3D printer in a briefcase HD
I based this 3D printer on the most excellent Smartrap 3D printer (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:177256) but with almost every part re-designed to suit fitting it into a hard briefcase. For this printer I wanted a generous print volume in a robust and compact format for easy transport. I decided to initially make it for PLA only so there is no heatbed. It has a 30 amp 12 V power supply in the case for now but I have a much smaller 7A power supply ordered which will allow me to fit a small spool of filament under the bed. The extruder drive is based on the same herringbone gears I use on my other machine: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:97377/#files. I decided to go for a geared extruder to be able to push the filament with more force to make the machine tolerant of some of the lower quality budget filaments out there. The hot end is an all metal E3D v5 design that I machined myself. I might make a v6 to make it lighter and gain a bit more z capacity. Overall print envelope at the moment is 180 x 200 x 170. By optimising the location of the zero switches I will be able to push the X axis out to 200mm too. Overall weight is 8.8 kg of which the case itself accounts for 2.8kg. There is probably scope to shave a kg or two out of it with a smaller power supply and lighter base board. The 8mm smooth rods weigh about 0.8kg so I could switch to the 6mm rods used on latest evolution of the Smartrap and save a bit more weight. It is not as rigid or accurate as my other 3D printer but it has been a great fun project.