Tuesday, September 27, 2011
A few extruder experiments.
Once I get the extruder up and running I think I am going to try some new materials. I'd like to see if it can run hot enough to use UP filament. I'd also like to see if there are any new plastics that become useable at the new higher temeratures. There is also some stuff I want to do with color. I want to try interleaving by layer. I would create a plane that is as thick as the layer height of my printer and as long/wide as the xy build area. Then I just stack those with the same amount of distance between them (my layer height again). I difference that from the object I want to print. I save the resulting stl as something else. Then I open the original again. Do a boolean intersect with map stacked planes and save that stl. Then I just line up the two stls that I created. This would allow printing an object with alternating colored layers. With a small enough layer height we may be able to blend the two colors in the same way the pointillist paintings blend together to make a picture.
Makerbot Dual Extruder
So I am on the home stretch of my dual extruder upgrade. I ran into a few small snags. I forgot to order an extra extruder controller (duh) Luckily Dr. Glass of Freeside Atlanta was able to loan me one till I get mine from Makerbot. There was also only one e-stop port on the motherboard so I had to hack a cable to plug the 2 safety relays into it. Then I realized that I didn't have enough molex connectors so I had to cut off one of the sata power plugs and rewire it as an old school molex connector. SOOO I'm finally done with the hardware and wiring. Now I just need to tweak my REF values on the stepper controllers for the new extruders and install the new software.( Which means teaching myself github finally and compiling the latest experimental build for Rep G and maybe doing the same for the firmware too) This is going to be a treat because I am also forcing myself to learn how to use PLA at the same time so adventures are soon to abound...
Monday, July 25, 2011
New Nintendo Club reward
So that nifty super sized AR card that Club Nintendo members in Japan got just made it stateside. Get over there to order one now!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Ordered Stepper Motors for Prusa Mendel SAE build.
I've been pretty busy recently with trying to gather all of the parts for my Imperial Prusa Build. I went with this model partly because of the low cost and partly because the word "Imperial" makes me think of Darth Vadar...
Anyway I ordered four of these steppers for 10 dollars apiece. As well as one of these bad boys for 20 dollars. I plan to use that last one on the extruder for precise control and feedback of the extrusion process. I've finished printing all of the plastic parts (minus the brushings). They were printed on my UP. One thing I like about having to print at 270C on the UP is that it means that parts you make for other printers are that much more robust, temperature wise. Printing with abs on a Mendel or Makerbot takes place at around 220C So UP printed part have about 30 degrees more before they begin to get soft. This makes the UP a good choice for printing extruder parts. At about the third plate of the print I switched to printing on perfboard. That completely removed any warping issues I had. Now all of my parts are perfect. I love it so much that I plan on not even having a heated build surface on the mendel and just use a large perfboard. I'll have to wait to buy the electronics and hotend for a bit (I do have a contest to fund after all ;-) ) but I'll be finishing it in pretty soon.
Anyway I ordered four of these steppers for 10 dollars apiece. As well as one of these bad boys for 20 dollars. I plan to use that last one on the extruder for precise control and feedback of the extrusion process. I've finished printing all of the plastic parts (minus the brushings). They were printed on my UP. One thing I like about having to print at 270C on the UP is that it means that parts you make for other printers are that much more robust, temperature wise. Printing with abs on a Mendel or Makerbot takes place at around 220C So UP printed part have about 30 degrees more before they begin to get soft. This makes the UP a good choice for printing extruder parts. At about the third plate of the print I switched to printing on perfboard. That completely removed any warping issues I had. Now all of my parts are perfect. I love it so much that I plan on not even having a heated build surface on the mendel and just use a large perfboard. I'll have to wait to buy the electronics and hotend for a bit (I do have a contest to fund after all ;-) ) but I'll be finishing it in pretty soon.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Celestial Bodies, an experiment in Parametric game design.
I love Thingiverse. I love being able to download stuff and then actually make something from a downloaded file. I especially love the parametric designs that people come up with. Just by changing a few number around you can end up with something that is drastically different from what you started with. Maybe even different from what the designer thought of. It was this emergent design property that got me thinking, "What if I applied the principal idea behind parametric objects to game design?" Game Developers are always looking for ways to create emergent behavior in their games. Why not? Creating emergent behaviors in a game lends to the verisimilitude of the game word, it adds depth to play mechanics, and allows the player to become more engaged in a game. All of this while not requiring that lazy developer to lift a finger. In fact separation from the developer is what makes emergent game behaviors... emergent. Games like Little Big Planet, Mod Nation Racers, Minecraft, and Line Rider all thrive on the idea of emergent behavior as a cornerstone of their game design. This is something that we commonly see in videogames especially online games, which leads me to Celestial Bodies. One of my goals with Celestial Bodies was to leverage the internet connectivity of the 3D printing process, to create an emergent behavior ecosystem similar to the ecosystem that games like Little Big Planet and Minecraft enjoy. By using the awesome power of thingiverse I am able to allow people to create their own game assets. By creating their own game assets people create new ways to play, keep themselves involved in the game, and offer free advertising when they show people their creations. But most important of all it keeps the game fresh and fun.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Prediction Time!
I have been thinking about this and I think I may be onto something here. I think the iPad 2 will have 3d capabilities. Either via glasses or without. Why would I think such a thing? Allow me to bring out my friend "The Bullet"
- Apple is already rumored to be working on a 3d iPod.
- The rumored resolution on the new iPad is 2 times that of the original iPad.
- There is no content for such a high resolution.
- 3DS
Monday, January 17, 2011
Rock Band instruments on the iPad
Video of how to connect your Rock Band 3 Pro instruments to the iPad using Korg i-MS. If you like this flattr it. Just click the button below.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Wearable 3d Print Contest!
I have been on the 3d printing bandwagon for about 6 months now. It's been a wild ride and it's about to get wilder. I have come across a few articles about 3d printed fabrics and FDM high fashion but none of them seem to share files. This places 3d printed fashion out of reach.
Until now. (Imagine that in the voice of the guy who announces for the movies)
Announcing the first Wearable 3d Print contest.
The contest runs till the end of February.
The winner will get 50$ from Linkreincarnate(Money Order)
50$ from Makerbot. (Yay Zach!)
50$ from trebuchet03 (in the PP3DP forums)
plus anything else that gets added to the prize pool.
Feel free to Flattr this contest. All proceeds will be given away as prize money.
If we have enough people donate to the pool we may add a second and third place prizes depending on what the people who donate want. People who donate to the prize pool can vote for a winner (or waive that vote for the right to enter the contest yourself). I would rather people donated money but gift cards or actual stuff is fine too. To ensure no one calls foul the people who donate will be responsible for shipping the prize that they donated themselves. I will never have any prize other than the 50$ money order in my possession.
The rules are simple,
Guidelines for winners...(you can still win while ignoring the following...)
Until now. (Imagine that in the voice of the guy who announces for the movies)
Announcing the first Wearable 3d Print contest.
The contest runs till the end of February.
The winner will get 50$ from Linkreincarnate(Money Order)
50$ from Makerbot. (Yay Zach!)
50$ from trebuchet03 (in the PP3DP forums)
plus anything else that gets added to the prize pool.
Feel free to Flattr this contest. All proceeds will be given away as prize money.
If we have enough people donate to the pool we may add a second and third place prizes depending on what the people who donate want. People who donate to the prize pool can vote for a winner (or waive that vote for the right to enter the contest yourself). I would rather people donated money but gift cards or actual stuff is fine too. To ensure no one calls foul the people who donate will be responsible for shipping the prize that they donated themselves. I will never have any prize other than the 50$ money order in my possession.
The rules are simple,
- Make something wearable.
- Post your designs on Thingiverse as a Public Domain license with the word Wearable somewhere in the title. Also tag it with wearable so it's easy to find.
- Post your design files.
- Only post stuff that works. (Ie you know it prints and the files are tidy.)
- Also entries must be wearable by a normal person, gnomes and lolcats need not apply.
- Enter as often as you like.
- Feel free to enter past works so long as design files are shared and it is Public Domain.
Guidelines for winners...(you can still win while ignoring the following...)
- The bigger the better.
- Bonus points for 3d printable fabric or snap together type designs.
- Minimal vitamins (including cut filament because not everyone uses 3mm filament now)
- Avoid rings, earrings, and pendants unless it is truly EPIC (There are a lot of them already)
- Try to make something you would actually wear in public. (or a runway) Scale mail is nice but you'll never have a girlfriend while choosing to wear it... not to say that scale mail couldn't win depending on who's doing the voting...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
