Tag Archives: MakerBot

RepRap and MakerBot alternatives [Draft 04/05/2010]

Posted on by
Reply

[Holy cow.  Can you imagine a time when a person could singlehandedly have made a comprehensive list of all open source 3D printers in an afternoon?]

Here’s a list of all of the RepRap, RepStrap, and MakerBot open source 3d plastic FDM 3d printers I can find.  When possible I’ve tried to link to the official site, helpful derivative sites, instructions, and parts.  I’ve also included some notes.

  1. RepRap – The ultimate in DIY personal fabrication technology.  Source everything yourself and put it together!
    1. Mendel –
      1. parts on ebay
      2. bearings – http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/kit9060
  2. Darwin –
    1. Ponoko Darwin Acrylic lasercut parts – http://www.ponoko.com/showroom/reprap/free-acrylic-reprap-v1-1–2083
  3. Mini-Mendel
  4. Isaac Mendel http://isaac-mendel.blogspot.com/
  5. Fab@Home
  6. MakerBot –
  7. McWire – http://reprap.org/wiki/McWire_Cartesian_Bot_1_2#This_project_is_no_longer_actively_developed.___For_newer_mcwire_info.2C_please_see_http:.2F.2Fobjects.reprap.org.2Fwiki.2FDevelopment:McWire
  8. ShaperCube –
    1. http://wiki.shapercube.com/wagn/Shapercube_Assembly
  9. Profound Devices –
    1. http://www.profounddevices.com/
  10. RepMan –
    1. http://www.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=168&category_id=5&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=100005
  11. Tommilese –
Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts
  1. The Lost Blog Posts
  2. Plastruder! [Draft 12/25/2009]
  3. UNTITLED [Draft 12/25/2009]
  4. Preparing to print [Draft 12/27/2009]
  5. More prints [Draft 01/04/2010]
  6. Prototype Pricing [Draft 01/19/2010]
  7. MakerBot tuning [Draft 01/20/2010]
  8. Plastic Screw Anchor [Draft 02/02/2010]
  9. Magic [Draft 02/03/2010]
  10. How are you printing with PLA? [Draft 02/16/2010]
  11. Rebuilding my extruder [Draft 02/16/2010]
  12. MY robot [Draft 02/18/2010]
  13. more things i learned [Draft 02/20/2010]
  14. First commissioned piece! [Draft 02/22/2010]
  15. MakerBot: Toy or Tool? [02/25/2010]
  16. Idea for Skeinforge settings… [Draft 03/27/2010]
  17. RepRap and MakerBot alternatives [Draft 04/05/2010]
  18. RepRap Parts for Sale [Draft 04/07/2010]

Idea for Skeinforge settings… [Draft 03/27/2010]

Posted on by
Reply

Dialing in Skeinforge settings and calibrating a MakerBot can be a frustrating and time consuming process.  I’m always tempted to just start tweaking settings and start printing.  Part of the reason I’m impatient is that making a change to Skeinforge, printing a test, noting observations, and LRR1 is SOOOOoooo incredibly boring next to the magic of watching things materialize inside a MakerBot.

Now, I don’t want to it sound like I’m down on Skeinforge.  It’s an incredible piece of software that does some amazing things.  However, the dozens of identically sounding settings put me in the mind set of deer and headlights.

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts
  1. The Lost Blog Posts
  2. Plastruder! [Draft 12/25/2009]
  3. UNTITLED [Draft 12/25/2009]
  4. Preparing to print [Draft 12/27/2009]
  5. More prints [Draft 01/04/2010]
  6. Prototype Pricing [Draft 01/19/2010]
  7. MakerBot tuning [Draft 01/20/2010]
  8. Plastic Screw Anchor [Draft 02/02/2010]
  9. Magic [Draft 02/03/2010]
  10. How are you printing with PLA? [Draft 02/16/2010]
  11. Rebuilding my extruder [Draft 02/16/2010]
  12. MY robot [Draft 02/18/2010]
  13. more things i learned [Draft 02/20/2010]
  14. First commissioned piece! [Draft 02/22/2010]
  15. MakerBot: Toy or Tool? [02/25/2010]
  16. Idea for Skeinforge settings… [Draft 03/27/2010]
  17. RepRap and MakerBot alternatives [Draft 04/05/2010]
  18. RepRap Parts for Sale [Draft 04/07/2010]
  1. Lather, rinse, repeat [↩]

MakerBot: Toy or Tool? [02/25/2010]

Posted on by
Reply

or this post could be titled …  “Open source intern tells all!”1

A review of the MakerBot Industries Cupcake CNC today from a former MakerBot intern discusses the MakerBot’s use as a tool.  Some of the comments bring to suggest its usage as an expensive toy.  I’ve used my MakerBot as a tool to print tools and as a tool to print toys.  I suppose at the point I’m using it to print up toys I’m really using as a toy.

I’m fairly confident my MakerBot will pay for itself.  That’s not a claim most people can make about their toys.  I have printed replacement parts for toys, broken parts around the house, and broken tools – thereby saving me those replacement costs.  This probably doesn’t amount to more than $20 or so.  That’s not a great return on an investment, but it is returning

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts
  1. The Lost Blog Posts
  2. Plastruder! [Draft 12/25/2009]
  3. UNTITLED [Draft 12/25/2009]
  4. Preparing to print [Draft 12/27/2009]
  5. More prints [Draft 01/04/2010]
  6. Prototype Pricing [Draft 01/19/2010]
  7. MakerBot tuning [Draft 01/20/2010]
  8. Plastic Screw Anchor [Draft 02/02/2010]
  9. Magic [Draft 02/03/2010]
  10. How are you printing with PLA? [Draft 02/16/2010]
  11. Rebuilding my extruder [Draft 02/16/2010]
  12. MY robot [Draft 02/18/2010]
  13. more things i learned [Draft 02/20/2010]
  14. First commissioned piece! [Draft 02/22/2010]
  15. MakerBot: Toy or Tool? [02/25/2010]
  16. Idea for Skeinforge settings… [Draft 03/27/2010]
  17. RepRap and MakerBot alternatives [Draft 04/05/2010]
  18. RepRap Parts for Sale [Draft 04/07/2010]
  1. …  ’cause, you know, it was all… open source. [↩]

Magic [Draft 02/03/2010]

Posted on by
Reply

[Reflecting back on this post is a little bittersweet.  2010 was an incredible time to be someone with a 3D printer at home.  I remember Forrest Higgs’ detailed website about how he built his mostly wooden 3D printer.  By my recollection, it was slow but accurate enough to make useable parts.  Back then it was possible to read literally every single word published on the topic of 3D printers in about 30 minutes once a week – and I did.  I read, and re-read, so many of Forrest’s posts leading up to and well after the purchase of my Cupcake.  While Forrest’s site is no more, it lives on at Archive.org.]

Since I know basically nothing about how the actual electrical components of my MakerBot work, the entire thing is essentially magic to me.  (OOooooh!  Shiny lights!)

One of the things that kept me from buying a MakerBot in the beginning was the thought of trying to solder surface mount components.  Admittedly, I wasn’t exactly a pro at soldering through hole components either, but the idea of soldering super tiny parts using a hot plate was certainly off-putting.  I know the MakerBot guys said it is pretty easy, but I certainly had my doubts.

One of my favorite projects to monitor is Forrest Higgs progress on his Tommelise.  His goal, as I understand from his blog, is to design/build a machine that could be built cheaply by a reasonably clever and motivated 12 year old.  While the suggested cost of building a RepRap Darwin/Mendel is somewhere in the $500-$750 range, Forrest suggests a Tommelise could be built for as little as $150.

The trade off is that the Tommelise uses a lot of wood in its construction (cheap, but not RepRappable “vitamin” part), uses linear stepper motors, uses through-hole components so it doesn’t benefit from the nifty wizbang bits you can get in surface mount components,  and prints slower than a RepRap.  But, I keep thinking back to the breadboard prototypes Forrest puts up on site.

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts
  1. The Lost Blog Posts
  2. Plastruder! [Draft 12/25/2009]
  3. UNTITLED [Draft 12/25/2009]
  4. Preparing to print [Draft 12/27/2009]
  5. More prints [Draft 01/04/2010]
  6. Prototype Pricing [Draft 01/19/2010]
  7. MakerBot tuning [Draft 01/20/2010]
  8. Plastic Screw Anchor [Draft 02/02/2010]
  9. Magic [Draft 02/03/2010]
  10. How are you printing with PLA? [Draft 02/16/2010]
  11. Rebuilding my extruder [Draft 02/16/2010]
  12. MY robot [Draft 02/18/2010]
  13. more things i learned [Draft 02/20/2010]
  14. First commissioned piece! [Draft 02/22/2010]
  15. MakerBot: Toy or Tool? [02/25/2010]
  16. Idea for Skeinforge settings… [Draft 03/27/2010]
  17. RepRap and MakerBot alternatives [Draft 04/05/2010]
  18. RepRap Parts for Sale [Draft 04/07/2010]

MOAR WHISTLES

Posted on by

The other day I was trolling Thingiverse1 looking for the best quick-printing model to show off DIY 3D printing to 3rd graders.

After a bit of searching, I found it: the simple whistle.

There are whistles a-plenty on Thingiverse, but the DarkAlchemist remix of the muddtt Emergency Whistle is easily the smallest by far.  I compared these two against several other options, tossing all of them into my slicing program and doing a visual double-check for good measure.

Emergency whistle, clear PLA as designed by DarkAlchemist

Emergency whistle in clear PLA as designed by DarkAlchemist

There’s no doubt about it – these are SMALL.  They are less than 2.7cc2 and weigh about 1.2 grams a piece.  Best of all, they print very quickly.  Printing just one whistle with 0.2mm thick layers, including printer warm up time, took 7 minutes.  10 whistles at once?  Only 47 minutes.

Naturally, I took the opportunity to print up 20 more whistles.  This is what 30 whistles looks like:

THIRTY emergency whistles, clear PLA as designed by DarkAlchemist

THIRTY emergency whistles in clear PLA

That got me thinking – could they be even smaller?!

Turns out they can.  I redesigned the whistle in OpenSCAD with a hacky thickness adjustment.  In doing so I discovered that the existing designs on Thingiverse used 1mm thick walls.  A one-millimeter wall thickness is pretty good if you have a small part that needs to be sturdy – but a bit of an overkill if you just need a small functional quick-printing thing.  By removing the little loop at the end of the whistle and creating a wide hole in the top of the whistle, I reduced a fair bit of plastic while keeping the ability to be connected to a cord.

I exported a version with 0.5mm thick walls and a copy with 0.4mm thick walls.  Printed at 0.2mm layers the 0.5mm thick walled version was functional – but the 0.4mm thick walled version was not.  The layers didn’t fully overlap, causing small gaps which prevented the whistle from making any noise.  Printing the 0.4mm thick walled version at 0.1mm layers3 turned out both beautiful and functional.  Best of all, they’re 1/3 the weight of the 1mm version!4

Three emergency whistle in black ABS as remixed by MakerBlock

Three emergency whistle in black ABS as remixed by MakerBlock

A friend recently suggested that his plastic filament supplier of choice ships via Amazon Prime for a ridiculously low $22-23 per kilogram.  Ignoring the amortized cost of the robot and electricity, I could make about 2,500 whistles for about 0.88 cents a piece!

Now, just imagine the following scene.  I take my HedonismBot ((As my MakerBot Replicator 1 Dual Extruder is named)) to my daughter’s third grade class.  I show off the robot printing a single whistle and call a random student up to test it.  Thank you, a pat on the head, and the whistle is yours!  Golly, I guess that’s the whole show everyone.  Oh, you want a whistle too?  Check under your desk.  You get a whistle!  You get a whistle!  You get a whistle!  You ALL GET WHISTLES!  What’s that?  Your sister is in second grade?  It just so happens it only took 80 hours of printing to make enough whistles for every damn student, teacher, and student teacher in the school.

MOAR WHISTLES.

  1. and Youmagine!  I can’t forget you Erik and Team Ultimaker! [↩]
  2. Close approximate dimensions: 8mm x 8mm x 42mm [↩]
  3. Basically, twice the vertical “resolution” [↩]
  4. Just 0.4g each?! [↩]

Was This Made on a MakerBot?!

Posted on by
Doctor Who Christmas Special 2010: A Christmas Carol

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2010: A Christmas Carol

Netflix has nearly all of the “new series” Doctor Who episodes available for online streaming.  As a guy who grew up watching the show, having it on tap is just plain awesome.  Unfortunately, Netflix does not carry one my favorite episodes ever – the Doctor Who Christmas Special from 2010 entitled, “A Christmas Carol.”  You can’t get the DVD from Netflix and you can’t watch it online.

Thankfully, Empire State Building.  The screenshot appears above.

So, what do you think?  Does that Empires State Building look as if it was printed on a 3D printer?

Robbed. During broad daylight. At work. By the mailroom guys.

Posted on by
At least, this is what it felt like

At least, this is what it felt like

I was waiting to surprise you with this, but last week I bought a MakerBot and had it shipped to work. 1

Well, it arrived today… and really… I suppose this is my own fault… but… you see… I was just robbed.

One of the best and most irreplaceable things about getting an awesome new robot is unboxing it.  The mailroom guys at work, well intentioned though they are, opened my MakerBot box.  I suppose I could have told them in advance that the robot should be arriving soon and to be on the look out for it.

Nevertheless!  Tonight I have to clear a space in my Robot Work Area so that I can add my Replicator to the line of robot workers.  But what to name it?  My MakerBot Cupcake CNC is named “Bender,” the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic is named “Flexo.”  There are so many Futurama robots to choose from.

I suppose I could chose a non-Futurama name for my new robot, but it really seems such a shame to break a streak.

  1. Photo courtesy of Timo Newton-Syms [↩]
  2. She’s also a bending unit! [↩]

Maker Faire 2012 – Torn

Posted on by

So, here’s the thing.  I really really really like the Maker Faire.  I’m just torn as to the most optimal way to experience it.

First of all, I love taking my wife and daughter to Maker Faire.  Getting to see so many amazing things all in one place – and getting to see them all through my daughter’s eyes is absolutely incredible.  I could spend the entire weekend just walking from exhibit to exhibit with them.

Second of all, I love talking to Makers and finding out what they do, what they love to make, and how they learned all the things they did to get there.  I honestly feel smarter just for having gone each year.1

Third, helping man the MakerBot table last year was AWESOME!  There was basically a constant crush of people coming by all super interested in what a MakerBot was and what it could be used to make.  Everyone was friendly, polite, interested, and had such excellent and insightful questions.  Imagine a place where you got to just hang out with people you like2 and people would stop by and ask you to tell them all about your favorite hobby.  Chances are you could talk endlessly and cheerfully about it.

Fourth, I’ve build and made some things over the last year of which I’m kind of proud.  While all the actual innovation credit must go to Sandy Noble and others, I like to think that my little drawing robot is uniquely mine.  It would be a lot of fun to put it up and have it draw a huge picture all weekend.  It would be even better with a time lapse video playing nearby.

So, what’s a maker to do?  Experience Maker Faire with the family, spend my time talking to makers, man the MakerBot table, or put something on display myself?  In all likelihood I’ll probably hit the Maker Faire before the family is up, help MakerBot, catch up with the family. 3

Oh, Natalie Imbruglia, only you know how I feel!

  1. Admittedly, it wouldn’t take much for that to happen [↩]
  2. Such as the MakerBot crew! [↩]
  3. But, it would also be cool to set up my drawbot in the background. [↩]

DrawBot – The Assembly, Part VI

Posted on by

Okay!  It was a good day for drawing robots in the MakerBlock household!  Here’s what we got accomplished:

  • I designed some motor mounts, printed one… and had to redesign it.  Gotta love having a 3D printer!
  • I selected a long shallow pine box to hold the motors and electronics.
  • I tried a variety of sound insulating materials.  Bubble wrap was easily the most effective, but least practical.  I settled on some corrugated cardboard.  I placed some cardboard between the motor and the motor mount and between the motor mount and the wood.
  • I soldered some longer wires to the motor leads.
  • I drilled holes in the wooden box, attached some monofilament line to the spools, put the spools on the motors, mounted the motors, ran the leads to the Arduino, powered it up… and it moved around and stuff!

As this point the next step is to mount it on the wall and actually attempt to draw stuff.  Yay!

Default Series Title

DrawBot – The Assembly, Part V

Posted on by

I just finished soldering the Adafruit Motor Shield … this time with all the bits in the correct places.  The Adafruit directions are incredibly detailed, I just soldered a few parts in wrong like an idiot last time. This time it went much smoother and much quicker.

I just wired up the two steppers, plugged in the power adapter, plugged in the USB cable, uploaded the Polargraph firmware, fired up the Polargraph software, and asked it to try to draw something.  And it started to twitch away in what appeared to be a meaningful pattern!!!

Huzzah!

Now… for sleep!

Default Series Title