…the DreamVendor is home to the physical examples of the latest research by the members of the DREAMS Lab. The force behind this project is Chris Williams, Director of Virginia Tech’s DREAMS Lab, and student Amy Elliot. The lab opened its doors in Spring of 2012 and ever since students have been using it for school projects and personal designs. In the Fall of 2013, DreamVendor 2 came about when eight Virginia Tech mechanical engineering students were given the task of creating the next-gen.
Here are some of the key features that were introduced in the new machine:
The DreamVendor 2 is redesigned specifically for the 3D Printing vending machine application.
The off-the-shelf, closed-source printers system is replaced by an extensively modified Kossel Deltabot-style extrusion printer.
As a result dependence on any specific 3D printer OEM was removed. All of the printer’s parts are either purchased from a common supplier or are custom-designed and 3D Printed.
The new machine is easier to maintain.
Inspired by Werner Berry’s Berrybot3D design, this new printer’s entire extrusion head assembly is attached through a series of magnetic ball joints.
As a result, all data is sent using a single Cat5 cable; high current power is provided using a single cable with a TX-60 quick-connector.
Because of this method, print head assemblies can be exchanged out almost instantly, thus reducing downtime.
The printer now uses STL files on a USB drive and takes inputs via the touch-screen user interface….
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! We also offer the LulzBot TAZ – Open source 3D Printer and the Printrbot Simple Metal 3D Printer in our store. 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!
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: 100 CircuitPython Community Libraries, a New Arduino UNO and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
My gosh, the technology nowadays is just amazing! Never in my dreams have I imagined this would be possible. This is just great! Keep up the good work!
My gosh, the technology nowadays is just amazing! Never in my dreams have I imagined this would be possible. This is just great! Keep up the good work!