Well, the disadvantage I see to it is that it adds a lot of momentum to the axis, though that's not ever been an issue in the Z-axis, as opposed to it always being an issue in the X and Y. As an aside, if the arms are suspended off the backboard, then it's likely that they would work well with the more centerally arranged Morgan arm setup (I'm assuming the Morgan's arm arrangement is also a bitby Feign - Polar Machines, SCARA, Robot Arms
Ah, but having 3D parts equating directly to higher cost is a formula that's not going to be relevant forever. Once someone gets a filament maker, the cost to make filament from recyclable plastics goes down to pennies per kilogram. When filament makers become wide spread, then the dirt cheap recycling becomes the norm. When filament manufacturers have to compete against the option of recyclinby Feign - General
The problem with printing on a sideways polar platform is that the platform isn't rotating at a constant speed or direction. It speeds up stops and reverses all the time unless you're printing a simple cylindrical shape. I've thought in the past about a "polar" printer that uses a cylinder on its side as the "bed", for printing round objects that need to have a solid core. Like an additive latby Feign - Polar Machines, SCARA, Robot Arms
Wait... have the arms on an identical lever arm lifting up the arm assembly as the one lowering down the plate so their relative horizontal position remains the same? Attach the two so thet they counterbalance each other somewhat. So crazy it might just work!by Feign - Polar Machines, SCARA, Robot Arms
An organization is allowed to have more than one goal... While the 100% self-replecating printer is a far-off strech goal, the creation of a printer for the masses is a naturally occuring result along the way. This was what the GADA contest was all about, and a whole lot of good designs came as a result. The self-replecating goal has been a driving factor in the search for a real, practical coby Feign - General
I guess the 'no rails goal' was pretty much the one big thing I saw in the Wally experiment, since there are other printers that work significantly better, but do so with materials that aren't necessarily universally available. I understand that the Wally really just doesn't work, it seems like it would take a built-from-scratch firmware to get the coordinate system right, and even then it wouldby Feign - Polar Machines, SCARA, Robot Arms
Practically, there aren't any concerns with it... But part of the goals of the Wally were to have a printer that doesn't use any linear rails. Using L-shaped, square shaped, round or slotted linear rails kind of goes against the point of the puzzle...by Feign - Polar Machines, SCARA, Robot Arms
Yeah, I figure by the time you need more than 20 ball bearings, you're better off getting four linear bearings and two rails... The simplest I can think to get a Chebychev linkage to work still requires 20 bearings, and I'm not sure how stable that would be. I can think of a way to get a Hoekins linkage to work with 16 bearings, but it's more suitable for holding a print head rather than a platby Feign - Polar Machines, SCARA, Robot Arms
Sorry for bringing up an old thread, but have you ever considered a Hoekins linkage or its older cousin the Chebyshev linkage? Both give very nearly perfectly flat, even motion along 180o of the crank's travel. Not as perfectly flat as the Sarrus linkage, but they can both be made much more stable.by Feign - Polar Machines, SCARA, Robot Arms
QuoteMrDoctorDIV "The new prototype requires 250 times less electricity to operate than its conventional counterpart made of the same material." Not 250X less energy than lasers, 250X less than previous polariton beams.Context helps clear this up, if you read the whole line and not just the one sentance. "A polariton is part light and part matter. Polariton lasers harness these particles to emitby Feign - General
This does look awesome, though I'm guessing the programming to keep it level and on a g-code designated path will be a bit painful. Also, while it looks awesome and easy to make, your Simpson-style printer looks much more stable.by Feign - Polar Machines, SCARA, Robot Arms
Wow, from the Youtube video, that thing is flying. I can't imagine how fast you'd get by using a Bowden-style extruder, but then, it's probably going as fast as the hotend/extruder can handle already...by Feign - CoreXY Machines
I saw this story a while back, I notice that the concrete is capable of slight overhang for the arches, but have you put any consideration into some kind of support system for overhangs like windows and doors or are you relying on metal/wood parts added during printing to support overhangs? Even with a support material, I can't imagine using enough of it to print-in-place a floor or ceiling. Yoby Feign - General
QuoteMIRZAI used the case of "letters T,E,Z" as example only.The term you're wanting to describe is "overhang" when a feature of an object is pointing out horizontally into the air. Most slicing programs can generate supports for these features, but need to know how much "bridging" distance the printer can handle in order to determine the density of the support needed. Alternatively, you can inby Feign - General
QuoteMattMosesI'm not posting this in an attempt to defend Makerbot. Instead I want to point out how silly and distracting it is for the community to erupt into these predictable little fits of outrage every time Makerbot twitches.I agree the knee-jerk reactionism is a little sad, but if the USPTO actually grants these patents, they'll effectively be declaring war on Open Source... The thing is,by Feign - General