Caliper Size
Hello, I'm getting ready to receive my printer kit in the mail. I need to order a digital caliper. Should I purchase an 8" or larger 12" calipers? I'd prefer to have the smaller ones if they are sufficient but thought I had read somewhere that one or two measurements went beyond the 8". Thanks.
Re: Caliper Size
You need to measure a couple areas to 178mm (7 inch). Only needed if you want to be certain you've built it square.
All other spots will be fine with a 6 inch caliper.
You may also find a 8" machinists square of use to ensure some components are squared up (Z axis to table).
A good quality carpenter's square is useful for ensuring the whole frame is square in the XY plane. Also get a 5.5mm nut driver for tightening the lock nuts in several places. they encourage using pliers, but you need to tension these carefully or you damage the bearings.
It took me around 14 hours to build my printer, but that was in part I took extreme care to build everything square, and a defective Pinda that I had to remove and re-install.
With all the right tools and experience of building one already, the next would take a lot less time.