Building an FDM 3D Printer
2021 · B.Eng thesis, Baze University
My mechanical engineering thesis at Baze University: design and construction of a working fused-deposition-modelling 3D printer — assembled, calibrated and commissioned by hand, then put to work printing a miniature engine block.
Before the ML
Before I trained neural networks, I trained stepper motors. For my final-year mechanical engineering project I built a fused-deposition-modelling 3D printer: sourcing the frame, motion system, hotend and electronics, assembling and wiring the machine, then calibrating it until it produced clean prints.
Most of the build happened on a dining table at home before the machine moved to the university workshop for commissioning and testing. The proof-of-work print was a miniature engine block — a fitting part for a mechanical engineering thesis.
What it taught me
This project is where I learned that hardware debugging is just debugging: change one variable, watch what happens, keep notes. Belt tension, bed leveling and extrusion temperature are not so different from learning rates and batch sizes — the printer just makes the failure modes easier to smell.