I saw this link a few days ago( instructables.com/id/Robotic-claw-business-card/ ) I was going to make it, but then I remembered me making a paper claw a few weeks ago, so instead of making a copy of someone else's design, I made my own! And also their design had gears, it would be hard to cut it out without a laser cutter, because I don't have one. So I used the mechanism from my claw and put it into this business card, and it works, and I suggest if you are going to make it, use a laser cutter, This was kinda hard to do and I had to use wire instead of the disks in it to move.

If anyone would like to test this to make sure that the parts work, go right ahead! I also think it could be 3d printed, if someone would like to modify it and test that out!

And ignore the pink post-it note, I had my name printed there and I dont want it to be online.

Was "Analog Sine/Cosine Calculating Machine", but then I found the actual name for this device, which I really like.

It is a thing to hold, enjoy turning the crank, and look at. If you can't find your calculator, and need to know the sine or cosine of an angle real quick, you can dial in the angle and read off of the Scotch Yokes. It also works in reverse.

I plan to paint one up, hang it on my wall, and use it to help explain Trig to my kids. I have built and assembled one.

This was initially going to be a simple design to help me learn Alibre. Simple was lost at some point, I'm afraid. I am thinking about adding a paper feed and pencil holder, so I can plot with it.

I've included a photo of two prototype versions, where I worked out the mechanical details. You can read more about them here, along with notes on why I'm making my own printed screws: swampcastle.blogspot.com/2011/06/sincos-prototypes.html

I also added photos of some now-funny-looking prototypes that helped me get the design to where it is today.

There are various other articles about this project on my blog: swampcastle.blogspot.com/

After many little pieces, I am finally able to construct a delta robot that is mostly made of printed parts.

This thing is a delta robot frame. There is the basic frame, mounted motors, arms, tool holder, and the like. The arms closest to the motors are printed plastic notched spans. The longer arms are wood dowels, with tape on their ends to enhance the friction fit into their fittings.

Steel rods in this case are 5/16". The size doesn't really matter, you can select any size as long as the vertices match.

the size is 2' on edge. that's a pretty huge build area if you decided to use this robot as a 3D printer.

It's a good platform for experimenting with various delta robot ideas. The arms will be replaced with carbon fiber. The 'bearings' will be replaced with brash, with 1/4" axles, the motors will be replaced with servos, etc.

At any rate, at least a model can be built, with not too many different types of materials. There isn't a fastener on the whole thing. Of course if it were actually moving, you'd probably find places where you'd want some fasteners, but that's the whole point of the experiment anyway.

Some interesting aspects of the design:
This is an endoskeleton. It can take a 'skin', but it's not required for structural support.
The tetrahedron is a fairly stable self supporting structure.
No threaded fasteners, other than the threaded rods themselves
Use zip ties to hold the little motor board in place. That board could be gotten rid of entirely if the motors mounted to the rod instead

UPDATE: 05022011
Changed male and female clevis part counts. They were 24 ea, and they should have been 12.

UPDATE: 06022011
Created a page on RepRap as this is more of a development project than I think is appropriate for Thingiverse
reprap.org/wiki/PolyBot

UPDATE: 27022011
There have been many parts updates. I've included a new picture with the servos and new arms, as well as the base plate in place. I've added a video on YouTube of the thing in action: youtube.com/watch?v=VzWJDWvJvqo

This edge lock system for paper and plastic works great for realizing meshes from thin sheets of material. It avoids the negative accumulated error common with the classic glue and tab method of construction. Instead the edges have enough freedom to adjust towards the perfect position.

Look here for more examples:
shadowfolds.com/SlideTab
flickr.com/photos/shadowfolds/sets/72157625779410170/

In the comments from MakerBlock's blog post on the MakerBot blog, tre3 had the idea of making a linear bearing from plastic. Since I really like how my ball bearings turned out using steel BBs, I thought I'd try designing a linear bearing using the same bearings.

The first step was to get the basic BB function working. I designed a "racetrack" so the bearings could make a loop and only contact the bar in a straight line. My original idea was to have three racetracks arranged so that the BBs contacted the bar in an equilateral triangle configuration. This proved very difficult to adjust.

After failing with the three racetracks, I decided to try a flat version with four racetracks. This would be nice and compact in one direction (typically vertically) and be easy to adjust. It would also only require two parts because each part could have two racetracks built-in.

The racetrack is designed so the groove gets larger when the BBs are away from the rod. No reason to constrain them as tightly until they are contacting the rod.

Pictures to come!

This is a design for a /really/ inexpensive linear axis mechanism for an open source selective laser sintering 3D printer that I've been designing (but it should be generally useable for anything that requires a one or two axis system). This is a follow up to the selective laser sintering alpha one dual Z tables that I recently posted ( thingiverse.com/thing:3390 ).

The innovations in this system are its extremely minimal vitamin count -- only a handful of bolts, washers, and nuts are required. It also uses several long pieces of kapton tape as a linear slide bushing, to dramatically reduce friction and drag (though regular old scotch tape may work just as well ;) ).

It's too easy to think that a laser cutter has an infinitely thin beam. It doesn't. Depending on the material, speed, power, we've found an "effective tool diameter" of 0.002 - 0.008 inches.

This hole gauge cuts and labels 100 holes, from 0.050" to 0.149" in a 3 inch square pattern. When cut into the material you are using it can tell you EXACTLY how large to make body or clearance sizes for various screws and rods, and how large to make tap holes for self tapping.

The sizes will cover hardware from 0-80 to 6-32.

Alden

A hexapod with servo joints. This design is quite big and needs strong servos but looks really cool ^^.

I used 20 HD-2213MG Servos (http://www.servodatabase.com/servo/power-hd/hd-2213mg) . If you use other servos you need to modify the embeddings for the servos and servo horns. You may make the upper and lower legs shorter to get shorter leverage.

Finally the parts get assembled with M2 thread rod and nuts.

A calling card with working planetary gears. Astound your friends, frustrate your nemisii.

(Update: I've moved the gears slightly to the right, reducing the number of cut parts to assemble.)

Safety is job #1, quality is also job #1, as is innovation.

Sometimes you might be working on a project and need a way of releasing something heavy without the risk of it landing on you. This self-locking release latch can be attached to carabiners on both ends and released by pulling on a string or wire through the middle hole. If the material being held is the right size the latch will lock shut without a spring.
Due to the geometry the force needed to release the latch is pretty much independent of the load being held, this prevents the latch from jamming.

It was inspired by the sea catch release latch and Vise-Grips.

Always wear your safety glasses. Do not use for large loads without checking the material properties and calculating the maximum load. Always design with a reasonable factor of safety. Don't be dumb, be safe.



youtube.com/watch?v=oQEopLOSnLg

I like the look of Make magazine (http://makezine.com/) on my bookshelves but I wanted something to store them in that was similar to the holders I use for other magazines. Make's (and Craft's) unique form factor require a custom solution.

The images show the Make Magazine logo and cover art for each year. I'm assuming that I can't include the cover images in the files here but I downloaded them from Make's own website if you want to make them exactly like mine (http://makezine.com/covers/)

Each file is designed for a loose fit for gluing and has been sized to contain four issues (one year).