I need tools!

Last tuesday I've managed to print some parts for the Prusa Air, but this kind of empirical tuning of Violeta it's giving me something to think about. There's a science behind this stuff, this shouldn't be all about empirical experiments, so I've googled around and found many theories how you should calibrate your 3d printer and/or setup your skeinforge configurations.

Skeinforge it's uglier than hell, but it's the most used slicing tool, there's a bazillion of knobs and values you can change, but apparently, if you suffer from a light OCD, you can get some decent prints by changing just 5 settings :)

At least this is the approach you can find in ProfileMaker.

Josef Prusa made a RepRap Calculator, a valuable tool for sure.

I can't wait to start making some printers. :)

I've done it!

I've finally done it! These are the first 3 pieces for the Prusa Air. Last saturday I went to AltLab to print them, but as usual, Violeta (the resident cupcake... the 3D printer) said - "No you don't!", and after a couple of hours discussing with her, I went home :p

Mental note: If you need give a name to a machine, skip the chapter "Women", for some kind of strange reason, the machine catch their... let's call it "moods".

So, after licking my bruises, I've stumbled on Celso Martinho time lapse documenting his Ultimaker build, and after that he tweeted about some extruder problems, very similar Violeta. We've exchanged some tweets about 3D printing and he has found a post in the Ultimaker forum, suggesting to turn off the Temperature setting in Skeinforge.

This tuesday I went back to Violeta and tried to talk to "her" without mentioning "temperature", and it worked! I was able to print the support for the Y-axis motor and two clamps... and then it was getting late and I had another lady to go to ;)

One after another

Yep, one cube... err... not really a cube, after another. Trial and error it's a scientific approach, but AltLab cupcake can get on your nerves.

First of all, Violeta it's a kind of cupcake prototype with many and many hours of printing, so she can be a kind of moody and the standard setups on ReplicatorG doesn't apply to her, wich it's a kind of a bummer :p

Second, João Neves, Basílio and me, well... how should I put this, we are rookies on 3D printing matters, but very eager to take the bull by his horns :D

Now, yesterday at AltLab, we've started with a new ABS spool, a spool with some bad reviews from AltLab experts, they never got an usable print from it, so,with our natural stupidity we've engaged in empirical effort to calibrate the damn thing.

As you can see, after 4 hours of trials and errors we've give up and wen home... with a promise, let's investigate what is the correct way to calibrate it :)

So full of win!

So it was, yesterday AltLab meetup was full of win.
It started with someone showing off his project, Laser Tag... no, no laserish paintballish kind of laser tag, it was more grafitti tagging, but using a laser pointer, a video projector, a camera and a kind off nifty software :)
Everyone played with it, and headed back inside, it was a kind of chilly in the back alley.

Next, João Neves and me went on a date with Violeta... It was a kind of threesome, but Violeta is AltLab Cupcake 3D printer!

I tried printing a part from a Wallace, bat as usual, Violeta didn't finished the print, and I was using my computer, so the plot thickens! :(

The problem is in the printer, now we're certain of this! We scavanged AltLab junk... err... the nice and very organized wharehouse for ATX PSU, and tried a few, but that didn't, so we plugged the original one back, and it worked! Violeta is printing again, at least two parts for Franky (a mini-mendel) withou a hitch, the future will tell us.

And the pièce de résistance was the first test of a stereolithography printer... "waht?!!?" it's a 3D printer using photo sensible resin as a medium, very impressive piece of technology.

 They made some exposure tests to understand how long they need to expose the resin for a perfect cure, it's around 15 seconds and they-re ready for the next layer :)

A full of win day!

Friendly robots!

 

A swarm of robot's invaded yesterday AltLab meetup... swarm... meh... should I say... 3? Well... 3 it's greater than 2, so... a small swarm of robots invaded AltLab!

They were brought by André Almeida, from Artica.Two of them were Guibots and the bigger one is a Magabot.

The Guibot is Farrusco is a small robot based on the Arduino platform, in this case it’s using a Motoruino wich is an Arduino clone with a couple of enhancements – dc motor dual controller, servo and sensor plugs, possibility to select 5v or external power source for motors and PWM pins.

With Farrusco you will be able to make it avoid obstacles, follow walls, enter in free space mode, and in the future more add-ons will be available, just to name a few: line follower, speakers and light sensors, RGB leds, and so on.

Magabot is an Arduino based, open source robotics platform designed to give mobility to any portable computer and in this case Skype was used to control it... video conference with the ability to stroll around a remote room/office.

Doodling in 3D

Don't worry, he's mostly harmless! Basílio, a goodfella, a Lobster, a good friend and a Google SketchUp ninja!

Well, yesterday was AltLab meetup day, and the plan was: make a 3D model of an X axis carriage for a mini-mendel.

It was a success! After a few hours using Google SketchUp, we've managed to create a darn good looking carriage. The next step will be print it and assemble it.

Mini-Mendel X Axis mini-carriage

I'm not in the mood...

At least it's what she said! Violeta... the printer, I mean :)
From the beginning, tuesday it's meeting day at AltLab and I've discussed with Mauricio the possibility of using the Mini-Mendel with an adapter, a Pen Holder to write the pcb's layouts. The X axis carriage from the Mini-Mendel was disassembled and after I've finished assemble it, it looked a little wobbly, and we don't want a wobbly printer!
So, Thingiverse to the rescue, and we found the Mendel Mini-Carriage, and of we go... to the Makerbot!!!
This was my first interaction with a 3d Printer, and everything went well... until... when the print reached about 1cm of height, the extruder decided stop the extrusion... damn!
We started over, but there was a suspicion over the laptop, so we've tried using the SD Card to print... it didn't work! Now the suspect is the version 3 firmware... and the laptop... it's a cabala or lack of luck :p
Did we give up? No, of course not, we've selected a smaller piece of the Mini-Carriage and pressed "BUILD", and all went as expected, the first piece of the Mini-carriage was a success!
Let's try another... and all went well.. until the 1cm of height... the extruder failed again :p
It was getting late, so we've closed the shop for the day... err... night.
But not everything was lost, we've plotted a plan to develop a Gen8 electronics, just wait for it :)

RepRap Gen7 PCB... check!

Today went back to AltLab for a little learning experience. A great friend of mine, Fernando Afonso, came to Lisbon to the launch of MEO Kanal, a product he helped bringing to life.

Since he was here, he was invited by AltLab to give a small workshop on "PCB Making... The Fernando Afonso way". :)

The method used was Toner Transfer, where you print the circuit layout with a laser printer on cheap magazine paper (the more glossier is better), then, with the toner side over the copper side and woot... the "sandwich" off it go into a slightly modified laminator (around 10 times) and the it's submerged in freezing cold water.

The low quality magazine paper it's easily scrubbed off the pcb and it's ready to the acid bath.
We used Acid Cupric Chloride as etchant, when the pcb is submerged  it turns into a... kryptonite green... spooky I say!

In the end we've got a Generation 7 Electronics pcb for the Prusa Air... next step, buy the components and soldering it :D

With my little eye I see...

Yesterday was meeting day at AltLab. The lair was packed with t(h)inkerers, from guys fixing an audio amp, other trying to burn one atmega to use on a Gen7 pcb, freshly made, for his reprap, or should I call it repstrap?? His ambitious plan is building a 3D printer with recycled parts... He has already scavenged some printers for motors and rods! I can't wait to see the result.
But something caught my attention, Mónica Mendes using DIY microscopes! She hacked some poor webcams, well, some say lucky webcams (me included), and she was taking a peek into leafs, and I say, nature always amazes me.
Suddenly, at midnight the lights went out... a little piezoesc song starts to play... wait... that's "happy birthday to you" song.... and there it is, a delicious chocolate cake, garnished with some led throwies (what you expected?!?) appeared, Maurício's birthday!!! He got a surprise ehehe!!!

Prusa Air... good lookin' hein?

Isn't she pretty? this is a rendering of a Prusa Air, a variation from the Prusa Mendel which it was already a simpler variation of the Mendel.
This is the printer I'll be building this semester, so, now I'm looking thru my social network, ways of cutting the acrylic.
Meanwhile, I may have found even more partners in crime... building wise and as members of AltLab... who knows?