Partly in response to a forum posting [
forums.reprap.org] on the subject of "Open Source Appropriate Technology" (OSAT), and partly as a "work in progress" that I had been tinkering with anyway, I have posted a design concept on Thingiverse [
www.thingiverse.com] for a simple test rig for testing the strength of RepRap beam test pieces. I am also tracking the development of my concept on my blog: [
julianh72.blogspot.com]
If people think this idea has any merit, it is my view that the standardised testing procedure and equipment should be documented in a central curated "Host" location - and the RepRap Wiki seems to me to be an obvious location.
However, while I firmly believe that standardised test methods and centralised reporting of material properties would be beneficial to the RepRap community at large, I am by no means sure that my idea is the "right" way of going about it. (It is a
looooong time since I was at University playing with testing machines!) I am also aware that my proposed test rig (which is still evolving!) only tests a limited range of material proprieties (specifically, flexural tensile strength and bulk stiffness, which are the main properties that I need to know for my design purposes), there are a whole host of measurements which could and should be documented (such as impact resistance, compressive strength, shear strength, material property variability at different temperatures, etc), but different testing regimes would be required.
So, in a nutshell:
Do people, agree that the RepRap Wiki is the "right" place to host the development of standardised material property testing and documentation, or is there a better site which I could not locate, and how / who should create and maintain such a site? (E.g. do Adrian Bowyer and the crew at Bath University already host such a program?)
Follow my Mendel Prusa build here: [
julianh72.blogspot.com]
