Question Feasibility Extending X Axis of Build Volume?

[Muiren]

I'm researching construction of a 2.4 with the build volume extended along the X axis, effectively doubling it to 700mm, right to left, to address printing a long, low height object as one piece. What would be the cons, the obstacles, of such a hardware/firmware mod?

 

[shiftingtech]

CoreXY is a challenging choice for an excessively long X or Y axis. Essentially, doubling the axis, as you're doing QUADRUPLES the length of each X/Y belt, which becomes problematic. It's *possibly* that some of the mods out there (AWD, 9mm belts) could help control the impact, but a stock 2.4, I would not expect great results.

 

[Dave32]

How about building a supersized "split" version of the PrintersForAnts Dueling Zero?

The Dueling Zero is a completely independent dual gantry setup. In its case, the build volumes overlap for dual-material printing with no moving mass penalty as is traditionally the case for IDEX. But if you instead shifted them apart laterally (keeping some small overlap), you could have a dual gantry with continuous 350x700 (or say... 350x690) print bed coverage... where each gantry is mechanically just a standard 350x350 setup without the long belt concerns.

More info for inspiration:

GitHub - zruncho3d/DuelingZero: Dueling Zero - a Dual Gantry V0 mod. Enable dual-color, dual-material, and even multi-part printing... with the same speed and quality as single-extruder printing.

Dueling Zero - a Dual Gantry V0 mod. Enable dual-color, dual-material, and even multi-part printing... with the same speed and quality as single-extruder printing. - GitHub - zruncho3d/DuelingZero...

github.com

 

[bragatz]

I saw someone mention an "infinite z" belt mod that is already commercially available for the 2.4

Is this something that is intended for use exclusively as a part removal solution, or could it work for a use case like this?

 

[Sandman50]

The belts get pretty long and they do have some stretch. So going to wider belts would help that. Of couse that means new printed parts to handle the thickness. I would also think about using a bigger cross section on the X gantry as it's now ~2.5x as long.

 

[Muiren]

Years ago, I became disillusioned with the pros and cons of various screw technologies. The math just didn't add up, so I pivoted into researching direct-drive linear motor tech. Now that Peopoly has demonstrated the feasibility of employing linear motors with its Magneto X, I believe my unique manufacturing requirements for printing a single object in a long, low, rectangular enclosed build space justifies experimenting with a Voron-inspired direct-drive linear motor system.

 

[bragatz]

What open source projects currently exist that would allow you to bring your idea to life?

What are the potential barriers to this being feasible? Are the coils needed for the motor expensive or difficult to produce? The few builds that I found in a quick search seemed to suffer from cooling challenges at higher operating speeds.

 

[Muiren]

What open source projects currently exist that would allow you to bring your idea to life?

What are the potential barriers to this being feasible? Are the coils needed for the motor expensive or difficult to produce? The few builds that I found in a quick search seemed to suffer from cooling challenges at higher operating speeds.

I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of vendors manufacturing direct-drive linear motors with integrated encoders and are designed to be operated within a broader temperature range than what I've seen others use. Until recently, these were stupid expensive and limited production for aerospace applications. Like most of my projects, I have no choice but to work alone and when overwhelmed or need to supplement my own skillset, I scrape together cash and pay talent on UpWork to help out.