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Makelangelo GUI v0.9.2

I’ve made some improvements to the Makelangelo software today. No firmware update required.
– “drive manually” interface is now part of the main window and includes a speed setting.
– “configure limits” screen is simplified to only 4 values (used to be 2) and now works in millimeters. No need to change your software if you’ve already configured your machine.
– Minor internal changes for Makelangelo v2.
– “Pause” now lifts the pen and “unpause” lowers it again (if necessary)
– GUI can be configured in “Preferences” to play a sound when certain events happen (like finish processing an image or finish drawing)
– Windows users will find a start32.bat and start64.bat. Please use the one appropriate for your system.

Windows users please let me know if you have any challenges whatsoever in running the software. I’d like it to be as flawless and bulletproof as possible in windows and I need your help to make it so.

In other news I got the boxes for the Makelangelo 2 today and they look damn fine, if I do say so myself. White die-cut instead of brown looks so much more professional. What do you think – should I include string and a USB cable along with all the other stuff? I’m wondering just how “complete” this package should be.

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Makelangelo v1 Sold Out

Following a fantastic day at the Albany state legislature I’ve shipped all my remaining Makelangelo 1 kits. That means from now until March 8 you can order the Makelangelo 2 in ROB-0006 fully assembled or ROB-0007 DIY models. I’ve also deprecated the Makelangelo 1. Another first!

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We Love Feedback

This morning I checked my messages to find that Jerom had contacted us through our Facebook page to ask about our international shipping policies.  The short answer is: we ship fast, we ship with tracking, and we love you all.  I updated our shipping & return policies just for you, Jerom.  Thank you!

If you have a question or ideas to make this experience better, please let us know.  We’re very open to feedback.

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See a Makelangelo Live in New York

Are you in NY state? Do you want to check out a Makelangelo? From 12:00 to 17:00 EST Andrew from 3DHacker.com will be running a Makelangelo 1 at the Albany County Legislature. Google says 112 New York 5, Albany, NY 12207. If you go, tell him I said hi!

Update! “Legislator office building, north parking lot entrance. Across from the capital building.” I hope that makes sense to you when you get there.

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Three Secrets to Better Results on a Redsail Laser Cutter

The Redsail laser cutter at the Vancouver Hack Space is a terrific 80w cutting machine. It’s fast, precise, and makes prototyping so very, very easy. Unfortunately the software is a bit dumb. If I load a complex design it will spend half the work time traveling between random cuts. It would be much faster if the travel time was minimized, especially if you have to cut a lot of similar parts. Fortunately, there’s a way to do just that.

In the picture here I’ve loaded part of the box for the Makelangelo 2. Every yellow dot is the start of a cut. Red arrows show which way the cut will be made. It might look like some make sense – one cut ends where another starts – but that doesn’t mean the machine will cut them in that order. The secret is to select all the lines and use Tools > Unite lines.

In the example above I used a second trick to reduce waste.  First I united all the lines in the part on the left (in black).  Then I moved the red part so that the black and red part edges lined up as close as I could get them.   You can drag any selection by clicking on either the blue X or on the yellow dot at the start of any line segment.  I zoom in really far and try to match up a corner to get a good fit in both directions.  Once I have a nice fit I select all the smal red line segments that overlap the black part and I delete them.  Then I select the remaining red line segments and unite them.  Now I have two cuts with minimal travel and no wasted material.

It may not seem like uniting means much if you’re cutting a single small piece but if you start to cut large quantities the time and material savings really start to add up.

“Wait!” you say.  “What’s the third secret?”  That would be the one that you know and I don’t.  Have you got a tip for getting more out of the laser cutter?  Can you tell me how to pan instead of zoom out/zoom in?  Comment below so everyone can benefit.