To view the status of the printing progress you need a screen. For this 3D printer project I have used LCD 12864 display.

For the 3D prints to be able to stick to the printing bed, it needs to be heated. For this purpose we need to add a heated bed to our printer.

The stepper motors must know when they have reached the limits of an axis. For this purpose we use endstops.

We have now finished building our frame and one of the last mechanical parts that is left to assemble is the extruder.

In this part we will focus on the X-axis, which is the most complicated axis of the printer. The X-axis is in direct connection to the Z-axis and it also supports the extruder.

Now that we have built the frame and the Y-axis is operational, we can focus on the Z-axis. This will allow to lift the extruder and print new layers. As the layers can be 0.1 mm in thickness we will need a stepper motor that is capable to turning in small steps.

The 6 mm aluminum frame cutout can now be mounted on the base of our frame. We could leave it as is, but adding the extra 10 mm threaded rod supports will give it that extra stability. The extra rods will also give us place to mount other additions to the printer.

When the base of the frame is built we can continue to finish up the Y-axis. 

In the first part we have investigated and assembled all the parts to build the frame. Now it is assembled to assemble the base of our 3D printer.

Reprap is a very popular Open Source 3D printer. The idea of this project is of a self replicating machine that can create copies of itself. So when you want to build your own 3D printer, the first thing is to get a set of 3D printed parts. It is a good idea to dive into the RepRap community and get to know people that can help you acquire them. You have the option to buy a complete DIY 3D printer set that includes all the parts, but this is of course less fun than assembling everything yourself.