Nuts and Volts - December 2015

52 December 2015 n FIGURE 4.

E3D V6 hot end. machine, but it handled it fine. The knob presses over a nut and gives me a knob with a good grip to change the Z axis position.

Replacement Parts

One of the more frustrating parts of any 3D printer is when something breaks. If it’s a custom design, then you either have to get a replacement part from the manufacturer or hope someone has designed a replacement that you can print. In the case of a hot end or motherboard or stepper motor, these aren’t parts you can just 3D print. Fortunately, the Fabrikator Mini is built from parts you can easily get online.

The extruder is an E3D V6 style, though I believe it is a clone of the original design. The motherboard is an MCSBASE. The steppers — which rarely fail — can also be found online. So, this is an easy to use, easy to fix, low cost 3D printer designed for kids but useful for everybody.

So, if you were still in the thinking stage of getting a 3D printer for your electronics lab, then I say don’t wait any longer. Get a Fabrikator Mini and get started printing all those tool holders and knobs and custom cases you have in mind. If you need to design them, check out the free online Tinkercad software that I often use in my You Tube videos.