Print Your Own Pizza

February 3, 2010 by 37 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ7gD0nH-xA]

If you think there’s never enough computerized numerical control in your life perhaps the pizza plotter should be your next project. This is a large 2-axis machine that shoots pressurized sauce onto a pizza crust. It’s a food-grade RepStrap and appears to use a garden sprayer as a reservoir. They learned their lesson when a loose hose clamp sprayed sauce around the room. We’re thinking this is a bit of reinventing the wheel as pizza-making factories but it’s fun nonetheless.

Why Aren’t We Building Our Own Printers?

January 26, 2010 by 58 Comments

We’ll ask it again, why aren’t we building our own printers? We’re building 3d printers, CNC mills, and hacking the ink cartridges on commercial printers. What does it really take to build say a 300 dpi black and white printer? Something that lets you clean and service the print head rather than throwing it out when the ink reservoir is empty?

Someone has set out to answer these question with the Openprinter project. If this interests you, join up and start the revolution. RepRap had simple beginnings and maybe it’s time to take the army of self-replicating 3D printers and use them to print parts for 2D printers that don’t drive us crazy.

[Photo credit]

[via LostScrews]

Sarrus Linkage 3d Printer

December 20, 2009 by 21 Comments

[fdavies] has been working on his own 3d printer. He is using printed parts, but unlike the RepRap he’s purposed Sarrus linkages in his design. If it works, this should remove the need for precision rods in building these types of CNC based machines. He’s also recovered DC motors and optical encoders from some inkjek printers. Given that many retailers require you to take junky inkjets home when you purchase a computer we’re betting you’ll find friends happy to part with their unused hardware. We’re impressed with the motion of the prototype seen after the break. Let’s hope this leads to the next generation of affordable 3d printers.

Continue reading “Sarrus Linkage 3d Printer” →

Hackaday Links: Sunday, November 29

November 29, 2009 by 47 Comments

Sometimes we wonder if we’re making good choices with PCB layout when using EagleCAD. Watch how the pros do it with a video of an hour-long Adafruit PCB layout session compressed into seven minutes.

[Elijah] documented his RepStrap build. This is a chicken-or-egg project in that RepStrap machines are built without the assistance of an already existing RepRap.

Here’s an ASUS concept from CeBIT this year for a laptop that has two touch screens and no physical keyboard. Isn’t this just the DS project we saw this week but in a nice case?

[James] conjured up a physical realization of the Spinning Wheel of Death for an art exhibit. We can’t stop smiling when looking at this artful hack.

I’m sure nobody will raise an eyebrow when you pop out that roll of duct-tape and affix your phone to the airplane window. That’s what [floe] did to make this airline flight time-lapse video with an Android phone. Aren’t you supposed to turn off all electronics for takeoff?

DIYLILCNC: Do-it-yourself CNC Mill

November 13, 2009 by 39 Comments

DIYLILCNC

The DIY LIL CNC project is the newest member of the homebrew fabrication scene. This is a three-axis CNC mill that can be built by anyone with basic shop skills and about $700 in their pocket. Many of the materials can be acquired from the likes of Home Depot: the basic framework is assembled from Masonite, while other cost-cutting measures include the use of skate bearings and a common Dremel tool for powering the cutting bit. About half of the cost is for the HobbyCNC driver and stepper motor package that runs the show.

The instructions for the DIY LIL CNC are distributed under a Creative Commons license, allowing for modification and distribution with few restrictions. They’re well-written and quite thorough, including all patterns and a complete bill of materials with suppliers, part numbers and costs. As documented, the ’bot can produce parts up to 12 x 14 x 2 inches, but the project’s creators offer some suggestions on adapting the design for larger work. It’s not self-replicating like the RepRap aims for; you’ll need access to a laser cutter for some of the parts. If you can clear that hurdle, this looks like a great introduction to CNC production.

Linear Optical Encoder

November 12, 2009 by 32 Comments

dsc03989

Optical encoders are nothing new; they can be found in everything from mice to printers. They’re great for allowing DC motors to know their exact position and even current direction. If this is sounding like old hat, it’s because we’ve shown you rotational versions before.

[Chris] uses the same concept, but produced a linear optical encoder instead of rotational. His setup is much like whats used in non stepper-motor CNC and RepRap mills, allowing ordinary DC motors to know their position within a plane. It’s a quick tutorial, but we liked the detail and it reminded us we need to finish that DC motor based mill thats still a pile of parts in the closet. Check out a video of [Chris’] in action after the break. Continue reading “Linear Optical Encoder” →

Xerox Ink Will Print Circuits

October 28, 2009 by 40 Comments

xerox-silver-bullet-ink

Xerox has announced a breakthrough in printable circuits. They’ve developed a conductive ink called “silver bullet” that can be printed on many different types of substrate to create circuits. The key part of the new ink is its lower melting point. Plastic film substrate melts at 150 degrees Celsius but the ink is liquid when ten degrees cooler to avoid damaging the film. This begs the question: how do you then solder components to the circuit?

The benefits of printable circuitry are obvious. Aside from cheaper and easier RFID, disposable circuits like greeting cards, and fabric-based electronics, we’re hoping this will facilitate more environmentally friendly PCB fabrication. That really depends on the ink’s production process and the resilience of the resulting circuitry.

[via Gizmodo]