Tag: MakerBot

DrawBot – Parts Shipped!!!

Yesterday I placed an order with Adafruit and MakerBot for all the parts I’ll need to build a DrawBot.  The MakerBot order shipped that same day and I just got a confirmation that the Adafruit order has shipped.

According to the USPS priority shipping estimates, it should take 2 days for these packages to get from Brooklyn to the SF Bay Area.  I figure it will probably take three.  So, hopefully the parts will arrive on or Saturday.  I’m really excited about building a DrawBot and my daughter is too.  She’s been drawing sketches for me to scan in for when we get the robot operational – so we can blow them up super huge.

Go USPS!  Fly like the wind!

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DrawBot – The Breakdown

The Breakdown:

  • Overall, this project cost to date is $103.30.   That’s less than I would have spent for a single really large framed print.  If I had to, I could have done this for less – especially if I were willing to be more patient.
    1. If I had placed my order with just one source and for the cheapest/slowest shipping option possible, I might have saved $5 in shipping. 1  For the extra $5, I’d rather have all the parts arrive this Thursday rather than next Thursday or a month or two when the shields were back in stock.
    2. I probably could have used an old power adapter from some other old scrap electronic device, but at $6.95 it just made sense to get a brand new device from Adafruit so I could dedicate the adapter to this project.
    3. I could have probably done without the micro servo and saved $6.00 since I’m mainly interested in doing single-line drawings – but this small investment will ensure I can do any kind of drawing I want by enabling pen lifts.
    4. I recently pulled two tin can stepper motors from old electronics, which could probably do the job.  However, at $14.00/stepper motor the price just seemed right.  These are pretty big motors that would be able to handle negotiating beaded cords with weights, if I ultimately have to go that route.
    5. Since I don’t have tons of parts lying around and I’d like to get started on this project before the weekend, it was worth it to me to pay a little extra.  However, if you just had to do this project for the cheapest possible amount and didn’t care how long it took, you could shop around to place a single order with one distributor, recycle a power adapter, and probably pull a small servo and two steppers out of some dumpster-score/junk heap.
  • At just a little over $100, I can use an identical hardware setup to John Abella – which means I can recycle his modifications to the Polargraph code.  Since he was using metal beaded cord and printed gears, he had to modify the code to accommodate these changes.  I’ll have to make some changes too – but it should be much easier to do so since I can compare John’s and Sandy’s code bases.  If the parts ship today, I should be able to get them on or before Friday.  The additional benefit of using the US Postal Service is that they’d deliver on Saturday if it comes to that.
  • For a full list of all parts I ordered, check out my post “DrawBot – Parts Ordered!!!“
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  1. Adafruit was out of their motor shields, so I had to go to a third-party.  Admittedly, a third-party I love using.  Waiting until they were in stock and then placing a single order would probably have saved me $8, but the shield was already discounted $8 through MakerBot anyhow.  I guess that would have been a wash… [↩]

DrawBot – Parts Ordered!!!

So, I just placed an order for all the electronics parts I’ll need.  A big thank-you to John Abella for this help in choosing the steppers and power adapter.  Here’s what I bought and from where:

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Have you turned your MakerBot or RepRap into a robo-cutter?

I’m curious – has anyone out there retrofitted their MakerBot Cupcake CNC, MakerBot Thing-O-Matic, or RepRap1 with a cutting device?  I recall seeing an example of someone creating a laser cutter, but I was particularly interested in whether someone had made a cutting device using a blade.

If so, what kinds of blades did you use?  Did you create your own?  Did you use off-the-shelf replacement parts for a commercial robo-cutter?

  1. Or other DIY 3D printer, for that matter [↩]

MOAR CUPCAKES! Or, am I being a glutton?

MakerBot just announced they’re dropping the price on the MakerBot Cupcake CNC Ultimate kits to a ridiculously low $455.00.

I already own a Cupcake CNC, named “Bender.”  He’s been fully upgraded with an automated build platform, MK5, and a few printed upgrades as well.  (Right now it has a Unicorn instead of the MK5 installed.)  I already own a Thing-O-Matic, named “Flexo.”  My Thing-O-Matic is fully upgraded with a MK6 stepper extruder and a few minor printed upgrades.

Do I really need more plastic printing production capacity?  I don’t know.  Do I have a new name for a potential new robot lined up?  No, I really don’t.

Do I really want another 3-axis CNC robot?  Yes.  Yes, I do.

Back from Maker Faire SF Bay Area 2011!

I’m exhausted! 1  What a great time!

I got to spend time with my family, see some amazing stuff, meet some great people, and see some old friends.  I also ate some junk food!  Perfect weekend all around.

I got to meet several people for the first time – including beak90, DocProfSky, DNA.  A few people mentioned they liked my OpenSCAD tutorials, which just made my day.

  1. So exhausted I didn’t get to publish this post until just now… [↩]

Pick me! Pick me!

Okay, I’ve gotten the clearance from Pattywac to join in the United We Stand team design challenge.  Although I voluntarily take myself out of the running from every challenge, I love participating.  They’re just too much damn fun.  :)

I never participate in the judging on these things – but it would look a little odd to have me be both someone who blogs about something and a guy who is the subject of the blog post.  Blogging here at MakerBlock.com, I happily post about anything that comes to mind, even if it is ridiculously self-indulgent.  However, I really don’t want the posts at MakerBot to be about me – I want them to be about the awesome stuff people are doing in the DIY 3D printing community.

The potentially ethical problem I faced with this most recent challenge is that as a team design challenge, I wouldn’t want to disqualify an entire team of people just because I was on it. 1  So, my proposal to MakerBot and Pattywac was that as part of any team, I would agree to forgo any winnings of any kind. 2  This was acceptable to both.

So, are you interested in collaborating on this design challenge?  I’d be especially interested in getting collaborative help on any of my existing projects, going from my highest interest3 to lower interest4 :

  1. Clockwork spider5
  2. Open source disc shooter
  3. A printable clock that actually keeps time
  4. A sonic screwdriver
  5. A dalek that can rotate it’s head, roll, and move it’s gun, eyestalk, and plunger6
  6. A better Voltron
  7. A puzzle box
  1. And, really, having me on your team is hindrance enough. [↩]
  2. I just want to feel included! [↩]
  3. #1 [↩]
  4. #7 [↩]
  5. I’ve already had input and help from Dna on this [↩]
  6. Mad props to innovationbylayers for the existing dalek on Thingiverse [↩]

I had a dream last night…

And, it isn’t the first time.  I was going into excruciating detail about calculating and calibrating a good Skeinforge profile.  Well, we can use a thread thickness of such-and-such, a layer height of such and such, oh, and what plastic are you using?

Admittedly, just before bed I had chatted with several MakerBot/RepRap guys and was tinkering with ProfileMaker v3.0, so math and SCIENCE must have been dominating my thoughts.

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