RepRap Family Tree

EmmanuelG has created a visual family tree showing the ancestry of the multitude of RepRap design variations that exist today. It's posted in a GitHub repository here. A .png of version 4 is posted below:

The tree goes back to 2006 when the movement appears to have first started. It's enlightening to look through the details of the branches and see the variations that have come about, but it's also interesting to look at the tree as a whole to see how the movement exploded into all of the different designs we see today.

So one question I have is whether the next several years will yield the same amount of variation, or will there be a leveling-off and stability, or will the maturation of the most "fit" designs lead to less variation than we have seen so far?

I also wonder if there are other similar movements that we could look to for some indication. My feeling so far is that the RepRap movement is unique in how it is a convergence of hardware and software that both enables and feeds off of creativity and innovation. There is almost a positive feedback loop at play that is leading to innovation faster than I personally have ever been exposed to.  The evolution of the RepRap movement may be without true precedent.

Thoughts?

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CNC Router + 3D Printer Progress

First, a quick note to say that the green PLA is performing very well with basically the same settings I was using for the blue PLA.  Here is a shot of a few pieces I printed for a friend, stacked together (they are meant to form the top of a chess piece he's designing):

3 Small Pieces Printed Separately and Stacked Together

I am constructing a CNC machine that I also plan to use as a 3D printer.  Here's a screenshot from SketchUp showing the basic design:

SketchUp Screenshot of CNC Router + 3D Printer Design

The machine is designed to be a 18" x 22" x 6" CNC router, and 3D printing capability will be an add-on, since I already have a 3D printer (MendelMax 1.5).  However, I made a decision a few days ago to change the type of stepper motor driver that I would use for the CNC machine specifically so that it would work with RAMPS, so it looks more and more like I will carry through with giving the machine dual functionality.  

Linear Rails and Bearings (Boxed) for CNC + 3D Printer

Today I received the rails and bearings for the CNC machine, and I have purchased right at 60% of the components by price, so no turning back now!  I'm excited about another machine build after having gone through the MendelMax build.  This machine will require more work in some ways, but I do plan to leverage the 3D printer's capabilities to help with assembly (printing drill fixtures to help layout precise hole patterns, for example).

My target for completing the machine is the first of February.  May have to be adjusted . . . :)

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A Quick Print . . .

Just printed the gimbal plate from crezzee's SSG (super simple gimbal) design:  http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1793759

I have some friends with some radio controlled aircraft that were thinking about using this gimbal design or a derivative to mount a camera on their flying machines, so I downloaded the .pdf (linked to from the page listed above) that crezzee posted with the gimbal plate design, opened it and made a screen capture, saved the screen capture as a .jpg, imported the .jpg into SektchUp, scaled it based on the 50mm x 50mm reference square in crezzee's .pdf (very nice touch, crezzee!), and then drew a solid model of the plate on top of the imported .jpg.

Screen Grab of PDF Imported Into SketchUp, Model Above

Model Created by Drawing Over Scaled Screen Grab Image

Printed Model with Calipers for Scale

Closeup of Printed SSG Gimbal Plate

The density of the material I'm using (PLA) is around 1.25 g/cm^3, and the model from SketchUp that I created from the .pdf that crezzee posted has a volume of 5.05 cm^3, so the weight of the piece is roughly 6.25g.  Feels stiff enough for a camera and some servo's, but only the full assembly would prove it out.  Oh, I printed it 3.0 mm thick also, with 90% fill density, so it's basically a solid piece of plastic.

Maybe soon we will get some servo's and the other pieces and put the entire gimbal assembly together.  Please take a look at the post above by crezzee--it is an awesome example of a project you can build with very little knowledge and (judging by his videos on youtube) end up with a device that makes your RC drone videos as smooth and clear as the ones put out by the CIA.

Next up for printing is switching to a new roll of PLA.  I've been through 2 full 1kg spools of 3mm PLA on my MendelMax 1.5, and have to say that the machine has been great.  Of course massive thanks to everyone who worked on designing this particular machine, and to those that pushed open source 3D printing to the point it is today.

The new spool of PLA is green, and I'm not worried about the printing quality as much as just getting it to adhere well to the build plate.  When I moved from gold to blue PLA I had major problems getting the blue to stick (see earlier blog posts), but I've been using a watered down PLA glue mixture on top of my glass build surface lately and it seems to really work well.  I hope the green PLA likes it.

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Brushless DC Motor Fixture Complete

In the last post I showed a screen shot from SketchUp of a fixture I planned to print and construct.  The purpose was to allow me to safely operate a brushless DC motor using an Arduino and an ESC (electronic speed controller) as part of a proof of concept for a new device I'm developing.

The fixture worked well, and I have a video on YouTube that shows it serving its purpose with the motor turning (those of you who have been through similar situations will appreciate how significant it is that the motor is actually turning :) ).  Please take a look:

Since that time I have used most of my free time to work on a CNC machine design.  It is basically a CNC router type of design, but it is truly 3-axis and has 6" of travel in the Z axis.  It also has 18" of travel in the X axis and 22" of travel in the Y axis.  I mention it here on this blog because I plan to equip it with (in addition to a router or spindle for machining) a hotend and extruder, meaning that not only will it be a decent CNC machine, it will be a FDM 3D printer with a 18" x 22" x 6" build envelope (and ball screws and linear rails and bearings, large stepper motors, etc.).  I will try to update the blog with developments of this 3D Printer + CNC as the build progresses.

I haven't given up on the 3D printed lathe, and I have the cross slide and 3 jaw chuck both 90% assembled.  Work on the lathe has taken a back seat to work on the device that will use the brushless DC motor and Arduino control and the CNC machine, but I can't just let it die off completely . . .

In other news, please take a look at this design for a 3D-printable (well, except for a few parts) Sterling engine.  This is something that I had hoped to design and build myself, but Doug Conner knows a ton more about Sterling engines than I do, and has done a fantastic job of designing and documenting his build.  Here is a video of the 3D printed Sterling engine running:

And on this page Doug Conner documents the build in great detail, including a link to download the .stl files from Thingiverse.  Awesome job Doug!!

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