Tag Archives: robotics

Microcontrollers?

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Recently more than one person has suggested I try my hand at an Arduino.  I’ve got a spare Extruder Controller which happens to include an Arduino.

I rarely bother learning something new if I can help it. 1  And, I’ll actively avoid trying to learn something new if there’s not a need to learn it.

I have no doubt that once I figure out how to use an Arduino I’d enjoy it.  However, I just don’t have any ideas of what I’d want to use a microcontroller for at this time.  And, really, none of the projects I’ve seen is particularly compelling.  And, without an end goal I’m shooting for, this would just be learning something for learning’s sake.

So, here’s the question I pose to you, gentle reader:

What would you design/build if you had access to an Arduino, a Thing-O-Matic, a Cupcake, an Egg-Bot, and lots of plastic?

  1. I remember in high school that it was so much easier for me to derive Tan, Sin, Cos, rather than to actually remember the values around the unit circle.  And really, if you can derive that information quickly, why bother committing it to memory? [↩]

Robotics Work Area

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My work area

My robotics work area

I thought people might be interested in seeing what my robot work area looks like. 1  Part of this last weekend was devoted to organizing the contents of the above library card catalog, putting things in appropriate drawers and labeling them. 2

You can’t really tell from the photo, but each of the Three-Dee printing ‘bots is sitting on a separate filament spindle kit.  I’ve got clear MakerBot PLA loaded underneath the Thing-O-Matic (“Flexo”) and black MakerBot ABS loaded under the Cupcake CNC (“Bender”).3 On the surface of the card catalog you can see a pink bracket I printed for my daughter so we can hang a bathroom towel4 at her level.  I’ve got a power strip duct taped down to the back left of the card catalog.  This has made the entire thing the perfect stand-up computing and soldering station.5

The drawer labels are difficult to read from that image – in large part because of my tragically terrible handwriting. 6  In case you’re interested, the highlights are:

  • Two different drawers labeled, “GLOWSTICKS”
  • One drawer labeled, “GLASSES”
  • One drawer labeled and filled with “NOTEBOOKS”7
  • One for “SPEAKER BADGES” of various kinds.  Admittedly, most are just from attending different conferences.  About a third are from when I was speaking at such conferences.
  • One drawer labeled and filled with various kinds of “TAPE”
  • One for “ORIGAMI” with paper and half-completed projects
  • One for “SANDPAPER” of differing grades
  • One drawer for “CABLES” and one for “USB CABLES”

I’m probably using almost 30 drawers, which is only half the front side of this library card catalog.  It’s got 60 such drawers on the front and back. 8 910  This monster occupies what was originally called a “living room.”  Now we just call it our “robot room.”  I was lobbing to change the name to either “The Robotics Lab,” “The Lah-BOHR-Ah-tory,” or the “Laboratory” but the idea did not receive the required 67% of household votes.

The way that I look at it – I could quadruple my robotics hobby and still have enough drawers for it all…

  1. It’s a bit messy, but worlds better than before I tidied it up. [↩]
  2. I had posted a description a while back, but this probably explains it all much better. [↩]
  3. FYI, Flexo has a small magnet installed behind the front panel.  That way I can affix a detachable magnetic soul patch. [↩]
  4. What color do you want, honey?  “Pink, PINK!”  *sigh* Now, if ONLY we had a robot that could make a pink towel hook for you…  “Daddy, stop being silly.  Of course we do!” [↩]
  5. I use a long wooden tray when I solder or assemble something with small fiddly bits.  That way if I drop something it falls into the tray. [↩]
  6. If anything, the JPG compression probably helps the readability. [↩]
  7. Including my DIY homebrew recycled paper and shopping bag analog notebook [↩]
  8. The sad part is this thing is SO huge and SO heavy that if we move, we’ll never be able to take it with us. [↩]
  9. It took an unreal amount of fuel, beer, and pizza to move it to where it is today. [↩]
  10. If you live in the Bay Area and are interested in it – drop me a line. [↩]

Second Law, Schmecond Law

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Unfortunately, in the haste to get the MakerBots out the door for the holidays the guys at MakerBot left out opto-endstop kits on some shipments.  These guys have been super responsive even before I bought a kit from them, so I’m not that concerned.  Frankly, it’s a little bit of a relief that I can skip the soldering stuff for now and move on to some of the pulley making steps.

In any case, as I understand it, these are not vital to the proper functioning of the MakerBot and that they’re really just a failsafe if the ‘bot forgets the second law of robotics.