http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8356090702/in/set-72157632461414469
We got a real treat for you this time, the Rostock Max Delta 3D Printer by SeeMeCNC! These guys stopped by our Milwaukee 3D Printing Meetup this month with fellow hackers at Pumping Station 1, check out more photos here. We decided to continue to review our 8th 3D printer in light of the popularity from our last review of Lulzbot AO-100.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8358217133/in/set-72157632461414469
Other than the crowds it draws in, the first thing you’ll notice is how clean the design is. Most of the components are made by the company, which is most why they are able to control the design so well. They began as a small CNC shop named Blackpoint Engineering, with a few operators and little work, and made the decision to transition into 3D printing. I don’t think they ever regretted that decision.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8356095190/in/set-72157632461414469
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8356086064/in/set-72157632461414469
Starting with the electronics, they simplified the components by integrating a RAMBo Board from Ultimachine, replacing the previous Arduino/RAMPS/Pololu board typically used.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8356086064/in/set-72157632461414469
There’s also a nice LCD on the printer, and an SD slot. No, not the annoying little micro SD’s that are so easy to lose, the full-size SD card.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8359281144/in/set-72157632461414469
The spool holder is cleverly placed and packs up nicely.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8358222243/in/set-72157632461414469
And of course you have the Bowden extruder. The allows the extruder motor to be located away from the hot end, giving you higher accuracy and faster print times by decreasing the moving mass. The gear train is pretty unique on this machine, it’s basically a transmission, giving you various speed reduction as necessary.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8358219687/in/set-72157632461414469
Both the gears and the rods are made of injection-molded glass-fiber nylon, which is very important for high strength parts. This is a huge advantage of SeeMeCNC, they have access to all this equipment, ranging from small to large scale injection-molding capabilities. They say that’s why they can sell the kits for so cheap, which makes sense considering it’s under $1k for the kit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8359291214/in/set-72157632461414469
The roller bearings are custom-made and extremely smooth. Also, the pulleys are 15-teeth GT2’s. 15 is the minimum amount of teeth that are physically acceptable, while providing the highest level of precision in the X, Y and also Z direction in this case.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dcreations/8355026169/in/set-72157632461414469
But of course, the coolest part of the Rostock Delta design is the theoretically-unlimited Z height. Stock parts give you 14.75″ Z height, but increasing that is only a matter of extending the 3 legs and a few cables and belts. The circular build plate gives you a max diameter of 11″, totaling in a build envelope of over 1400 cubic inches. Compare this to the new CubeX 3D printer that boasts double the size of it’s original build volume, and is still barely over 1000 cubic inches (eat that 3D Systems)! Finally, this printer uses the first round PCB heated bed called the Onyx, powered by a 12V power supply for standardization. The Rostock design is one of the next frontiers in the RepRap community, and SeeMeCNC seems to be the first to master it!
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by Jesse DePinto with 3D Creations
Jesse DePinto 
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