James Bruton from XRobots, released a video showcasing progress on his Johnny 5 replica from Short Circuits. This project is super awesome and interesting because James is using 3D Printing to create most of the parts. He’s successfully 3D printed ABS and Ninjaflex parts all in one print, utilizing a dual extruder mod he upgraded on his TAZ Lulz bot.

Here’s the next part of my Short Circuit Johnny5 build, using both rigid and flexible 3D prints in Ninjaflex.

@1:25 James shows some examples of his dual printed parts in ABS and Ninjaflex. A wheel gear with a ridged base but rubber tire tread. Also a flexible belt part with internal ridged cylinders to make tank tracks. Using a dual extruder to mix these two materials together looks very promising.

@2:24 James talks about how he uses Autodesk 123D Design to model mechanical parts that make up Johnny 5’s neck. Great explanation of managing multiple parts that are optimized for 3D Printing.

@14:47 James demos the assembled parts, showcasing movement by rotating and tilting the neck using cable wires and actuators. The actuators themselves are made up of multiple pieces that are printed in ABS and Ninjaflex. He plans to use a servo to control these movements.

Awesome work Mr. Bruton, we tip our hats to you. Keep up the amazing progress! Be sure to check out his youtube channel for more updates and info!

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!