A small note of thanks for the generosity of the people of the Synthetos Lab, who welcome the mischevious among us, and aid us in realizing the power of E=mc^2.
I got my new Metalworking Mill in today from Grizzly. It weighed 450lbs in the packing, I had to enlist the next door neighbors to help move it. But here it is.
There is quite a few things to do before you can even use it. Like removing all the red grease stuff that is put on at the factory to protect from corrosion. I think I also need to open it up and clean it up inside aswell.
I have a friend that is a pretty good machinist and hes going to come over tomorrow and give me some pointers.
I found some good plans for sale ($39) on the internet to convert this mill to a CNC / Manual Mill. I think its going to be at least like $400.00 to get this done. So I assume I will be waiting a bit to conver this. There are some Digital Readouts available for this mill as well. I think I want this more than the CNC option at first. Just because the current way to determine how far you move the table is to multiply the number on the spindle by how many turns you have taken. In short, I like to the quick and easy process that Digital Readouts provide… Just look at a LCD and you know where you are at.
Recently, I have been noticing that I have been having a very hard time to stay focused on one project and finish it out. Like the Antenna Bot. I finally get the x,y systems working (mechanically that is) and then I move away from writing the code and getting the last few bits strung together to persue the contraptor.org project work. Mainly I have been envisioning 2 contraptions that I think will have the ability to change the current state of home electronics hobbisys everywhere.
The first contraption is the 5 Axis mechanical arm or more application specific the contraptor based “Pick and Place” system. I have envisioned using a webcam with a pc + arduino serial connection to have some custom software “store” stepper locations and then tie that location to a part that the system will ask the board to put the component on. Today I saw something that I think has changed my existing idea of using PC + arduino to something more specialized.. The chameleon is a new fully compatable arduino multi core, hardcore fast processor with tons of built on stuff like a vga port, ps2 ports etc. This board also allows for the use of some significant processing power and usb devices. This might be the way I am going to go to control the setup of the Pick and Place system.
As of now I have to finish another few projects before I get really into hardcore development of the Pick and Place setup but for now its on my mind.
So a side project that I am co-authoring is the Contraptor project. Well what is Contraptor? The exact words from the project home page is:
“Contraptor is a DIY open source construction set for experimental personal fabrication, desktop manufacturing, prototyping and bootstrapping.”
What does that even mean? It means its a cool system that allows you to make cages, stands, frames whatever for your evil mad scientist projects that you have dreamed up and glued to a shoe box to present created a unique display for. Here is one of the things you can build with the framework.
What else can you build? Well its up to you. I have been working on my Wireless Antenna Sniper Bot:
But the sky is the limit on what you can build. Newly added Contraptor components is Synthetos laser cut plexi-glass pieces. These are really cool because the allow you to “glue” Contraptor parts together and create new Contraption’s that you were no able to create before. They are still in the Beta stage of Contraptor components but you can see them on the Wifi Bot V2 above. They are the black parts holding the top together. So go forth and make something cool!
After looking at the terms of service for paypal we have decided to go with google checkout at least to start out. Paypal seems like an over priced service. Do any of the readers here have a google checkout account?
Update: Looks like I read the terms of service for the wrong type. Synthetos.com is setup for paypal now also!
I was wondedring how accurate I could do small PCB components with the laser etching process. Below is a picture of my results and the procedure I used to create it
I got a board out of the package. I painted it with auto spray paint primer. I then had to do some editing of the pdf I got from the reprap. I had to import the PDF into corel
draw. Then I converted it to a bitmap 1200 DPI. I then was able to invert it. I dropped my little test logo in and it was ready to go.
I then lazzord the primer covered pcb (single sided copper). It looked great. I used the apply the etchant directly on the board and rub off with my hands (rubber gloves) and a sponge. I did it this way because it uses like 100x less solution. I was a bit worried about how small the logo was and if it was going to be able to be removed very easy. But after a few minutes of really scrubbing it was fine.
Once the copper was gone I went back to the computer and changed the lines (lines being the border and screw holes) to hairline which makes them be cut in the epilog driver. I then re-lazzored the board in cutting mode. I found that it was hitting the copper line that was the border and the screw holes. This was not good cause I think it caused the laser beam to split or “move” to the sides of the border. I think this is why its pretty frayed on the edges. So it did not cut all the way through this go.
I went back to Corel draw again to think of a way to get it to able to be cut out. Last try I did was (going from memory) I think the design was 1.647 x .7543 ish? I selected the whole “image” and shrunk it to 1.627x.7523″. This moved the laser off of the copper border still there. This worked and it went all the way through.
My next go (in a few hours) is going to be a bit different. I have setup the artwork to remove the screw holes and the border so the whole thing gets etched (no border and no screw holes). After I Lazzor this I will place the artwork back in Corel draw. Remove everything that is not the borders and screw holes. Change them to hairline so they can be cut and then it should work without the “fried look”. I also want to create some very small circles to place inside of the places where wire holes need to be.
The key thing to remember is I need copper to be removed then I can cut all the way through. So if I can remove a VERY small circle where the wire hole is then I can cut that very small circle (which will look to our eye as just a hole) and no need for the dremel drill press
Have a question? Just ask in the comments and I will do my best to help you out.
The laser has been delivered, setup and fired. I have a few little things I have created so far but for the most part I am trying to learn how to use it with 100% accuracy. Here are some photos.
So for the Wifi Sniper project. I am working on developing the rotational mount so that the antenna has no room for misalignment. My current design suffers from the problem of misalignment however not for long.
The rotational mount is nearly finished and ready for testing. I should have images and videos of the Wifi Sniper using the new mount in the next day or so. This is really the last hardware design problem ( I think ) thats stopping future progress. I am sure there is going to be added tweaks and adjustments but thats life. The overall design should be stable before its offered as a kit.
