Building the frame : iTopie

Full 2 weeks have passed since I received the frame from the CNC shop. Now, I finally start on my iTopie build. Before I could begin, I needed to sand all the notches and pegs to make them fit easily. To avoid all this sanding, Chandrakanth, the CNC shop owner, suggested I make the pegs 0.5mm thinner next time. Hmm..

The brilliant build guide on Reprap' wiki shows how to assemble the whole frame, so I will not be repeating all the steps again. Follow this link to go wiki's build. I was unable to find the 3.5x40mm drywall screws, so I used 3.5mmx38mm drywall screws instead.

My current 3D printer moves/vibrates too much while printing to provide high quality intricate prints. One of the reasons I had chosen to build an iTopie, was due to the rigidity of its frame. This was my first time build a 3D printer form scratch, I really wanted all the pieces to be square and not mess anything up. I used my set squares constantly, to make sure every this is at right angles to each other. I am really happy with the results. Here are some of the pics of the final frame assembly and painting:

The frame of the my new iTopie, which will cannibalize the printer om the left. RepCanb rather than RepRap :P

Every thing is exactly as it should be. The white patches are from the putty I used.

After the first cost of primer. I put together a make shift painting "booth" using a large amazon box I had lying in the house.

A bit of sanding. I sanded the whole frame after each coat of the primer to get an even shine.

After another coat of primer, sanding and two coats of smooth gloss paint. Has my finger prints in some places, I guess its personalized now.

The cost for this build till now has been around Rs 3500, majority of that being:

1. MDF : Rs 800
2. CNC costs : Rs 1500

I have mentioned where I got the frame cut in this blog post. I used only a small amount of the following items, they will be useful around the house and in other projects. So I am not counting their full cost to the build's cost.

1. 3.5x38mm drywall screw (Rs 260) : ebay.in
2. Black Primer Spray Paint (Rs 540) : amazon.in
3. Black Primer Glossy Paint (Rs 540) : amazon.in
4. Fevicol SH 0.5kg (Rs 125) : available in most hardware stores
5. Asian Paints Dent Filler 1kg (Rs 150) : available in most hardware stores

Final Part : Finishing the iTopie