RepLab
Introduction
RepLab is a proposal to make most (if not all) of the fabrication machines in a Fab Lab.
Primary Considerations
Economic Model (Quick, to the Spreadsheet!)
- How much does the machine cost to make?
- How much does this machine cost in the marketplace to buy? (Including a service contract).
- How much does the machine cost to run? (Including 'machine operator' time).
- What's the 'mental overhead' that the user/builder encounters by building your machine, rather than buying a machine with a known trackrecord from a salesperson and getting a service contract?
- What's the worth of the parts the machine is making?
- What are the opportunity costs you and the machine encounter by "making fasteners" rather than more specialized, higher worth components or objects? Like the spindle for a CNC mill, or a prosthetic leg.
- Is it fun?
- Visit a production workshop using one of these machines. What is their economic model?
- Visit/websurf a hobby/cottage industry/academic technical workshop that uses one of these machines? What is their economic model?
- If you build or buy a huge machine, does it take over your workshop and lifestyle?
Examples: 10'x18' CNC router, Bronze Foundry (for art bronze), Aluminum Foundry.
Dependencies
What is feasible to build? When do you want to buy rather than make?
- Fasteners
- Threaded rod.
- Stepper Motor Controllers
- Aluminum Billet
- 3D printer
- plasma cutter.
- Small CNC router
- Huge CNC router
- Wooden hand plane
Machines of Interest
CNC Router
Not Done. This is highly desirable.
Hypothetical Development Pathway
- 1'x2' to 5'x10' Eiffel
- 5'x10'+ Just build a Mechmate.
- Buy a Chinese-made Benchtop mill, CNC-adapt it. We can use this as a reference model.
- Design a system using RBS. Use Filled_Epoxy.
CNC Mill
Not Done. This is highly desirable. Especially if we can use most of the parts from the Router.
Hypothetical Development Pathway
- Buy a Chinese-made Benchtop mill, CNC-adapt it. We can use this as a reference model.
- Design a system using RBS. Use Filled_Epoxy.
CNC Lathe
Not Done. This is may be desirable. But a lot of lathework can be done by hand-control of the machine.
Hypothetical Development Pathway
- Buy a Chinese-made Benchtop lathe, CNC-adapt it. We can use this as a reference model.
- Design a system using RBS. Use Filled_Epoxy.
Laser Cutter
Not Done. Compare and contrast with 'Epilog' brand laser cutters and with Chinese-made 'white-box' type laser cutters. It is plausible that we could source Chinese-made C02 laser tubes, and built a system that uses them, along with RBS positioning components, and carefully specified optical components to build up the light path.
3D printer
Done. See "RepRap". :)
Plasma Cutter
Done. :)