Author: Dan

Technically a brain in a jar.
Jigsolve

Jigsolve: iterating on gantry design

2016-11-05 Dan

The suction is tested; the up/down is tested; the rotation is tested. Now the working head has to be mounted on the gantry, which is forcing @lethic to redesign the side carriages:

and then make the corner mounts of the gantry change to match as well. Both have to be changed before we can test. It’s not a one-at-a-time kind of deal. Boo!

So! We have progress, which is nice. I have to resurrect the IRC bot and check all that software that was ready a year ago is still working. I’m also trying to make a new jigsaw puzzle that won’t have the tight fitting pieces, as well as organize a collaboration with an art gallery or science museum to host our robot while the “game” is running. (I lost the game.)

Somehow I’ve gone from being a person who makes robots to a person who talks about the awesome robots he is paying other people to make. Is that a step up? Only if I can find a way to do it even more.

Jigsolve

Jigsolve: testing piece separation

2016-10-18 Dan

Yesterday eve LZ and I printed springs made from ABS and cobbled together a springing ring. Ideally the spring holds the jigsaw down while the target piece is being added/removed.

So far it looks like the suction power of the air pump fails before the springs or the jigsaw separates. Back to the drawing board!

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News

Jigsolve: tested rotation, picking, and placing

2016-10-17 Dan

Controlled rotation, picking, and placing demonstrated. I’ve built a Z axis with a linear actuator and have not tested it yet.

I’m now building and testing a spring loaded mechanism that keeps neighbor pieces on the table when the current piece is inserted or removed.

If you’re enjoying this robot coming together please tell instagram to put me on their robots channel so I can bring this kind of cool stuff to more eyeballs.

“Hi @Instagram! Please put @i-make-robots on your #robots channel. Thank you!”

Thank you in advance for sharing with your friends and following along. Your support keeps me strong!

News

Jigsolve: Rotate + vacuum assembly

2016-10-11 Dan

Here are the 3d printed blocks from the previous post and the rotation/nozzle assembly together on a car that will ride on the X axis of the corexy frame. Currently I’m building and testing the lifting mechanism. The lifter moves Z0-2cm.

Now anyone who’s ever done a jigsaw puzzle knows they’re not well cut pieces. Sometimes I lift a piece and the neighbor pieces stick to the one I want. The robot has to deal with this undesirable behavior. my lifter has a spring-loaded ring around and slightly below the nozzle. When a piece is being lifted the ring should be holding the neighbor pieces down. When the nozzle is placing a piece the ring should not interfere. When the head is moving across the table, with or without a jigsaw piece, the ring should not touch the pieces on the table.

Today I’m 3D printing and laser cutting the wood parts to assemble this version and do a live test.

News

Jigsolve: nozzle mounting

2016-10-05 Dan

We’re waiting for parts to be delivered from our suppliers, and since the website is moving smoothly and tutorials are getting written I’ve taken a few days to prototype mounting systems for the pick and place nozzle. Above are some of the test prints.

I’ll probably leave it open-faced and zap-strap around the parts to hold them in place while still being accessible. The next step is to mount them on a system that can be raised and lowered. Then that system has to mount on the gantry and I can finally get back to lifting a jigsaw piece.

The biggest question right now is which way to point the web camera. I think straight down, but still able to see the nozzle tip is the best. I suspect the camera should NOT move up/down, to make it easier to aim the nozzle.