KXK Kossel 3D printer Design / 2016

Having built several FDM 3D printers in the last 3-4 years, most recently I started to design my own Delta type printer that I named “Kossel KX” or “KXK” for short. Delta printers usually use ball bearings, Hiwin type linear motion guide rails or linear rollers, all of which are using balls that are not very smooth and make a lof of noise. So I designed a brand new linear motion for the KXK which has not been used with these types of Delta printers before. The Igus Drylin Q linear motion doesn’t need any special type of guide rails, just the normal aluminium (t-slot) extrusions, which are inexpensive, and are in fact often used for the outside frames of Kossel printers. This also comes very handy when the user wants to change the size of the printer after building, because only the cheap aluminium T-slots need to be replaced in the desired size. Another modification on this model is the double Z tower which ensures greater stability. Also, if you want to replace the filament printer head with another tool (like a laser head or a clay extruder), it is really easy on the KXK model, because you don’t have to take the whole printer apart or open the linear motion to do this. Since the carriage is made out of two separable parts, you only need to remove the side screws from the carriage and replace the tool before rescrewing. This printer model is currently under construction, but soon it will be ready and downloadable from Thingiverse.