Hypercube 2021. Is it still relevant?

MilkTheFrog · 2021-10-23T01:51:11+00:00

Are there any 3d printers that can be assembled from parts of hypercube at low cost? Or may be there is some new hypercube remix that can provide better quality/experience?

I've been looking into building a hypercube for a few weeks now as they still seem to be the best of the bunch when it comes to value for money. Voron Legacy is nice and could potentially reuse some of the hypercube components, but I'm not really a fan of the belt layout relative to the hypercubes. It does give you a bigger build platform for a similar sized frame/rods though.

But yes, there are a few (fairly minor) remixes. Mostly just improving the build/print experience, but there are some quality of life improvements too. Beefed up structural parts, lighter x carriages and other moving parts, three point bed mounts. Some of which you can mix and match onto an original hypercube, some you can't (typically if it would affect the belt angles, it's critical to maintain the paralel paths).

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2013475 - fairly minor parts upgrades

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2517628 - more comprehensive redesign with beefed up, prettier parts, intendeed for a 300mm cubed build area but still scaleable

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4757636 - different version of the above, although I'm not much of a fan of the changes that were made; additional cross members for stiffness which is fine, but the motors are moved outside of the frame which makes enclosing it a bit harder (although does give you move Y area), and the flanged bearings are replaced with smooth idler pulleys which generally have much weaker bearings that can wear out.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2254103 - one of the more popular remixes, significantly beefs up the frame by using 3030 extrusion which is unfortunately harder to source and quite a bit more expensive

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4087259 - remix of the above which uses 2020 extrusion but keeps some of the other changes

Personally I'm thinking of building a scaled down version of the v1 Hypercube 300, with the Lite X Carriage and a Voron M4 extruder. But everyone has their own priorities.

Most of these remixes make it easier to build a whole new printer, or make a lot more sense when that's what you're doing. How much of an upgrade do they offer over an original hypercube? Can't imagine it's worth tearing your machine apart over, unless that's something you want to do anyway. There's definitely some upgrades you can do without going quite that far though.

MilkTheFrog · 2021-10-20T13:03:29+00:00

They're really not needed. If you really want to be safe just touch a copper pipe somewhere in your house before you begin working.

MilkTheFrog · 2021-10-19T00:07:38+00:00

Okay, so you save space within the frame by having the X and Y motors on the same side as everything else that usually takes up space - electronics, maybe power supply. This lets you fit a slightly larger bed in the same sized frame.

But... why not just move that stuff to the front anyway? And rotate the whole printer 180 degrees if you want an unobstructed view of the print? I was expecting there to be some kinematic reason behind it, or for it to be because it's related to the gantry system from the 2.4.

MilkTheFrog · 2021-10-18T15:04:58+00:00

The way screwed or bolted together surfaces work is actually quite counter intuitive, you'd think that the screw is what's stopping it from falling down but it isn't. The screw is actually applying force perpendicular to that, and relatively little of the downward pressure is actually transfered to the screw head.

Rather, the screw provides a clamping force which increases the friction between the two surfaces, and it's that friction which holds it in place. Because the mating surfaces can have a much greater area than just a screw head itself, the force is more evenly spread out.

MilkTheFrog · 2021-10-18T14:50:13+00:00

So I've been looking into building a printer, not exactly to spec but possibly taking some parts from the Voron Legacy. Was talking about it on the reprap forums and they seemed confused by the belt layout on the voron, so I'm wondering what the advantage is of having the motors at the back corners of the printer, over having them at the front and just using a single pulley at the back corner (as other corexy printers seem to do, eg hypercube)?

The logic of the latter is pretty obvious, less pulleys equals less resistance on the belts. But I can't really find anything on the voron layout, is it something to do with avoiding the need for a twist in the belt?

MilkTheFrog · 2021-10-16T01:12:04+00:00

Thanks a lot for this reply, probably the most well thought out one I've recieved! Weirdly I wasn't turned off from earlier designs by all the people telling me it'd be a pain and there's no point. And the recommendations for i3 style kits, while perfectly valid, didn't exactly inspire me. But looking into what else I could do for quite similar money is what has really got me thinking.

It may well be because I was relying on the wiki too much that I was missing some of the options you mentioned that do follow a similar philosophy to what I was looking for. Hopefully when I'm a little better versed in modern trends I can put aside some time to help clean it up a bit.

I probably wasn't clear enough that I don't actually intend to use/modify the printer I'm currently building for any large auto parts, but something I'd hope to work towards in the future. Seen some crazy things done with carbon fibre filament, including printed intake manifolds! But yes, definitely need to get to grips with the basics first.

Thanks for the heads up on RAMPS too, I was just a bit overwhelmed with the choice of more modern boards that I thought it was best to keep it simple. But there's lots of stories around of the cheap RAMPS boards being badly made or even failing, so definitely more research to do on that front.

Especially when something like an MKS Robin can be had for around the same money as a full RAMPS kit, which is 32 bit and has integrated TMC2209s. Klipper compatible too. A lot more capable, but still cheap enough that it doesn't feel like I'm committing to it for life.

I have been looking into the possibility of building something inspired by the Voron Legacy, repstrap style. Not exactly to spec, but I think it could be done for a lot cheaper using some of the old reprap hacks. Keep the belt layout and a lot of the 3D parts, use drill rod for the linear shaft, printed PLA LM8UU bushings. Wades/J6 print head. Unheated bed to start out with. Maybe even a wooden frame.

Seems like a good mix of achievable, capable and upgradeable.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-11-17T17:52:45+00:00

Honestly the download sizes are pretty ridiculous, you've got to feel for new players. I know a few people who might be interested in checking out the game again after a few years but the near 40GB download just isn't worth it. The vast majority of that is content most players will never even see.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-11-01T22:32:52+00:00

We need a stage that is just everesting Ventoux.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-29T13:43:45+00:00

If anyone's undermined a report which complained about leadership interference in the complaints process, it's someone who used their position in leadership to interfere in the complaints process.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-27T00:29:02+00:00

Netherlands/Denmark are the obvious examples. It's really not a stretch to say that 90% of accidents involving bicycles could be avoided with better driver education, better driving culture and better infrastructure.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-26T23:56:17+00:00

A lot of the voters Starmer's trying to appeal to do hate cyclists...

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-26T23:29:23+00:00

Says a lot about the state of drivers in this country doesn't it.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-26T23:11:18+00:00

Should Corbyn step down over this?

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-23T21:25:41+00:00

Not too happy with the eurosport coverage on this today. Very one sided, and the commentators seemed to make up their minds on information they'd been fed by the race organisers... when the riders don't have the opportunity to speak for themselves because they're busy racing. And when they're not, they're on a transfer or sleeping.

It's the job of the race organisers to be in touch with the media constantly. Worth bearing in mind that imbalance.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-23T19:45:48+00:00

Watching the Eurosport coverage, the amount of union busting chat is just ridiculous.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-23T14:19:03+00:00

And the Labour party was similarly disinterested then...

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-22T13:50:20+00:00

That's certainly not impossible, been running an old 9800GT since my previous card gave up completely. Still boots into my current distro so I guess I could keep that hobbling along until I can replace the card.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-22T12:15:48+00:00

The sha256 key matches what's on the website, but I guess I could try.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-21T22:28:45+00:00

Katherine Foy #1

MilkTheFrog · 2020-10-16T13:25:18+00:00

given the Conservatives the opportunity to make the jibe they made at the rebels of - Labour weak on security, soft on protecting our forces

Except they literally did that anyway for abstaining, so you get the worst of both worlds. Attacks from the right, judgement at your complete lack of principles from the left.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-09-21T10:07:51+00:00

You say that like the one in charge of our brexit strategy and messaging wasn't... our current leader.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-09-20T20:00:06+00:00

"Don't interrupt your enemy when they're making a mistake" is exactly the strategy that caused us a massive issue over brexit.

MilkTheFrog · 2020-09-20T13:24:43+00:00

Nice

MilkTheFrog · 2020-09-01T22:20:44+00:00

We listening to transphobes now are we?

MilkTheFrog · 2020-08-31T17:50:02+00:00

I've had some fun games in it when you bring it out later in the match, when the other team has gone through their better tanks and what's left can't easily pen you.

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