MakerBot Industries

Ethan’s recent post about Nick’s experiments with turning down a print bed’s heat to avoid upper layer warping got me thinking…  it seems to me that keeping a heated platform on throughout a print job may not actually be required. ¹  When I’ve printed without heat at all, such as on an acrylic surface, I’ve only noticed ABS warping up to about 1cm or so.  After that printed objects tend to just even out.

The GCode command for setting the heated build platform temperature is:

M109 S70 T0

Where “S70″ means heat the platform to 70 degrees Celsius. ²  I honestly don’t know exactly how this GCode works.  It might force your printer to wait until the platform reaches a new temperature before continuing with processing more commands.  While this isn’t a big deal while your extruder is heating up before printing begins, it could be problematic if you try to change your printer’s temperature during a print job.  Even if this command doesn’t force the printing to pause while it changes temperature, there’s still the issue of how to implement it.  You probably don’t want to shut off the print bed’s heat during a short print job or in a print job for an object less than 1cm tall.  In any case, this is an idea and a question for the experimenters, hackers, and RepG/Skeinforge gurus out there.  What do you think?

1. Doesn’t it just seem ironic that using a heated build platform can eliminate warping at the base only to cause warping farther up a printed object?! [↩]
2. When I heat my build platform to 70 degrees Celsius, PLA sticks to to Kapton like glue. [↩]

ToMcat the Pen Plotter by ScribbleJ

It is no secret that I am a fan of pen plotters. Well, I’m thoroughly enchanted by ScribbleJ’s work-in-progress 3D printed pen holder. It is one thing to name a machine after an animal — it is another to successfully integrate that animal motif into the functional design.

I can’t wait to print this pen holder and see how it compares to my MakerBot Unicorn Pen Plotter.

ToMcat the Pen Plotter by ScribbleJ

This is (another) printable pen holder for the Thing-O-Matic/Cupcake. I tried to bring at least something new to the party by stretching my artistic skills to the absolute limit for your enjoyment. UPDATE!!! 2011-3-20: Youtube video of first gcode print...youtube.com/watch?v=NR3ZwVLx-xE ...would you say it's as fast as an F-14? Youtube video of (manual) test:youtube.com/watch?v=MEXvrOI0ZgY I wanted a pen mount so I could draw etch resist on PCBs. The existing mounts on Thingiverse are either not for a Makerbot:thingiverse.com/thing:3593 Mendel Pen Holderthingiverse.com/thing:3526 Mendel Pen Spring Mount (oooh, springs!) Or were using a whole servo motor in the design (for something that's sitting on the Z platform!):thingiverse.com/thing:4185 Makerbot's Unicorn Penthingiverse.com/thing:4200 Printable Unicorn Pen Or seemed like perfectly sane designs I should probably use but for my love of springs:thingiverse.com/thing:790 Updated Pen Plotter So with all that considered, I set out to reinvent the wheel. I'm still at it and what I've got is somewhat roundish, so I'm sharing it now. The "random" cat photo is one of my two cats, taken by a wonderful (and very patient!) photographer friend of mine. Her site is here: shutterboxing.com/ WIP WHY: * Needs redesign; too big - too tall. * Leg STL file has two right legs (so do my photos, I was anxious) * Front paws needed dremeling out to fit pen between. * Tail was a quick hack; I'd like to redo it completely. * Needs me to work with some existing pen plotting gcode generators to make them work OK. Only tests so far have been manual control, not Gcode. * As will be usual - I'll release the scad files AFTER I'm done with the STLs... I wish it weren't so as I believe strongly in release everything as early as possible, but Thingiverse stops rendering other files in a Thing after I send it an .scad. I might put it up on my github in the meantime... UPDATE 2011-03-20: Added a copy of the Inkscape gcode plugin by Schmarty: thingiverse.com/thing:5986 The copy below in the .tgz is modified to include an option for "USE SERVO" which, if set false, will cause the gcode to use Z axis movements like in my video. UPDATE 2011-03-22: Added photos of first PCB attempt (it says 2011-02 because I dunno what month it is)! Needs some work, but it's actually useable, so that's great for a very first try. Here's a youtube:youtube.com/watch?v=rAaGFV45_aM

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Stand back, Tony Buser is preparing to try science...

MakerBot Operator Tony Buser is a programmer and technology consultant by day, but by night he is a DIY 3D printing ninja.¹

I first learned about Tony after using the great projects he has uploaded to Thingiverse — in particular, OpenSCAD projects such as the OpenSCAD Bitmap Fonts Module and OpenSCAD Height Map.  More recently, I posted an amusing tweet from Tony in which he declared his love for his MakerBot Stepstruder. Well, I reached out to him for a follow-up interview.

I was curious about the origin of Thingiview.js, a tool he wrote to allow online users to see full 360 degree views of 3D models using WebGL-enabled browsers.²

Thingiview grew out of CloudSCAD.  When I started CloudSCAD I was surprised that there were really no good or easy open source web based model viewers, so I had to write my own.  I thought the way I made the object viewer for CloudSCAD would be useful to other people so I made it it’s own project and put it on github when Zach asked me to make it so that Thingiverse could use it.

Tony continues to develop CloudSCAD, though he has been distracted from it by other recent projects. One of his latest projects: working with a fellow member of his hackerspace to help him create a laser target scanner: a positioning system to be mounted on a Roomba platform.

Basically, the idea is to use a spinning mirror turret that uses a laser pointer and photo diodes to find the location of reflectors in the room in order to triangulate the Roomba’s position. He’s designing it and doing all the CAD work and I’m helping him learn how to design parts to be printed and making the prototypes on my Thing-o-Matic.

It’s been a good test for the ToM and Stepstruder because he’s still learning the limitations of the MakerBot so some of his designs have very small and tall thin structures that are really only possible to be printed using a stepper driven extruder.

Tony has also been working as a technical reviewer for a book on 3D printing called Printing in Plastic due out later this spring. As a result, he’s knee deep in the build documentation for the plywood RepStrap printer, WhiteAnt.

Tony Buser shows off print of George Hart's Stick Puzzle

More of our interview, after the fold!

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Click through the above picture to see the many 3d printers in his workshop! [↩]
2. Thingiverse added Thingiview.js functionality back in February. [↩]

Here’s another great tip from our own R&D guru Nick Starno: you might be running your heated platform too hot.

Check out these three copies of the famous bottle opener.  The top print, labeled 125 degrees C: do you see the wobble in the coin slot?  That comes from excess heat from the heated build platform.  In Nick’s experience, turning this down to 100 degrees solved his warping…but you’ll need to run your own experiments for this one, because each platform’s thermistor is a bit different.

Note that this is especially applicable for users who run their bots in a “Heated Build Platform” configuration — if you’re running an automated platform, you’ll likely need the extra heat because of the insulating effects of the belt.

Hmmm…these aren’t exactly emerald green, but we still get St. Patty’s day points, right?

Sliding Parts

As my clockwork spider project develops, one of the goals I’ve had in mind is a final end design that can be assembled by hand, without tools, or additional hardware. ¹  This is an ideal to which I hope I can adhere.  I just like the idea of printing off a plate of parts, handing them to someone, and letting them assemble all of the bits on the spot.  Getting a box of Legos is fun in part because it comes with absolutely everything you need.  Without a barrier to assembly, the part out of which the toy is assembled are toys in and of themselves.

If one is to design mechanical parts, I think there are two important considerations.  The first consideration is just how close can two objects be designed and printed such that you don’t need too much force to snap them together tightly.  If the tolerances are too tight, perhaps the parts can’t be reliably printed or easily fit together by hand.  If the tolerance are too loose, the parts won’t stay together.  The second consideration is just how much clearance parts need before they can rotate or move against one another smoothly.  Too tight and they’ll bind, catch, or seize up.  Too loose and they’ll wobble out of place or simply not connect to other critical parts reliably.

After several revisions, I’ve found a “sweet spot” for parts printed with my Thing-O-Matic:

• Interlocking Parts: For a part that needs to fit tightly within another part, I design them so that they have 0.25mm clearance on all sides.
• Moving Parts: For a part that must easily slide within another part, I design them so that they have 0.5mm clearance on all sides.

After some tuning of my profile² I think I might revise the “moving parts” tolerances to 0.4mm clearance on all sides for a fit with less wibbly wobbly. ³  And if one is to use tools, such as a vise or pliers, and not rely on hand pressure, a clearance of 0.2mm on all sides would probably work for parts that needed to stay locked together.

Do you design mechanical parts that need to fit together?  What kinds of tolerances do you use in your designs?

1. Photo courtesy of j-ster [↩]
2. Again, with Dave’s Profileinator – the only way to tune a profile [↩]
3. Or timey wimey. [↩]

Thanks to all the MakerBot User Groups who have completed Challenge #1!

User Groups as far away as New Zealand have met the challenge by meeting up and bringing their MakerBots together.  We enjoyed seeing your bots, faces and secret laboratories. Check your mailboxes because your MakerBot Care Package will be arriving soon! The fun doesn’t end here; MakerBot Industries will host a MakerBot User Group New York meeting at their Brooklyn based headquarters, the Botcave. You’re invited to visit the Botcave to exchange ideas, check out the Botfarm and print some awesome things. Bring your best objects for a MakerBot User show and tell and, of course, a group photo!

MakerBot User Group New York
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
7 PM – 9 PM
87 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11217

Subway: N, R to Atlantic Avenue – Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street

WIRED: Limor Fried, Our favorite CoverGirl

It is just not everyday that you walk by a newstand and see an actual DIY tech hero on the cover of a glossy magazine.  This month, things are different.

Congrats to Limor Fried and Adafruit from your devoted fans at MakerBot Industries!

Limor Fried, our clear favorite on the newstands

I’ll be speaking at Thingmakers in London on May 4th. They’ve got an impressive lineup that should make for an awesome day of 3D printing awesomeness. Check it out and hope to see you there!

You didn’t think I’d let you off that easily did you?  There’s so much more to learn about OpenSCAD!  I’ve put together a series of tutorials on using this amazing powerful program.  If you haven’t scanned the tutorials or just tried using the program you’re really missing out.  The commands and interface are simple and straight forward and the benefit of being able to generate a printable STL each and every time is a huge benefit.

In this OpenSCAD tutorial series so far we’ve covered the basics of the OpenSCAD interface, how to make 2D forms, how to make some basic 3D forms, how to position those forms in 3D space, the different ways to combine forms, and how to create mashups of one or more existing STL’s and OpenSCAD forms.  Although I described the last two tutorials as “intermediate” levels, that’s really only because you learned the basics so quickly from the first few tutorials.  With just the basics you can literally design anything you can imagine.  The “intermediate” lessons will help you do everything you’ve already learned – but easier, more efficiently, and more reliably.

Before we get started, the image is from johnbentcope‘s OpenSCAD tutorial homework.  I’d like to include a picture of your homework next time.  So, practice making something in OpenSCAD, upload it to Thingiverse with an open license, and tag it with “openscadtutorial.”

Today we’ll cover the “module” command in OpenSCAD.

More after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

Musicians like Daft Punk understand the principle: take a sound, reduce the number of points you’re sampling it by, and by doing so, increase its awesomeness.  That’s 8-bit music in a nutshell.

Thingiverse designer gpvillamil clearly understands this as well, since this poly-reduced bunny looks somehow both more futuristic (and more evil) than it ever did before.  Thanks for bringing the 8-bit principle to 3d.

Tron bunny by gpvillamil

This is a variation on the Stanford Bunny, loaded into Meshlab and then lo-rezzed using Quadratic Decimation.

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