UPDATED 7/1/2007

Fowler purchased 3 sets of supplies. 

First, there is the purchase of the syringe parts for a deposition tool - Use Fab@Home to get a better picture.

Parts for the Syringe

Part #	Qty	Description	Cost
5111S-B	30	Piston 10CC Neoprene Black
5100	1	A kit with a wide variety of different tips; tip caps; end caps; some other piston types
5111LL-B	30	Barrel 10CC LL PP
90368A150	5	SS Round Knurled Thumb Nut for Syringe Piston; M3-0.5 thread; 12mm OD; 7.5mm H

Here is what those parts look like (until I get more info here, you can find the parts at fab@home:

Second, there is the set of parts for a motor. 

I decide to buy parts directly from Sherline that will move a saddle nut up and down.  We can then attack the piston of the syringe to the saddle nut (I think).  Why not?

Parts from Sherline to attach motor

Part #	Qty	Description	Cost
67028	1	CNC "Z" Axis Screw-Model 5000/5400
67106	1	CNC-RH Coupling Preload Nut (course)
67120	2	Stepper Motor Preload Bearings
67102	1	Stepper Motor Mount
40170	1	Saddle Nut (and Instructions)
40520	1	Cup PT ST Screw 10-32 x 3/16
67105	1	CNC Coupling
67115	1	SKT HD CAP Screw 5-40 x 7/8

Note that I already have a motor from the A-axis of the mill.  Assuming I don't come up with some clever reason why I need to rotate my plastic during 3D printing, I can use this motor for the syringe.  All these parts together give me a means to move the piston up and down inside the syringe.  It is that brass saddle nut to the right of the picture which will move up and down and which I need to figure out how to attach to the piston.

Third, there is the plastic material to deposit.

I am going to experiment with two materials from day 1.  The first is from GE and called RTV 102 White/Blanc General Purpose Silicone Rubber Adhesive Sealant.

The second material is from plaster.com and is DryStone Casting Media.  I got a lot of this, so I will ask my wife and kids to play with it some in order to figure out consistency, etc over Spring Break.

Now.  How did Fowler solve the problem of putting the printhead on the mill? 

He started with a Sherline CNC Mill that has an A-Axis motor.  He also started with a spare Headstock from beating the S**T out of a spindle that wouldn't release a flycutter, but that is another story for another day.  (Flycutter is actually still in the F*****G spindle, but I was able to reuse the headstock.)

Basic 3D Printhead / Deposition tool as Fowler put it together:

The basic things to note about the picture:

• Reuse of the Headstock meant an ability to mount to the Sherline Mill.  That cubed black thing on the bottom left is the Headstock, btw.


• There is a syringe going through the middle of the Headstock.


• The motor, leadscrew, motor mount, and saddle nut are all Sherline made, although I did modify them (usually by drilling.)


• The motor was raised above the top of the Headstock because the leadscrew would extend too low otherwise.


• The cylindrical aluminum piece had to be worked on the lathe to make it fit with the plunger / piston.  That was the only lathe work required.


• The metal plate mounted on top of the Headstock has an opening milled so that if the syringe is turned 90 degrees underneath, it will get caught and the plunger can be pulled up without pulling up the syringe.


• When the plunger/piston is pulled up past the top (so that it clears the headstock) it automatically rotates counter-clockwise out of the way of the syringe.  Fowler thinks that is a cool accidental engineering.


• There is still engineering required at the base to better secure the tip of the syringe.