Power Consumption

[harpo99999]

just did a troll back throught the ks updates and it was back in update 13 (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...c/posts/668238) and it looks like I understated the number of layers (appently it was 2400 layers)

[Slatye]

Layer thickness on an FDM printer often doesn't tell you much. Take the Makibox for example. The Z axis drive is on an 8mm pitch lead screw (ie 8mm per revolution). The motors are 400 step/revolution and the drivers can handle 16x microstepping (ie 6400 microsteps per revolution). Therefore the minimum Z axis movement is 0.00125mm, which is wonderful. Even the Peachy will have trouble matching that.

On the other hand, this requires an extremely low feed rate - I don't know if the filament feed can run slow enough to match the Z axis movement or whether the hot-end can prevent this heat rising up through the very slowly moving filament. If each layer takes a minute (not unusual for the objects I've been printing) and the object is 10mm high then it'll be printing continuously for five and a half days. The result might be beautiful, but I'm still not going to wait that long. For a bigger object with complex internal structures and maybe a 100mm height, you'll be waiting months.

This is one of the many advantages for the Peachy - not that it can print thin layers, but that it can print thin layers fast enough to make thin layers worthwhile. Moving a beam of light is quicker than moving a big hot-end. It's also likely to be much quieter (so you can leave it on while you sleep) and much more reliable (my Makibox can't do complex prints at the moment because it tends to have an extruder jam within the first hour or so).

[boris_G]

I was talking to kingoddball about hefting around a heavy hotend versus a beam of light. It makes far more economical sense to heft around a beam of light.

I was also talking about the power consumption versus a RepRap, and when he revealed there'd beeb a marked increase in his power bill processing 2kg of filament, I said to him that processing 1L of PeachyJuice takes 1kWh, or about 50c/ kWh peak rate electricity.

The power consumption of a Peachy is so low, I am fully considering running it from a solar panel and battery system. My studio gets around 5 hours of direct sunlight during the day, less in Winter. A 20W solar panel is $49 at the moment, MPPT solar controller is $11, and a 12Ah SLA battery is $55. So $120 gets me a way to print without hooking up to the grid. My computer is going to be a Nokia N900 running Maemo.

That all sounds like a bit of overkill, especially when an N900 and a Peachy have about 5 or so Watts power consumption between them, but I have my reasons - we regularly have extended overcast weather here. I will actually have a feed to the grid as well, for those off chances I run my battery below an acceptable level.

[Kingoddball]

I plan on having an army of Peachies!
Or... A small militia.

As for power consumption and computing power; I plan on using similar hardware to Boris (who stole my idea actually), but I will move my hardware to an Open Pandora (Pyra) if the N900 fails for whatever reason.

I had a massive spike in my power bill during the time I was heavily printing on an i2 (same PSU on my i3).
It was around $150+ extra over normal (3 month period), might not have all been printer, but huge chunk would have been.

Now my i3 is sitting, rarely used. I use it to print game holders or little parts here and there.

[masterada]

It's a difficult question because the production techniques are so different.
With something like the Peachy, a standard cube will be completely solid. Even if your model is hollow, there's no way to get the spare resin out of it - so it'll be full of liquid resin that will solidify over time. As a result, it uses far more material than an FDM-printed cube. On other other hand, if you leave a tiny hole in the cube then you can print it completely hollow and drain the excess resin afterwards. No need for internal structure to support the top. This would use far less material than an FDM-printed equivalent.

Wouldnt the liquid resin float to the top of the water as you print the sides of the cube? In this case, the cube would be filled with salt water instead of liquid resin. (Or a mixture of the two).

[harpo99999]

only if there is an opening in the bottom of the cube to allow the water to enter, if no opening then the resin is the only thing inside the cube

[Slatye]

Wouldnt the liquid resin float to the top of the water as you print the sides of the cube? In this case, the cube would be filled with salt water instead of liquid resin. (Or a mixture of the two).

I don't think so. Say you've got 1mm of resin on top of the water. Obviously for the first 1mm of the cube there can't be any water inside it; the water layer starts below the bottom of the cube. For the next layer (ie 1.01mm or so) the water is above the bottom of the cube, but it can't get into the cube because the walls of the cube prevent it. The only thing that can get into the cube is the resin, which goes right up to just over the top of the partly-completed cube. This continues all the way up; the cube sides are always just under the top of the resin layer, and above the top of the water layer. Therefore the water can never get in.

One thing to be careful of here is that you might need quite a lot of resin, even if you're not using the laser to solidify all of it. A 100x100x100mm cube will require a litre of resin even if you only actually use the laser to solidify the sides - the entire interior will be full of resin too. If you wanted a solid cube than that's no big deal - obviously a 1L solid cube is going to require 1L of resin.

What if you wanted it to be hollow with 1mm wall thickness (total volume of the finished cube 0.06L)? If you print it with a hole at the bottom it'll still require a full 1L of resin, because the hole will be covered by the build platform. Once it's finished you can take it off and drain the spare 0.94L of resin from it, but if you don't have at least 1L of resin to begin with then the job will never finish. Same applies to a hole at the top - you can get the spare resin back but you have to load the printer up with 1L of resin first. If, however, you have a hole very low on one side then the water will be able to flow into the cube during the build. Now you can get away with only having 0.06L of resin (or, more realistically, about 0.1L so there's a bit to spare) for the print job.

[masterada]

You two are right. One less error i will make printing

[Feign]

Even though the prints can be cured later from a liquid resin filled shell, I would still recommend using support structure to keep a part from deforming while curing, especially if there is any appreciable shrinkage in the resin when it cures, and especially on large parts.

[rylangrayston]

This is one of the many advantages for the Peachy - not that it can print thin layers, but that it can print thin layers fast enough to make thin layers worthwhile. Moving a beam of light is quicker than moving a big hot-end. It's also likely to be much quieter (so you can leave it on while you sleep) and much more reliable (my Makibox can't do complex prints at the moment because it tends to have an extruder jam within the first hour or so).

Couldent have worded it better my self!