Finished Plaque
One of the things that CNC machines do well is V Carving. V Carving is a type of carving that uses a “V” shaped bit to create cutouts that vary in width, with the cut being narrowest closet to the tip and wider towards the top. The deepest point of a V Carved tool path is along the center of the letter or figure being carved. When you create V Carved letters you also (more…)
Sophie Kahn created this bronze sculpture using a 3D printed mold.
One of the hottest new technologies in the DIY community is DLP 3D printers. DLP stands for Direct Light Processing. It is the process of using light to cure photopolymer resin into solid 3D objects one layer at a time. DLP printers are different from 3D printers like the Makerbot Replicator2 in that the Replicator heats plastic and prints it one layer at a time. This process is know as Fused Deposition Modeling or FDM. Most 3D printers melt down a filament similar to a weed whacker line into a puddle of molten plastic which is squeezed through a tiny hole to produce a tiny thread of plastic. The thread of extruded plastic is used to build up the design. (more…)
Recently a new project was launched on Kickstarter.com. The Handibot could be a CNC game changer? The CNC world has been heating up lately. New offerings in Desktop CNC are starting to spring up. Perhaps it is because of the increasing popularity of the Makers Movement, the same force that is driving the 3D printer development. What ever the reason CNC Router s are becoming more popular.
The Handibot was introduced by Shopbot Tools. Shopbot is a well-respected company in the CNC marketplace. Shopbot introduced their new product the Handibot to the public at the Bay Area Makers Faire in May 2013 and then launched a successful Kickstarter campaign on June 27, 2013 to fund the project. The Handibot reached it’s funding goal in two days from launch and as I write this on day three they are nearly $25,000, past their funding goal. (more…)
I love to make CNC Router tables. I am constantly modifying my 3 axis CNC Router table to add new features and functionality. I originally built the machine in 2009 and have done 3 major upgrade prior to this. Each upgrade has worked better than the previous version so I decided make an aluminum CNC router build. I am adding machined aluminum parts to replace all the MDF parts.
The original machine was built from a set of plans I got from Joescnc. the plans showed a basic machine that could be easily built and modified with out the need for metal working machinery. I have slowly been tweaking the machines construction for the last 4 years to the point that it is now a distant cousin to the original 3 Axis CNC Router with MDF carriages and Lead screws. After my 3rd rebuild (Warp Drive Project) was so successful I decided to finalize the design in aluminum. (more…)
Multiplo Open Source Robot
When I heard that Multiplo planned to release an open source robots kit I was very excited by the possibilities. I was excited because for once, anyone with an interest in robotics would have access to the tools they need to get involved. Most existing robotics kits use proprietary parts and the user can’t add new parts they designed. With open access to all the design files, builders can custom-make their own components or modify an existing design to fit their needs.
Another reason I was excited was because the Multiplo robots use Minibloq Graphical programming Environment for Arduino. Minibloq allows the user to use the Duinobot, Arduino compatible Brain without knowing how to write code. (more…)
