Posts Tagged ‘Makerbot’
Bicycle Quick Release Headlight
I published a new thing on Thiniverse.com http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:13877 This thing is a quick release bicycle headlight using magnets. I bought the magnets in a garage sale so I can’t really help you find the same magnets.
Instructions
Print the parts:
—————-
2 x clip2.stl
1 x magneta.stl
1 x magnetb.stl
Attach one clip2.stl to magneta.stl using a 1/2″ 6-32 bolt.
Attach the other clip2.stl to magnetb.stl using a 1/2″ 6-32 bolt.
Attach the base to the bicycle handle bar using a 1 1/2″ long 6-32 bolt.
Attach the light to the upper part using a 1 1/2″ long 6-32 bolt.
Superglue the magnets on the bottom of both magneta.stl and magnetb.stl
Make sure you align the small notches in the right direction for your setup.
What’s Next
- Would be nice to derive a new thing using more standard magnets.
- Making it in OpenScad would allows parametric parts.
- Adding new connectors to attach a camera, a map, …
Stars Trackers
I posted these two barndoor mounts on Thiniverse a few days ago. One is manually operated while the other is motorized.
Manual Stars Tracker kit:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11376
Manual Stars Tracker
Motorized Stars Tracker kit:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10756
Motorized Stars Tracker
Since I have not that much time on my hands, I decided to merge both projects so that I can chose between the portability of the manual version and the ease of use and accuracy of the motorized version.
The new manual version looks pretty much like it’s ancestor with some minor modifications. The length of the device has been cut in half and some minor bugs have been fixed.
New version of the manual Stars Tracker
I am now working at motorizing this new version of the manual Star Tracker. I want to make it simple to switch from the manual to the motorized version by reusing as much parts as possible.
I ended up today with this motor support that should replace the actual wheel of the Star Tracker.
Motor Mount for the Motorized Stars Tracker
I am using the same type of attachments as the frame of the Makerbot. This technique is pretty cheap and allows strong assemblies using plastic and wood.
Next step will be to design a coupling to attach the motor to the 1/4″ threaded rod of the tracker. I think I’ll use the same type of coupling as the Reprap 3D printer.
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Open Hardware Summit
This was my first time at the ohsummit. The day was filled with great quality talks from speakers of all disciplines.
Open Hardware Summit
I first want to thanks Alicia and Ayah, the organizers for their great work. Everything was planned with details and efficiency.
The day had a great start with the presentation from Eric Wihelm, founder of Instructables. He demonstrated the power of kids creativity by presenting kids projects using Kinect blocks. These young members of the Instructable community have designed, built and improve Kinect guns, ranging from the pistol to the machine gun.
All the legal stuff has been packed in the morning sessions so that the afternoon talks were much more practical and, from my point of view, more interesting.
Gabrilla Levine presented a sailboat drone intended to clean up oil spills in water. The talk was loaded with project management experiences and tips.
Zach Liberman presented an earth touching talk about a device that allowed a paralyzed artist to make painting for the first time in years.
A few talks later, Bre Pettis talked about the creativity of the Thingiverse members by showing the evolution of some fun prints. The gangsta man transformed into a gangsta rabbit, a rabbit with a Colbert head, etc.
There were lots of other talks in the afternoon. I loved the presentation by the Lasersaur team. They managed, with very little fabrication skills, to build a fully functional four by two feet laser cutter. Great project!
The last talk has been made by Mitch Altman, the inventor of the TV B Gone. That was a very inspiring presentation where he invited the audience to invest their time in project they love!
To close the day there was breakout sessions and demos of the attendees projects. Our breakout session was about how to build and maintain a collaborative community of makers. Three speakers presented their projects and the way they managed their respective open source project.
Makerbot Headquarter
Passed 20h, Hugo and me took a cab with two other peoples to the Makerbot party at their headquarter in Brooklyn. I met with great quality peoples from all over the world. I discussed my stars tracker with three members of the Makerbot team.
Tomorrow is off and Saturday I’ll head to the Maker Fair!
Parametric Arduino Case
When you make a project using an Arduino board, you often need a case to attach the Arduino onto your project. This small project is my first attempt to make such a case that can be adapted to all my projects.
Parametric Arduino Case
To make it parametric I am using the OpenScad application. OpenScad is an open source 3D modeling software that allows you to model your objects using a dedicated scripting language. Because your object is made out of code, it is easy to make designes that are defined by configurable parameters.
Openscad
Following is the code of the arduino case. As you will see at the top of the listing, many variables are defined so that you can adapt the object to your needs.
arduino_width = 54;
arduino_length = 69;
arduino_usb_width = 13;
arduino_usb_height = 15;
arduino_usb_x = 9.5;
arduino_power_width = 9.5;
arduino_power_height = 15;
arduino_power_x = 3.5;
wall_thickness = 2;
wall_height = 7;
bottom_thickness = 1;
side_shoulder = 6;
difference()
{
// Exterior box
cube([arduino_width+(2*wall_thickness),
arduino_length+(2*wall_thickness),
wall_height+bottom_thickness],
center=true);
// Interior recess
translate([0,0,bottom_thickness/2.0])
cube([arduino_width,
arduino_length,
wall_height],
center=true);
// Bottom hole
cube([arduino_width-(2*side_shoulder),
arduino_length-(2*side_shoulder),
wall_height+bottom_thickness],
center=true);
// USB hole
translate([-1*((arduino_width/2.0)-(arduino_usb_width/2.0)-arduino_usb_x),
-1*(arduino_length/2.0)-(wall_thickness/2.0),
-1*(wall_height/2.0-arduino_usb_height/2.0)+bottom_thickness/2.0])
{
cube([arduino_usb_width,
wall_thickness,
arduino_usb_height],
center=true);
}
// Power hole
translate([((arduino_width/2.0)-(arduino_power_width/2.0)-arduino_power_x),
-1*(arduino_length/2.0)-(wall_thickness/2.0),
-1*(wall_height/2.0-arduino_power_height/2.0)+bottom_thickness/2.0])
{
cube([arduino_power_width,
wall_thickness,
arduino_power_height],
center=true);
}
}
Visit my page on Thiniverse to get more details about this project. I invite you to explore this huge repository of objects. The future of 3D printing is great and this site is there to lead the way.
Maketbot and Open Hardware
Five months ago I wrote my last article on this blog … Five months ago, I also got my brand new Makerbot! I love so much making stuff with it that I forgot to write on my blog.
Now I am ready to share this with you. I am preparing some nice articles on this topic but you can visit my page on Thiniverse to see what I did so far.
I’ll be at the Open Hardware Summit next week (Sept. 15) in NY and at the Maker Fair the following weekend. I’ll post here some articles ant pictures if I can manage to get some free time.
