXY has long belts multiplying any stretch in the belts by a longer distance. The belts on Eustathios are short.
Software compensation for bad beds leads to ugly parts. You don’t actually have to spend that much to just have a good bed that doesn’t need compensation at all, and if you are spending enough to build from scratch, there’s absolutely no point in cheaping out; the difference between doing it right and doing it wrong will be lost in the noise. I recommend Howard Precision as a source of ALCA 5 cast aluminum plate (also MIC 6, but ALCA 5 is probably a better bed material).
Consider a kinematic mount if you want to put all bed leveling (tramming) questions out of mind. I think TDD overstates the importance of thermal conductivity through mounts because of the limited contact area, but a drop of teflon isn’t really that expensive and you have the machine tools to shape it.
With that said, I think that any of these designs would be a good starting point. I have about five designs out on GitHub. I might be biased, but I think any of them would be a good fit depending upon what type of parts you want to print and what materials you want to print in. If you’re looking for an enclosed printer then the HercuLien is a good fit though it could be sized down in construction to have a smaller build area if you don’t need the full size. If you’re used to CNC then you know that deflection is a function of the spans to the third power. So making larger printers is non-trivial and issues amplify. for reference I haven’t had to re-level my Hercule printer in over a year and that includes moving it from my office out to the garage. Michael is correct, in my opinion auto bed leveling is compensation for an issue that can be corrected mechanically. It’s good for printers with uneven or warped beds, but if you know you’re starting with a true planer surface on your bed everything else becomes much easier to avoid needing mesh leveling.
My recommendation before starting is always to open the models and rotate it around and get a good scope of what’s involved, and then seeing what materials you already have and what capabilities you have to manufacture the parts, and then finding a good fit based on your abilities and aptitudes.
We’re always here and available to help you with any questions you have during the build or in printer selection. There are no dumb question, only dumb answers. And I’ll try and avoid providing you with any inaccurate or stupid replies 