Projects...

While waiting for the last parts for Mendelmax-3D-printer (last parts, needed first!) I had too much free time... Back in Texas I had fully automated smoker (fish, meat) I had to leave behind when moving to Finland. Now I have electronics ready for new smoker (V2, to be exact.) See picture. More explanations later, if needed. :-) (Yes, there is a Pharos 500 GPS module involved in this build) Now when the wirelessly controlled control logic is figured out, I need to find two 30mm wood drill bits (augers?) and some other parts before I can put this thingamajig together. Stay tuned.

Todays status Acquired parts: M5 screws 608ZZ bearings M3,M5 washers M5 nuts Blind joint screws Lead screws Belts & pulleys Aluminium extrusions (profiles) Stepper drivers NEMA motors Printed parts Z shaft couplers T-nuts or square nuts (Bought, not received yet).. After getting these I can start putting this together! Arduino Mega2560 (Ordered from Chinese eBuyer... Need to pick up from PO) Still missing: 8mm thrust bearings (will take stress away from Z-axis motors) Idler stud RAMPS electronics Heat proof spacers Power supply (12V,30A) Aluminium sheet Heated platform Hobbed bolt Hot end

...and today mailman dropped note saying there is shipment from China waiting at local mail office. The only thing on the way currently is Arduino Mega2560 which I bought from eBay. eBay sent me message later stating the item I have bought has been unlisted and I do not have to pay or if I have already paid, I can open dispute case to get my money back if I have not received the item yet. After some investigation I found out that it was unlisted because some Chinese company was selling it with name Arduino (registered trade mark of Arduino Inc. or something). Couple minutes later I got email from China saying "Please do not open the case, we have already shipped the item to you". And now it is here, I think. I still need RAMPS 1.4 board and some end stops for electronics and some t-nuts for mechanics. Soon I can start putting it together.... Buahahaaaaa (evil laughter)

Edit: Update: Today mail and UPS grought some thin M5 nuts and 8mm steel rods & linear bearings! Looks like I can start putting the frame together today after all! YeeHaw! One would not think that one of the most difficult parts to find could be M5 screws. With help from local fastener store (Kärkikiinnike in Vantaa, go there if you need some not-so-usual fasteners) I finally got box full of hex-socket head M5-10mm screws. Just a small box, 500 of them. I will have something like 400 pieces left over after this thingamajig is ready. Even more difficult to find are the t-nuts (or square nuts, they work too). Looks like I have to order them from China or from USA (Made in China too). While waiting for the rest of the parts to arrive, I did some tapping. Tapping threads to aluminium profile is easy. All you need is battery operated drill (= more torque), some WD-40 or CRC 5-56 and some time. Profiles tapped. Now if I just could find those t-nu

Still needs some screws, nuts, washers, bolts etc. Here in this picture below you see a very nice tablecloth that obfuscates all the plastic parts from clear view. Those black plastic pieces will connect aluminium profiles together to form the frame of the printer. Let's see what we have already. Aluminium profiles from eBay, still waiting to get some more.  €55.70 +  €61.82 Printed plastic parts from Lulzbot  $133.85 (104.82€) Leadscrews and nuts, Belts and pulleys + bunch of bearings from Techpaladin  $111.09 (86.99€) Nema 17-motors from own warehouse. Arduino Mega 2650 from eBay (not received yet)  $24.88 (19.48€) Pololu A4988 motor controllers from eBay (not received yet)  £38.50 (47.61€) Linear bearings and rods. eBay, 83.94£. (104.25€) (Total 480.67€ with todays exchange rate. Not including customs fees etc 24.85€) So that leaves something to find before this thingamajig can be built: Screws. Lots of screws. (pulttiketju.fi, waiting fo

Long time no nothing here due to relocating (to other side of world...). But now I have again time to continue my wonderful hobbies. Next project: "Rintteri" (Picture shamelessly copied from mendelmax.com) Details:   Mendelmax (3D-printer) Reasoning: Will be handy when creating parts to other projects (Simulator etc.) Estimated completion: Q3/2012 Status: Sourcing ongoing, About 30% of parts acquired (as of 17.5.2012 ). For those interested, click here for full bill of materials. Parts acquired so far: - Alumimium profile (ebay.de) - Plastic parts (lulzbot.com, customs holding them as a hostage) - Nema-17 stepper motors (from previous projects) - Pulleys, belts, bearings, threaded rods+nuts (techpaladin.com) Parts needed: - Electronics     * Ramps     * Arduino Mega 2580     * 4 x Pololu stepper drivers     * 12V/10A power supply - Linear slides     * 10mm Rods     * Linear bearings - What else?     * Heated print bed     * M5x10 screws