I think I will look into the Aero upgrade as well.

Yes, I do have a shop in the basement so I can make some of the stuff I need.

Cheers

The advantage to bowden is it is lighter . the disadvantage is they tend to be problematic with flexible material and wax. 

I am planning  on getting a pancake motor and setting up with the new aero this reduces weight adds stiffness and may add to the z axis.

the  ft 4 has 4 vertical guide rods as apposed to 2 on the wanhao.
Of course you can use the wanhao as an organ donor you should be able to use most of the parts and toss the frame. 

The advantage to building to your own design and specs is you get exactly what you want. The disadvantage is more time in the deign and procurement end.

The ft5 is more of a standard Cartesian design not a core xy.

Now, another question ...

In my mind, print quality depends on the stability of the machine (among other things). To that end, which is the better system ... Bowden Type, or direct drive? I understand about the weight of direct drive (like unsprung weight in a race car) and that the Bowden system is much lighter. Are there other advantages/disadvantages to either system? I use direct at the moment on the Wanhao and have had no problem at all.

Another off the wall idea... I have been offered a nearly new Wanhao, like the one I already have. The machine might have ten hours on it as the fellow just gave up trying to calibrate it. If I was to build the frame for a core xy machine, and use the electronics and some of the mechanics from the other Wanhao, could it be made to work by adjusting some of the parameters in the software? I already know the quality of the parts and I could use one of my E3D print heads on it.

I only want to build one machine, and I have no use for two the same so I am all ears.

build volume is 8x8x10 - thus the 8.10 name..

wagnmkr wrote:

Yup ... Old Pharts Disease strikes again. That is the one I meant. I looked on their web site and could find nothing about it.

Cheers

huh, i just looked myself... it was there last week, now it is not... something going on...

Nothing going on just routine site maintenance.  Feel free to contact us directly in the meantime.
sales@printitindustries.com

Of course Heartless has one and could give an unbiased opinion so feel free to ask all the questions you might have.

Yup ... Old Pharts Disease strikes again. That is the one I meant. I looked on their web site and could find nothing about it.

Cheers

huh, i just looked myself... it was there last week, now it is not... something going on...

If I was in the US, I would have an FT5 or two in a heartbeat.

If can be a dangerous word. or a useful word in logic. We often tell ourselves we con not do that because ....... when we should ask ourselves or others how can that be done.
There is often a solution or workaround just around the corner or sometimes staring us in the face. And we do not see because we stopped looking.

Ok enough of the Sunday morning sermonet. That said  I AM in the USA and it took me 10 months to decide to put the money down for this printer.
May of last year i had just recently  finished the I3 build IIRC i had it running just about a year ago. I had just finished a kit was not ready to jump into another one. I wanted to use the I3 and wanted to save up some funds for the FT5 this kit is almost twice the money of the I3 .
Tin

That could be the way to go.
exchange rates import fees shipping etc can add up.
Kits are great but customising  adds to the cost and you end uo with parts that may never get used.

Tin, it seems to me that the first thing most folks do when they either get the kit or build one and use it for a while, is change it to what they really wanted in the first place. I would like to try and get what I want the first time, so I am going to take my time with the research.

If I was in the US, I would have an FT5 or two in a heartbeat.

Cheers

the only recent printer I am aware of with red furnishings is the Print It Industries 8.10, maybe this is the one you are thinking of?

Not a Folgertech and not a kit... but - it IS a damn nice printer.

Yup, I have seen that one and actually, it is top of the list for a kit, but it is just too expensive up here in Canada. By the time it got to my door, there wouldn't be enough change from $900.00 to buy a beer. I would love to put one of them together, but in my mind it just isn't worth that much money.

I can put all the bits together (for the same size) from Canadian suppliers for around $500.00 depending on board and power supply quality.

I have been meaning to ask ... what happened to the new FolgerTech machine that had the red skin on it? I can't find it anywhere.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

https://folgertech.com/products/folger- … rinter-kit

this kit uses the mks gen 4  board
http://reprap.org/wiki/File:MKS_GEN-1.jpg

3* 5V output, 3* 12V-24V output interface.

I want it to be corexy style where the build plate just goes up and down.

I want it to use the v-rail system.

I want it open source.

That is the list for a start. My Wanhao is a 24v system and the 8x8 bed heats up quickly and evenly, and seems to stay that way for the length of the print. For a larger print surface I am assuming that 24v is the standard.

I already have 2 of the E3Dv6 24v print heads. Is there any real advantage to a two head machine? I am not doing any production at all ... just puttering for myself. I would think that one and a spare will work.

Anyway, I am open to any and all suggestions.

I have all the files for a d-bot printer but I don't know if there is something else in that line I should look at.

Cheers