Once I had the opto-endstops all soldered up, I really wanted to keep going. I made the Y-endstop cables, bolted the opto-endstops on, and bolted the motherboard and stepper motor boards to the MakerBot. Clipped in the cables and it looks like a robot after all! I’m going to need to organize those cables, but that will have to wait until all the other parts are in place.
An interesting side note – as I was moving the various axes someone noticed that little lights started flashing on the stepper motor boards! Cool! I presume moving the platform caused the motors to act like generators and pushing power to the boards, lighting up the LED’s.
Once the opto-endstops were done, I couldn’t resist bolting them on. Once I started doing that, I wanted to make the Y-endstop cables, then the ribbon cables, and wire it all up.
If nothing else, it looks like a robot now!