The Rostock MAX 3D Printer
by SeeMeCNC.com
===========================
How many people do you know with a 3D printer? How many do you know with a DELTA 3D printer? We want to make you the first person in your makerspace, hackerspace, or group to own and operate something so unique and different. The design is easy to build and uses precise laser cut acrylic or wood framework, standard t-slot aluminum extrusion, and high-strength injection molded plastic and CNC machined parts.
We're bringing the popularity of laser cut parts to our new Rostock MAX machines, as well as many other additions to the original design. Our laser cut acrylic version (like in the pictures and videos) just looks cool! But, if you're looking for a better value, we offer a model that uses wood melamine laser cut board. It has a clean laser cut edge and is super strong and rigid. Oh, and it's $100 less than the acrylic model, a noteworthy option!
Check out some of the these videos already being posted by people who contributed to this campaign and already have their machines printing!
BRADS ROSTOCK MAX
Advantages of the Delta Arm design:
-
MUCH faster Z axiz movement. A traditional 3D pritner design uses threaded rods or acme screws. These severely limit the Z axis speeds to about 200-400 mm/min speeds. With the Rostock MAX, we have the same speed in X/Y as we do in the Z, which is up to 40000 mm/min. Holy Cow right!
- Counter acting forces of movement. With a traditional pritner again, you have a carriage moving left/right or front/back, and it has to overcome the weight of that movement to reverse it's direction. We use accelaration to tune the motors DOWN to slow the speeds of the carriage when it's near the end of a move so it doesn't "whip" or chatter, when changing directions. With the MAX, all three carriages have to move together to make coordinated motion, so if one arm has to go up, the other two have to go down, and this cnacels out a huge amount of the inertia in the movement at the head, so we can tune the motor to a much higher rate, increasing the speed.
- Circular motion is smoother by default with the Rostock MAX. The delta arms also have a unique feature, SUPER ROUND CIRLCES! Now, yes, you can have the same smooth circles with a standard printer, however, you have to work to get it to make those circles very round. The reason is you have two straight lines, one in the X and one in the Y, and you have to vary those two lines to make a circle. Any backlash in the belts/pulleys etc... will cause the circles to come out egg shaped at best. With the MAX, circles are more true, becuase any backlash that could exist is cancelled out by the fact that the platform "hangs" from the arms, and gravity takes care of the rest. There are other reasons too, such as that every single move sent to the printer is split into 200 seperate movements.
Features:
- 10"+ Diameter x 13 1/2" + High build volume
- Sturdy design using bolted together parts
- Precision laser cut, CNC and injection molded parts
- Windows, MAC, and Linux compatible using Repetier Host
-
Uses UltiMachine RAMBo electronics
- Uses Standard NEMA 17 motors and GT2 timing belt
- 15 Tooth motor pulleys for excellent precision (.018mm)
- Filament is held by the machine, no more tangled spools on the floor
- Wide open access to the build area, easy to get at parts
- Unique design lends to easy modification for other uses
- Uses 1.75mm Filament
- Comes with everything you need, even zip ties and wire!
We are looking into other "tool heads" to attach to the platform. Some easy to convert ideas are pick-and-place vacuum head for electronics board assembly, sodler paste syringes for PCB prepping, pen mount (it's the $25 perk) for plotting/drawing and even a low power laser platform should be easily adaptable.
We are also using UltiMachine's new electronics boards, the RAMBo. They have the ability to run two extruders, one heated bed, two fans and 5 stepper motors. Check out theRAMBo wiki page to learn more about these really awesome 3D printer electronics from UltiMachine. The boards have 5 allegro A4984 stepper drivers, two plugs if you ever need a dual-z motor setup etc..., 4 thermistor inputs, and so many more awesome features.
So, How does the MAX Compare?
![Printers compared comparison]()
More information about our Rostock MAX can be found online over at theRepRap project, as well as our Forum. We will be posting build instructions, CAD files, firmware settings and more, all on ourRepRap.org Wiki Page
Rostock MAX in the news
"Maker Faire isn’t a contest, of course, but if it was I’d award these superlatives:
Best of Show: See Me CNC’s Rostock MAX delta bot
..... "
Shawn Wallce, MAKE magazine
"The Rostock MAX 3D printer is now on Indiegogo, the first 200 perks are planned to be shipped before December 13th, 2012. On Indiegogo a complete Rostock MAX Kit in lasercut wood is available for early supporters for $849, and for $949 you will receive a complete Rostock MAX Kit in lasercut smoke/clear acrylic, including everything needed to assemble a working Rostock MAX 3D printer. This project has raised $21,567 of its $10,000 Goal and still 20 days to go before the campaign ends."
Source: Thinker Thing
Shipping Goal:
Our goal is to have the first 200 perks shipped before December 13th, 2012. Based on our past campaign, this is very achievable.
Shipping Prices:
Shipping is not included. We will email you an invoice for the cost of shipping to you starting at the end of the campaign.
- Shipping in United States is approximately $80
- Shipping to Canada is approximately $120
- Shipping International is approximately $180
Note: You might just find your kit ready to ship before this campaign is over!
In recognition of Johann's origional design which inspired us here to design and build the Rostock MAX, we are going to donate $5 for every kit purchased thru this campaign! So not only will you be getting your own Delta 3D printer, you'll be giving back immediately by contributing to Johann for staring the revolution that is open-source delta printing! Our re-funding doesn't stop there though. We would also like to donate $2 from every kit sold to two of 3D Printings greatest software guru's. The infamous and awesome REPETIER software developer, and the developer of the super fast slicing/gcode generation software known as SLIC3R. Click on their names to learn more about their contributions to the community, and learn about why we love their software.
Update---11/9/2012
Since all of the EARLY BIRD perks were not spoken for by the end of October, and we cannot remove/shut off a perk, CHECK THIS OUT!!!!
If you want to step into the "Express Lane" for shipping with your Rostock MAX kit, go ahead and perk up for one of the remaining EARLY BIRD perks. By contributing to that perk, you will be moved to the front of the shipping line. Now, for all you regular perk contributors, don't worry, this doesn't mean we are pushing you guys back. We are now AHEAD OF OUR SHIPPING SCHEDULE. We will box/pack/ship in the order perks were contributed, and if someone purchases an early bird perk, you will likely not have a delay in your shipping of more than a day, if at all. We are still planning at the moment to have all the perks that were contributed on or before the first of November to be shipped out by the end of the month, which is before our origional goal of mid December. We wouldn't be this far along without every single one of our contributors, you all helped make this possible!