After over ten years of using this enclosure, I am still extremely pleased with the visual appearance and the smooth function of this system. Although I designed it for the Rostock Max V2 that I built in 2013, it may be adapted for other Delta printers if they don’t obstruct the path of the sliding acrylic sheet. There is no restriction on the height of this enclosure except for the availablity of the height of acrylic sheet needed if it is adapted to another printer.
The Rostock printer’s outside measurement of the circumference around the base of its three aluminum posts is 45”. See the photo in the icon strip under the large image display above. A flexible tape measure will form a triangle with three 1” blunt corners at the posts. If your delta printer is not a Rostock Max V2, but has the 45” post circumfrence measurement and has 1” square posts like the Rostock Max V2, then this enclosure should fit your printer easily. You may need to alter how you fasten the plates to your printer floor and ceiling at the screw holes.
This enclosure gives one an unobstructed 360 degree view around your print as well as an overhead view.
Parts List:
24 Machine Screw, Pan Head, Phillips Drive, 1” Length, #8-32 Thread
24 #8 32 Hex Nuts or Lock Nuts
48 #8 Flat Washers Inside Diameter 3/16”, Outside Diameter 7/16" or 1/2”
~4 #12 x 1.5” wood screws instead of machine screws where the interior walls are blocking the machine screw insertion (may need more or less due to possible design differences)
1 Acrylic sheet - Length 60” x Thickness1/16” x Height (about) 28.6". Do not have the sheet height cut until you have the exact height measurement from your printer after installing the 12 grooved plates. The sheet needs to be flexible enough to curve the 60” into an 18-inch diameter cylinder.
2 1” diameter by about 27” half round acrylic rod. It has a D shape and works as a stiffener and a handle for each end of the acrylic sheet. If 1” is not available, ¾” diameter would be fine, just less stiffening. Both handles go on the outside face of the acrylic sheet, one at each end.
It is important to have the upper plates and the lower plates parallel to each other. The three aluminum posts ing the top of the printer are all the same height, which when installed, should hold the top structure parallel to the bottom structure. This makes installing the six top plates parallel to the bottom plates easy.
Printing the Plates and By Inserts:
I decided to revise the design last year to allow 6 different options for both handle placement and slide directions for the acrylic sheets. All location options are easily enabled or disabled. The direction and/or position is easy to change in as little as a few seconds with just two slides of the enclosure wall, and relocating the by plugs. Some changes may require sliding out and reinserting of the enclosure sheet, which is also easy.
I printed my revised plates with PLA filament with both my Rostock Delta and my Creality Ender filament printers. I also used my laser and led resin printers, but the resin printers produced fragile plates at a higher expense. The filament printed plates were sturdier, less expensive, and easier to print.
You need to print three bottom plates, three top plates, six middle plates, and four by inserts. Printing the plates and inserts with PLA is easy. The plates measure 9.75 inches lengthwise from tip to tip. The 4 inserts keep the acrylic sheet in the main channel when going past potential exit slots. If using ABS filament, the size and structure of the plates can result in them being prone to warping. Warping can be reduced by sheltering the printer from drafts or cold. You will have much less worry about ABS warping after installing the enclosure. I cannot having any warping problems since making this enclosure.
Assembly Instructions
Check that the measurements between the printer floor and the printer ceiling by each post are within 1/8” of the other two. If there is a variance of over 1/8” between the three post measurements, the acrylic sheet may not slide smoothly in the grooves.
The bottom plates are screwed to the floor of the printer chamber with the grooves pointed up, and the top plates are screwed to the underside of the inside ceiling of the printer chamber with the grooves pointed down.
For the lower level the three bottom post plates are notched to fit around the posts, and three middle plates go between the post plates.
For the upper level, there are three top post plates with larger notches that fit around the top post structures. Three top middle plates, which are identical to the bottom middle plates, go between the top post plates.
The bottom plates are secured to the laser cut floor with 1” machine screws, washers, and nuts, except where the sub-floor walls hinder placing nuts and washers. Use a 3/16” bit for the machine screw holes. With my Rostock Max printer, three of the holes were directly above sub-floor walls. Two of them were above the control frame wall which is under a middle plate. They were secured by 1.5” #12 wood screws into the front laser cut frame wall of the control . Use 5/32” pilot holes 2” deep. They were both perfectly centered in the wall of the frame piece for me. For the middle plate over the near side of the power enclosure, by the fan in my case, the #12 screw tightly grips the side of the wall inside the power enclosure . The farther side of the plate over the power has room for a machine screw and nut. The rest of the top and bottom plates are secured with 1” #8-32 machine screws, 1/2“OD washers and #8-32 nuts. The plates are indented for ½” OD (outer diameter) washers. Larger washers will not fit inside the indents in the plate surface. Also place a washer with each nut. To install the plates, first fit the post plates loosely without drilling holes. It is best to start with the lower post plates. Then see how the middle plates fit in. The plates are all designed to connect as a snug ring. There may need to be some adjusting to get the circle fitting evenly. Setting in the last plate in the ring will tell you if the ring is too tight or too loose. Try temporary holds on the plates with masking tape or clamps while adjusting. When things are configured well, mark the hole sites without disrupting the plate locations. Use a 3/16” drill bit for the holes. If some holes are not quite right, there is no harm in turning the holes into slots or drilling new holes for adjusting the plates in the printer floor or ceiling. You need to keep the rings centered with the build plate for smooth working of the sliding wall. Watch out for your fingers and for the wiring and other components while drilling.
To visualize the sheet measurment instructions, double click on the icon which shows the measurement process and the assembly for the acrylic sheet.
Once the plates are installed, you are ready to calculate the height of the acrylic sheet. The height for the acrylic sheet is determined by measuring the distance between the top surface of each upper plate, and the bottom surface of the plate that is directly below it at each plate outside mid-point. See figure 1. Measurements should all be within 1/8” of each other. If there are measurements that are over 1/8” different from the others, check the plate ts to see if all of the plates are flat against the surface that they are screwed to. The last ¼” of each groove is tapered to prevent the leading edge of the sheet from catching on it as it travels around the circle.
When the height measurements are all close to each other (1/8” or less difference), subtract 5/8” from that measurement -- The answer will give you the height needed for the acrylic sheet. That will allow the sheet to fit slightly loose in the grooves between the upper plates and the lower plates without the risk of slipping out of the groove. My measurement for the acrylic height was 28.5 inches. It could be different with your printer due to variables in the securing of the aluminum posts when the printer was assembled, or slight dimensional production changes in the laser cut parts. If you choose to measure between the inside of the upper groove to the inside of the lower groove, do not measure near the exit points of the grooves because the last quarter inch of the groove tapers to prevent the acrylic sheet from catching at the ts of the plates. Tap Plastic’s latest charge for the acrylic sheet in 2024 was around $60. If you have the acrylic half round rod shipped, it is a high oversized charge if you get the rod as a 6’ rod. Ordering it as two 3’ rods will eliminate the oversize charge.
Troubleshooting:
The acrylic sheet needs to have about 1/16” between the top of the acrylic sheet and the groove top above it to keep it from binding while sliding. If your acrylic sheet was accidently cut too short to stay in the upper groove, that can be remedied by putting shims (spacers) between the top plates and the ceiling that they are screwed to. That will lower the plates as needed.
When I installed the acrylic sheet with the revised plates, I used a lubricant on the groove surfaces. It started out a little rough when sliding, but within a few minutes of sliding it became very smooth, and has been smooth ever since.
Enclosure Wall Assembly Instructions
The materials to assemble the enclosure wall include two 1” diameter by about 27 ¾” long half-round acrylic rods for handles, and one sheet of acrylic 60” by about 28.6 ”. The 28.6” allows a 1/16” gap between the top edge of the acrylic sheet and the surface inside the slot in my enclosure. You need to use your distance between the top of the top plate and the bottom of the bottom plate. Then subtract 5/8” from that measurement to get the needed height of your acrylic sheet.
To attach the handles/stiffeners, I lined up the edge of the flat side of the half round with each short edge of the acrylic sheet and glued them with the flat of the half-round against what will be the outside face of the acrylic sheet. The diameter of the half round rod that I used is 1”. They have a D shape along their length. Use one rod for each vertical (short) edge of the acrylic sheet for stiffening of the edge of the acrylic, and for use as a handle. Put one D shaped rod on each end of what will be the outside face of the acrylic sheet. The half rounds work well to provide hand grips for the edges of the acrylic sheet. The height of the half rounds must be cut to about 1.5” shorter than the height of the acrylic sheet so that their ends are each about 0.75” from the top and bottom of the acrylic sheet. That is to keep the handles from ing the top or bottom plates as you slide the sheet through the grooves in the plates. Each of the 1” diameter half rounds are to be fused to the acrylic sheet at each end of the acrylic sheet. I used a thin solvent that is drawn in between the acrylic layers by capillary action. I delivered the solvent with a dental syringe from Amazon. (Dental syringes are very handy for craft projects). Then a firm pressure for a few seconds to fuse the acrylic parts. They can be unmovable in a few seconds with most solvents or adhesives. Therefore, placing the pieces carefully and letting capillary action draw the solvent between the layers of the rod and the sheet is an easy way to fuse the parts without moving them around. Ask your acrylics supply store for their reccomendation on the type of adhesive to use relative to the acrylic sheet and rod that you have.
I put a 1/8” radius curve on each corner of the acrylic sheet to insure smooth sliding, and I designed a taper in the last ¼” of each groove end floor of about 1/8” to keep the sheet from catching at t connections. If you look at the end of each groove you will see that the last ¼” is tapered to allow a smooth transfer from one plate groove to the next.
Inserting the Sheet:
There are two slots in the middle of each enclosure plate Place the inserts into the four locations where the handles will not be when the enclosure is closed. While facing the control , if you slide the sheet into the right slot, your handle will be on your right when the enclosure is closed. If you slide it into the slot on the left, your handle will be on the left when the enclosure is closed. Always slide the into the slot with the handles on the outside of the acrylic sheet.
When you have established the direction and the exit location, make sure that four by inserts are at the two posts that are not at the handle location when the enclosure is closed. If the inserts are not placed in the unused slots, you will have the sheet leaving through a slot that you did not intend for it to use.
Rev 1.5a
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