When you find an old, disused 80s-era SCARA arm in a lab, there’s really not much more you can do than make a giant 3D printer with it.
The last time we saw [Dane]’s salvaged SCARA arm, he had reconstructed the electronics by building his own servo motor controllers and feedback sensors. There were a few initial test prints, but the new upgrades to this printer make it much more useful, make it look even more kludged together, and made the prints even more accurate.
The largest upgrade to the new machine is an updated heated build plate. The previous plate used six 30W resistors. Good enough, but with two additional 245W membrane heaters, [Dane] can now keep his build plate at a constant 65 degrees C. Keeping such a large area warm requires a heated build chamber, so [Dane] came up with a giant semi-hexagonal box of warm made from aluminum extrusion, laser-cut parts, and acrylic frames.
Compared to earlier prints, the SCARA arm is printing some very nice parts including a battery holder for 40 LiFePO4 cells, and a beautiful propeller for a 3D printed boat. It’s an impressive build, made even more so by the fact this robotic arm was found during a lab cleanup.
already posted
Again,
“It is an updated/follow-up:
Previous Post did not include upgrades and heated build chamber that allow for taller prints without warping”
Woah, that is a lot of documentation! I wonder what the power bill is?
well, power included in rent… free :)
Wow that is a boatload of documentation, it’d be neat to see the STL of the prop.
uuuhg, where do these people work that they get such awesome freebies?
The basement of the college electronics club which later got closed before Dane left college!
Closed after he left;
Go to an engineering college, stuff like this appears every so often
My college would throw away old equipment -AND- pay a security guard to watch the dumpster to prevent salvaging.
Infuriating.
What?! lol thats horrible, what school?
Robot arm was a freebie through the RPI Electronics club; so really lucky through school! (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
Here is some old video from one of our public events:
http://rpitv.org/productions/268-e-club-high-voltage
http://rpitv.org/productions/307-e-club-high-voltage-ii
hasn’t this already been posted here?
http://hackaday.com/2012/06/19/salvaged-robot-arm-makes-a-big-3d-printer/
sorry, I am dumb :D
It is an updated/follow-up:
Previous Post did not include upgrades and heated build chamber that allow for taller prints without warping
Oh god yes, 3D print all the things
Yes! Precisely! With giant robots!
You! Dig! Giant Robots!
We! Dig! Giant Robots!
CHICKS! Dig! Giant Robots!
Nice!
Such a pity MEGAS XLR was canceled.