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Closed-loop 3D printing with Optical Encoders

2015-01-22 Dan

Chris wrote in with a link to a great project I’ve wanted to see for years: closed-loop 3D printing.

An open loop machine run blind. anything pushes them off course and they won’t know it. In 3D printing this nearly always means restarting from scratch.

Closed loop machines are more self-aware (not in a Skynet kind of way!). They’re programed to correct themselves, meaning less failed prints.

Misan replaced the stepper motors in his 3D printer with DC motors that have optical encoders. The encoders sense how far the motors move. Misan can even force them off track mid-print and the machine will correct itself. Perfect!

See Also

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/dc-motor-closed-loop-control-software#!design-information

Closed Loop Control For 3D Printers

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Adapting Makelangelo to CoreXY kinematics

2015-01-21 Dan

Mike wrote in on our live chat to talk about his CoreXY kinematics. Seems there’s no open source Arduino code to drive his new system and – being a smart guy who does his homework – he reached out to the people with experience. Long time readers will know that I started a Jigsaw solving robot last year and that I intend to finish it in May. Seems like interest in CoreXY has just exploded since then, and this was a wake up call.

With the changes described below you should be able to draw images using the Makelangelo software on your CoreXY system. Video proof, too!
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Makelangelo now more Open Hardware

2015-01-20 Dan

The Makelangleo 1 is now more Open Hardware than before. The plans for pen holder were missing from Thingiverse, and I added them this morning. Check it out.

If you find what we’re doing useful, tell your friends about us. Tell them to buy our awesome stuff. Tell them we need to grow, and we’re looking for a business guru. Building our moon robots isn’t easy, we need all the help we can get.

News

January 2015 class: Arduino + RFID

2015-01-19 Dan

Sign up now for my first class of 2015: learning RFID.

10 early birds and 5 late comers will get to explore our Arduino RFID starter kit. It included all kinds of goodies to put together and play with. There’s enough parts in here to automate your home aquaponics system or build a really tiny game of Tetris. sensors, joysticks, noise makers, motors, lights, and more.

Some programming knowledge and your own laptop are required. Please have Arduino software installed before arrival to save everyone time.

Find all the details on Eventbright.

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Makelangelo firmware loaded before shipping

2015-01-17 Dan

The Makelangelo 3 and Makelangelo 2.5 Arduinos (if you order one) will come with the firmware already installed. Why? Because we love you.

We’re almost ISO-9000 certified. What that means is we’re committed to always improving everything and we document all our processes.

Loading the code will do two things: First, it will make sure everything on the board is 100%. Second, it means you shouldn’t have to run Arduino at all, just the Makelangelo software. that skips a lot of steps. You can focus on putting the parts together and making great drawings.

If that sounds good to you, consider making a translation of the Makelangelo software into another language and sharing it in the forums. I’ll include it in the official package for everyone.

Oh yeah, and please share this with your friends, so together we can make more awesome robots.