If you’re a maker, 3d printing is an incredibly useful tool to have in your arsenal. Not only can it help bring your projects to life faster, but it can also offer unique results that would be difficult (or impossible!) to achieve with traditional methods. In these blog posts, we’ll provide you with some essential information and tips regarding 3D printing for makers—including the basics of how to get started, plus creative tutorials for spicing up your projects. Whether you’re already familiar with 3d printing or are just starting out, these resources will help take your game-making skills even further!
Next up, is building and installing the Z stage. This is one of the easiest parts of the build. Start by attaching the wooded brackets to the Z stage. There are (4) “U” shaped brackets. The shape allows you to remove the entire Z stage easily for maintenance or part replacement. Also, it makes adjusting […]
It’s been a while since I last posted about my CupCake CNC build. OK, it’s been a really long time! Well I’m back on it, and I’m not stopping till it’s done. The good news is, we are on the home stretch. So let’s get back into the build by installing the X and Y […]
Wow, the holidays (and their aftermath) can really put the brakes on project building! But they’re over, and it’s time to get back to building my CupCake CNC. Next up, building the X stage. It’s another really easy part to the build, and it should only take about an hour or two to complete. My assembly is undergoing a little final QC in the picture above. Fortunately, it passed with flying colors.
Now it’s time to build the Y-stage. This only takes about 30 minutes and goes together fairly easily. One thing to note, some of the parts are laser etched on the wrong side. Take a close look at the pictures and make sure everthing is going together the proper way.
It’s finally time to build the enclosure! All the parts have been sitting there, patiently waiting for me to unpack them, and it’s taken far to long to get to this point. Not that the build has taken too long, but rather all my other work has delayed the entire build process. So lets get on with the build!
A simple 3D printed servo mount to house the Parallax Ping))) sensor. Servo Mount for Sonar Sensor
I have written before about Thingiverse user fdavies’ ongoing project to produce a 3D-printer that requires no precision-ground shafting or bearings using printable hinged actuators based on the Sarrus linkage (Wikipedia). Why would you want to do that? Well, because precision shafting and bearings are currently beyond the abilities of most 3D printers, and if you can build the printer itself using printable substitutes for them, then you’re that much closer to a truly self-replicating home fab system. Keep it up, man!
