Laser-cut ply version DXF

The files RRC_* place all the parts for the RepRap on to 2.5 sheets of A2 3.5mm ply. The 3.5 is important to obtain a good fit. The other two files contain the individual parts. Note that there are no PCB mounting brackets or opto-flags as I figured I'd be as well cutting them from aluminium sheet and bending them to shape.

So how does it all go together? Hopefully I will be posting images of the assembled pieces in the next 2 weeks; in the meantime check out the wooden rep-rap thread for the images taken at the FOaM workshop (a RepRap fest with scrumptious food and jolly company).

This stuff is even more untested than the standard fare, the pieces all go together and replace the RP parts, I really have no strength comparison to judge (I haven't tried breaking anything yet). The plywood cogs do work surprisingly well however. The assembly orientation is not terribly forgiving, still.. I post this in the hope that more talented individuals can improve this work. The purple lines are engraved on the surface and not cut through.

I also have DXF's of most of the major components having exported them from Solidworks. 3D open source CAD anyone?

Toby

Toby,

That's great stuff. I was about to start a wooden RepStrap before I found the McWire design on Make. It won me over but I think that the wooden models will be a very solid alternative to people in areas lacking Lowes or Home Depot.

Demented

Hello all!

Is it possible to read these files with Art Of Illusion I tried but it said something about files not being in gzip format?

If its all 2-d maybe a dxf file is a bit of overkill, is it possible to convert to something I could print out and glue on my playwood and then use conventional wood-working tools to fiddle with?

Also I wonder which files contains the extruder parts, since they are the only ones needed in my design (I already have an X-Y-Z board)

/Erik

hey mimarob,

DXF is a standard 2D drafting format, although i dont know if it does 3D or not. google for 'DXF reader' and you'll probably find something that works well for you.

once you get that, there is an easy way to make the parts from it... simply get full sheet sticker labels (from an office supply store) then, print out the DXF files onto that and cut/drill the parts appropriately.

make sure you measure a reference length on the printed pages before you even apply the sticker. this is to make sure your printer printed it out correctly (ie: the 40mm line is *actually* 40mm.)

good luck!

But I though DXF was "our" standard format used to feed the reprap printing in 3-D?

(Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions)

Hi mimarob

STL is the standard used in RepRap and most 3D printers but it's not very good for engineering (or 3D printing!) but is the universal standard. It's a surface made up of triangles and can be read as a text file of coordinates. DXF is a standard used for 2D drawing and you can get dimensions from it directly, I believe you can also get dimensions from STL files but never found free software that can do this.

Ian

The parts here were used on the Science museum RepRap. We are now fiddling with an extruder to convert CAPA granules into CAPA filament. There is now a flickr page with some details of the finished parts.

[www.flickr.com]

Part of the reasoning behind the ply version is that it is directly compatible with Darwin and one can swap out parts as they are made.
The latest manifestation has ball bearing pillow blocks which have no Darwin equivalent yet.
T

mimarob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If its all 2-d maybe a dxf file is a bit of
> overkill, is it possible to convert to something I
> could print out and glue on my playwood and then
> use conventional wood-working tools to fiddle
> with?
> /Erik

Does this help? I loaded up the file in qcad and exported it to an image. If this is useful I'll do the rest.