New UK Reprapper - Hello everyone.

Hello Reprappers

My first post - So go easy on me.

I'm an electronics engineer based in the UK.
I have spent the last month reading and viewing all I can about RepRap, the Wiki is really great, but I think it would be better for some of the historic (especially Darwin and older Mendel Firmware versions/instructions) sections to be archived or moved away from the get it, make it, use it sections.
Some great blogs out there, going back many years, I'm not sure how I missed this for so long.
I'm writing an introduction for new reprappers based on my month of experience and study into this great community, I'll post when it's done, I hope it should help people make some smart decisions early on and point out some areas I at least found tricky, especially what starting direction to go and how to start spending smart-money on parts & bits, as there are so many ways to make or buy a machine.

So I have my own designed RepStrap frame now assembled and have a week or so before I get electronics and motors, ABS is on order and I'm now designing a heated bed I can eventually re-use on Mendel.

This is such an ideal project and community, it covers all my favorite things, Electronics, 3D design, engineering and software - it's great to be part of it.

One obvious observation is that we don't yet seem to have an organised community of suppliers in the UK? (Unless I have just missed it) all of the parts I have ordered at the moment have been from the US, eBay and Europe (Germany) where things seem coordinated.
Ironic really as the RepRap research project started just a few miles away from me.
Is anyone thinking about setting up a central parts hub in the UK?

OK, this was just going to be an introduction so I'll post questions elsewhere, I have lots to ask about ideal build-base materials for a heated bed.

Thanks everyone.

Rich.

Hi Rich, and welcome to RepRap.

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the Wiki is really great, but I think it would be better for some of the historic (especially Darwin and older Mendel Firmware versions/instructions) sections to be archived or moved away from the get it, make it, use it sections.

Sure, there's always room for improvement, but the stuff you mentioned isn't exactly outdated. Darwin type machines work well with Mendel type electronics and vice versa. Some people prefer non-SMD electronics and get it with Generation 2 Electronics. Others are proud of converting his mothers hotplate into a RepRap soldering equipment and even others just buy some complete set. There are a myriad of possible combinations, a lot more than you reach from the Wiki's front page.

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I'm writing an introduction for new reprappers based on my month of experience and study into this great community, I'll post when it's done

If you post this to this forum, it'll likely get lost. Especially for newcomers. If there's something unclear in the Wiki, feel free to add a few sentences, it's open to be edited by anybody.

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suppliers in the UK?

This topic is discussed a lot. Setting up a shop is a lot of work, and takes a financial risk. For now, about all RepRap-specific suppliers are profit-oriented to some extent. If you have an idea on how to improve this, feel free to talk about it.

One shop in the UK is for example Bits from Bytes.

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

I don't think there are enough RepRappers in the UK to warrant setting up a shop. There are shops in the US and Germany and there are many times more posts in these forums from those countries.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I will check over my notes will try to get them up on the Wiki, or just add comments to sections I didn't get first time around, I didn't want to mess anything up on the Wiki as people have obviously spent a lot of time on it, but I'll give it a go.

Thanks Nophead -Your Blog is great by the way. I will keep on thinking about the UK shop, I would imagine it's just a matter of time before more kits and suppliers spring up in the UK, the chap selling ABS and bearing sets seems to be making a good start.

Thanks Traumflung - I was lucky enough to see the BFB 3000 working at a trade event a few weeks back, it's a nice bit of kit, and I really liked the extruder design. It was building a Statue of liberty out of red PLA, very impressive (8 hour build). I'm in this to try out new ideas and continue to enhance the community, so I'll be repstrapping to start with.
Is any of their stuff open source also? I see they are starting to get good manuals online now.

Do you think anyone would like a Single combined PCB design for the mainboard, and the 3motors? I was thinking about doing one while I waited for my electronics? The Extruder is probably better as a separate but it would be nice to make that a dual Extruder PCB. Just thinking out loud.

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Do you think anyone would like a Single combined PCB design for the mainboard, and the 3motors?

Consider each extruder as just another axis with motor, as the extrusion speed depends on the carriage's speed.

Single-board versions exist already:

[reprap.org]
[reprap.org]

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

Ok Thanks, The Gen2OnABoard is nice.

I think a single combined Gen 3 PCB with component positions for both Conventional (Thru-hole) and Surface-mount would be a nice board for DIY construction and then less machine wiring.

If you post this to this forum, it'll likely get lost. Especially for newcomers. If there's something unclear in the Wiki, feel free to add a few sentences, it's open to be edited by anybody.

It's probably best to work on one of these pages:
http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRapWiki:Help
or create a new page and link to it from [[RepRapWiki:Help]]

But then tell us via the forum that you did so. Not everyone reads Recent Changes.

And thank you very much for making RepRap better.

Is any of their stuff open source also? I see they are starting to get good manuals online now.
I think it all is, because they started with Darwin which is GPL. But there's a lot of nuance and context: unfortunately they've deliberately siloed their stuff from RepRap's community/documentation in order to maximize financial gain. Each time a reprap user like you sells a set of boards, that's a lost sale for them. So that's a disincentive to put their stuff under the RepRap banner.

It's a simple cultural difference driven by nesting instincts and financial considerations, really. While RepRappers cooperate with each other to build up a commons of technology in RepRap's wiki so that we can all share and make stuff, other folk deliberately create competing webspaces and communities in order to maximize personal control and ownership. So it goes.

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Arduino_Mega_Pololu_Shield does seem to be where the action is right now.

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Nophead, do you think you'll start selling filament? It seems like a natural next step for you.

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-Sebastien, RepRap.org library gnome.

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Remember, you're all RepRap developers (once you've joined the super-secret developer mailing list), and the wiki, RepRap.org, [reprap.org] is for everyone and everything!

>>Do you think anyone would like a Single combined PCB design for the mainboard, and the 3motors? I was thinking about doing one while I waited for my electronics? The Extruder is probably better as a separate but it would be nice to make that a dual Extruder PCB. Just thinking out loud. <<

Yes the electronics do need a makeover, you will see that once you get your hands into it. A new improved Extruder PCB would be an excellent idea atm.

Rich, you may want to poke around in the UK RepRap User Group.

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-Sebastien, RepRap.org library gnome.

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Remember, you're all RepRap developers (once you've joined the super-secret developer mailing list), and the wiki, RepRap.org, [reprap.org] is for everyone and everything!

Thanks Sebastien, I totally missed the UK group forum, I will take a look today, looks like many more are doing this in the UK than I thought, and some very close to me!.

I'll have a go at updating the Wiki, but after I have a working machine as I'm sure something will be wrong with my ideas and changes.

I'll also get started on the Electronics, maybe start with a combined dual Extruder and dual heater bed as I'm going to need one of these for phase 2.

And yes it would be really good to be able to get PLA from a UK source, apart from BFB. - Nophead, if you sell some, I will buy from you.