This is the real deal, no derivatives here. These are the real Printrbot in it's current version. I have a bunch of these printing all day, every day.... it works. It is expandable to larger widths and heights easier than any other reprap out there. Period. Its the most inexpensive bot out there being mass produced. And, its now yours to print, build, improve, change.... whatever you like. I can't wait to see what you do with it. I will post pics of all the various forms it takes, news, etc at printrbot.com
-enjoy
Brook

I needed a stubby screwdriver for a project and I almost bought one from a hardware store...Duh! I can print one! All you need are the 1/4" hex bits which most people already have.

Very much a work in progress! This is an odometer for filament! It should measure filament by the centimeter so you can have a real measurement for filament used! The base it attaches to slides on to the counter assembly, so you can chose different mounts for it, but the first mount is for a ToM endcap.

I'm currently printing the first set of parts to validate the design, after some tweaks, I'll upload the first working design to share and build from!

The next version will have a second resettable counter. I will also provide just the counter mechanism as a separate "thing" once I make sure everything works okay.

Lady Gaga approved.
(not actually Lady Gaga approved)

This is the Quantum ORD Bot. It is 3D printer mech platform made from MakerSlide linear bearing. It is extremly ridged and very easy to build. The design can easily be scaled in X,Y and/or Z by simply changing the Makerslide lengths plus belt and leadscrew lengths. This is the mini or 'Quantum' version. The parts other than MakerSlide are either off the shelf standard items or easily fabricate with a laser cutter, 3D printer or CNC router. There is a blog post giving a lot more detail.

buildlog.net/blog/2012/01/the-quantum-ord-bot/

As a reference point, this size uses less than $15 worth of Makerslide extrusion. You also need about $45 worth of MakerSlide wheels, spacers, etc. The Makerslide parts are available at the MakerSlide store. Be aware the rail is released in weekly 'production batches' and sells out very quickly. It is 'restocked' on weekly basis.

I have attached the complete 3D design in STEP format plus a DXF of the flat parts. If I can generate enough interest, I may have about 50 sets of parts fabricated and offer kits. That would be for the mechatronics platform only. The extruder, electronics, etc would not be included.

Why spend $200 for a set of printed parts when you can have everything you see here, including motors, belts, pulleys for about $200?

Planned changes.
1. I plan to change the crossbar handle thing to an extrusion to make it more scalable.
2. The 'quantum' design currently uses NEMA14 motors. I plan to tweak the parts to be compatible with NEMA17. This just adds a second pattern to some parts.

This is partly a derivative of thingiverse.com/thing:14208 (which is a variant of the printrbot). I recommend the printrbot variant on Thingiverse (the link above), as it's a nice and compact design. The files required from the above design are slightly modified and are provided here thingiverse.com/thing:15634 (separately due to GPL licensing of the original parts). The x-carriage can be used straight from the original design, but change the rod size to 8mm.

On this design, the smooth rod has been changed to be on the outside, and the frame uses an aluminium sheet instead of rods. I'm still calling it a reprap, as it relies on lots of printed parts to be operational.

The z-belt has been replaced by a printed rack, which partly based on thingiverse.com/thing:11642 and inspired by thingiverse.com/thing:6011 and thingiverse.com/thing:14537. The x-axis still uses a belt, and a printed pulley. I doubt the Y-axis rack is better than a belt, but it remains to be seen. The design supports a printrbot-type Y-belt if you want to use that instead.

I've tried to make this printer really small, and the print area is too small right now to be usable. I either have to mount the extruder 90 degrees to what it is now (might be the simplest), use a bowden extruder, or use an entirely new not yet invented extruder, I'm aiming for a print area of about 120 mm, which should be possible. This is the main thing I have to fix before this printer is good enough. I haven't printed with it yet, but it feels very stable and I think it'll do well.

The bot is 250 mm wide, but could of course be made wider. The stepper for the x-axis (printrbot-variant design) goes outside 'the box' (alu sheet). I've been toying with the idea of making a different x-axis end which keeps the extruder inside 'the box', for example by turning it 90 degrees and having it upside down like this: thingiverse.com/image:96329

The bars are 8mm. I use NEMA17 for the z-axis and NEMA17 for the extruder, and NEMA14 for the X and Y axis. The printrbot variant files can be edited to use NEMA17 all over instead if you wish. If you use his files, you'll need to fix the distance between the smooth and threaded Z rods also. Mine are 27 mm apart, between the centers.

It uses LM8UU bearings. The base that holds the bearings for the Y-rods is a bit weak around the bearings and needs a redesign. But I lost the source file and haven't had time to fix it yet. Will do if there is demand.

The rack-gear made using thingiverse.com/thing:3575. Note that this library is LGPL, but I have taken the liberty of posting the part here. Consider it distributed under LGPL.

As a coupling for the z-axis I'm using thingiverse.com/thing:11220 without any changes. I also use it on my prusa, and it works great, reducing z-wobble.

One possible improvement to this design is to not print the full height of plastic for the z-height, allowing the x-end to go a bit further down (it's being stopped when the nut-holder hits the coupling).

I've made various other test designs, including one without the alu sheet that uses plastic instead: thingiverse.com/image:95169 . I have also made one with two bars on each side of the z-stepper instead of on the outside, but dropped that idea. thingiverse.com/image:98180 (I don't really need two bars on each end. One should have been enough.)

I'm looking at it now and think I could add another 2 cm build area (1 cm each side) by doing this. The reason I didn't was I then had to design the top parts myself instead of using the printrbot variant.

There is a video of it moving at: youtu.be/IaLl8jtqlT8

You can of course use other things than an aluminium sheet. Other metals, but you can probably use a wooden structure also. The printrbot concept seems ok for making a repstrap without many plastic parts, if you don't have a friend who can help you with printing the plastic.

Have you been envious of ever-dimensionally-increasing build platforms? Well now you can claim to be able to print ONE FOOT* OF PLASTIC!

* Warning: Claim may be pun.

But seriously though, this was a test print while I continually try to get my printer to meet my unrealistically high quality expectations.

Hope you get a kick out of this!

UPDATE:
I added an approximately "full-size" model of just the top half of the foot.

I'm satisfied with the quality.

Making those old red Gen3 motherboards more like a Gen4 motherboard.

You can buy one in the MakerBot Store! store.makerbot.com/3g-5d-shield-for-cupcake.html

This is a shield for the Gen3 Motherboard that allows connecting a fourth stepper (for controlling a stepper-extruder) directly to the motherboard. This is my "sorry guys" for coming up with the firmware changes and that ugly cable hack that was used to connect the Gen3 EC to an external stepper.

Note: I fixed a glitch in the RPM variants of the Machines.xml files. Sorry about that.

Below you can download a file "3G_5D_Profiles.zip" that contains three profiles:

A skeinforge 40 profile, called "3G 5D (Dimension) Example v2," that is the same profile I use with both Gen3+Shield and Gen4 motherboards. Note that this profile is NOT for use the RPM variants of the machines files.

Two skeinforge 35 profiles, called "3G 5D Shield (RPM) 1.75mm ABS MK7" and "3G 5D Shield (RPM) 1.75mm PLA MK7," that can be really be used with any stepper-driven extruder. These are for use with the RPM variants of the machine files.

Update Oct 2nd, 2011: I just updated the hex file with endstop fixes. I also uploaded a new firmware based on 3.0 that will work better with RepG26. You will need to update the EC to 3.0 as well. The stock EC firmware will work. The source for the new 3.0 fimware is here: github.com/giseburt/G3Firmware/tree/3G-5D-Shield-3.0

Update Nov 4th, 2011: I've added an E-Stop connector and associated circuitry to make it reset the bot in case of a failure. Because of this I've changed the pricing slightly.

Update Nov 13th, 2011: I've fixed a glitch in the 5D machines file for use with RepG27.

i wanted something to put my printer in so i build it a flightcase
things i wanted:
- it had to look cool, so no square box
- it had to be able to print, both open and closed
- L shaped, so i could add a spool holder
- windows to see it print
- less than 1/2 sheet wood (flightcase wood is very expensive, and most vendors will sell you a 4ft by 4ft sheet)

all in all, flightcases aren't cheap, and mine came out at 180€ with everything
there are 2 good flightcase suppliers (adam hall and penn) about 98% of all flightcases i see at my job are from one or the other
on this one i used adam hall material, so i'll provide you a part list from them

This is the file for the base and side for my tea cup warmer.

At last, here is the much-requested 100% printable heart gears. No more ugly bolt holes! This was designed along the same lines as the screwless cube gears: thingiverse.com/thing:10483, and in fact uses the exact same center block (though the pins are slightly shorter).

UPDATE: If you lack a 3D printer, you can now buy these from CarryTheWhat at etsy.com/shop/CarryTheWhat.

The size has been increased a bit from the previous version to accommodate the printed pins, so it now measures 100mm across when assembled. Since everything is now printable, it should be easy to scale this design up or down as you see fit. At this size it took me ~6 hours of printing time on my TOM.

Thank you, all of you who've made cube gears and posted pictures. Since tbuser made these lovely pin connectors, thingiverse.com/thing:10288, I figured it was high time to make a fully printable cube gear set. Now you needn't bother buying any more screws: this one snaps together.

UPDATE: For anyone without access to a 3D printer, you can now buy these from caesia on her Etsy store: etsy.com/shop/PlasticFusion

UPDATE: New version uses tbuser's new pin connectors V2: thingiverse.com/thing:10541, is much stronger, and prints right-side-up. This is practice for making a heart-gear version.

This design also incorporates a couple of tricks that others may find useful. The center block has two very narrow slices through it, which cause interior walls to form, which help keep the tops of the holes from sagging during printing. Likewise, a cylinder is cut out of the interior of the gears, which serves two purposes. First, it makes a strong internal support for the pin. Second, it makes for less stringing between parts when you print four gears at once, because Skeinforge makes the head go from the center of one to the center of the other, so that the perimeters wipe off the nozzle.

UPDATE: By popular demand, a new version of the center block has been uploaded (BcenterFlat.stl), which doesn't have any internal slits and is oriented to print on a large face. This one is significantly easier to print, though the top and bottom holes do end up a touch tighter than the rest.

For hanging on a Louvre hook panel, or simply stacking up in a pile, to sort all your nuts and bolts, bits and bobs, odds and ends in.

I don't currently have access to such a panel, so the clip on this tub is a generous estimation, and there is a matching hook that can be easily stuck all over a scrap bit of plywood by using some countersunk screws, to turn it into such a panel.
If anyone does have access to one and would like to share some dimensions for the hooks on them, then I could redesign this for a better fit.

The current design is only two parts for simplicity's sake, and on its side to keep stress in-plane and remove overhangs, but I might consider making one in more flat parts.
Suggest some alternate sizes and I'll make them, otherwise go fiddle around with the IGES part files.

A solenoid-powered dancebot.
Designed by BeatBots for MAKE Magazine.
Video at vimeo.com/26191062

This is an update to my Accessible Wade's Extruder.

The idler is now hinged using an M3 screw.
I have also added support for the central part of the 608 idler so that there is no need to use washers to space the bearing away from the plastic.

I have been using this design for a while now and love it.

Changing filament is a simple as compressing the spring then whipping out the old filament and poking the new one in.

UPDATE: 6 Aug 2011 - Add arcol (cory75 thing:10532) and wildseyed hotend mount options. Im not overly happy with the asymmetry of the arcol option.

My simplified version of mendel. All axes are compatible with regular mendel. Actual information you can find on RepRap wiki reprap.org/wiki/Prusa_Mendel and most recent OpenSCAD source files are on my GitHub github.com/prusajr/PrusaMendel

Last update is, that its working and its pretty darn good :-)

Couples a 5mm motor shaft to an 8mm threaded rod, ensuring they are coaxial, but allowing some angular movement if the rod is not straight. See hydraraptor.blogspot.com/2011/06/yet-another-prusa-z-coupling.html.

Just a clip on filament guide for the cup cake

This spool doesn't require you to have already printed anything - it just takes a little bit of physical labor. $10 at the hardware store, a hacksaw or dremel, and 15 minutes and you have a TRULY USEFUL spool. This is a perfect way to start your first print with a nice spooler.

I've tried a few other simple spools and I've never managed to get anything to work well enough that I felt like I could walk away from my machine during a print. THIS DOES.

The Prusa git repository does not convert T5 belt (5mm) to XL belt (0.20") when generating STL for the SAE version. The pitches are so close that the pulley appears to work, but the ratio of tooth to space is different so there is backlash when the pulley reverses as the small teeth slide in the large gap.

This is a variation of a 10t XL gear that Rick at MakerGear sells with his kit. His STL didn't print well for me due to slight printing inaccuracy causing the grooves in the pulley to fill up with material. This one is derived from an SCAD source here on Thingiverse. The grooves for the belt teeth are 25% deeper than nominal.

Rick's STL is on github: github.com/MakerGear/MakerGear-Prusa-Mendel

Official and most recent info is here: reprap.org/wiki/PLA_bushings.

Great alternative of bearings, if you dont have huge load. VikOlliver inspired me with his set of parts, using PLA "sleds". This is radically improved, tho.

I'm testing them on my mendel remix and they looks pretty good.

Also, it makes whole x-carriage snap on to axis rods :-) Its great if you are experimenting with extruders a lot!!

They sits really nicely on rods. With regular Igus bushings I had a problem, because I dont have bearing rods, it was all little wobbly.

This is a desktop-size, open-source milling machine in kitform, built from lasercut parts.
We know several people have tried to put a Dremel inside a Makerbot, but we don't think this makes much sense. You'll have a high center of gravity and a light frame. We love our Makerbots, but we think if we put a Dremel toolhead in them, they'll just vibrate apart :)

We designed something from the ground up to be stable, rugged and still light-weight enough to be carried around. (actually, the one I'm showing in Paris this weekend now features a suitcase handle on the steel frame)

The machine has an open floor, allowing it to do a milling operation on a large object.

The machine was specifically developed to have a low center of gravity and be a portable, yet stable platform.

The machine uses a microATX 12V power supply and Makerbot electronics

The current version has a 175x175 mm cutting area.

The machine can easily be enlarged along the X-axis, as the machine is built from a number of modular parts.

There's a short video of the working machine on repairablemachines.com/updates.html
You'll also find some stuff we made with it there.

The plans are uploaded here and on repairablemachines.com.
We also make kits for this machine, we can provide you with all the parts you need to assemble this into a fully working milling machine

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2011: we published version 1.08 of this machine
It now has:
-improved accuracy, better than 0.2mm
-version numbering engraved on all parts
-a more rigid Z-axis

Superstition

Some hold that when confronted with unfortunate events, or just when these are mentioned or suggested, a person wanting to avoid that fate could resort to the sign of the horns to ward off bad luck. It is a more vulgar equivalent of knocking on wood. Interestingly, superstitious ones can alternatively "touch iron" (tocca ferro) or touch their noses, which are not considered as vulgar alternatives, or (for males) grab their testicles (the left one with the right hand in Argentina, a country very influenced by the Italian culture), which is considered very vulgar, but is perhaps the most commonplace of the three. In Peru it is shown usually by saying contra (against). In Dominican Republic is usually used the expression zafa as a protection against curses commonly known as fukú, as well when a mention is made of someone or something believed to be involved with a curse. All of these gestures are meant to somehow conjure some supernatural power to protect the performer of the gesture. This sign may be used (e.g. in Cuba, Brazil and in Italy) to indicate a man whose wife is unfaithful (probably in the very widespread traditional association of horns with a cuckold), and as with superstitions, gestures to avert harm such as knocking on wood or saying "solavaya" are commonplace.

Such gestures are typically used when a black cat crosses one's path, when seeing a hearse (whether or not it is loaded), or when encountering any situation, object or person believed to bring about bad luck. It was once thought to prevent or distract the effects of the evil eye, that is of intentional or directed curses. Historically the gesture was pointed at people suspected of being witches.

In Italy, pointing the index and little finger at someone is a common curse as well as an accusation of having an unfaithful wife. With fingers down, it is a common apotropaic gesture instead, by which superstitious people seek protection in unlucky situations (something like touching wood). Thus for example the President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone shocked the country when, while in Naples during an outbreak of cholera, he shook the hands of patients with one hand while with the other behind his back he made the corna. This act was well documented by the journalists and photographers who were right behind him, a fact that had escaped President Leone's mind in that moment. The gesture was interpreted as especially offensive for the patients.[1] It is much more common in southern Italy, and is typical in the popular culture of Naples, where President Leone was born.[2]

During an European Union meeting in 2002, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi did this gesture during a meeting picture. Asked why, he answered he did it "because it's fun".

European and North American popular culture

Music history and acoustics

Daniel Speer (1636–1707) calls this sign "zwey quehr Finger" and designates it as a measure of the distance between adjacent positions on a tenor trombone. Literally "athwart two fingers" this primitive measure may rank along with the cubit in its antiquity. Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) uses this term in his Syntagma Musicum III to describe the pitch difference between "Choir tone (Chorton)" and "Chamber tone (Kammerton)." To find the difference between Chorton and Kammerton, one must lower the slide on a tenor trombone made in Nürnberg the distance of "zwey quehr Finger" which is one-half step; zwei quer Finger is German for "two across fingers".

Contemporary use by musicians and fans

The 1969 back album cover for Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls on Mercury Records by Chicago-based psychedelic-occult rock band Coven, led by singer Jinx Dawson, pictured Coven band members giving the "sign of the horns" correctly and included a Black Mass poster showing members at a ritual making the sign. Starting in early 1968, Coven concerts always began and ended with Jinx giving the sign on stage. Incidentally, the band also recorded a song called "Black Sabbath" on their 1969 album, and one of the band members is named Oz Osborne, not to be confused with Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath.

On the cover of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine album (1969), the cartoon of John Lennon's right hand is making the sign above Paul McCartney's head. For many fans, this was one of the many "Paul is dead" clues. Some may think it is possible that the cartoonist misrepresented the sign for "I love you", which is very similar and more in keeping with the band's public message and image. However, the 1969 cartoon is based on many photos of John Lennon making the hand sign in 1967. One of these photos of Lennon doing the hand sign appears on the cover of a Beatles single release shortly after, making it the first time the hand sign appears on a rock release.

Beginning in the early 1970s, the horns were known to some as the "P-Funk sign" to fans of Parliament-Funkadelic. It was used by George Clinton and Bootsy Collins as the password to the Mothership,[3] a central element in Parliament's science-fiction mythology, and fans used it in return to show their enthusiasm for the band. Collins is depicted showing the P-Funk sign on the cover of his 1977 album Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!

Frank Zappa can be seen making the gesture in the 1977 film Baby Snakes.

Music fans sometimes brandish this sign, often accompanied by headbanging, to signify that they enjoy the music they are listening to, mostly when the music is of the rock or metal genre.

Heavy metal subculture
It also has a variety of meanings in heavy metal subcultures, where it is known by a variety of terms, most commonly maloik, metal sign, horns, Leviathan Horns or metal horns, among others.

A March 31, 1985 article in Circus by Ben Liemer states that Gene Simmons of Kiss was influenced by Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. in 1977 after watching Sister perform in Los Angeles. Blackie had come across a hand salute known as the corna in an occult book and had started using it during live performances.

Simmons appears to be making the sign with his left hand on the cover of the 1977 Kiss album Love Gun. Simmons has later claimed—noticeably in the special features segment "Satan's Top 40" in the movie Little Nicky—that he plays his bass with his plectrum in his middle two fingers so when he raises his hand, he automatically draws the horns.

Steven Tyler, during the pre-ride film for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith displays a sign of the horns on his forehead during the movie, along with the line "Wait a minute, I love that idea!"

Ronnie James Dio was known for popularizing the sign of the horns in heavy metal.[4][5] His Italian aunty used it to ward off the evil eye (which is known as malocchio). Dio began using the sign soon after joining (1979) the metal band Black Sabbath. The previous singer in the band, Ozzy Osbourne, was rather well known at using the "peace" sign at concerts, raising the index and middle finger in the form of a V. Dio, in an attempt to connect with the fans, wanted to similarly use a hand gesture. However, not wanting to copy Osbourne, he chose to use the sign his grandmother always made.[6] The horns became famous in metal concerts very soon after Black Sabbath's first tour with Dio. The sign would later be appropriated by heavy metal fans under the name "maloik", a corruption of the original malocchio.

Terry "Geezer" Butler of Black Sabbath can be seen "raising the horns" in a photograph taken in 1971. This would indicate that the "horns" and their association with metal occurred much earlier than either Gene Simmons or Ronnie James Dio suggests. The photograph is included in the CD booklet of the Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978 compilation album.

From a 2001 interview with Ronnie James Dio on Metal-Rules.com:

"I want to ask you about something people have asked you about before but will no doubt continue to talk about, and that is the sign created by raising your index and little finger. Some call it the "evil eye." I would like to know if you were the first one to introduce this to the metal world and what this symbol represents to you?"

R.J. Dio – "I doubt very much if I would be the first one who ever did that. That's like saying I invented the wheel, I'm sure someone did that at some other point. I think you'd have to say that I made it fashionable. I used it so much and all the time and it had become my trademark until the Britney Spears audience decided to do it as well. So it kind of lost its meaning with that. But it was...I was in Sabbath at the time. It was symbol that I thought was reflective of what that band was supposed to be all about. It's NOT the devil's sign like we're here with the devil. It's an Italian thing I got from my Grandmother called the "Malocchio". It's to ward off the Evil Eye or to give the Evil Eye, depending on which way you do it. It's just a symbol but it had magical incantations and attitudes to it and I felt it worked very well with Sabbath. So I became very noted for it and then everybody else started to pick up on it and away it went. But I would never say I take credit for being the first to do it. I say because I did it so much that it became the symbol of rock and roll of some kind."[7]

Whatever the derivation may be, the sign eventually came to signify, variously, that the one gesturing is rocking him or herself, is encouraging the recipient of the gesture to rock, and/or that he/she emphatically appreciates the rocking that has already commenced.

Existing most often within the metal subculture is a variation in which both hands are used. All digits, with the exception of the little fingers, are closed and the hands are then brought together; thumb on thumb. This technique is often employed by Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Butch Walker and other musicians. A similar sign can be made by crossing the hands and extending both index fingers.

Another form used by the metal subculture (such as the Brazilian band Angra) is similar to the version depicted above, except that all digits except the index finger are closed and the hands are brought together with thumbs pointing in opposite directions. One form features the forearms crossed, the pinkies interlocked, and both thumbs and index fingers extended (sometimes referred to as the "Super Ozzy").

There is a two-person gesture known as the "rock lock", where a second person makes a hand with the second and third finger extended (rather than the first and fourth), and grabs the first person's metal gesture from the front in an interlocking fashion. The meaning is essentially an affirmation or reply to the original gesture made by the first person, something like a heavy metal high five. Another variation can include the second party forming a traditional "devil horns" sign and rotating it 90 degrees, interlocking at the knuckles.

Angus Young holds both his hands to the sides of his head with index fingers extended to create "Metal Horns".

Politics

A variation of the gesture, linking ring finger and thumb to give the hand the look of a "wolf", was adopted as the symbol of the Turkish nationalist political party Grey Wolves.

Sports

In baseball, the hand gesture is used by players to signal to other players how many outs there are; using this gesture signals that there are two outs. The signal is used because the space between the two fingers makes it easier for players far away to see the two fingers.

The sign has been used in professional wrestling. It was adopted in the early 1990s by Bret Hart in the WWF, with the two extended fingers standing for the initial of his surname. Later on, a variation was used by The Kliq, a backstage group composed of Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman and Triple H) adopted a variation of the horns to identify between them. Hall and Nash used the wolf-like variation after they moved to WCW and formed the nWo stable in 1996. WWE performer Edge also began using it prominently with his "Rated-R Superstar" moniker in the mid 2005s.

The sign is also used by some college and high school sports teams, such as the University of Texas and the University of South Florida, fans during athletic competitions. The fingers usually stand for a type of horn such as longhorn or a bull's horn. Students and fans of the NC State Wolfpack use this sign while the thumb, middle and ring finger move up and down like the howling of a wolf.

YAPML yet another poor man's library that makes things finding it hard to render and taking its time to compile.

In this case the self-replicating polyhedron is intended to give a mechanical touch to your freshly (or not) designed cylindrical surfaces. Hmmmm... you can also thing that those things all-around the cylinder are diamonds and use it for jewelry.

The examples scad provided uses OpenSCAD MakerBot Font Module by grokbeer licensed under BY-SA-NC license (link in the instructions section)

Photos... aubenc.imgur.com/knurled_finish_surface

UPDATE:
(Just in case you don't read the comments bellow)
Video by sirmakesalot (thank you very much!!)... youtube.com/watch?v=uz8h--NsX7E


Things using this library :-)

Bowden Clamp for Ultimaker by owen
thingiverse.com/thing:11864

Spindle for 5lb spool by mikeq
thingiverse.com/thing:12871

Knurled "topper" for stepper motors by Pazu
thingiverse.com/thing:13978

Ultimaker Hobbed Bolt Release by bkubicek
thingiverse.com/thing:14505

Hobbed bolt holder by coffeeMaker
thingiverse.com/thing:16136

Shane's Coral Frag Plugs by sgraber
thingiverse.com/thing:16982

This is an omnidirectional wheel. If you know what this is, you know that they're a real pain to find, and expensive when found. They're expensive because it's a niche item, not because it's terribly complicated or hard to produce -- an excellent candidate for home replication.

Unlike commercial omniwheels, this comes with a Futaba-style servo mount already in place -- it's designed to be screwed directly to the servo. If this isn't your style, replace the object named "Servo Collar" in the Blender file with the mount of your choice.

v1.1 Update: Based on input from Simon Kirkby, I've enlarged the centers of the roller wheels and changed the axle mounts, which no longer need drilling.

This is an iris mechanism built into a business card sized card. For simplicity and to help keep the thickness low it only has 3 leafs. This particular design does not scale well to more leafs unless it is made much larger. The initial design did have 4 leafs and is built in a way that would allow it to scale to a different number of leafs more easily. If anyone is interested I could upload that as well.

Printed Parametric Chainmail

I've been wanting to try this for a while. This is a sheet of interlocking rings, printed in place. The rings are basically square, with cut off corners. Two sets of diagonals cross each other at different heights, with four posts at the corners. Well, it makes sense when you see the pictures!

This is the first thing I've designed in OpenSCAD, so the code is probably pretty sloppy. The major parameters that can be changed are the layer thickness and line width, along with ring size and number.

I searched for "chainmail" on Thingiverse and the only result was a post by Vik on the Interlocking Rings thing: "Next, chainmail. Right?" So I hope you like this, Vik!

My first attempt at making an open source tire lever! Super handy for changing popped tubes on a bicycle! Print two, then use the first to pry off the tire, then clip it to the spoke, then use the other to remove the rest of the tire.

I have no bot - can somebody try printing this and seeing if it works? This is my first Thing and I'd appreciate any feedback - just trying to get more involved with the Thing community.

Trying to clone: bloombikeshop.com/productreviews/pedros-tire-levers.php

This part was made with Tinkercad. Edit the part online at: tinkercad.com/p/acc012b37bbeeec0

The goal of this project was to develop a low cost, open source inkjet printer utilizing standard inkjet technology, for personal use. This project was partly in response to the fact that there are no DIY inkjet kits available. There was a kit available from Parallax parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/robo/InkjetKitDocs-v1.0.pdf. This kit is no longer made and the book amazon.com/Inkjet-Applications-Matt-Gilliland/dp/0972015930 that was written to use that kit is now out of print.
The prototype design used a carriage assembly constructed from steel rods that were assembled using connectors that can be printed on an FDM machine. The entire carriage system is driven along the x-axis by a belt attached to a stepper motor. The print cartridge, taken from an HP point of sale printer, is driven along the y-axis by another stepper motor belt drive. The electronic controls use an Arduino Mega to run all of the printing systems.
The design resulted in a working prototype that fulfills all of the design constraints. The rod frame carriage design is lightweight, easy to assemble and easy to integrate with the other systems. The Arduino used in the electronics has a large library of resources available to perform things like LCD, SD card, and stepper control.
Areas where future work should be focused include making molds and casting printable parts to bring down the overall cost, developing host side software, and optimizing the speed.

There is a video of this working here: youtube.com/watch?v=fYeYeTGkvJM
There are additional pictures here: flickr.com/photos/nicholasclewis/sets/72157626730985822/

This was a group project involving:
Patrick Hannan
Jared Knutzen
Nicholas C Lewis
Joy Markham

(Alternate name: Articulated Python)

When I was little, I had a wooden snake just like this (but better). The cutouts allow it to bend. So I thought I'd print out something similar to see if it would work.

In PLA it is kinda stiff. A more flexible material would probably be better.

I made the snake short so that it would fit on a Makerbot, so it came out kinda chubby. It could actually be a little bit longer and still fit. At some point I will design and post a longer version for RapMan/Mendel sized beds. Or maybe a modular snake!

Oh and the STL has some weird stuff on the edges of the nose, but it doesn't seem to hurt anything when printing.

Dimensions: 80.2mm x 80.2mm x 11.3mm tall
(It is printed diagonally, the snake itself is around 110mm long)

EDIT (Feb 11, 2011)

I've included an alternate file, SnakeThin.STL. This version has a thinner core that should be only a single layer thick. It ends up being much more flexible. Skeinforge kept giving me trouble with the core so I scaled up the model slightly.

SnakeThin dimensions: 84mm x 84mm x 11.7mm tall