I see that lots of 3D printers come in laser cut enclosures, like the original Makerbot or Ultimaker. Are there any open source plans to build a 3D printer using mainly laser cut pieces? I know you can’t do it all with lasers but I don’t see any real reason why you couldn’t do most of it like the commercial ones do.
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I know alot of people did just that…the original makerbot came with wood and they made a case out of acrylic. Dont know where they got plans though.
My son gets Tinker Crate every month and alot of the projects are laser cut parts…i just scan them and recreate the parts for spares…
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MakerBot used to be open source hardware, so the plans for the original Replicator (now called Replicator 1) are still available on Thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:18813. There are more DIY approach to lasercut 3D printers, of course, out there on Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:40465) as well as other sites, though lately there is a much bigger focus on frames made of aluminum extrusions and those are often ordered to length.
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RepRap is basically THE resource for open source printers.
http://reprap.org/wiki/LaserCut_Mendel
The Mendel is mostly all laser cut, though there is apparently a lot to be done off the laser as well.
Other options for laser cut 3D printers (about 20 others): http://reprap.org/wiki/Category:LaserCut
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I agree with @jacobturner, RepRap is the way to go. Also, the Ultimaker original lasercut files are available as well. Here are a few places they are posted.
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Yes, the first few thousand Makerbots were cut on an Epilog. In fact, lots of the earliest thingiverse designs were actually for lasers!
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Just saw an ad for Tinker Crate, lot of good ideas on that site:
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