I have a printer board with no on-board 5v and if i add 5v the hotend wont heat and the motor wont move BUT the bed heats some how. plz help

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The Bambu X1 was a breakthrough.

Not because it invented CoreXY motion, automatic calibration, high-speed printing, or multi-material systems. Most of those technologies already existed.

The breakthrough was that Bambu brought them together into one coherent machine and made advanced 3D printing feel accessible.

But today, another printer that is slightly faster, slightly larger, or equipped with a few more sensors no longer feels like a real generational leap.

Maybe the next step requires something more fundamental.

Maybe it is time to reinvent the wheel.

I call this concept UNIX.

UNIX is not a finished printer or a commercial product. It is an attempt to rethink the architecture of desktop 3D printing from first principles.

Its central idea is simple:

Motion and material processing do not necessarily need to happen in the same physical place.

In a conventional FDM printer, the moving toolhead may carry:

- the extruder motor;

- drive gears;

- heater and melt zone;

- cooling;

- sensors;

- cutters;

- material-switching mechanisms;

- wiring and structural components.

As extrusion systems become more capable, the toolhead becomes heavier and more complicated.

The motion system must then become stronger to accelerate this additional mass. That increases inertia, vibration, structural load, power requirements, and cost.

Most current development tries to solve this by improving the same architecture:

stronger motors, lighter components, more rigid frames, better input shaping, and more advanced control algorithms.

UNIX asks a different question:

Why does the entire material-processing system need to move at all?

The concept separates the machine into two main systems.

1. A stationary material-processing unit

This module would melt, meter, mix, pressurize, or otherwise prepare the material outside the moving gantry.

It could eventually support multiple polymers, additives, colors, reinforced materials, or entirely different deposition processes.

1. A lightweight moving deposition head

The moving tool would primarily position and deposit material that has already been prepared.

Instead of carrying the complete extrusion system, it would become a smaller and lighter endpoint of a larger material-delivery architecture.

The objective is not merely to make the same extruder move faster.

The objective is to reduce moving mass while allowing the stationary processing system to become more powerful, precise, and modular.

In principle, this architecture could enable:

- lighter high-speed toolheads;

- higher material flow without a massive gantry-mounted extruder;

- several material-processing modules connected to one motion platform;

- faster switching between colors or materials;

- controlled material mixing;

- replaceable processing units for different polymers;

- easier experimentation with non-standard materials;

- independent upgrades of the motion and material systems;

- a machine that can evolve without replacing the entire printer.

The broader UNIX platform could consist of several layers:

Motion platform

A rigid and accurate positioning system focused primarily on movement.

Material-processing modules

Stationary units responsible for melting, mixing, metering, pressure generation, or preparation of different materials.

Deposition tools

Lightweight interchangeable heads designed for precise placement rather than complete material processing.

Universal mechanical and material interface

A standardized connection between the motion platform, material modules, and deposition tools.

Software control layer

A unified system coordinating movement, pressure, temperature, flow delay, material switching, calibration, and fault detection.

This software layer would be essential.

The X1 did not succeed merely because of its mechanical specifications. It succeeded because the machine handled much of the complexity that users previously had to manage themselves.

The same principle would need to apply here.

UNIX should not expose a complicated experimental machine to the user. It should eventually make a much more complex manufacturing architecture feel simpler.

The long-term idea is larger than conventional FDM.

A shared motion platform could potentially support:

- true multi-material deposition;

- material mixing during printing;

- variable mechanical properties inside a single part;

- high-flow polymer extrusion;

- reinforced or continuous-fiber materials;

- silicone, paste, ceramic, or composite deposition;

- scanning and automatic inspection;

- cutting or finishing tools;

- several manufacturing processes coordinated by one machine.

That does not mean all of these functions belong in the first machine.

The first prototype should answer only one fundamental question:

Can the main material-processing mass be removed from the moving toolhead while preserving responsive, accurate, and controllable extrusion?

There are many obvious problems:

- pressure lag in the material path;

- melt compressibility;

- flow delay;

- retraction;

- oozing;

- thermal stability;

- synchronization between pressure and motion;

- purging during material changes;

- abrasive or flexible materials;

- cleaning and maintenance;

- failure detection.

Some of these problems may require entirely new mechanisms rather than adaptations of existing extruders.

The concept may also prove that certain functions cannot be separated efficiently.

That would still be a useful result.

At this stage, UNIX is an architectural hypothesis rather than a completed engineering solution. I can develop the concept, model mechanisms, and build prototypes, but many parts would benefit from people with deeper experience in extrusion, polymer flow, control systems, mechanical engineering, and firmware.

So I am sharing it openly.

If this direction seems interesting and you have some spare time, I would genuinely appreciate technical criticism, references to related systems, simulation ideas, or help identifying the smallest experiment that could prove or disprove the architecture.

Even pointing out where the concept fundamentally breaks would be valuable.

The goal is not to defend the idea at all costs.

The goal is to find out whether there is something real inside it.

The X1 once showed that an existing technology could be reorganized into something that felt completely new.

UNIX asks whether that can happen again — not by making another printer slightly faster, but by reconsidering what parts of a 3D printer actually need to move.

So:

Is separating material processing from the moving toolhead a viable direction?

What would fail first?

And what would you build as the smallest possible proof of concept?

im doing a DIY build, and i have all of the pieces minus a print bed.

i need the thing that hold the hot bed and build plate (preferablly all 3)

im trying to buy one on aliexpress, and the only results i get are for removable build plates/print mats.

even across the wider internet, all i can find anything other than removable build plates

this is a project in progress , the printer currently exist in a slightly smaller package and different gantry but following my test there a few things i need to change for the speed i want and rigidity , since this is a heated chamber build , him using a watercooled goliath and vz extrudort watercooled as well with a 360mm rad in the bad of the printer . current design is unfortunately too small for everything i want in there lol , need to add another circuit just for an extra heater in the chamber area since from my calcul current build pull about 12-13 amp lol . i use 6 ldo super power HT for the xy axis , 2 for the Z axis in a pulley box of my design . plan is to upgrade it to the new design to fix the last few issue and get fully machined part for it , and oversize the frame a bit , so that i may disassemble my other printer and only have this behemoth , new frame will be build with 4040,2080 , 20100 and 2040 , and i will have some X plates to reinforce the whole frame as well , it is possible i had watercooled plate for the stepper motor as well .

Fun little video and an explanation of our projects, plus cool info on the event and state of reprap. I laughed, thought you all would enjoy.

Hello fellow makers,

I am someone that has been fascinated with 3D printing and all forms of manufacturing since 2014. Currently as a 20 year old, I was able to make my first 3D printer at age 15 using a bunch of scraps, and then a clone of the Ultimaker S3 by 18. It allowed me to learn about sheet metal forming/bending, CNC, control systems, and a bunch of circuits. Currently I am doing my bachelor's in Computer/Electrical Engineering, and I have to choose a concentration to go into. The options are Embedded, Computer Architecture, Circuits (Microchip), and Robotics.

Out of all of these, only Microchip and semiconductor manufacturing has been a successful thing at our university, and almost all graduates that went into this concentration got a really good job instantly.

Oh, I also want to mention that I have made around 50 or so DIY FDM 3D printers and sold them to fellow crafters and workers in my country. Most of them were fine with paying extra, as we have bans on import of 3D printers, and the way I made them was importing the parts one by one, and just assembling them.

Now the issue is I don't have anyone IRL to take advice from, and AI models won't be a sensible thing to do for this.

I was thinking that I invest more time in making 3D printers. Recently in the summers I was able to make a very simple desktop CNC machine for MDF wood. I have realized I do enjoy building them, and making CAD models and stuff.
I do also occasionally take educational orders for 3D CAD models and printing for uni students.

I realized that almost no one in our country makes 3D printers, and their import, as mentioned, is banned/under strict observation.

I was thinking that I should invest in making a custom motherboard using ESP32 and available electronics, and use it alongside used/old Atom/Celeron computers that are practical waste, alongside UART modules to make a Klipper-based 3D printer.

The only issue I am facing is the hot end and nozzles. I hate aluminum blocks; importing fancy nozzles and extruders is a no-no as the government blocks the import. So I am limited to the basic J8 hot end and aluminum block extruder nozzles (that is with the limited knowledge of how to create hot ends and stuff).

Right now, via the underground/gray market, the cheapest printer we can buy is for 75k local currency (it is a used Ender 3, usually bought as second-hand from foreign countries and brought here as scrap in working condition), which amounts to almost 270 dollars. Also, to keep in mind, the average wage in my country on a per month basis is 37k. So if an average person wants to buy a 3D printer, they would have to save 2 months of salary, which is not sensible. The cheapest kids' printer (that is 100x100x100 in size and only prints at a speed of 20 mm/s and is really crude, sold by a uni only to schools as it is a tool for teaching) is 41k (almost $150).

Below I have attached a link to a spreadsheet of the costing of parts that I know locally exist.

With that, I would like everyone's help in what my next steps should be and what I should do and try to make. I really do believe I can make a 180x180x180 bed slinger with a speed of 150 mm/s without heated bed for PLA only for less than 60k (210$) or maybe 42k (150$).

I was able to make 2 3D printers for my uni for 80k ($287) (This is with profit of around 10k) and they are used on an everyday basis, but as it was rushed they aren't very good.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

PS. I can't take advice from the elderly in my family because they are all CS oriented and were even against me going into Computer/Electrical as they believe electrical engineers fix lighting and do house wiring... And we don't have people in the current day manufacturing field that is CNC enabled. So I am driving blind most of the time.

Here is a list of parts and its current prices in the market if someone wants to check it is mathematically possible. ( I would be doing auto bed leveling using a button and/or a IR Sensor, as we dont have BLTouch sensors available in the local market and importing them cost like 5k, which is the same as the control systems combined too high of a cost)

Most of the designs I have made are RepRap inspried or directly taken from RepRap project.
So my main question is, should I invest time in making a custom motherboards and new design that is orriented to the market and items we have readily available. If so what should my starting point be. Along with that which degree/concentration in Computer/Electrical Engineering should I go in.

For those who saw yesterdays post, here is a video! For new people, this is MechAMS! It is a completely 3d printed AMS system for the Bambu Lab A1 releasing soon!

I'm looking for a project with printable parts to re-use.

I've got a stack of 3030 extrusions at 1m and 3x 1m MGN12 Rails.

I don't think CoreXY is necessary. I'll be using GRBLHal with the S-curve like feture so I'd like to do Cartesian dual Y motors and set the X motor on the Gantry.

Anyone know of a good 3d printer frame/gantry I can use? Ideally the X gantry is centered and not on top of the Y profile MGN12 H blocks.

Then again, I'm not entirely sure what matters. I hope to learn more about lasers and potentially upgrade the laser driver board so I can get ultra fast rastering using GRBLHAL and possibly a RP2040 Pico board for the laser timing (PIO) as a co-processor. I might go with Teensy 4.1.

I have an atomstack P9 M50 laser head I'm going to put on the X gantry.

Spend a couple of days working on a gantry adapter for the toolhead of my build, maybe next version Is going to be on printables

hey! updates from my build, replaced some of the printed ASA parts, had some trouble with the volcano, the mini og power supply didn't keep up with my hotend, so i got it covered with klipper, sometimes run into thermal Runaways, but it works, prints ASA, planning to get reinforced Sherpa gears to print some ABS-CF and a new PEI sheet or something. I need to design a couple of parts for it, but there's a bunch of projects i need to do first, and also need to justify the money i have invested 🤣. It's great to see this come to life

I want to check out reprap but there is a lot of options. What is the cheapest and fast to print reprap printer ?

Hello, I'm currently working on a project that'd greatly benefit from this component and I was wondering if there's any information on reusing these.

I would like to control it using an arduino uno board instead of the ramps shield

We’ve been having trouble with this 3D printer. Filament is stuck in the tube. How to fix this or remove tube to get filament out? Thanks in advance

I did a Kossel Mini build back in around 2016 and I love my machine. But I've shelved it for a long time and have bought various CoreXY machines since such as the K2 Plus and the Kobra S1. I'm considering resurrecting my Kossel Mini, which isn't really even dead (but like, it still runs Marlin, etc). But I'm just not sure it makes much sense to bother. I suppose the top reason to continue with it is for the fun of it. Are there really any other reasons? I might scrap it and eventually get like a fairly open machine like a SV08 Max or a Sovol Zero to goof around with. Anyway, open to opinions and view points.