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Printing the parts

Material

PETG. The motors run warm and the parts around them see 60 to 70 °C in long use, which PLA does not survive; PETG softens around 80 °C, prints without an enclosure, and bonds layers well. ABS or ASA work with an enclosure. The repository's PETG notes give the printing basics: hot end 220 to 250 °C, bed 60 to 90 °C with glue, a layer fan, and the warping is small.

The files

All parts are in the repository's STL folder, grouped by link: BASE, SHOULDER, UPPER_ARM, ELBOW, FOREARM, WRIST, ESTOP, GRIPPER_ATTACHMENTS, UTILITY, mounting plates, and SMALL_PRINT_BED for the split versions of the two largest parts. The print table below says how each was printed on the reference robots; it is a tested starting point, not a rule.

The print table from the robot's repository, as it is. Every printed part with the settings it was printed with on the reference robots: supports, mass, infill, print time, cooling, layer height, top and bottom layers, perimeters. Click the table to enlarge it. The same table is in the repository as a PDF and as an Excel file.

The PAROL6 print table: part, position in the arm, supports, mass, infill type and percentage, print time, cooling, layer height, top and bottom layers, perimeters
Figure 1: The PAROL6 print table: part, position in the arm, supports, mass, infill type and percentage, print time, cooling, layer height, top and bottom layers, perimeters.

Print the pulleys with high infill and slow outer walls: their teeth carry the load. Check the first printed pulley against a belt before printing the rest.

Tolerances

Bearing seats and shafts are designed for a well-calibrated printer; a seat that is too tight is reamed, one that is too loose is shimmed with tape or a drop of epoxy. Test the fit of the tapered bearings in their seats before assembling a joint.

Inserts

Four M3 brass inserts are melted into their holes with a soldering iron; everything else screws directly into the plastic.

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