Yes, I sometimes do trash pick. Such was the case with this nice looking tripod that was being thrown out. It was missing a small but critical part called a quick-release. Normally, that would make a tripod like this rather useless. But not for me! After taking some measurements, I designed a basic plate and then printed! Now that I have a plate, I'll only need to stop by the hardware store to buy a screw that fits the camera mount. Sweet!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
From useless to useful!
Yes, I sometimes do trash pick. Such was the case with this nice looking tripod that was being thrown out. It was missing a small but critical part called a quick-release. Normally, that would make a tripod like this rather useless. But not for me! After taking some measurements, I designed a basic plate and then printed! Now that I have a plate, I'll only need to stop by the hardware store to buy a screw that fits the camera mount. Sweet!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A print from Sketchup
I decided to print a gear using Google Sketchup. To generate a sample gear, I used the gear add-on module. To use it, I had to back down to version 7.1 rather than 8.0. To export the design to Skienforge, I had to use a DFX exporter add-on too. To install both components, simply download and save to the Google Sketchup directory called "plugins". Once installed, the new controls appear in the Sketchup pull down menu.
The components are available in multiple places, but also available HERE
Above is the progression of prints I tried. The night I printed, the Cupcake was being rather fussy. When I last turned it off, the last print it did was a pretty good calibration cube. Unfortunately, after sitting nearly a week, I found the printer was not quite a "turn on and print" device. For some reason, the extruder motor would not energize. Pushing the "reset" button on the motherboard solved that issue. I also have the impression the rods have become a little wobbly, possibly due to being under constant tension from the z-stage drive belt. It was clear from the raft on the first print that I was going to get a stringy mess so I aborted the first print. What I think happened was that the nozzle was clogged with something. I'm guessing either dust or a cat hair. Fortunately, I was able to flush out whatever it was by going to the control panel and running the nozzle at 255 until the plastic started coming out nicely again. The next print came out better, but still, not great. After manipulating the Gcode settings having to do with layer thickness and density, the next print came out much better. A copy was then made which I consider would be a usable end product. I can see right now that one really nice upgrade would be some stiffer z-rods and of course a MK6 extruder upgrade. However, for now, the printer seems to do what I want it to do.
The components are available in multiple places, but also available HERE
Above is the progression of prints I tried. The night I printed, the Cupcake was being rather fussy. When I last turned it off, the last print it did was a pretty good calibration cube. Unfortunately, after sitting nearly a week, I found the printer was not quite a "turn on and print" device. For some reason, the extruder motor would not energize. Pushing the "reset" button on the motherboard solved that issue. I also have the impression the rods have become a little wobbly, possibly due to being under constant tension from the z-stage drive belt. It was clear from the raft on the first print that I was going to get a stringy mess so I aborted the first print. What I think happened was that the nozzle was clogged with something. I'm guessing either dust or a cat hair. Fortunately, I was able to flush out whatever it was by going to the control panel and running the nozzle at 255 until the plastic started coming out nicely again. The next print came out better, but still, not great. After manipulating the Gcode settings having to do with layer thickness and density, the next print came out much better. A copy was then made which I consider would be a usable end product. I can see right now that one really nice upgrade would be some stiffer z-rods and of course a MK6 extruder upgrade. However, for now, the printer seems to do what I want it to do.
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