The first step is to gather all the materials. These materials are a combination of bought an manufactured parts. While Plan B is not expensive for it’s kind, it was not designed to be as cheap as possible. Having said that, Plan B can be built for under €1000,-, making it acceptable. Some parts require special tools. I already have a steady supply of these parts, so I might open up a shop on this domain selling those parts.
tools
To build A plan B you will need several simple tools:
- Allen keys for M3 and M4
- Wrenches 5.5mm (M3), 7mm (M4) and 10mm (M6)
- screwdrivers
- (An electric screwdriver will make your life a whole lot easier)
- pliers
- Soldering iron
- A hacksaw
If you want to 3D print the parts yourself you will also need a 3D printer with a buildbox of at least 120mm x 110mm x 45mm high. For the sheetmetal you will need a flowjet or lasercutter capable of cutting 6mm aluminium. It is probably best to look for a local place to have these manufactured. Most places I got quotes from (both laser and flow) asked around €350. You’d be surprised what you can find if you start looking. These parts (especially the laser cut sheets) will be available in the shop when there is enough interest, but please note that shipping will only be worth it in the EU, shipping internationally would cost a small fortune.
3D printing parts
The 3D printed parts form the complex pieces of Plan B. It connects the frame to the gantry and makes up most small parts in Plan B.
With the STL files you can 3D print all the parts of Plan B. This can be done in any material of choice, but PLA will probably work best since it warps the least. All in all the parts will take around 1kg of plastic on standard density. Minimum buildbox for the parts is 120mmx110mmx45mm, so it should be printable on most printers. The parts have been optimized for FDM printing by having as little overhangs as possible.
3D printing these parts on plan B has not yet been attempted, but it will be in the future.
Sheetmetal
The sheetmetal forms the main body (and most of the weight) of Plan B. While it is technically possible to make Plan B out of plastic, the design was made for aluminium. The pistons need to be made out of aluminium since they have to be heated. All other parts could be made out of plastic sheets, but the would probably need to be thicker, since plastic is a lot weaker than aluminium.
The aluminium is too complex to be built by hand. It should be cut on either a high power laser cutter or a water cutter.
Bought parts
All the remaining parts have to be bought at a local source. Most of these parts are standard in open source 3D printing and shouldn’t be hard to get. The cartridges can be bought either locally or from ebay, the carriers can be hard to come find, but some printer suppliers have them. The BOM includes a lot of local suppliers, but the most important supplier (Reprapworld.com) can ship worldwide. The 2 double shaft NEMA 17 motors are NOT optional, they are required for the Y axis and S axis, to drive a pulley on both sides.
This Bill Of Materials shows everything to build a Plan B. Some circuits can be made by yourself. The list of components for those circuits can be found on the Electronics page.
| Frame | ||
| Part | Supplier/link | # |
| 3D printing filament (1kg) | http://reprapworld.com/?products/listing&cPath/_1590 | 1 |
| Lasercut aluminum frame | Tosec | 1 |
| 8mm smooth rods 500mm (X-axis and S-axis) | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/342/cPath/1655 | 4 |
| 8mm smooth rods 310mm (Y-axis) | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/342/cPath/1655 | 2 |
| 8mm smooth rods 195mm (Z-axis) | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/342/cPath/1655 | 6 |
| 5mm smooth rod 265mm (Y-axis) | Conrad.nl | 1 |
| 5mm smooth rod 135mm (S-axis) | Conrad.nl | 1 |
| Z-axis Motor coupling M8 | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/198/cPath/1655 | 3 |
| T2.5 timing belt X-axis (1.8m) | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/175/cPath/1655 | 1,8 |
| T2.5 timing belt Y-axis (1.2m each) | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/175/cPath/1655 | 2,4 |
| T2.5 timing belt S-axis (1.2m each) | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/175/cPath/1655 | 2,4 |
| Aluminium pulley T2.5 16t | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/325/cPath/1655 | 5 |
| Aluminium tube 16x2mm 149mm long | Local hardware store | 1 |
| Pack of tie wraps | Local hardware store | 1 |
| Aluminium strip 10x1mm (for Z flags) | Local hardware store | 1 |
| Aluminium strip 30x2mm (for remaining flags) | Local hardware store | 1 |
| Vitamins | ||
| Part | Supplier | # |
| LM8UU bearing | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/151/cPath/1655 | 12 |
| 624ZZ bearing | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/23/cPath/1595_1596 | 25 |
| 625ZZ bearing | Conrad.nl | 2 |
| M3 nut | local hardware store | 60 |
| M3 washer | local hardware store | 116 |
| M3 cil screw 10mm | local hardware store | 40 |
| M3 cil screw 16mm | local hardware store | 55 |
| M4 nut | local hardware store | 64 |
| M4 nut selflocking | local hardware store | 207 |
| M4 washer | local hardware store | 471 |
| M4 cil screw 16mm | local hardware store | 10 |
| M4 cil screw 20mm | local hardware store | 130 |
| M4 cil screw 30mm | local hardware store | 44 |
| M4 cil screw 40mm | local hardware store | 32 |
| M4 cil screw 50mm | local hardware store | 12 |
| M5 Fender washer | local hardware store | 10 |
| M6 nut | local hardware store | 59 |
| M6 washer | local hardware store | 24 |
| M8 nut | local hardware store | 3 |
| M4 threaded rod (2 x 190) | local hardware store | 2 |
| M6 threaded rod (6 x 180) | local hardware store | 6 |
| M8 threaded rod (3x 130) | local hardware store | 3 |
| M3 threaded spacer post | local hardware store | 4 |
| Spring | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/228/cPath/1595_1666 | 12 |
| Electronics | ||
| Part | Supplier | # |
| Nema 17 stepper motor single shaft | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/94/cPath/1614 | 4 |
| Nema 17 stepper motor double shaft (example) | https://www.amazon.com/NEMA17-Shaft-83oz-Bipolar-Stepper/dp/B00NZPEGZW/ref=sr_1_116?ie=UTF8&qid=1478435160&sr=8-116&keywords=nema17 | 2 |
| Megatronics V3 | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/468/cPath/1591_1643 | 1 |
| Pololu A4988 driver | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/92/cPath/1591_1599 | 6 |
| Pololu heatsink | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/69/cPath/1591_1599 | 6 |
| Optical endstop | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/58/cPath/1591_1612 | 6 |
| Keypad | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/202/cPath/1626 | 1 |
| LCD screen 4×20 | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/252/cPath/1626 | 1 |
| Themistor 100k (pre-wired | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/393/cPath/1616_1652 | 1 |
| 12V power supply 20A max | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/425/cPath/1591_1659 | 1 |
| Thermal glue / heatsink plaster | http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/238/cPath/1629 | 1 |
| Heating resistor 25W 2Ω2 (aluminum housing) | 8 | |
| HP C6602A inkjet cartridge (is wearing part, order > 1) | 123ink.nl | 1 |
| HP Q2299A carrier for C6602A | tonex.nl | 1 |
| 16 lead ribbon cable (5 meters) | 5 | |
| Y-tec boost + demultiplex circuit set | Ytec3D.com or DIY | 1 |