Remote Control Makerbot
by Gatsu, published
Description
This originally started out as just a camera to be able to watch my Cupcake while it printed from another room and grew from there. After getting an automated build platform I got an idea..
Adding an Arduino Mega with and an ethernet shield, the webcam gained pan/tilt and the Cupcake got the ability to be turned on/off/reset remotely.
Revar's keypad, 16 optocouplers, a second display for the keypad and another arduino later and I got even more control over the bot.
Then I included a Mac Mini. A webserver, Applescript and RepG later and I was able to upload STL's and automatically convert them to s3g for the bot.
Then I thought to myself why not automatically move the s3g file directly to the Cupcakes SD card? Electrically switching the contacts didn't work as the wires were too long. Then a wise guy at work joked about using a robot arm to move the card from one slot to the other...
The end result is an over the top system that allows me to print completely remotely.
The MacMini hosts the web pages through which all remote control is done. When an STL file is uploaded, it is picked up by OSX folder actions and passed to the Applescript to start the conversion. This is also the trigger for the robot arm to pickup the SD card from the Makerbot motherboard and move it to the MacMini's SD card reader. Once the STL is converted to a s3g and saved on the SD card the arm is then triggered again and the card moved back to the Makerbot motherboard.
The print can then be started using the virtual version of Revar's keypad.
Video of the arm moving the SD card:
youtube.com/watch?v=MKgSLGnK1Ls
Recent Comments
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OK here is a sensible suggestion to make remote switching of SD cards more reliable: Wire an SD card connector to an 8 channel solid state relay chip. Wire the outputs to 2x dummy SD cards on the end of 9 core ribbon cables, connect the grounds and you can use 1 spare logic 1 or 0 to flip instead of a robot arm. More reliable - but perhaps a shade less awesome.
In this case there wasn't anywhere to put it in the other room.
The original idea was simply to be able to monitor the print and be able to abort it if something went wrong. Well thats what the original idea was, and like many projects suffered feature creep. Accessible from the other room, became accessible from work, and well you see the end result :-P
It occurs to me, that as you did this to be able to see prints from the other room, and no doubt spent alot of time and money to do this, would it not have been more efficient to just move your printer, you know, to the other room too?
Don't get me wrong, this is very cool!!!! Kudos!
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Instructions
The attached STL allows the mounting of a Lynxmotion pan and tilt onto a standard tripod.
A rough BOM:
1x Arduino Mega 2560
1x Arduino Pro Mini
1x Arduino ethernet shield
16x 4n25 optocouplers (or similar)
1x Lynxmotion AL5B Robot arm (the one I used has had some mods)
1x Lynxmotion BotBoard2
1x AtomPro28 microcontroller (for arm)
1x Modtronix Keypad and Display
multiple 5V relays (power switching for bot as well as for the arm)
I seriously don't expect anyone to duplicate this, you would have to be mildly insane. There must be easier ways to do it.
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It occurs to me, that as you did this to be able to see prints from the other room, and no doubt spent alot of time and money to do this, would it not have been more efficient to just move your printer, you know, to the other room too?
Don't get me wrong, this is very cool!!!! Kudos!
In this case there wasn't anywhere to put it in the other room.
The original idea was simply to be able to monitor the print and be able to abort it if something went wrong. Well thats what the original idea was, and like many projects suffered feature creep. Accessible from the other room, became accessible from work, and well you see the end result :-P
what to be able to do that . ( desperately want to be able to do that ) :'(
why not switch to reprap firmware, then use doboz-web, or a shell script or something?
YOU R 1 COOL CRAZY GUY!!! This is FANTASTIC!
Now, just get one of those Android smart phones and swap out the LCD and the MAC. Setup all the software and Web server on the phone attached to the bot for a touch screened experience. Remote Web. But, what to do with the Robot? Never mind the steps you have are just right.
Any chance you can put up a video on YouTube of this in action?
Theres a video of the arm in motion here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Otherwise there isn't really much to see. Was there anything specific?
"Check it out guys, I press print here, and 50 miles away an object will be built."
*presses print
*error message, "Out of ABS."
"Damnit!"
WOW..... don't over do it, don't over do it. Whatever you do DO NOT OVERDO IT! What did I tell you about overdoing it.... =-O :)
Awesome! You beat me to this. I have an off the shelf Owikit robot arm that I have yet to assemble.
I'm going to use mine as an alternative to the ABP and use Logmein to run it as well as the webcam.
Love it!
How are you powering the robotic arm? I've built a very similar one, but reluctant to run it off a battery I've been trying to find a suitable power supply. So far I've decided I'm probably going to mod a PSU, but if you can suggest a good alternative im all ears.
At the moment I'm using two 6V 2.2A plug packs. One for the logic, the other for the servos.
Specifically:
OK here is a sensible suggestion to make remote switching of SD cards more reliable: Wire an SD card connector to an 8 channel solid state relay chip. Wire the outputs to 2x dummy SD cards on the end of 9 core ribbon cables, connect the grounds and you can use 1 spare logic 1 or 0 to flip instead of a robot arm. More reliable - but perhaps a shade less awesome.