3D printed robotic arm controlled by FRDM-KL25Z MCU

3D printed robotic arms seem to be very popular projects to develop. Here is a new one controlled by FRDM-KL25Z MCU and powered by stepper motors.

It was dsigned and made by hackaday.io user "madivak" for his undergraduate level course. Hopefully he releases the files to the public.

Video of the arm moving:



Project homepage: http://hackaday.io/project/4181-robotic-arm-project

Here is another video with author and robot in action:

Presentation day, robotics unleashed.
Alexx Makau mazoeano uwache... u should quit photography u r very BAD at it, focus on what u r good at.. we all know what that is..hehheh AFRICA with robotics. Full details at https://hackaday.io/madiva DIY 3D Printing Freescale Semiconductor Robotic Arm
Posted by Madiva Graf on Tuesday, April 28, 2015

To see more powerful 3d printed robotic arm look at:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2015/03/powerful-3d-printable-robot-arm-for.html

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BIG garage DIY 3d printer by Fouche from South Africa

Here is one big DIY machine from South Africa made by Hans Fouche in his garage. It is fully custom build and has 3 mm nozzle with ability to print directly from ABS granules.
In this case bigger is better. Hopefully full specifications and plans will be made available with in-action videos soon.
Many interesting 3d printing things come from South Africa!

https://www.facebook.com/fouche3dprinting

Wheel for a lawnmower printed in one hour directly from granulated ABS 

The same wheel is on up right damaged by usage. New improved versions are in the row bellow. 

Full frame for RepRap Morgan printed on Fouches printer in three parts that took seven and half hours

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New video on Woelab electronic waste DIY 3d printer from Africa

Previous post:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/10/update-video-on-wafate-african-3d.html

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Robobeast 3d printer from South Africa - sturdy machine designed for prosthetic hand printing in developing countries

South African Richard van As developed Robobeast 3d printer, specially designed to print prosthetic hands in rough environment of developing countries.

RoboBeast is designed to be ‘bulletproof’. It requires no set-up software tweaks, or mechanical adjustment of the frame before you print. It’s designed to be thrown in the back of a Land Rover, carted off into the bush, and to start working as soon as the power is on. You can move it during operation and the print head stays steady: it can even print if flipped upside down. 

Using software tweaks inherited from Quentin Harley’s RepRap Morgan, RoboBeast’s extruder head will also be able able to calibrate itself to compensate for any movement in the print bed, ensuring evenly layered prints regardless of whether or not the machine is level.To make it easy to operate, RoboBeast’s SD card is loaded with preconfigured RoboHand models in a variety of sizes. Recipients just need to tap the correct size on the touchscreen and wait

http://www.robobeast.co.za/

Here is the main site of RoboHand, 3d printable prosthetic hand:

http://www.robohand.net/

Read the post about Project Daniel which deploys 3d printers in Africa and teaches people how to use them to print prosthetic hands in war affected areas:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/01/project-daniel-3d-printing-prosthetics.html

Source:

http://www.htxt.co.za/2014/02/15/robobeast-3d-printer-tough-can-print-kick/

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RepRap Phone Host 3d printing app is released into Windows mobile phone ecosystem

Bananna3d is 3D printing technologies company in Pretoria, South Africa run by Gerhard de Clercq and Pieter Scholz. They successfully developed Windows mobile phone 3d printing application.

From app description:

RepRap Phone Host is a Windows Phone 8 application that allows you to process and then ultimately 3D print STL format 3D models on your "RepRap" type 3D printer running "Repetier" firmware and in possession of a Bluetooth serial bridge.

It includes a STL and GCode render as well as our in-house developed "Bananna Chopper" slicing engine. As far as we know this is the first app the allows a model to be sliced on a smartphone.

To get the app up and running all you need is to add a Bluetooth serial bridge to your 3D printer (there is a tutorial on the RepRap site), pair with it in the Bluetooth menu and then just select it from the drop down menu inside the app and connect to it.

NOTE: This app requires a "RepRap" type printer with "Repetier" firmware and a Bluetooth serial bridge. As long as you have a "RepRap" type 3D printer you should be able to find information on how to load "Repetier" firmware on it as well as how to add a Bluetooth serial bridge.

This app has the ability to open .stl and .gcode files from email etc. as well as the ability to upload all internal STL and GCode files to your SkyDrive folders.

I have a feeling that Microsoft will react to this ... maybe buy it (them) ...

If you want it on your Windows phone here is the MS store link:

http://www.windowsphone.com/hr-hr/store/app/reprap-phone-host/eb5a6b64-2949-498d-8f16-f6394a5e759b

Company page:

http://www.bananna3d.com/

RepRap Phone Host page:

http://www.bananna3d.com/reprapphonehost.php

Here is the first post about this app when they were still just students and not a company:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/10/two-students-develop-windows-phone-app.html

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Project Daniel 3D printing prosthetics for children of war-torn Sudan by Not Impossible Labs

From video description:

Just before Thanksgiving 2013, Not Impossible's Mick Ebeling returned home from Sudan's Nuba Mountains where he set up what is probably the world's first 3D-printing prosthetic lab and training facility. More to the point of the journey is that Mick managed to give hope and independence back to a kid who, at age 14, had both his arms blown off and considered his life not worth living.

Low cost easy to deploy technology that empowers and helps people directly. Strong STRONG example of impact of DIY 3d printing.

Press release:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/9bcbad_b72353cd3bed48f49391924d4a7448a9.pdf

http://www.notimpossiblelabs.com/

Update:

South Africans developed Robobeast 3d printer specially designed for role  of printing prosthetic hands in developing countries:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/02/robobeast-3d-printer-from-south-africa.html


Update 2:


Intel promoted this project (and used it for marketing purposes):



Here is Q&A with Mick Ebeling

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Two students develop Windows Phone app that enables Nokia Lumia to print cover for itself

Two 15 year old South Africans create Windows mobile phone app that enables Nokia Lumia to 3d print cover for itself. Wow!



From video description:

Gerhard de Clercq and Pieter Sholtz, two South African teens, talk about their innovation that allows 3D printing directly from their phone and their mission to make 3D printing more accessible in Africa through mobile.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mLabSAStudio?feature=watch

Update (15.1.2014):

They have released it into Windows phone store:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/01/reprap-phone-host-3d-printing-app-is.html

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Update video on W.Afate African 3d printer made from e-waste

Meet Kodjo Afate Gnikou. He is from Lome, Togo, he builds awsame DIY 3d printers from electronic waste and he works at the Woelab Hackerspace.





First post:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/05/wafate-african-3d-printer-out-of.html

Update:

They had successful crowd-funding campaign on Ulule to get them to 3D Prinshow in New York,

http://www.ulule.com/woelab-wafate-3dprintshow/

Here is new video about this project:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/04/new-video-on-woelab-electronic-waste.html

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