Dreaming of a Static Motor Arrangement and Less Vitamins

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the links to the other escapement mechanisms. It uses a sliding escapement (not much point posting a diagram because I'm sure it could be improved). I haven't tried any other escapement mechanism yet.

Will

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DRobs86
..do you really think that you are going to design a relay driven 3d printer...

I don't know. Perhaps. It's an experiment.

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DRobs86
...then send the 300 relays needed to drive it (or maybe just the nails and coils of wire for diy relays) with a bag of 3D printed parts to an uneducated impoverished man in the third world who will somehow know how to read your instructions (hey... No computers, better 3D print them too) and assemble and debug a huge series of logic gates?

No.

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DRobs86
This obsession is more than anything, a waste of resources...

They are my resources to waste as I see fit! I find it an interesting problem, I think it's quite well formulated. The problem is about trying to make a constructing machine that can make useful objects, but which is as 'closed' as possible when it comes to the operations, information, material etc... needed to make itself. One of the difficulties is the control system: if it involves a microcontroller then the complexity and range of materials involved in making the control system is by far greater than that of any other part of the system. So it's interesting to see how much the complexity of the control system can be reduced.

Think of it as being like pure maths, but with physical stuff. In some areas of pure maths nobody worries about whether or not what they are doing is of practical importance or not. It's done just because it's interesting to do, and leads on to other interesting things. Sometimes some of these things end up having some practical, sometimes they don't (it's difficult to predict in advance).

With the attitude of some on this forum, the 3d printer would not exist. To put it bluntly, some are using the knowledge base of additive manufacturing as a social tool, learning just enough to feel they can then talk down to others. To be even more blunt, shut the hell up if you were thinking of proving to yourself your superiority by being negative about the exploration of 'what if?'. Seriously, wtf? I just joined this community, and am shocked that this community tolerates knowledge Nazi's that dont care about learning, just bullying others with what they know.

This suggestion will surely anger the 'I know how this works' crowd:

Bucket of water hanging on ropes with gravity powering a clockwork mechanism that prints objects from reclaimed plastics in impoverished communities. Plastic is melted and poured into a vat that feeds an extruder that moves in a set pattern producing a limited range of geometries, but allows the production of several cylindrical objects such as tool handles that vastly improve the quality of life and productivity of the community. Making a useless visual trinket for the desk of some person living in the first world and using up far more of the earth's resources is not even cool, not even clever.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2016 12:55PM by Milton.

Sorry I was rude, 'shut up' is a poor choice of words. I think others efforts to explore new boundries are great, is all I am sayin. Have a nice day