Printing A RepRap

July 22, 2009 by Zach Banks 61 Comments

repstrap

The RepRap project has been working on bringing 3D printing to the masses by creating a extrusion printer that can also make the majority of its own parts. For the most part, these print ABS or HDPE plastics which are strong and recyclable. In order to create these replicating printers, similar machines called RepStraps are built out of either laser-cut parts or machined elements. They are functionally equivalent to RepRap printers, but are not made of printed parts. [nophead] documented his RepStrap, HydraRaptor, that is based off a milling machine. He had already printed a set of RepRap parts, and he documented printing a second set. The machine worked for about 100 hours over the course of 2 weeks, printing about 1.5 kg of parts. He made a few adjustments, such as replacing ABS bearings with HDPE to reduce friction. The parts are for Factor e Farm so they can get started with 3D printing.

Related: RepRap pinch wheel extruder

Archie The Helper Bot

July 22, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 30 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaGnnMavbAg]

We noticed this article on BotJunkie about Archie the helper bot. Archie is supposed to help out around the house with cooking, cleaning, and other mundane tasks. [Evan] makes a very good point though. Why do people insist on putting creepy heads on their robots. They aren’t making them any more endearing, it’s just creepy. While that is a very astute observation, we would like to add some more. Watch the video above, and study the image after the break. Archie doesn’t seem to be a functional bot. He never moves in the video under his own power. The scene where they “walk” him along is comedy gold. His head keeps falling backwards,or possibly off. And what use is a helper bot that doesn’t have actuated hands? The video is in German, so maybe we’re missing something. Maybe Archie is a mock up or a joke and we just needed translation.

Continue reading “Archie The Helper Bot” →

Gentle Safe Cracker

July 21, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 51 Comments

Safe_Cracker2 (Custom)

[Carlito] found a safe in his garage with mystery contents. It shows signs of attempted entry and makes interesting noises when shaken. What is the best solution to find out what is inside? Hack it open? Smash it? Blow it up? No, the best solution is to build a robot to try brute force cracking. The robot, housed in an old power supply case, is little more than a servo and a servo controller, communicating with his PC via USB. It seems like a good idea though. Unfortunately, he found it to be seriously lacking in torque, so he’s waiting now to upgrade. The contents of the safe are still a mystery.

[thanks ubernoober1477]

Toilet Paper Dispenser

July 18, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 47 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTsXlTKaFq0]

Solving the age old problem of… wait, what problem are they solving? These students at UC Berkeley have built a toilet paper dispenser prototype. Not only does it meter out an exact amount for you, it will fold it and cut it as well. They mention this being the perfect accessory for a high tech bathroom, and we can agree. To be serious though, in public places, metering out limited amounts of toilet paper at a time could possibly result in major cost savings. We think the next prototype should have different preference settings such as; wadded, folded, or wrapped around your hand. Anyone else’s mind suddenly filled with unpleasant imagery?

[via Makezine]

Little Dog

July 17, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 36 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBSK7LYpg9w]

Dating back to September of 2007, this certainly isn’t new news, but its new to us. This is Little dog, the miniature version of the ever so creepy Big Dog. We aren’t sure if the lack of Big dogs signature jogging in place makes this little guy seem more lifelike or less. Little dog was designed to be a research platform into study automated navigation of natural terrain. We wouldn’t mind having one of these around the office, though we would have to add some kind of a head or face to give it some character.

[via Bot Junkie]

The HeliControl Project

July 15, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 4 Comments

helicontrol_offen (Custom)

We’ve all seen those little toy helicopters appearing everywhere. They’re getting cheaper and cheaper with some models getting down to roughly $30. The JRL team wanted to be able to control them with a PC, and figured the best way to do it was to build somewhat of a universal remote for them. The HeliControl module currently has several different types of copters programmed in, and they plan on adding more. Its not surprising to see the rise in popularity of these mini choppers, we’ve even seen some pretty extensive mods to the bodies and even mechanicals. Click around this forum to see what some people are doing to them.

Robots Learning Facial Expressions

July 10, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 30 Comments

einstein (Custom)
Researchers at UC San Diego have been working on a robot that learns facial expressions. Starting with a bunch of random movements of the face “muscles”, the robot is rewarded each time it generates something that is close to an existing expression. It has slowly developed several recognizeable expressions itteratively. We have a few questions. First, are we the only ones who see a crazy woman with a mustache in the picture above? Why is that? What makes [Einstein] look so effiminate in that picture? Secondly, what reward do you give a robot? You can actually see this guy in action in a video after the break.