Reprap Forums - Reprappers

Mendel's z-leadscrew-base_2off.aoi file is incomplete (5 replies)

gerard94 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:24:08 -0800

In Mendel's z-leadscrew-base_2off.aoi, the holes needed to fix the z-leadscrew-base-bar-clamp_2off are missing. Compare with the third picture at :

[objects.reprap.org]

I think an improvement is needed.

HELP!

Gérard

[Mendel] Printing my own parts, but how many? (2 replies)

Trevor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:01:39 -0800

In reference to this picture: [objects.reprap.org]

I've got the STL files of these, and I have access to a rapid prototyping machine at my school. I'll be able to print the parts as early as tomorrow morning, but I noticed that there are multiples of certain parts like corner blocks etc. Does anyone have a list of which (printed)parts and how many are required to make a fulling functioning mendel? Or even better, does anyone have a zip/rar archive of all of the printed parts, and their appropriate quantity? I have to give the STL models to my instructor who will print the parts off for me. So, I need a "grocery list" of parts that I can give to my instructor.

Thank you for your time,

Trevor.

Repstrap Al (75% done?) (no replies)

mikefazz — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:46:41 -0800

So its been a while since I last posted but I have made some progress in the last few months. I have all the structure in place along with the stepper motors and chain. Most the electronics are done too.

Some features that may help others:
- attaching the gears to the motors (from old bike de-railers) is accomplished by drilling out the metal bushings and tapping them for small pinion screws. A slot cut in the gear allows it to be pushed back over the bushing with the pinion screw in place. Some glue holds it in place well.
- tensioning the chain: While working on a way to do this a roommate suggested using guitar string tensioners which he had some old un-needed ones. They make adjustment simple

So my issue now is with actually controlling the steppers. When I run the stepper tester code they all work fine. When I load up the firmware and try to position anything it slightly jerks and the big chips get real hot so I don't leave it powered long. I have tried checking the wiring and the stepper to make sure the colors of the leads are correct. I don't have the end stops in place and I haven't made the stepper for the extruder yet (been avoiding the SMT one I got;)). Oh and the com test works but the motor tester gives scrolling garbled text... and doesn't work.

Some future issues to work out:
- 80/20 bearings... yeah we'll see how they do
- Electronics enclosure... I added lots of fans hopefully that is OK

progress is goodB)

Where is Mendel??? (4 replies)

bAster.89 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:36:32 -0800

Hi everybody!
Please help: where can I find any information on the previous version of REPRAP(Darvin)?

And another question: what are the characteristics of the stepper motors, used in REPRAP?

PS. Sorry for opening the new topic- I couldn't find the information enywhere else.

Download all Mendel stl files in 1 hit (2 replies)

stephen george — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:27:41 -0800

I am obviously doing something wrong. However on the off chance that there
isn't a Zip or tar file of all the mendel stl files and we have to download them individually

type

wget -i index.html

where index.html is the attached file

Less non-replicated parts using rope (14 replies)

MarcusWolschon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:04:15 -0800

I had an idea on how to have a larger percentage of the
parts of a RepRap being printed.
Why not get rid of the steel-rods, threaded rods and pulleys?

Instead of printed gears that never fit perfectly and thus
have backlash and a but of free motion when vibrating
I thought about using rope instead as an alternative to threaded rods.

We can easily build cable-pulls instead
of gears. They can be fastened very
easy and can create a lot of force.

Take a slide that shall be moved.
On both ends you have a cable-pull
attached to it.
The ends go around a cable-roll with to meet below in one point.
There a motor has 2 spools.
One giving rope to the left cable-pull
and one taking it from the right one.
Adjusting the tightness is trivial
and can be done in serveral ways.

This would provide the accuracy
of threaded rods without their
length-limit and without their
issues of the rods are not perfectly straight.
It only requires parts that are trivial to print as opposed to
inperfect gears.

Custom Machined Metal Mendel (9 replies)

swighton — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:10:14 -0800

Hello,

I have been following the development of the RepRap for some time, and now with the release of the Mendel I knew it was time to jump in on the fun. I don't have access to a RP machine but I do have access to a great machine shop, so I have been modifying most of the mendel parts to be easier to machine and to utilize as much English hardware as possible (due to its cheapness compared to metric in the US) I will be uploading 3d models and cad drawings of all the parts as soon as I get them made, in the meantime here is a snapshot of the progress so far.

I can't figure out how to insert a thumbnail with a link to the larger images so here is a link to a gallery of it on my blog so that I don't clog everything up with a bunch of huge images.

Pictures Of Metal Mendel

Printing mendel pulleys and other difficult parts (4 replies)

letsburn00 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:21:50 -0800

I'm printing off my hackerspace's mendel, this weekend has been frame weekend among other things. So far the main parts that have been giving me problems have been the pulleys etc(though getting m3 holes to print correctly is also a bit of a problem). I've found that my machine simply doesn't have the resolution to print these correctly and instead of being a circle with teeth it comes out as a circle with a bunch of bumps on it. I'm using a .5mm filament, with a .57mm setting as my build height. My machine is a 2.0.1 BfB machine(the one they used to sell without electronics etc and running on gearmotors, it's essentually Vik's design of the ponoko reprap)

Has it been found that vik's solution of using ball chain isn't viable for the mendel, or was it just decided that we weren't going to go down that road. If it hasn't been tried because of a major flaw then what is it? Looking at the chains, they tend to not go through pieces, so changing the type of belt to chain shouldn't be very hard given it just goes over a bunch of bearings.

Reprap Nasa style - news link (2 replies)

stephen george — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:49:47 -0800

Reprap NASA style

[news.yahoo.com]

regards

stephen

Illustration of skins for my Darwin (15 replies)

Curlrup — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:42:02 -0800

I am by no means an Industrial Designer but I can use Illustrator pretty well. Since my Objet printed Darwin will be in my office by other RP machines I have decided to make some skins for it. Here is the illustration of what it will look like.

All of my hardware is ordered as soon as I get some electronics I am off to the races.

Curly

mendel parts (2 replies)

Weaver — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:37:32 -0700

hi am new to reprap and am trying to find the files for the printed parts of mendel i have downloaded some stl files but am unable to open for some reason they say 'certificate trust list' by the side of each file. i would like to use them in autodesk inventor i have the stl import add in could anyone help please

Pulley Molds Kit (Parts Lister) (1 reply)

utra — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:57:25 -0700

Hi,

I am trying to figure out the stuff I need for Darwin through the RepRap`s Parts Lister. I cannot figure out if I need the Pulley Molds Kit. It tell me that I`ll need the kit if I intend to make my own pulleys.

First off, how many pulley mold kits will I need? (3 for 3 pulleys or 1 for 3 pulleys)?

Also, If I don't intend to make my own pulleys, then where in the Parts Lister will pulleys be included? in the Cartesian Robot v1.0????

I have attached a screen shot of my finalized Parts Lister (except the pulleys mold kits) for RepRap Darwin (generation 3 electronics) CAN SOMEONE CHECK DOUBLE CHECK THIS:S(:P). THANKS

I noticed the ThermoplastExtruder Version 2.0 is not there, I found it somewhere else on the website, is this the hardest one to put together?

Please give me some info about the pulleys.

Also, any other feed back will be much appreciated.

Thanks A LOT,
Mahdi - Canada

Subtitles in videos (9 replies)

gerard94 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:21:55 -0700

Hello all,

I'm French and building a Mendel. I get some difficulties understanding explanatory videos about its construction. For foreigners, understanding oral English is, in general, more difficult than reading written texts, even in English. If someone could add English subtitles to these videos, it would be great.

Thanks.

Gérard

Errors in Mendel STL files (20 replies)

gerard94 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:39:39 -0800

Hello Reprappers,

I'm printing Mendel parts from STL files with a Rapman. I convert STL to gcode with Skeinforge. On two pieces, I get annoying errors from this program:

For y-bearing-180-inner_2off.stl, I get

This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
587 [354] [185, 205]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
18.9600000381
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
369 [180] [139, 146]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
19.3600000381
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
596 [363] [128, 191]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
19.7600000381
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
596 [363] [128, 191]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
20.1600000381

And for y-bearing-180-outer-left_1off.stl:

This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
626 [341] [189, 260]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
10.45
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
767 [469] [189, 265]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
10.85
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
767 [469] [189, 265]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
11.25
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
647 [363] [63, 84]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
11.65
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
647 [363] [63, 84]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
12.05
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
106 [38] [84, 85]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
12.45
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
106 [38] [84, 85]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
12.85
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
106 [38] [84, 85]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
13.25
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
769 [469] [245, 265]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
13.65
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
769 [469] [245, 265]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
14.05
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
789 [491] [85, 260]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
14.45
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
789 [491] [85, 260]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
14.85
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
789 [491] [85, 260]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
15.25
This should never happen, there is a hole in the triangle mesh, each edge should have two faces.
789 [491] [85, 260]
Something will still be printed, but there is no guarantee that it will be the correct shape.
Once the gcode is saved, you should check over the layer with a z of:
15.65

In either case, the holes of the part are clogged, and there is something broken in the shape.

Do you know how I can solve this problem?

Thanks.

Gérard

reprap in England (1 reply)

speedhound — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:22:28 -0700

Hi

Where is a good place in England to get a kit or ready made reprap, if there is such a place.

Thanks

Wooden Mendel (24 replies)

trystanlea — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:02:24 -0800

Hey all

Im starting on a build :) I thought id just introduce myself and say a little about were Ive got to so far. My name is Trystan and Im from north wales, uk. Been following the reprap project for sometime, well done guys for all the hard work and spectacular results! It feels really good to get started on building, Im going for a mendel and have started using wood for the rp parts and have so far built 6 frame vertex's, 1 z leadscrew bracket and 4 bar clamps. All with a bit of modification to make them easier to make out of wood. I reckon however that its going to be a real challenge to make some of the other parts out of wood that Ive yet to make but I came across Adam's blog here who is also building a wooden mendel and he's worked out some good simplification for the print tray so maybe we will get there :) Is there anyone else building a wooden reprap?It would be great to collect all of our ideas together.

Here's a picture of my mendel so far:

From reprap build

a closeup on a frame vertex:

From reprap build

and the z leadscrew bracket

From reprap build

The black bars are tent poles... which unfortunately are a little bent from being used in an old tent otherwise they could be a good material to use very slidy although they may not be stiff enough. I ran out of studding and so thought I would use them until I order some more steel.

I also found a good tutorial on converting the STL files into 2D drawings that print out to scale using blender here:

http://www.opendimension.org/blender_en/line_drawings.php

and you can find the drawings that I have converted so far here:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/trystan.lea/ReprapBuild#

If anyone would like any specific STL converted let me know It only takes a minute and I dont mind doing that if I have a minute.

Looking forward to print! but I imagine that will be a while yet...

also im in Cardiff for the next month and will be doing a bit of building on it with a friend here, if your in the area and would like to come round and have a chat and a build let me know

Trystan

RepRap family tree (2 replies)

lcomtois — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:58:36 -0700

I know there is allot of RepStrap out there but how many real RepRap made from part printed from a other RepRap or a RepStrap ? I think it could be fun to make a family tree of all the RepRap.
If you have a RepRap please post and tell us:
Were did you get the printed part from?
Did you print parts for a other RepRap?

Building a RepRap - a huge undertaking (6 replies)

bo190e — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:13:46 -0800

Hi, I have for some time followed the development of Darwin and Mendel. I plan to build a Mendel in the near future, when everything is working and part lists has been made etc.

I must say though. It all looks like a huge project, getting everything together and actually building it. Unfortunately it looks as if getting all the parts is really the main obstacle.

Some things I just don't understand. Doing some groundwork, some parts can be found at different suppliers (nuts, bolts, lead screws, etc.) but other parts are unique to the RepPap project (extruder components, electronics, ABS parts etc.) and can not be bought.

How do one go about getting these special parts. Is there people who has come together to get reasonable priced quotes of complete sets of parts (one quote for all the metal parts from a hardware supplier, another quote for the pcb's from a pcb manufacturer, etc. etc.). I know that getting parts can be more or less of a problem, depending on where you live, but has anybody made the groundwork, making it more easy to approach the whole thing.

Maybe what I'm looking for is a small European setup, with some dedicated people that has come together to make the RepPap available for a larger audience, and maybe even making some money doing it.

Any suggents / comments
/Bo

Actual costs of printing with a Reprap machine... (6 replies)

Forrest Higgs — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:19:21 -0700

I recently started working seriously with Mathematica 7 and am also building up a BitsFromBytes Rapman.

In that a lot is known about the operating characteristics of the Rapman I decided to see if I could calculate what it would cost to run one.

Assumptions:

ABS filament - $9/lb

Rapman built out - $1500

Duty cycle - 50%

Service life - 36 months

Interest rate - 10%

Capital Recovery Factor - $0.134/hour

Print output rate {assuming that the extruder is operating 75% of the time during the print} ~ 1.2 cubic inches/hour

Electricity usage/cubic inch - 0.05 Kwhr/cubic inch {negligible}

*********************************************************************************

Capital cost of printing = ($0.134/hour)/(1.2 cubic inches/hour) ~ $0.11/hour

Assume 20% in repairs over the life of the printer

($0.11/hour)(1.2) = $.132/hour

*********************************************************************************

Cost of filament per cubic inch {assuming a 100% fill} = ($9/lb)/26.6 cubic inches/pound) ~$0.34/cubic inch

Note that I haven't included space rental for the printer.

Thus you are looking at paying for printing on a Rapman = $.132 + $.34 ~ $.47/cubic inch

Note that a print shop charges about $25 - $30/cubic inch for retail printing.

Assuming that they have bought a $30,000 Dimension printer, they are talking about about $2.70/cubic inch capital cost for prototypes printed.

**********************************************************************************

Figuring that both the Darwin and Mendel use about 1.2 kg of printed parts, these would cost...

(1200 cm^3)/(2.54^3 cm^3) = 73 cubic inches of printed parts

(73 in^3)($0.47/in^3) ~ $34.30

to print a set of parts for a Reprap.

**********************************************************************************

Now an interesting result is that ABS filament costs two and a quarter times more per cubic inch than acrylic sheet. When you look at the cost of nuts and bolts in bulk lots I don't expect BitsFromBytes to start shifting over to offering printed parts for their Darwin/Rapman printer any time soon.

Somebody said they couldn't find brass nuts? (1 reply)

MotorAssist — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:53:24 -0700

Brass nuts are available, in the UK, from nuts and bolts and things website.

Hazel

PTFE insulator (5 replies)

repraptudelft — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:16:52 -0700

We are currently building the reprap. But we have problems at step 2-02 of the extruder manual.
The manual instructs us to use a PTFE insulator. But this part doesn't fit into the ABS part (10064), the hole is too small. Besides, in the operationmanual there's a picture of 2 parts instead of the PTFE insulator. A tube of aluminium and one of a ceramic material.
So what parts do we need to use for the extruder?

Extruder specifics (8 replies)

MotorAssist — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:12:31 -0700

Hi,

I see on the Extruder Nozzles page, about half way down, it says, "Get your temperature sensor as close to the barrel as you can without touching it, and get it as near the nozzle as possible while still retaining it strongly in the fire cement."

Why should the temperature sensor not touch the heated barrel? Surely it is the barrel temperature that is of interest?

Also, what is the advantage of using a large washer to support all the parts over the use of the copper pipe section? And is fire cement (or equivalent) still used in this arrangement? Is it there just to keep the Nichrome wire in place, or is it there to effect insulation, or both?

There seems to be a general move to a stepper motor for the extruder - why the change

I think the only thing I've decided upon is to use a pinch-wheel type drive.

Any other advice on extruder design? (Now there's a big topic.....)

Hazel

Electrochemcial Machining support machine (no replies)

SOI Sentinel — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:50:23 -0700

Thanks to some work by a fellow reprapper that caught the eye of Hackaday and got nailed for it, we have an introduction to electrochemical machining.

[www.burningsmell.org]

This is a way I hope will provide a support machine for our trickiest hardware. By using a three axis stepper board and a constant current and pump control "extruder board" we can do a stepper spindle controlled CNC lathe . Reprap plastic components would be ideal since the current paths must be controlled. Tank and filter design may be the hardest part. I'd think that a stainless steel industrial needle would make a great drill/mill bit for high detailed parts.

Multi-Function CNC: CalFab, updated weekly (or more) - Pics of Frame Inside (7 replies)

Lompocus — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:31:52 -0700

At first I tried working out how I could build a RepRap from scratch. That proved near impossible. Next came the McWire: it too turned out overbuilt and extraordinarily difficult to build due to an overarching need for precision in every drill.

What's the solution? Build a new CNC machine from scratch. Of course, I've learned a few things from past experience. I'm keeping the threaded rod concept from the McWire, and the general, boxy-like design from the RepRap. At the same time I've decided that the lower half of the frame will have the X axis and build area only, while the upper half is responsible for a Z axis moving a carriage holding the Y axis which in turn hold the extruder.

Basically, it's a much simplified and CHEAPER Mendel, but you wouldn't even know it! I'm hoping to add enough space to mount a router on the machine (obviously a bit of structural support will be needed). Later, a laser cutter can be added as well, though that is a bit more complicated :P.

The basic design, in a crude sketchup 3d model:
[i211.photobucket.com]

Additional pics of the completed (and unfourtunately permanent, next time I'll turn those solid rods into studs) frame are here:

[i211.photobucket.com]
[i211.photobucket.com]
[i211.photobucket.com]

Has anyone tried and FDM Nozzle on a RepRap? (6 replies)

Curlrup — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:45:29 -0700

I might have access to some crusty but still extrude-able FDM nozzles. WOuld that be a good choice for a RepRap. I always lived by the montra no sense in reinventing the wheel. The FDM nozzles are a proven design. Just a thought.

Curly

copper mendle (5 replies)

dissidence — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:09:27 -0700

i am looking into building a reprap out of copper pipe, i want to build it like the new mendle design, i think that would be a good one to start with, have many people had any issues with 1/2 copper pipe.?:S

and i was wondering if anyone has tried to modify a hot glue gun to make an extruder with.?X(

i am also looking to find a good cad program to use, i was hoping to be able to use sketchup put i dont think it is the right file format for the rep rap software(:D

First RepRap (RepStrap) Build - Parts Question (11 replies)

Adam Nelson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:42:19 -0700

Hey all,

A friend and I are starting in on our first RepRap (We're going to build a RepStrap first to build the parts for the RepRap). We have tonnes of electronics/mechanical/code background, but we're getting stuck on the simple stuff.

Here is where we are getting stuck:
1. Where can you buy the toothed belts and pulleys for the RepRap (I can't seem to find a vendor in the documentation, and have no idea where else I should be looking).

2. The only part we are looking to buy in a kit is the extruder, as we're not convinced we have the facilities to build one (without a RepRap) (We're kinda bummed we can't make it all outside of a kit so we may try to build one anyways), and the only one we have really found is at the link below by maker bot:

MakerBot MK3 Extruder

Has anyone tried this extruder out?

Hmmm.. Now that I put it into text we're not nearly as lost as I though :).

If someone can point me to the belts and pulleys I would be grateful.

New RepRap to slowly be built from Objet parts. (32 replies)

Curlrup — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:05:38 -0800

I run a multitude of RP/3D Printers at work (see signature). I have always mentioned to my co-workers that I would love a home machine to tinker on but since I don't have $5,000 to $10,000 laying around for something I would be less than satisfied with, I figured that day would come when 10 years from now when the technology gets cheaper. I then stumbled upon the RepRap Community it was the answer I was looking for. So over the course of the next few months since my schedule and budget allow me to do this build slowly I will be building a RepRap and I will be starting with the parts to get my frame and axis built. I have an Objet Connex 500 at work and I love it. I have been given permission to print out the parts I need, my co-workers are as curious as I am. I will post pics when I have parts to show. My parts will be sprinkled in builds for our customers so I won't be running one massive build. Unfortunatally I can not offer parts off the Objet for anyone else's build but when my RepRap is running would be happy to build parts on it for others. I plan to run ABS on the RepRap.

Curly

Converting a Seiko D-TRAN XM 5000 Cartesian into a RepRap. (8 replies)

Christopher — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:19:15 -0700

Most of you who linger in IRC have probably seen me brandishing this around lately.

My name is Christopher Thomas, and I am a student at Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, Texas currently majoring in Robotics and Automation. I have been given the privilege to use our Seiko D-Tran XM 5000 Cartesian Robot however I want. It started as just a simple PLC controlled project for my class, but I soon found that with a micro-controller and some simple materials, I could make it do so much more than Pick and Place...

Eventually I stumbled upon RepRap after looking for a micro-controller that is robust enough and developed enough to give me my desired results. (ie... Sanguino). As of today I have placed an order for 3-RepRap Motherboards and 6-Extruder Controllers (hopefully to be used in place of the Stepper Drivers, of which the PCBs were sold out.) I'm doing everything from parts to demonstrate to the classes that SMT is achievable with limited tools and is, at times, much easier and faster than doing the typical through-hole technique currently taught in schools.

Now, back to the Robot. Originally it comes with an SA3010 Servo Drive Controller that runs the DARLfour Language (referred as DARLV in the manual). Which is primarily based on BASIC programming. In addition to the SA3010 there is an additional I/O Drawer that houses additional motor drivers that can be used independently from the Servo Drive Controller. It also controls the full pneumatic system that powers the 5 Tool - Toolhead. This robot was donated to us by Motorola used in the mobile phone market as a pick and place device. It has since just sat there for the past 3 or 4 years. A couple years ago a few teams "got it running", but the last team blew out the 24V PSU, lost the manuals, and damaged a control panel.

What I'm hoping that I can accomplish in the next 3 weeks, is to have full 3 Axis movement controlled by either the Servo Controller or a modified RepRap/Sanguino board.

Now for some specs....

The X,Y,Z Axises are 800mm,600mm,140mm (200m total length), respectively.

The Resolution is .008mm for the X & Y, and .004mm for the Z.

The Speed is 1000mm/s for the X/Y, and 650mm/s for the Z.

Currently everything runs off of a homemade 24v Power supply built by a previous team, seeing as how I'm just starting out in the programming and building of this, its a challenge to overcome trying to adapt the RepRap electronics. Also, the Servo Driver Controller needs some repair on the front panel (I have to desolder buttons, key switches, all sorts of goodies that were destroyed.) I want to keep this thing as versatile as possible. Now if you will excuse me, exhaustion (and beer) is kicking in. I'm starting to lose my focus... Here are some pictures of my current robot, (and some others of another robot I'm trying to work on.)

My .Mac Robotics Gallery.

RepStrap success in 2D (no replies)

larsrc — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:38:59 -0700

I have a working 2D part of a RepStrap (holding off on the 3rd D since I want to play with lasers)! Did the first successful run yesterday, writing with a Sharpie, including a slightly distorted fractal. This thing is so nifty! Thanks to all who have designed and helped getting me here.

Obligatory YouTube video.

I suppose I need to adjust the power use, at the moment they just go at full power and make the drivers overheat when not in use -- even though I have the whole frame as a heat sink.

Anyone know good places to look for cutting lasers (starting simple, CO2 lasers are a little much for now)? I have found a 150mW blue LED laser (i hug and kiss LEDs), but that doesn't appear to go beyond very thin film.

-Lars