This week I ordered 3 500x500 bed Ratrig printer kits from the UK. I like the Ratrig’s kinematic bed design; especially for a bed of that size. Bed expansion is unconstricted which is important on such a large surface with numerous heat expansion cycles. There also exists the capability for non-planar/off planar FDM if and when that technology ever evolves
I ordered full custom 6mm polycarbonate enclosures from a company in California; he also added 120mm fume vent fittings for my upcoming vent system design.
I ordered 9 slice engineering mosquito hotends; 3 for each printer with quick change tool heads to facilitate quick nozzle changes to easily swap jobs or nozzle sizes.
I will be running (reprap) Duet boards; primarily because I like their ecosystem & support and I’m not a fan of the other (Chinese) offerings. I will be running a CAN bus slave board on each extruder to minimize wiring and allow tooling hot swaps with instantaneous gcode calibration per toolset, as well accelerometers to utilize motion smoothing, which dampens resonant frequency oscillations at the print nozzle. This setup will also provide the capability to transfer to an automated toolchanger setup later on; should I deem it an advantage.
Having these 3 printers built will be milepost one for my business as it will finally provide me with efficient short run manufacturing FDM capability, in conjunction with 3-D HD laser scanning ability.
My business model is entirely customer resource-based; meaning if you have an idea, I will work with you on the design, and build it, and then let you take it from there.
Initial project ideas on the Goblin side are modular 3rd brake/dome lights, discrete seat/ground/floorboard light kits, and a fully enclosed air box. I’m certainly welcome to hear more ideas. I print any materials up to 300 degrees C, which includes ASA, ABS, polycarbonate, copolyesters, nylon, and all carbon fiber infused options.
Only caveat right now is I still work full time so I am limited to evenings and weekends; I generally still work about 80 hrs a week between both jobs, lol.
I’m currently CAD designing the toolhead layout for my hot-end extruders. Its a bIt of a challenge as I have to incorporate these quick-change toolheads into the design. I hope to have them finalized in the next couple of weeks so I can have them built up as soon as my extruders and hotends arrive.