Comments on: First Print!

By: Arvin Evans

Arvin Evans — Sun, 09 May 2010 00:45:28 +0000

Thanks for the qcad link. Have become spoiled for 3d being able to pan and orbit in Sketchup. I see I hate 2D now.

Gave up on the 3 bearings on the angle and one on the other side. Inherently unstable like you guessed. With 4 and just one it seemed to work but didn’t feel as solid as it does with 4 and 2. Looks like your design is a winner.

Spend 2 days with lots of drilling and tapping to just verify that just “because you can draw it doesn’t mean it will work”!

By: Giles Bathgate

Giles Bathgate — Sat, 08 May 2010 17:08:27 +0000

I use QCad for drawing and viewing dxf files. If you are using linux you just do:

sudo apt-get install qcad

If you are using windows you can use this installer. Don't bother with the newer demo version provided by ribbonsoft (The official company that wrote the software) because its limited to 10 mins use.

By: Arvin Evans

Arvin Evans — Sat, 08 May 2010 03:35:20 +0000

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iFiLLJVA6iEg4LefYSvKVg?feat=directlink
That’s the two z-skates drawn in Sketchup 7. I really like sketchup. Especially the price. I use the free version!

I tried the 4 wheel version today. I’m worried about the stability. I’ll give it another go tomorrow. Worried that the bolts aren’t strong enough.

By: Arvin Evans

Arvin Evans — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:53:17 +0000

What would be a good dxf file viewer. I’ve tried a few. Didn’t like any of them.

By: Giles Bathgate

Giles Bathgate — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:15:47 +0000

The 4 wheeler design looks interesting. I am not sure how stable it will be though. If you want to get measurements of things there is also the very unfinished Assembly.dxf file you might be able to use for reference.

By: Arvin Evans

Arvin Evans — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:15:10 +0000

I hope I’m not making a nuisance of my self. This is a simplification of the z-skate that I think will work but I’ll have to do the build to find out. Unless you’ve already tried it?
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3it_xTVU6SxE_-4Vwhzewg?feat=directlink

By: Arvin Evans

Arvin Evans — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:55:22 +0000

Hope this shows you what I’ve been doing in Sketchup. If not here’s a link: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FtTX5rQ5FwJvYXe_18vyaA?feat=directlink

From reprap

By: Arvin Evans

Arvin Evans — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:12:44 +0000

Thanks. I was drawing copies in Sketchup. Had guessed 4″ for the z-skate. Good for a guess. I’ll finish drawing them, keeps me off the street, while I wait to see developments with bothacker.

I have made the bearing skates before. Have made a couple of iterations of one like http://buildyourcnc.com/davidkcnc.aspx just really unhappy with the speed of the 1/4″ allthread and my drilling skills. Haven’t found anything better than the expensive belt/pulleys. I’ve about given up on using anything else though. I did buy a cheap drill press recently so maybe my skates will work out better this time!

By: Giles Bathgate

Giles Bathgate — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:56:58 +0000

Thanks. If you can, I recommend having a set of bearings below the y axis skates, Like I have done for my x-carriage as you can see above. It allows you to clamp up the bearings for extra stability. If you rely on gravity then you should make your bed heavy enough that gravity will provide stability. I would be really honored if someone else would try out my design. You can see all the drawing files here Not everything is there yet, but ask me for anything that you need if you are interested and I will try to provide them as quick as I can.

By: Arvin Evans

Arvin Evans — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:12:06 +0000

A Print! At last! Wonderful.

Will probably copy your y bearings. If I build one at all. Looking/hoping that BotHacker puts out a kit for his t-rap. If not I’m back on my own and your hardware store bearings are great.

Thanks for the good works.
Arvin