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Demo went well (pretty much)
Oct. 8th, 2011 06:41 pmI took the RepRap and the one in progress in to Robotics club today to do a demo. It went pretty well. I had Y axis problems that were really bad, so after my intro they went on to the next thing on the program. As I suspected, my Y axis drive current was just a bit high and the driver was cutting out. I borrowed a screwdriver and had it fixed in 2 minutes.
I printed a knob and a screw top box, which went pretty well. Printing male and female threads is a bit dicey especially without a fan, but the lid does go on after a fashion. A little attention from a heat gun will probably fix it right up.
By having the printer in progress there I was able to talk about open hardware and how through collaboration, everyone with an idea on how to make the printer better can grab the source files, make their changes, print a new part and bolt it onto the printer immediately and put the thing out for others to try. I brought the extruder and explained how this was about a 4th generation derivative extruder body, and at least a 3rd generation derivative gearset. I also tried to get across the idea of modifying hardware yourself to make it better, and I told about the tent part that I made to get across the idea of fixing stuff whether the manufacturer likes it or not.
I also talked about using a printer like this to print prototypes before getting them printed professionally in stainless steel or something. I also explained how you have to keep in mind the manufacturing method that will be used when you design the part, additive versus subtractive manufacturing, etc.
They're a pretty good bunch of kids and they thought the thing was intensely cool, pretty much every one of them thanked me for bringing the stuff in and showing it. A couple of the mentors spent a lot of time watching the thing print (it's hard to resist). They have one mentor who works at the Chrysler proving grounds.
They also asked me to get checked out for working with the kids, which involves fingerprinting and background check. That doesn't thrill me but I guess I'll probably do it since I'd like to help when build season comes around, and they said they could use chaperones at the events, they only have a couple of parents that have gotten checked.
I printed a knob and a screw top box, which went pretty well. Printing male and female threads is a bit dicey especially without a fan, but the lid does go on after a fashion. A little attention from a heat gun will probably fix it right up.
By having the printer in progress there I was able to talk about open hardware and how through collaboration, everyone with an idea on how to make the printer better can grab the source files, make their changes, print a new part and bolt it onto the printer immediately and put the thing out for others to try. I brought the extruder and explained how this was about a 4th generation derivative extruder body, and at least a 3rd generation derivative gearset. I also tried to get across the idea of modifying hardware yourself to make it better, and I told about the tent part that I made to get across the idea of fixing stuff whether the manufacturer likes it or not.
I also talked about using a printer like this to print prototypes before getting them printed professionally in stainless steel or something. I also explained how you have to keep in mind the manufacturing method that will be used when you design the part, additive versus subtractive manufacturing, etc.
They're a pretty good bunch of kids and they thought the thing was intensely cool, pretty much every one of them thanked me for bringing the stuff in and showing it. A couple of the mentors spent a lot of time watching the thing print (it's hard to resist). They have one mentor who works at the Chrysler proving grounds.
They also asked me to get checked out for working with the kids, which involves fingerprinting and background check. That doesn't thrill me but I guess I'll probably do it since I'd like to help when build season comes around, and they said they could use chaperones at the events, they only have a couple of parents that have gotten checked.
