... so why not a VR-RepRap as Simulator for training mode? In my CAD/CAM-software i have an option to run a virtual milling-task in a simple coloured ISO-hidden-line-view, what's impressive enough. With a more sophisticated 3D-world, containing a virtual RepRap and a free moveable camera-actor there could be tested and visualized, how the (virtual) trays and slices would form a 3D-object. Butby VDX - Reprappers
Hi Demented, ... a guy at Fraunhofer found a way: he encapsuled vegetables (grass, leaves, wood or some organic garbagge) and water with citric acid as catalysator in an autoclav and heated it some days at 120by VDX - General
Hi Jared, ... a better example: - say the extruder have to draw a straight line from 0,0 to 80,5 Then i simple divide 80:5=16 - so i know exactly how to move: every 16 steps in Y comes 1 step in X, until i count 80 steps in Y - and i can calculate the right faktor for the speed (idle-time between the steps) before i start ... With a servo i have to control the motion over the full path with enby VDX - Mechanics
... this is maybe usefull for other pastes too: I found that dexpanthenol is reacting with my soldering glass-powder, so it can't stay longer time or it changes chemically, in consistency and in end-colour. For this i searched for another solvent and found waterglass (water-soluble Alkali-Silicate). It seems to be a perfect solvent for ceramic and some powders, it's used in paper-industry as gby VDX - Paste Extrusion Working Group
Hi mimarob, ... it's no real need to use plastic or expensive and/or proprietary stuff - i heard from experiments in africa, to make house-building-blocks from local ressources as grasshoppers/locust (as in locust-plague), sand and water - seems to be a good basis for a reprapper-paste too I have some samples of moulded 'wood-plastic' - wood-powder with water, extruded at high pressure and temby VDX - General
... what's tis with 'steelwire'? It's the same behaviour, as a (clever) spam-bot! Viktorby VDX - Polymer Working Group
Hi Jared, ... one big point for steppers is the ability to 'synchronize stepwise', when moving 2- and 3-dimensional lines or interpolating 3D-curves. It's the same, as with the Bresenham-algorhytm, where you count the pixels of the longer side and synchrone insert the steps for the shorter side, so the line runs straight from X1/Y1 to X2/Y2 (or {X1,Y1,Z1} to {X2,Y2,Z2} for 3D) So for exact feeby VDX - Mechanics
Hi Fernando, ... try coffee-powder - it's common and you can define the granulity by the time it's milled. When it's not enough interconnecting, then you can use all kinds of fibre-holding vegetables smashed to powder in a coffee-mill Viktorby VDX - Polymer Working Group
Hi Colin, ... i didn't think the troubling would start and impact mostly in China or 3-rd-world-countries ... The most instabilities would be adressed in the most developed markets, as here is the 'just-in-time-fabbing' and 'time-is-money' comes together with an extremely complex infrastructure and mainly developed logistics. The Chinese or african workers could adapt reprapping easily in theiby VDX - General
Hi Demented, ... as you know, i'm a big fan of magnets as assisting elements It's dependant of the involved forces, what you can make with them - for a leightweight extruder- or a laser-head it's no problem, when i have more or heavier toolheads, then the magnets and bearings have to be bigger or in another arrangement. When you manage to balance the masses, so the feeding is vertically symmeby VDX - Mechanics
... i used the Piezomotor-drives ( ) and developed 1- to 3-Axis-Micropositioning Stages at Gerwah Mikrotechnik (see MPL-3 ). The motor have an accuracy of nearly 150 nanometers per step, but it's depending on the load, vertical orientation an friction, so you hev to implement a precise encoder for error-correction. The travel-lenght is 25 millimeters, the maximal payload/stall-force lays betwby VDX - General
Hi Steve, ... i want to have one - as i didn't manage it until now, to bring the system to live on my Notebook with WindowsXP or my DualCore-Desktop with preinstalled Vista, i want to try with a Live-CD with Debian on an old 486-PC ... Viktorby VDX - General
Hi Jared, ... i'm working with steppers since over 30 years ... When i started with my first plotter-design, i had to build a driver-pcb with discrete transistors, later with single-ic 3479P, last with the IMT901 microstep-driver. Main advantage is the ability to 'clock and forget' - when the motor doesn't skip steps, he is exactly at the position, i counted as steps - with a 200-step-motor anby VDX - Mechanics
Hi Sebastien, ... i'll do my very best There are some professionals in CNC-milling and enthusiasts, trying to start 3D-fabbing for dental applications and such sort of things, it can stay a while, until they're activated ... As 'local/private' i meant my private connections, here we interchange per email and PN, i'll set them on the reprap and hope, some would start interfering ... Viktorby VDX - Reprappers
... it's easier/safer, to mail you the STL-files and let you work it out, then remote-fabbing. With remote-fabbing you didn't have a chance for proper stop-pause-and-restart the extruder, when something went wrong. I think a remote-reprap is more a demonstration-system and can be made through a simulated VR-reprap on the local computer better, then on a remote one over the internet ... Viktorby VDX - Reprappers
Hi Wingman77, ... as aleady mentioned in other posts, i tink that an proper evolved reprap would change the situation of the people worldwide dramatically - when you can reprap all your needed hardware at home, the industry/market would break down in the areas covered by reprapping. I didn't think, the industrial complex would take it peacefully - when the companies and involved groups got awarby VDX - General
Hi Demented, ... for this ready-to-use part it's a good idea, but if you have to build it from scratch, then it would have some problems with accuracy and weight (iron/steel for the magnets) or you have to apply a iron-sheet for the magnetic fixing ... The idea with magnets as 1-dimensional fixing is good, but the possible holding-force is depending of the iron-sheet-thickness, so the weight ofby VDX - Mechanics
Hi Sebastien, ... i actually found an inconsistent tagging-status of the group-forums. From the main-site they didn't show the "new"-flag. When i go into a forum, it shows me all the new posts ... When on the main-site again, then the "new"-tag with the correct count is there! Viktorby VDX - Administration, Announcements, Policy
Hi gr0k, ... i think it's no fault, to present many different ideas and concepts for repstrap and have the rrrf-shop with kits and complete sets to start. Most people not so skilled with handcrafting can buy the complete set, if someone wants to play around, he can do 'his' way. As the software is open, it's maybe more interesting to optimize the software to fit to any repstrap-system - be itby VDX - General
Hi Demented, ... this are good and very precise DC-gearhead-motors ... If you have to by them at the manufacturers, you pay from 50$ to 500$ (or even more, when smaller and more accurate), but when scaveaged, the price drops mostly to a fraction - i sometimes found good motors for a tenth of the original price. Or for example my 3D-CNC-system: once it was sold for nearly 12.000DM (~6.000by VDX - General
Hi Sean, ... after reading all Harry-Potter-books in english and some months reading and posting in the forum i'm merely comfortable with english now On the other side i have some friends in germany, which are on smilar paths with repstrapping and 3D-fabbing, but didn't stick to reprap or fab@home, as they didn't feel comfortable enough. Maybe a sort of interchanging/translating of good pointby VDX - Reprappers
Hi augur, ... here is an article about a 'parallel scara design', whis is well suitable for high accuracy (look at figure 5) With special kinematics you can made astonishing things, but it's a very wide area ... Viktorby VDX - Reprappers
Hi gr0k, ... for this i'm so interested in other mechanical concepts, as my much easier to replicate and assemble tripod-repstrap (look at the parts and assembling: ) or elastic/morphing structures, as tentacles and bending strouts ... It's obviously harder to control, then a 'plain orthogonal' cartesic robot, but there was some progres in the last years, so the software is on the way - and onby VDX - General
Hi Sean, ... the basic-forum is the very best place, to communicate and interchange ideas - i'm a bit curious about the local groups too, if it would change something or bring a sort of localisation or 'dissolving' in the community? But maybe it's a try to allow different languages in the local groups, as i know some people, which are interested in the thematics, but didn't speak and understandby VDX - Reprappers
Hi Kurt, ... i'm waiting too, until the 'english connection' start working and i can order the extruder-parts or some other stuff here ... If you're from germany, then you can maybe hop into the german RepRap-usergroup and post your status and interests? It seems actually, that the local groups are a bit of idling ... Viktorby VDX - Reprappers
Hi Fernando, ... try icing shugar and starch, as said before - if the resin didn't solve it, then the stuff should do a good job ... I tried powders from plastic, glass, gold, iron, graphite, zement and sand - and some bigger sized particles like 1-100micron-glass-spheres, plastic-spheres and bigger iron-spheres too ... Laser-toner-powder (latex and graphite/bucky-balls) tend to harden and forby VDX - Polymer Working Group
Hi Fernando, ... for the polymer-muscles i used voltages until 2kV, much safer is the range until 60Volts, of course I think it's the balancing between current and voltage to support power-consumpting devices - with higher resistance you have to rise the voltage to get the same amount of energy through the lines without heating them ... Maybe the idea of high-frequency-AC (>50kHz) with shiby VDX - Paste Extrusion Working Group
Hi Reece, ... first, measure the voltage at all the pins of a 'good' endstop and then at the Z-max - this should eliminate simple supply-malfunctions ... Then try to activate the opto-switch with a thin black sheet of cartonage or plastic (paper eventually didn't work), to see, if it basically works ... And then go through the wires, to check if there's a shortcut or break anywere ... Last stby VDX - Controllers
... here i have some images of laser-sintered gold-paste on pads. The pads are 150 microns wide and nearly 300 microns long, the droplet of gold-paste was something between 100 and 200 microns in diameter, when wet. With 'low-energy-curing' (diode-laser at 1 Watt, 100-micron-laserspot) i dried the dexpanthenol-solvent away and then melted the gold-powder with some 3 Watts laser-power to solid.by VDX - Paste Extrusion Working Group
... i think not the ability of the fabber to build possible dangerous items is in question, but the person behind, which designs and uses the produced parts ... When i was 7, we assembled small 'one-shot-handguns' from an old key, a nail, a spring (or elastic) and some strike-heads - they banged wery loud and if you made it 'wrong', then the nail could go away and do serious harm. None of the sby VDX - General