engineering

Hangprinter

Hangprinter is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hangprinter rather than just read about it. In short: Hangprinter is an open-source fused deposition modeling delta 3D printer notable for its unique frameless design. It was created by Torbjørn Ludvigsen residing in Sweden.

Key takeaways

Hangprinter belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hangprinter to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hangprinter from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hangprinter is an open-source fused deposition modeling delta 3D printer notable for its unique frameless design. It was created by Torbjørn Ludvigsen residing in Sweden. The Hangprinter uses relatively low cost parts and can be constructed for around US$250. The printer is part of the RepRap project, meaning many of the parts of the printer are able to be produced on the printer itself (partially self replicating). The design files for the printer are available on GitHub for download, modification and redistribution.

Versions

Version 0 The Hangprinter v0, also called the Slideprinter, is a 2D plotter. It was designed solely to test if a 3D version could realistically be created.

Version 1 The Hangprinter v1 uses counter weights to stay elevated.

Version 2 All parts of the Hangprinter Version 2 are contained within a single unit which uses cables to suspend the printer within a room, allowing it to create extremely large objects over 4 meters tall.

Version 3 Version 3 of the Hangprinter has the motors and gears attached to the ceiling, making the carriage lighter.

Version 4 Version 4 includes upgrades from version 3 including flex compensation, better calibration and automatic homing.

Fused Particle Fabrication/Fused Granular Fabrication Hangprinters To enable 3D printers to economically use recycled plastic feedstocks to enable distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (DRAM) several types of fused granular fabrication (FGF)/fused particle fabrication (FPF) -based 3D printers have been designed and released with open source licenses. First, a large-scale printer was demonstrated with a GigabotX extruder based on the open source cable driven hangprinter concept. Then detailed plans using recyclebot auger techniques were released in HardwareX to build such a printer for under $1700. This approach would further reduce the cost of using hangprinters to make large scale products as the cost of recycled shredded plastic is ~$1–5/kg while filament is generally around $20/kg. Makers that have built open source granulators or have access to other types of waste plastic shredders (e.g. from Precious Plastic) can generate feedstock for hanging waste printers for under $1/kg, which makes large scale production with a hangprinter competitive with any conventional manufacturing process.

Patent dispute In 2022, a patent describing the "Sky Big Area Additive Manufacturing" (SkyBAAM) system was granted to UT-Battelle, LLC, a nonprofit corporation that operates the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The patent describes the core features already featured in HangPrinter, causing controversy in the open source community. The RepRap project established a GoFundMe campaign to cover the legal costs in their upcoming action to challenge the patent. In May 2023 it was announced that the US Patent Office rejected the wide claims of the SkyBAAM patent and would be settling on a much narrower patent instead. Per a post on Torbjørn Ludvigsen's blog "They largely agreed with our analysis. They rejected all the patent's original claims. They accepted a narrower version of them." Per the interpretation provided in that post the narrower patent would only cover cases where every detail provided is included in the design, instead of those designs with any of the described details.

External links

Development The Hangprinter Project's Webpage Torbjørn Ludvigsen's RepRap blog Hangprinter on Bountysource Archived 3 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine Hangprinter Facebook page

Repositories Hangprinter files on GitHub Hangprinter on RepRap wiki

Videos Hangprinter presentation, Torbjørn Ludvigsen The Hangprinter #3DMeetup, Thomas Sanladerer, YouTube RepRap HangPrinter Workshop at E3D with Torbjørn Ludvigsen, Richard Horne (RichRap), YouTube

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hangprinter

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hangprinter claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hangprinter before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hangprinter ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hangprinter

In research: Hangprinter appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hangprinter in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hangprinter is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 3D printers, Delta robots, RepRap project, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hangprinter outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hangprinter in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hangprinter means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hangprinter out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hangprinter in simple terms?

Hangprinter is an open-source fused deposition modeling delta 3D printer notable for its unique frameless design. It was created by Torbjørn Ludvigsen residing in Sweden.

Why does Hangprinter matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hangprinter?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hangprinter.