this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2026
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I've been given some linear rails, and the only thing I can think to do with them is build a large format 3d printer. I have two 750mm and two 670mm rails, two carriages each.

I know there are several open-source plans for printers, and I could use a cool project to work on. I already have a smaller printer to work with so I can already make a lot of the parts.

Has anyone done this before? What printer did you build, and do you have any recommendations and things to look out for?

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[–] monotremata@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

I built one, but it was a (top-down) resin printer, so I don't think I have any useful advice to offer. Also, I kinda burnt out on the project after I came in one morning and found the resin had melted the vat and leaked onto the floor--somehow I just totally failed to consider that the solvents in the resin could obviously dissolve a lot of plastics. Huge mess, huge pain to remediate. At least it was a concrete floor. I got a replacement vat in glass, but I never worked up the will to work on it again. It did basically print before that, but I had a lot of off-layer curing and didn't get to do much work on tuning that in before the accident.