A kinetic sculpture made using my parametric bevel gear script inspired by this: brainblog.to/item/2008/11/herz-aus-zahnraedern
I modeled the entire thing from scratch in OpenSCAD, starting with the Parametric Involute Bevel and Spur Gear script I posted some time ago. I have added an additional complexity to the movement because not only do the gears spin, but the axes of the gears rotate too.

Being a kinetic sculpture, you really need to see it in motion:
youtube.com/watch?v=Zx28cHA4_KI

Be warned that before you attempt to print this, an improved technique for attaching the gears to the central mount is really needed.

I have the openscad files for everything, although there are so many parts that it is a bit of a process generating the STLs from them.

If someone wants to collaborate on a better way to mount the gears, let me know.

20 socket truncated icosahedral lamp, built form previous Thingiverse parts.

This started out as an exercise in using Greg Frost's awesome involute bevel gear script thingiverse.com/thing:3575, but turned into a rather pleasing worry-ball type thing. It's also clearly influenced by Greg's broken heart thingiverse.com/thing:4683, though this has octahedral gears rather than dodecahedral, so they all mesh with each other and spin. My favorite thing about it is that you can grab two opposite gears and twist them, making the center with the other six gears spin rapidly around.

A Rubber Band Powered Gear Mechanism.

Conceived as a power source for future projects the Gear Mechanism stores and releases rotational energy in rubber bands. The amount of energy stored is dependent on the number of rubber bands used.

My Submission for the rubber band challenge.

A quick video of it in operation. youtube.com/watch?v=3WyimknueMQ

Here is my take on merging the lowrider and the mendel inspired y carriage for the cupcake.

link to bearings:
vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/3mm/623ZZ10-1

I went with smaller bearings than the Mendel because it allowed me to do everything with M3 screws and it allowed me to drop the height a bit.

This design is shorter than the standard platform by 10mm, I was pushing for more, but the bearings killed the height gains. It does mean that you can gain back about half of the height that you loose by putting in the automatic build platform.

Also, the y rails have been separated to 70mms so hopefully that means that the platform is a bit more stable.

I attached the solidworks file for people who want to play (WARNING - the file is messy and I was bad and made all of my parts in one part file). If you would like any other formats like .igs, .step and the like, just shout.

Should have all of the holes teardropped later today. - Truncated teardrop holes are up, that's a pain.

Update:
The stl files from solidworks would not slice in Rep G, I have no idea why, if you know please tell me.

I reuploaded all of the stl files and tested them in Rep G 19 they seem to work but I will not have a chance to print until Monday.

I have all of the parts, now on to the debug... so you do not have to...

The updated files are in the zip file, I got rid of the first generation of parts. Things were moved around a bit and these are the updates after printing round one and putting it into the makerbot. I should have all of the gen 2 parts printed and through debug tomorrow.

Update 2 - I got the bearings in and other that a few "What the hell was I thinking..." moments that were easily repaired with an X-acto knife, everything went great. I'm in the process of printing the gen 3 parts and everything should be cool now. I'll post pictures and video once the final draft is printed.

Update 3 - In process of using gen 3 platform to print gen 4 platform. Once I have printed and assembled it, I will upload files. I think that will be it for variations.

Update 4 - Gen 5 files are out and I can now say you can download them and print!

Update 5 - Instructions are up.

Update 6 - I just uploaded the gen 7 version - I have not had a chance to print it yet, I was getting annoyed with the slight curve in my heat spreader and decided to rip it apart and lap it until it was flat.

This update addresses:

Adding nut pockets on all adjusting screws for bearing tension to make adjusting easier (do not have to hold nut in place)

Back X bearings cluster has been reworked so the is less interference with the X pulley.

Back X bearing adjustment screw head has been nested into the plastic to have less interference with X belt.

Interference between Y belt attachment nuts and plastic bodies has been addressed

X belt attachment point has been lowered.

First shot at integrating endstops have been added.


I think that that is about it. I will shout when the directions have been updated, everything should be the same except the endstop part.

If you have already printed this and do not want to reprint, reprint parts 09 and 16, those have to do with X belt and pulley issues. (and they are small)

I just sent out the third package of nuts, washers, and screws. If anyone else wants them, just message me.

Gaffertape kindly updated the files so if you are using the older repG and skeinforge, use the resaved gen 7 files.

Update: Finally updated for mechanical endstops, instructions still need to be updated though.

Some weeks ago i found chris schaie's [1] iris on hackaday [2] and i was so amazed that i took a screenshot from the video and made my own iris based upon his design.
From there it was a long road but eventually my own design worked out and i managed to create a mechanical iris that can be opened with a stepper motor.
Now we have a welcoming system at the metalab [3]

[1] schaie.com
[2] hackaday.com
[3] metalab.at

This OpenSCAD script provides modules for both Spur and Bevel Gears. It has some major enhancements over my original gear script thingiverse.com/thing:3534. It uses some of the spur gear nomenclature code from TheOtherRob github.com/TheOtherRob/MCAD with my own code for generating the involute teeth. The bevel gear is also my own work. Thanks also to elmom for some enhancements to my original gear script thingiverse.com/thing:3547.

Enhancements include the Bevel gear module, backlash settings, parameterised number of facets for the involute curve and whole of tooth generation to avoid some of the issues the original script had when mirroring a half tooth.

The STLs provided are not intended for direct use, but instead show examples of what can be done with the parametric script.

Parametric Involute Spur Gears take the following parameters:
number_of_teeth
circular_pitch or diametral_pitch: controls the size of the teeth (and hence the size of the gear).
pressure_angle: controls the shape of the teeth.
clearance: The gap between the root between teeth and the teeth point on a meshing gear.
gear_thickness: the thickness of the gear plate.
rim_thickness: the thickness of the gear at the rim (including the teeth).
rim_width: radial distance from the root of the teeth to the inside of the rim.
hub_thickness: the thickness of the section around the bore.
hub_diameter
bore_diameter: size of the hole in the middle
circles: the number of circular holes to cut in the gear plate.
backlash: the space between this the back of this gears teeth and the front of its meshing gear\'s teeth when the gear is correctly spaced from it.
twist: for making helical gears.
involute_facets: the number of facets in one side of the involute tooth shape. If this is omitted it will be 1/4 of $fn. If $fn is not set, it will be 5.

Parametric Involute Profile Bevel (Conical) Gears take the following parameters:
number_of_teeth
cone_distance: The distance from the pitch apex to the outside pitch diameter.
face_width: The length of the teeth.
outside_circular_pitch: The circular pitch at the outside pitch diameter.
pressure_angle: Defines the shape of the teeth.
clearance: Gap between the tip of the teeth on one gear and the root of the teeth on another meshing gear.
bore_diameter: The size of the hole in the middle.
gear_thickness: The thickness of the gear for bevel_gear_back_cone finish (see below).
backlash: Makes the tooth width smaller to make a gap between teeth of correctly spaced gears to allow for manufacturing tolerances.
involute_facets: As for spur gears.
finish: Specify either bevel_gear_flat(0) or bevel_gear_back_cone(1). If you don't specify this parameter you will get a flat gear for pitch angles less than 45 degrees and a back cone gear for pitch angles greater than 45 degrees. The example shows both with the small gear being the flat one.

Update: v5.0 Implements backlash for bevel gears (This was not working in v4.0).

The reprap is not the only 3d printer that can replicate itself, now the Makerbot can to.

This Makerbot is made out of aproximatly 150 individual pieces that is printed on , "yes you guessed it) a Makerbot.

My Makerbot worked hard everyday for about a month straight to finish this project, and i am immensly happy about the end resoult.
There are more pictures on the bottom of this page;)

(The pictures doesnt do it justice one bit, but it really is a thing of beauty)

Now i have added a zip file that includes all stl- and max-files.

After my initial not so successful attempts to create a snapping sphere I had a chance discovery when I tried to put a ball inside the two sphere halves and noticed that although the two parts of the sphere don't hold onto each other they both snap to the slightly smaller ball in the middle...So I went back to the original symmetric Demi-Sphere thingiverse.com/thing:3068 for the shell but added an inner sphere (without the hard to print top and bottom tips) to hold the two demi-sphere parts together. Snaps like a charm.

This is a simple design for a parametric lasercut desktop filing rack in OpenSCAD.

A quadrisection of a sphere into four identical parts with some novel attributes:

1. The parts have no overhangs.
2. The flat 'bottom' is completely concealed after assembly; there are no flat spots on the exterior of the sphere.
3. Exterior is made entirely of 'sidewalls' where the resolution of FDM really shines.

My test samples were built in transparent PVC on a Solido SD300 Pro, but my goal was to design a Makerbot-friendly shape. Based on feedback from friends, I've adjusted the contours so the pieces 'grab' onto each other after assembly.

More pictures and discussion at my SD300 blog entry at mysd300.blogspot.com/2010/05/novel-decompositions-of-sphere.html

This is our first public release for a laser cut design for the Mendel.
All parts are redesigned so they can be lasercutted.
This design is made from a sheet of acryl with a thickness of 4mm.

This design is the result of a master thesis at the University College of Ghent(Belgium) by me, Frederic Decru.
My promoter is Peter Van Ransbeeck, my co promotor is Kurt Van Houtte and my coaches Mathias Vermeulen and Batist Leman.

Triggered by the lecture by dr. Adrian Bowyer at our University, and by the design challenge by Bre Pettis @ Makerbot I\\\'m glad to submit this thesis to the public domain by posting it on Thingiverse.

Caution: This version is under development and so a lot of improvements can be made, feel free to post derivatives!

youtube.com/watch?v=5CjsulmxUBw

Coreldraw filles online
The manual and partlist are online

This is an OpenSCAD script to generate DXF files for QF breakout boards. The script conains parameter sets for Xilinx VQ44 and Xilinx VQ100 packages.

This is an OpenSCAD parametric model for making THE timing pulley that you need. It's designed to generate a model printable without support material (observing the overhang rule of thumb).

You can configure it to fit the belt that you're using. The pulley can be fixed to a threaded shaft with a nut. On one side the nut (the setting for an M8 hex nut is configured for you already) will sink into the pulley. If you tighten a nut on the other side as well it will be very well fixed.

Another option is to use a set screw. You just specify the diameter of the screw and it will create a hub with a (capped) teardrop hole.

The STL file included works well with the Synchroflex(R) timing belt,1500Lx10Wmm from RS (order code 474-5892), spliced in half (to 5 mm width). This way you'll have a very good belt driven system for about 4 euros per meter. The belt comes as a closed loop, but you may need to glue it to get it to the right length.

Please share your settings in the discussion when you've tested it in combination with a commercial belt!

Taxidermied Blackbird Head with red LED Eyes as "case" for USB Stick

This is the second half of my openscad.org gear sets.

I couldn't get the top and bottom parts of the double helical to union properly, so I ended up offsetting the bottom piece by 0.1mm :( It skeins and prints fine though.

This thing is part of a set:
- spur gears: thingiverse.com/thing:1336

UPDATE: I'm printing some gears and noticed a couple mistakes on the openSCAD script: the variable 'orientation' wasn't doing anything and the value 'extrudeInDiam' was in fact being used as radius. They're both fixed now and I uploaded a new version of the script.

Here is a simple dock made from acrylic, machine screws, and an existing iPhone/iPod cable.

It is made of four slices of 1/4″ acrylic (actual width 0.22″). The top two slices have an oval opening just snug enough to fit the ipod connector and keep it in place with friction. The third slice has a channel for the cable to escape out the back, and the bottom slice keeps the cable from falling out and provides some pushback when the iphone is inserted. It’s held together by four 1″ 2-56 machine screws with nuts. I was a little concerned with the nuts scratching the table, so I’ve since added little hot glue feet to the bottom of each nut.

I didn’t add an additional layer at the top to provide lateral support of the iphone because I didn’t have long enough screws. And besides, it doesn’t seem to need it. If I get longer screws, I might make one that has the extra layer, which would also make the dock bigger, to encompass the bottom of the iPhone. And that would be good because it adds more mass to the dock, making it more stable.

Also, see: todbot.com/blog/2009/07/15/quickie-laser-cut-iphoneipod-dock/

This is a spindle to hold you filament while printing. This version is more robust than thingiverse.com/thing:1188

youtube.com/watch?v=k7Zzq97feIM

Modular Boxes.

Print boxes and drawers and combine them as you want.

A box for your AVR Dragon!
3 Files are needed , the right order is : 4mm Part, 6mm, 6mm , 3mm and then once again 4mm.
4mm parts are top and bottom, of course you could use thinner or thicker material.
2 times 6mm material is used for the USB opening. 3mm for the ribbon cable opening.
Use 3mm screws to assemble it.
Enjoy!

A python script to generate OpenSCAD models to generate two parts of a box that screw together and snap fit if you find your way through the maze :)

Even though there are lots of great gears on thingiverse, I couldn't resist the urge to model some too :)

The combinations of parameters are too many to upload an STL for each, so I just picked a few.

I also made a version for helical gears: thingiverse.com/thing:1339

Glow stick brackets to connect glowsticks with 6mm diameter.

They are really useful to distinguish your mate in the Metalab Leiwandville.soup.io/ at HAR2009

This is a derivative of the Plastruder MK3 design I've been working on. The goal is to make the plastruder into a printable design that can be made on a MakerBot. I also wanted to take on an ambitious project to put the new AOI plugin, MetaCAD through its paces. Learn about metacad at metacad.org

This extruder design uses 5 printed pieces: two halves that bolt together for the housing, 2 dinos to put it at the right height for printing, and a simple insulator retainer to keep the PTFE in the right spot. The rest of the design is mostly the motor, heater barrel assembly, electronics, and a 625 bearing to provide the pinching force. It has yet to be tested, but ideally it will be simpler to put together, as well as a sturdier design with no squeaks! I've printed all the parts on my travel bot, and as soon as I get home, I'll be assembling them and testing them out.

A few design notes:

* no more layered construction! that was a hack to make it laser-cuttable. new design is two halves bolted together. one half holds the motor + filament, the other half holds the idler wheel.
* idler wheel switched from acrylic + 608 bearing to a single 625 bearing. smaller, more compact, and nothing but a nearly indestructible bearing to break. should be quite a bit more consistant
* 4 adjustable screws with captive nuts for setting the pinch wheel tension. you'll be able to adjust it on the fly, without any sort of dis-assembly. hopefully the abs will act as a sort of spring as well

a few things i'd like to change yet:
* rotate the captive nut slot on the right-housing to be in-line with print direction for a better finish.
* switch the captive nut / bolt head holes between right and left housings to improve print quality for both (adjust on right side instead of left side)

This is a Ring Generator. It generates rings with embossed 2D shapes according to the parameters given. The embossed shape can be given by a unit-sized and centred dxf file.

Make a little art with you business cards

See our video at adafruit.com/blog/2009/05/25/adafruit-business-cards-laser-cut-spirograph-cards/

While talking to Zach I got inspired to model lego bricks in order to create custom bricks - the ones you always wanted but thought you never could get. Well now you can!

Of course it does not snap in place as nicely as original lego bricks but it should be good enough to create the custom lego piece you always wanted.

Laser cut from a single sheet of acrylic then assembled by hand with a drill press. An aluminum pin holds each utensil in place but allows each to retract.