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Printing LEGO with a fully-functional 3D printer made of LEGO bricks
Gosse Adema posted a topic in LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling
Update september 2015: I have build a new extruder for this printer. It's now capable of printing chocolate. ------------------------------ Although it's not a 100% lego build. I think it's worth mentioning in this forum. This fully-functional 3D printer is capable of printing 3D objects, including Lego bricks. The printed PLA bricks look like the first lego bricks from the early '70s. Switching to ABS will be a next step. The LEGO printer is based on the Prusa I3 rework printer. LEGO and Nema 17 stepper motors are a perfect match. A default LEGO brick of 4 by 2 studs is 32 x 16 x 9.6 mm. Nema stepper motors have m3 holes at a distance of 31 mm. Attaching the Nema 17 stepper with LEGO technic, using a felt damper/isolator and m3 x 15 bolts, gives a solid base. It's not a 100% LEGO printer. I don't have any LEGO Mindstorms products. Another reason is that LEGO motors are servo motors and 3d printers use stepper motors. Last reason is the software used to control the printer. I'm using Marlin for the Atmega 2560 and Pronterface on my laptop to control the printer. The base of the printer is 34 x 64 studs (19.2 x 51.2 cm) and is about 44 blocks high (42 cm). Y carrier belt: Attaching linear bearings. Z-azis motor and smooth rod: It took some time to calibrate the printer. But everything is working like it should. A picture of my latest print: The advantage of using LEGO is the possibility to alter the printer after building. More pictures, a video of this printer in action and building instructions are on: http://www.instructa...EGO-3d-Printer/.