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ProtoNaut - compact DIY open-source cantilever 3D printer

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r/3Dprinting - ProtoNaut - compact DIY open-source cantilever 3D printer

Hi, I’m 17, and I’ve been working on a small project for a while. I designed a compact open-source 3D printer called ProtoNaut.

It’s a cantilever style printer with a 150×150 build area, linear rails, and it runs Klipper on a SKR Pico + Orange Pi Zero 3. The frame uses 2020 aluminum extrusion and the goal was to keep the cost around ~$400.

All the CAD, BOM and configs are on GitHub::
https://github.com/Pegoku/ProtoNaut

I designed most of it in FreeCAD, and I'm still improving the design and documentation.

If anyone wants to check it out or give feedback, that would be cool.

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17? You're gonna go places, dude. Insane stuff, hats off to you.

That's a pretty damn impressive build for your age dude.

Very very cool project!

Very cool!

I'm curious about the decision to put the linear guide on top of the X-axis, instead of in front.

Are you using a printed Z nut?

How stiff is the cantilever? It looks like you drilled thru the X-axis 2020 to run the screw through; does that affect stiffness?

That's not a terribly long leadscrew, so why a shaft coupling and a standard motor instead of an integral leadscrew motor?

Something that isn't realized sometimes is that ILS motors have preloaded bearing arrangements so they are rigid axially. One of the endbells has a threaded nut for adjusting that. Standard motors are like any electric motor with a giant clearance and a wave washer under one of the bearings to prevent it rattling around loosely/spinning in the endbell. If you connect that to a leadscrew without its own thrust bearing and don't modify that bearing arrangement, you have your Z axis on a spring.

While I'm commenting on it in general, that spiral cut flexible coupling is not the right type if a leadscrew is not going to have its own thrust and radial bearing on that end and use the motor bearings to constrain it, it should be a solid one.