Done. Now we're on a level playing field Vik :v)by VikOlliver - General
Sounds very fair. It costs me more than that even before I allow 5% for money-changing! Also, I won't get the new free shipping with my discount vouchers. I'm going to have to get me one of those Ponoko Founders accounts! Vik :v)by VikOlliver - General
I recommend using clear or tinted plastics. The "5mm" sheet is best cut on 4.5mm acrylic, sheet size P3. All the others are on sheet size P2 as per the filenames. The 3mm parts are printed on acrylic, the 8 & 9 on acrylic and MDF as per their filenames. I've been given a 50% cutting discount to offer to RepRappers by Ponoko, and I've just been told I can offer free shipping in NZ and the USby VikOlliver - General
You might look at the "paste extruder" design we made. This only holds a small volume of slip, but might work for you: Having used it, I can say it would probably be easier to use if you just fitted a standard tyre valve to the top of the bottle and forgot about the lower pressurisation tube. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Paste Extrusion Working Group
This may be useful: It suggests that there are problems with Arduino 00012. I did delete the #define for round() in wiring.h but then encountered further errors in stlib.h Vik :v)by VikOlliver - RepRap Host
I wouldn't put PTFE through the extruder if I were you. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - General
I can get it for NZ$40 for a 100m roll. That's just under a kilo. Postage is about NZ$20 offhand. It's twice the price of PLA for some unknown reason. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - General
Yeah, looks OK. It's a different length, but the Arduino stepper boards should cope with the lower resistance - careful when adjusting the trimmers on the stepper board though - you're in uncharted territory there. Zach? Look good to you? Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Controllers
It's getting more and more desirable to go off-grid these days. We're getting more storms than we used to, and so more power cuts. Suz wants to get a windmill, but the council probably won't approve. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - General
Yes, but the Amish don't go in much for a lot of things that your typical RepRapper regards as being part of their lifestyle. Their mode of operation also limited to certain climates. I'm all for high-tech trappings and sustainable living - the two are not incompatible. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - General
Unlike the plywood design, the acrylic one is very tolerant of material thickness. The only slots that spring to mind are ones holding the opto flags. Nothing structural that I can think of. You do want 3mm sheet for the extruder parts though, as this is used to space out the channel for the filament feedstock. If it's >3mm not much problem but <3mm you'll need to shim it. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - General
Hi Ben, I'm the culprit. If you'd like the original SVG files, they're on Any problems, e-mail me. I'm vik and I have e-mail on diamondage.co.nz good to have you on board! Vik :v)by VikOlliver - General
I did actually try this. I could not get the wire to go around the edge of the wire pen! Humans instinctively tilt the pen, or draw the pen away from the wire-wrapping board (I used to be a "wire guy" for a day job). Trying to make a head that does it is a trifle harder, particularly if you want it to fit between the legs of a chip that have been wrapped in wire. A wire head would be most usefulby VikOlliver - Plastic Extruder Working Group
I've got another attempt at the lasercut RepRap going through. The problem is in making it economical. I'm at US$330 for the mechanical parts, and I think I can get it trimmed down a little further as the current run includes some experimental and hence duplicated parts. There is also who are doing a lasercut set. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Plastic Extruder Working Group
What part of the world are you in? Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Plastic Extruder Working Group
It might well, if you can keep it centred. I wondered about coach bolts also? Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Mechanics
I will deny all knowledge of any specific event if asked, but they blend their own plastic accessories quite effectively! Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Mechanics
Sorry, I don;t have your e-mail address. The USB Arduino is just a serial Arduino with a built-in FDDI serial-to-USB converter. So no, it shouldn't matter at all. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Controllers
These days CD drives, printers and so forth use DC servos, not steppers so they're not good sources of either steppers or drivers. 'Course, someday we might have a DC servo driver... Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Controllers
I'd love to see some picture of your work and your machine. Are they online anywhere? Vik :v)by VikOlliver - RepRap Host
PLA Is degradable only at temperatures above 70C in high humidity. Do you ave a sacrificial pasta machine to fill with hot-melt glue? Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Plastic Extruder Working Group
Furnace cement also needs to be fired to get any form of structural integrity. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Mechanics
The cost of getting the filament extruded here is NZ10c/metre or roughly NZ$10/kg (US$3.60/lb) Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Plastic Extruder Working Group
We tried pinch wheels in the MkI design. See the Wiki for why that didn't work. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Mechanics
I like this idea because it'll allow a driver to be written for the OLPC, and we want RepRaps to follow OLPCs around the world. The OLPC can't run Java. It runs python though. A simplified interface would then be able to show the plot, or at least spool the file to a RepRap. Also, there is something seductive about having a RepRap that can stream build instructions directly off an SD card! Vikby VikOlliver - RepRap Host
Nearly there. I've got a modification to the Z motor mount to do, the beaded belt gears and a few plugs left. All I need now is the steel and the ability to cut it without clutching back in pain! Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Plastic Extruder Working Group
I've hacked the Z motor bracket to use a single shaft motor. It basically lets you mount the Z motor the other way round. Unfortunately the Lin Engineering 2.5A steppers I have have got a 1R coil resistance, so I can't drive them from PIC boards. So if I'm to stick with PICs I'll need different motors, or a different driver design. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Controllers
For particularly hard plastics like PLA the small electric gear motor is underpowered. I tried them and blew up two. They overheat. Using the recovered gearbox and a 12V motor (I have heaps of them if you want one) I've been printing PLA quite happily and the temperature of the motor only goes up a few degrees. But I've no idea of the specs of the motor! Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Mechanics
I think we need to goad people into producing novel extruder attachments, and to provide plotter-style functionality so that the RepRap could, say, etch with a Dremel tool. These mutations do not affect the basic design of the robot very much, and so would allow a lot of development to be done without affectign the core focus. Vik :v)by VikOlliver - Developers
I met Hod Lipson of the Fab@Home project at Scifoo last weekend. We had quite a conversation and I think that I now understand the differences and similarities between our projects. His Fab@home goals lie in using a wide range of materials and using off-the-shelf parts. The RepRap Project - at least initially - wants to limit the range of materials for simplicity and use as many self-fabricated pby VikOlliver - General