A Practical Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Delta FDM 3D Printer

Book excerpt: Different 3D printers have slightly different features. In the world of Fused Deposition Modeling FDM printers, Cartesian and Delta 3D printers are the most popular among hobbyists who are new to 3D printing.The primary difference between Cartesian and Delta is in how movement is made in relation to the print bed. In a Cartesian printer, up and down print head movement is possible and has to coordinate with print bed movement on the Z plane. In a Delta printer, the printer head can move freely in any direction (through coordination between 3 arms) while the print tray remains stationary at all time. This book covers the essential 3D printing terminologies, with focus on elements that are more relevant to entry level Delta 3D printers.They are written to be more human while being technically accurate and useful. We use a particular 3d printer and software for demo. This book, however, is not meant to be a brand/model specific tutorial.