Speaking of alternative approaches to 3D printing, with so many “delta-bot” approaches cropping up here or there, this is a great time to learn more about what it means to make a real “delta-robot” — and I am learning a lot from this maker from the UK: 3D Printed Delta Prototype by Jeden.
The last working delta robot I created was completed last August, nearly six months ago. I didn’t have access to a metal shop, so I relied on my dremel to do all the work and because of this it was made entirely out of hangers and tupperware. I hacked a multitude of plastic household objects and to-go boxes into actual moving robots… which was how I had expected to create the whole army of such deltas. That is until I met everyone at the budding hackerspace last summer and learned that 3D printers are now desktop sized.
I’ve come a long way since then. Now having figured out how to make 3D models of the parts I need, I’m printing my robots like a more civilized maker. I’ve also departed from relying on hobby parts for the joints due to my friend Mark’s ingenious idea to implement ball bearings into the design. This allows the robot to be free of heinous amounts of nuts and screws as well as any additional bought items.
Making use of the now open and booming SYN Shop, I ordered my own grey and optic yellow PLA to use on their delicious Replicator 2. If you are in need of PLA and want more color options than the Makerbot store has to offer, I suggest looking at this website. At $33 a kilogram I give them a thumbs up : JustPLA.com
Over the period of this week my model has evolved radically… but I’ve finally gotten each piece finalized to the point that I can assemble a fully functional delta robot. The first of such I completed just last night. It isn’t perfect yet… but that’s ok. It feels good to be making progress on this project again… and to have a new delta in the family. It’s name is ‘Jeden’, after the Polish word for ‘one’. =]
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!