Akshay Gupta developed a 3d printing filament dehumidifier you can build yourself. It is made from common polycarbonate sheets and uses an Arduino, a cross flow fan, silica gel desiccant, sensors and a 100W heater to maintain a specific temperature and humidity in the chamber.
As you can see it can hold many spools of filament:
Looks like the great solution to keep your filament dry.
PawnBoy developed and shared his design of a fully 3d printable mITX computer case. It looks interesting but I'm not sure if all parts can be done in one piece. In any case if it's not 100% reproducible, it probably just needs some minor tweaks and it's a good base for further projects.
EpicJefferson published a full tutorial on how to make Arduino based 3d drawing pen with 3d printed enclosure. It can sedn data to other software like Processing and uses an external motion tracking system (like Optitrack in the video)
Full build guide and all the files can be found at:
Tetrix is a new 3d printer design based on needs of schools to provide simple and affordable teaching tool.
Here is the project description:
The TETRIX 3D-Printer was designed as an educational tool for middle and high school technology students, robotics teams, and adults. The purpose of constructing the printer is to train people's building, tool usage, electronics, CAD, and programming skills with a single project. You also get a 3D-printer once you're done!
The printer design is based on TETRIX parts, which are designed by PITSCO and used in the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competition. The printer also utilizes elements of various RepRap printer designs, such as the Printrboard control system. The design is completely open-source, so feel free to personalize and alter your printer.
The overall cost of the printer is about $640, and the educational value is priceless! The majority of the cost is attributed to the TETRIX parts, but the high accuracy of the pre-drilled, pre-sized aircraft-grade aluminum saves time and reduces error, which outweighs the price.
Andreas Bastian developed this very interesting 3d printer with continuous build belt platform. Since it is a movable belt you could, in theory, print continuous or infinitely big objects. Yes, it is a DIY project and it is in development so the builds are rough but the concept is innovative. The name "Lum" is a version of the word "loom" as the developer is known for his work in textile-like 3d printed structures.
Here is Lum printing its own print bed! First part of a print platform belt is made on different 3d printer and then finished on Lum.
If you have few old DVD drives and an Arduino Uno you can make a simple laser engraver for some 15 USD. The supporting frame can be 3d printed or made from any material you can hack.
Here is the video of the same design with standard frame:
Someone on Instructables posted a full tutorial and files for nice Arduino controlled little transforming spider robot. It walks on its "legs" and drives on the wheels. Cool!
Instructables user Jubal117 developed this finishing method where he uses wax dipping to make a 3d printed part waterproof. It will make it float or usable as liquid container. Molten wax fills the cracks between layers and makes it into full envelope.
Stewart platform is a multi-purpuse robotic platform that is movable in six axis. This machine could be used in all sorts of project where you need multiaxial kinematics. I could see it even being used as part of a 3d printer.
Nicholas Pajerski made a tutorial on Instructables describing how to build a desktop Stewart platform with lasercut and 3d printed parts. It is controlled by Arduino and uses linear actuators enabling it to carry heavier loads.
Detailed build guide and all the parts files can be found at:
Instructables user focamonca published two low cost DIY projects for you photography geeks out there. They are easy and very affordable: he made a DSLR shoulder rig and slider for some 200 dollars each.
Micheal, well known for his TestrBot made another useful and easy DIY project that enables you to build ultrasonic vapor polisher for your 3d printed objects.
Here is the project summary:
What's needed is a better solvent application method, and that's what this Instructable is about.
The current vapor polishing methods and their drawbacks include:
Hot treat via boiling solvent in a crock pot or similar chamber (Potentially dangerous and very hands-on process)
Cold treat via slow release of solvent from paper towels in an enclosed container (Very time consuming, can't observe parts during this process.)
Spray canned solvent aerosol onto part. (Inconsistent surface finish, must be done outside)
Dipping parts directly into liquid solvents (Unpredictable/inconsistent finish, Likely over exposure of part)
All I wanted is a machine that lets me quickly drop parts into a transparent container and be able to press 'go' and have the machine produce a predictable finish on its own. I do not want to have to put together a really involved setup that may be a fire hazard, fume hazard, or something that produces unpredictable surface finishes. Essentially I want something as convenient as a microwave. I'm also forgetful so I don't want my parts to be destroyed if I forget that I left them in the machine.
The Ultrasonic Misting 3D Vapor Polisher is the solution to all of these problems.
This key component of this machine comes from ultrasonic humidifier, which uses a piezoelectric transducer (like a speaker) to create a high frequency mechanical oscillation in a liquid. This vibration forms an extremely fine mist of droplets in a fog/mist. The density of the fog is controlled by varying the intensity of the vibrations via a potentiometer.
This fog mist is very dense and wont move far on its own, so I used an aquarium air pump to blow it from the misting chamber into the glass finishing chamber where it can condense on the 3D printed part. This airflow keeps the air moving inside the finishing chamber, which helps produce a consistent finish on the part. The airflow system is open by necessity but we do not want the exhaust air to become a fume hazard so there is a water bubbler on the exhaust to absorb excess solvent. (Note that this only protects you when using water miscible solvents such as acetone.)
Here is the video of machine in action and results of the treatment:
The vapor treatment resulted in a consistent overall weakening of the test specimens. Specimens that had not been treated with Acetone vapor had an average yield stress 24% higher than those treated with the vapor.
Solvents that can be used to polish different materials:
ABS: Acetone
Acrylic: Most Solvents
PLA: MEK or 'MEK Substitute'
PVA: Water
PVC: Most Solvents
Polycarbinate: Pretty solvent resistant
Nylon: Pretty solvent resistant
Polypropylene: Pretty solvent resistant
Polyethylene: Pretty solvent resistant
Stay safe people! Chemicals are dangerous! You can check this chart showing dangerous combinations:
Here is a new simple and low cost machine project by Almus Yang. It has laser cut plywood frame and acrylic structural parts, it has no 3D printed parts. It can be sourced for some 200 USD on low cost parts sites like Alibaba.
As I was researching low cost DLP solutions I found this project by sirocco where he converted his old Delta into DLP SLA 3d printer by putting a projector on the top opening and adding vat resin. Delta configuration looks like good option due to hight.
I'm not sure how he moves his vat with salt water and resin, it could be done by separate mechanism or by some type of vat tray mounted on three points to the Delta frame and moved by existing motors.
Ever wanted to test your printed parts? Michael developed this project that uses 3d printed parts and can perform tension and compression test on various objects. It is very useful to get real results for different 3d printing materials and printing techniques. As it is easy to make with affordable price of around 300 USD it will certainly find place in many workshops.
Project description:
TestrBot is a $300 Universal Test Machine (UTM) and can be used to perform any type of static or dynamic testing in tension or compression up to 200 lbs. It was designed to run a gamut of physical tests on 3D printed specimens.
3D printing is still new enough that there are many questions that do not yet have definitive answers. While the basic physical properties of raw ABS & PLA have been well established, there are still many esoteric material properties that cannot be determined without doing actual mechanical testing.
TestrBot is going to help the 3D printing community by figuring out these properties. As of this writing, I am at the beginning of the testing process but you can among the first to hear about the results as they become available by following blog here: www.EngineerDog.com
Here is a compilation of tutorials on how to hack and tweak your Autodesk Ember DLP 3d printer. It is interesting to see that this machine made by a major corporation can be easily open and tinkered with.
Accessing the control electronics block and USB to control the LCD projector
As always you do this on your own risk! Warranty will probably be voided.
Here is a tutorial on how to increase power of Embers motors, unstuck frozen prints with brute force and make full volume printing easier. Motors will probably have shorter life span. Basic knowledge of electronics is needed.
How to access and control Embers internal Wintech projector via USB for more power and control. In theory it should enable higher speeds. This tutorial also goes into drivers and software.
