Here’s the first iteration of ‘Scout’. A simple printable frame for a robot based on two continuous rotation servos and an Arduino. The idea was to limit the number of printable parts and ‘vitamins’ to the bare minimum and keep the total cost for the bot below $50. I’ll use this to teach the robotics…
Category: reprap
FreeCAD is becoming my favorite modeling tool
It’s taken a while to get used to the interface and there’s still plenty of bugs to work around but the FreeCAD project is really moving along nicely. The sketcher makes designing parts like the ones below really simple. I learn things better with an actual project rather than just trying to copy tutorials…
Mendel build bed rebuilt….and a new build surface.
I’ve been using kapton as the build surface but I accidently gouged it after my Z-axis home switch got bumped out of position. 200mm sheets with adhesive aren’t cheap so I started looking for alternatives. It occurred to me that window tinting film is cheap, easy to find, and pretty durable. It also has…
Things I’ve learned about Teacup and Sprinter Firmwares
Sprinter (formerly Klimentkip formerly Tonokip) and Teacup are the two leading firmware options right now. They both support retraction, acceleration, heated beds, thermocouples, etc. They’re both in active development and things change fast. As I’ve worked to get my mendel reliable, I’ve bounced back and forth. Hence, I’ve learned a few lessons about each and…
Daily moment of ‘Duh’.
I started seeing missed steps in my prints. I haven’t had this problem for a long time so I went through the basics of tuning up, lubricating moving parts, etc. The problem remained. I started printing test blocks and noticed the problem looked very regular. This made me think it must be in the software…
Mendel Heated Bed
I’ve been struggling for months to get my “Sells” Mendel working reliably. The mechanicals have been solid for a long time, but I’ve had flaky problems with the electronics and extruder all along. I finally broke down and replaced the Gen3 electronics with a RAMPS board and after working through some issues, it finally seems…
First (nearly) successful print on mendel
It’s been a long haul, but I finally got a successful print out of my new mendel. I think the Z axis is sticking every once in a while and it certainly needs much more tuning. Even so, I’m thrilled. The big things I wanted out of this build were a stepper driven extruder, 5D…
A quick fix for my Walkman rattling problem
I listen to a lot of audio books from my Sony Walkman (NWZ-E436F). I have an RF modulator so I can play them through the audio system in the truck. The only problem is the thing slides around and gets lost on the floor. This is really the perfect kind of problem for a makerbot…
Going over to the dark side.
It seems like every magazine and blog I read lately is filled with reprap stories. Make magazine had a Makerbot Cupcake CNC on the cover of the previous issue and CBS even did a short profile. It’s time to find out what all the fuss is about. I ordered a Cupcake a couple weeks ago…