The Reprap movement is alive and well at #MRRF2019. While there were many amazing 3d printer builds at the Midwest Reprap Festival 2019, what caught my was the corexy 3d printer designs and builds. The core-xy motion system is my favorite machine kinematics. The belt routing path is clever and useful for 3d printer motion. For such a small grass roots event like MRRF 2019 you can find some of the best corexy 3d printers of 2019.
MRRF2019 Builds
- E3D Tool Changer
- RailCore Labs
- Project R3D
- Exoslide
- Tallboy
- Kuntry3D’s 3D Printed Hypercube
Rise of the E3D Toolchangers
Last year at MRRF 2018, E3D intrigued listeners as they explained their tool changer design. It wasn’t the first time that RepRap designers have implemented automatic tool changing into 3d printing technology. But E3D caught the imagination of everyone and showed us a glimpse of the future of 3d printing. The Toolchanger is an advanced 3d printer setup that allows you to have multiple print heads available but only one located onto the XY gantry. This advanced 3d printer allows you to have multiple materials and colors but keep the printer fast with the light weight motion system.
Ever since the Tool Changer presentation many designers and builders have been racing to develop their own system or E3D Tool Changer clone. Not that E3D minds, they’ll be publishing the complete design open-source on Thingiverse soon.
RailCore CoreXY
If you havn’t heard of the RailCore 3D Printer you should check it out. It’s pretty much the best corexy printer kit available at the moment. In addition to it’s slick design the printer uses linear rails on all three axis and has the best print quality compared to the many other designs. We had a chance to catch up with RailCore Labs and Project R3D at the show. RailCore Labs is the creator of the RailCore line of printers and Project R3D is the main manufacture of the printer and kits. The machine design is done well and there are a ecosystem of upgrade available. In addition to the crew of RailCore exhibiting at #MMRF2019, 713Maker and Mandala Rose Works were also exhibiting. The two companies manufacture all the really pretty CNC machined aluminum upgrades and parts that make up the RailCore ecosystem. The RailCore printer in image below has a custom all metal machined aluminum enclosure manufactured by 713Maker. 713Maker also manufactures other machined aluminum upgrade parts for a range of delta printers and other various printer kits that are in need for metal upgrades.
Exoslide Moving Gantry
The Exoslide is a scalable core-xy design influenced by the Voron II. It has a moving gantry and custom injection molded carriages with 10mm bearings running along the extrusions. The modular linear carriage slides have a adjustable bearing preload and M4 nuts embedded throughout each face for mounting various components and bracketry.
https://www.exoslide.com/blog/moving-gantry-3D-printer-design
TallBoy CoreXY 3D Printer
Mark Napier’s tall corexy “Tall-Boy” is based off Vernon Barry aka Jetguy’s “Big-Boy” printer. It has a four lead-screw Z-lift and a 14″ x 14″ x 36″ build volume.
Mark’s machine has a mechanical arrangement that keeps the parts inside the frame so it is easier to enclose. The wider 2040 extrusions are used to stiffen the frame in the X-Y plane and the X gantry plate. It makes a “T” beam so there is virtually no compliance in the direction of travel so minimize ringing. The only compliance left is in the belt and rubber dampers. His next modification will be genuine Gates 9mm belts w/o the dampers.
- More On JetGuy’s 3D Printer here
Piper 2 3D Printer
Piper 3d printers are a RepRap design made from electrical conduit pipes. The sturdy frame is light and all the joints are 3D printed. Above is an image of the Piper’s core-xy design but there are other designs available such as a Prusa and CNC version.
- Piper 3D Printer’s Website here
Jubilee Pen Plotter
We had the opportunity to see Joshua Vasquez’s ToolChanger pen plotter which later morphed into what is now called the Jubilee 3d Printer.
RatRig V-Core 3D Printer
The Ratrig V-Core is a premium DIY kit for your CoreXY 3D Printer needs. This “Configurable” kit is simple for beginners but built with advanced users in mind. The Rat Rig V-Core is quickly getting traction with a growing community that’s pushing the limits of corexy scalability as many are diving into 3d printer builds as big as 500mm x 500mm x 500mm.
The RatRig “Configurable kit” is as complete as possible with many choices of components, including aluminum frames, precision rails, linear bearings, stepper motors & belts. This complete and customizable DIY kit can be as simple or complex as you’d like it to be, with many choices of bits that will go into the printer when assembling your CoreXY 3D Printer.
Eva Modular Carriage System
The new V-Core printers uses the EVA modular carriage system which currently supports BMG, Titan extruders and Slice Engineering, E3D hotends along with a growing list of options being added over time.
Prusa XL
Unfortunately MRRF2020 was canceled due to the Coronavirus but maybe next year we’ll get a glimpse of the Prusa Research’s project. Rumors of the next Prusa printer are surfacing and look like they’re coming out with a Prusa corexy with a 400mm build area. #MRRF2021 will be interesting once we get a preview of new community developments. We all look forward to seeing what will be next. See you next year my friends!