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Makelangelo 2 laser cut box v1 process and notes

2013-02-09 Dan

Here is v1 of the box for the Makelangelo 2. You’ll be able to get the Makelangelo 2 in two delicious flavours: fully assembled and DIY. Until the March 8 release date they are up to 14% off.

makelangelo 2 laser cut box v1

I sketched out the box and all the parts in my huge sketchbook, then used Google search to find NEMA 17 dimensions and Arduino holes to make sure I knew the dimensions. The Birch I used is 2.8mm thick so I plugged in all those numbers to Rahulbotic’s Box Maker. That produced a PDF which I converted to DXF in Inkscape, brought into my CAD program, and then added the holes for the wiring and mounting. Here’s the result.

makelangelo 2 laser cut box v1 assembled

I’m very pleased with how it turned out. It’s nearly perfect! The only places I guessed at I guessed wrong – there are three tabs with slots that are supposed to hold the power plug in place. I guessed how far apart they should be and I guessed how big the slot should be. The thing I forgot was to put holes on the front cover to make a hinge – I assumed it would be glued shut and, on later reflection, that seems really silly. The next version will have these corrections and then – fingers crossed – it will be perfect.

makelangelo 2 laser cut box installed

It worked perfectly when it was mounted. I’m editing video now of Makelangelo 2 drawing a dragon for Chinese New Year (should I say spring festival?). I guess next week I should draw a snake since it’s going to be the year of the snake. Gung Hey Fa Choi, everyone!

Speaking of important dates, I’ll be giving a talk at the Railway club Monday, February 11 at 7:00 on 3D printing and it’s effect (affect?) on liberties. Come on by and watch me convulse for 20 minutes as I commune with the spirits.

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When 3D Printing is (and is not) the Right Solution

2013-02-08 Dan

This morning after walking the dogs I got a random call from a guy who wanted a 3d-printed “pebble” in clear plastic. I suggested instead he go to the glass works on granville island and get a bead of actual glass, and explained what 3d printing is good for.

To me, 3D printing is great when you have to prototype something in many iterations. Take my work, for example. Just this morning I made four different computer models of the Makelangelo 2 box because I kept making mistakes refining and improving it. See what I did there? That’s where it comes in really handy. The first time I printed the end effector for the four-armed delta robot I discovered that the bolts couldn’t be put in without overlapping in space. 20 minutes later I had a new one printed with the correction. If I had done that in metal I would be out several hundred dollars.

Of course I’m still willing to print anything in off-white ABS plastic. All you have to provide is an STL file of your model. Parts for my kits, stuff you want to prototype, or even parts from Thingiverse. Send me an email with your part and I’ll be happy to give you an estimate.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go use my other favorite prototyping tool – the laser cutter at the Vancouver Hack Space.

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GUI experiment: promoting drive manually

2013-02-06 Dan

Steve Jobs and Apple said, “Think Different.” So I’m trying a few things. What do you think of this? Better? Easier? Too big? Missing something? Comment below!

promoted drive manually controls

The driving controls in the bottom right used to be hidden in a menu. I found that I was opening and closing that menu all the time and that was kind of silly. Does this work better for you? Any other ideas to make things clearer? I want your comments and feedback.