ZeroBot is a 3D printable FPV robot based on Raspberry Pi Zero

ZeroBot is a cool little 3d printable robot that is cheap and easy to make. Great for educational robotic projects. You can control it via the smartphone interface and all the software is available as SD card image. I'm making this!!!




Project description:

ZeroBot is a Raspberry Pi Zero W based robot. It can be controlled using any computer or smartphone via a web browser. The integrated camera module makes for a low latency video stream. In addition, the Raspberry Pi acts as a Wifi access point, so no router is required. The parts for the hull as well as the wheels can easily be printed on any regular 3D printer. 

Some of the key features are:

• Compact CAD design with 3D printed components

• Analog control via a joystick (and multitouch)

• Simple battery solution using only a standard power bank

• Low latency streaming (~0.3s)

• Easy and cheap to build using widely available components

Thingiverse page:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2352440

Hackaday.io page:

https://hackaday.io/project/25092-zerobot-raspberry-pi-zero-fpv-robot

BCN3D Moveo Open Source 3D Printed Robotic Arm

BCN3D presents Moveo, a fully 3d printable open source robotic arm. Another step toward fully robotic world where we puny humans will be free of any work :-)




From project description:

BCN3D Technologies keeps taking important steps in order to achieve his goal of bringing the digital manufacturing technology to everyone. In this occasion we are presenting the BCN3D Moveo, a robotic arm design from scratch and developed by our engineers in collaboration with the Departament d’Ensenyament from the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Its structure is fully printed using additive manufacturing technologies and its electronics are controlled by the software Arduino. The BCN3D Moveo has 5 axis.
Moveo, fully functional nowadays, has been born, as all the BCN3D Technologies products, with an open and educational wish.

As we have done with all our developed pordutcs, the BCN3D Moveo files will be available for everyone. Thanks to the platform Github, a website where users around the world share their designs, anyone will be able to obtain all the necessary information in order to assemble his own BCN3D Moveo at home.

Nevertheless, BCN3D will fee all the Moveo know how on our Github account, as we have been doing with all the BCN3D Technologies products. Thus, the users will be able to find the bill of material (BOM), where all the needed components for the assembling of the arm come detailed, as the CAD designs, so anyone will be able to modify the BCN3D Moveo design as they wish.

Furthermore, the Github users will find the STL files for the structure printing and the assembling, fine tuning and firmware upload manuals, which will be available both in English and Spanish.

Download the BCN3D Moveo CAD files, the STL files, the assembly and user manual and the Bill of Materials on our Github: https://github.com/BCN3D

Project homepage: https://www.bcn3dtechnologies.com/en/bcn3d-moveo-the-future-of-learning/

SparkRover Open Source 3D Printable Robotic Rover

SparkRover is an open source rover powered with Arduino with Bluetooth connectivity so it can be controlled with a smartphone. Its structure and wheels are 3d printed.
It was developed by Instructables user Dominick Lee who described the main areas where this small rover can be used:

• Robotics Learning Platform
• GoPro Automatic Camera Dolly
• Panorama Camera Assistant
• Maze Solving Robot
• Robot Racing

SparkRover parts list:

• 3D Printed Parts (1x - SparkRover Chasis, 1x - Cover for the Chasis, 2x - Front Wheel, 2x - Back Wheel)
• 2x of 55mm O-Rings
• 2x of Futaba S3003 Servo pack (contains a servo, servo horns, screws, etc.)
• HC05 Bluetooth module
• Arduino Nano v3
• 26 AWG stranded wire (or jumper wires)
• Push button latch switch
• Small 3.7v LiPo battery
• 3.7v to 5v Step-Up chip
• Ultrasonic sensor

Detailed construction guide, .stl files and guidance software can be found at:

http://www.instructables.com/id/SparkRover-3D-Printed-Smartphone-Controlled-Robot/?ALLSTEPS

Educational TETRIX 3D Printer

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.

Very detailed build guide:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Tetrix-3D-Printer/?ALLSTEPS

How to get 3d printers in libraries?

If you are a librarian and want to get a 3d printer in your library here is a full and free webinar that will teach you all the basics you need to know. It is presented by Sharona Ginsberg for UM3DLab.





Here is entry level video webinar aimed at educators by Javelin Technologies Inc.:

Materials for Extreme 3D Printing, Talk by Walter Voit

Here is a great talk at Google about more advanced 3d printing materials and their properties. The talk is delivered by Walter Voit.




Talk description:

Adaptive 3D Technologies makes the toughest - and softest - 3D printed polymers on the market by creating custom materials specifically designed to be 3D printed. Advanced processing techniques eliminate anisotropy and result in durable, high quality parts that can be used directly in practical applications far beyond current stereotypes of 3D printing (prototyping). Walter Voit is the president of Adaptive 3D Technologies and an Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas.

3D Printable DIY Ion Thruster and EmDrive

Space will be colonized by human race, 3d printing will help but chemical rockets won't get us far. Here are two propulsion methods that you will be able to make and demonstrate here on Earth with some help of your 3d printer. Ideal for educational purposes.


3D Printable DIY Ion Thruster

Ion thrusters are proven space propulsion method and you can learn more about it on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_thruster

With some spare parts and 3d printed structure you can make a working model:




Learn more about the project and get more detailed construction instructions:

http://www.elab-hackerspace.org/2015/09/18/ion-thruster/

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1037204


3D Printable EM drive or RF resonant cavity thruster

EM-drive is much more exotic method of electromagnetic space travel which was considered a hoax when first presented but turned out to be potentially revolutionary since some tests show it works thus enabling future spacecrafts to fly without fuel mass.

Learn more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RF_resonant_cavity_thruster

Now you can also make a model and test it with few metal parts and a 3d printed support.

Project homepage:

https://hackaday.io/project/5596-em-drive

Bonsai Lab BS Toy 3d printer and low temperature filament aimed at children

Bonsai Lab from Japan presented a new "BS Toy" 3d printer aimed at children and schools. It features ability to print with low temperature filemant material which melts at around 80C so that extruder should be "safe" for kids if they touch it.

The LT 80 filament is a flexible thermoplastic made by Polymakr LLC and it is designed to be from FDA approved materials to make it children safe. It is only colorless at the moment but it should be available in more colors.

Personally, I find this obsession with "safety" to be exaggerated. If school children can not be trusted not to touch heated element when warned about it, we have a much bigger problem then a burn they will get. But I grew up in a different time in a different culture.  As far as I understand liability laws and school administrator would want some similar "safe" technology. 

• BS Toy dimensions: 200 (W) x 200 (D) x 200mm (H) 
• Weight: 2.0kg 
• Print volume: 130 (W) x 125 (D) x 100mm (H). 
• Nozzle diameter: 0.4mm, with optional 0.2 to 0.5mm nozzles 
• The recommended deposition pitch is 0.1mm

Objects printed in LT80 filament

Source:

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20150130/401713/?n_cid=nbptec_tecrs

First Austrian 3d printing classroom in polytechnic school Vorchdorf

In RepRap facebook group I saw very interesting news. In Austria they opened first 3d printing classroom in a polytechnic school in Vorchdorf. The teaching cabinet looks great and has 8 3d printers. Project was made possible by cooperation of government, school, RepRap Austria and Otelo.

My first thought was: WHY DON'T WE HAVE IT HERE IN CROATIA?!?!?!?

Austria is country we look up to and hopefully someone will create a similar project. I'm pessimistic since IT is still being thought with floppy disks.We are sooooo faaaar behind with everything ...

You go Vorchdorf! For The Win!

How is your school system doing? Is your country implementing any 3d printing educational program for the kids?

Source: Ben Ny facebook

Free webinar on 3d printing and impossible geometry

Here is a new free webinar presented by Tyler Reid of GoEngineer. It explores the geometry and shape complexity which can be implemented with large design freedom due to additive manufacturing production technology abilities and limitations.
With 3d printing design complexity can be much higher and this webinar goes trough several areas where more intricate geometry can be of value.
Presented areas are: art & character design, consolidated assemblies (like complex valves and nozzles), cellular & lattice structures (in industrial and medical applications) and microscale prints,

Halo figurines as example of character design

You can find more webinars like this one starting here:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/11/free-webinar-on-3d-printed-car-parts.html

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/08/free-webinar-on-3d-printing-jigs-and.html

... links inside those posts will guide you to more similar content ...

Update:

new webinar on medical aplications: http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2015/02/free-video-webinar-on-3d-printing-in.html

RamanPi DIY 3d printable Raman Spectrometer

RamanPi is open source project of Raman Spectrometer that can be made with many 3d printable parts. It is a low cost way to get a spectroscope for your laboratory or school and learn / teach about fundamental physics, chemistry and material sciences. It is powered by Raspberry Pi and most non-printable parts can be sourced off-the-shelf. The entire system is housed in standard PC ITX case.

Goals of the RamanPi project:

• Make it Open.. Everything.. All of it.. 
• Make it 3D Printable. 
• Make it modular and easy to upgrade. 
• Make it as easy to build as possible. 
• Make it easy to customize and open to improvement. 
• Use only commonly available off the shelf components whenever possible. 
• Have a remote interface that will allow it to be controlled and viewed from anywhere. 
• Compare the spectra to the online internet spectral databases. 
• Provide the capability to log data to remote databases, share with friends and colleagues.. 
• Not be just another open source spectrometer.. 
• Make it easy to use and intuitive. 
• Make it attractive with an elegant design.. 
• Make it useful and just cool to have!

Detailed construction guide and technical details can be found at:

http://hackaday.io/project/1279-ramanpi-raman-spectrometer

RamanPi GitHub:

https://github.com/flatCat1597/ramanSpectrometer

There are more DIY 3d printed spectrometer  projects:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/01/3d-printing-low-cost-open-source.html

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/09/publiclaboratory-mobile-3d-printed.html

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/09/tricorder-project-3d-printable.html

Videos from the RamanPi project:

Library Lyna has 3d printable educational models to help blind students learn

Library Lyna is a repository collection of high quality educational 3D models to help teaching of the blind and visually impaired.
Great project!

Here is a Library Lyna homepage with MANY models which can be 3d printed and used in classroom:

http://www.librarylyna.com/


Here is the image of the site with geometric shapes with Braille titles:

If you want help someone who needs Braille signs, here is text-to-Braille 3d model generator:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/11/text2braille-website-generates-3d.html

Vagler V-8E education focused 3D printer

VAGLER International is a Swedish-Malaysian 3d printer company: They just released their 3d printer aimed at educational / school market: The Vagler V-8E.

http://www.vagler.com/

Technical specifications:

• Max printing resolution: 50 microns (0.05mm)
• Build volume: 13,500cm3 L, W, H 270 x 200 x 250 mm ( x x inches)
• 1-Click printing;
• Multiple printers and print queues from a single workstation;
• “Child Proof” fully enclosed chassis means all moving parts for student safety and hardware longevity in a hardworking classroom environment;
• “Teacher Lock” enabling staff to remotely lock the printer’s operation for student safety;
• Magnetic door lock during printing, which prevents access to the 200°C+ heated parts;
• Removable, non-heated printing plates, enabling quick access to completed objects.
• Price: at USD 1,999 range

There are more and more 3d printers focused on very large education market and they mostly feature two main things: some sort of protection against children touching the heated parts and some sort of print job queuing. 

That tells me that we live in safety obsessed lawsuit culture (I had to buy and bring to school a set of carving technical knives at age of 10 as part of technical curricula) and that those features will not be sufficient if you want to sell in that market. We will see what will future bring in this field. Kids will have to learn 3d printing soon ...

Maker Club will teach your children robotics with 3d printable robots

... and beside children they will also teach me. I just found out about Maker Club, and I really like the idea behind it. They provide very detailed guides and all the resources to learn robotics. They devlop electronics and mobile apps to control their projects.

From Maker Club page:

Born in Brighton, UK, Maker Club has single mission - to make learning fun. We’re based in the cities most dynamic workspace, The Fusebox, a collection of start-ups, dreamers and thought leaders that try and make the world a slightly better place.

Our vision is to make learning about electronics and coding fun, accessible and relevant to young peoples lives. When you add micro controllers, servos and sensors to 3D printing, the possibilities are limitless and we want to harness that power to inspire the next generation of inventors.

We’re developing an ecosystem where people can learn, build, collaborate and even sell their robotic creations with the aid of a learning platform, marketplace and an intuitive mobile application - but, this is just the beginning. We’d love to hear from you, so why not get in touch with us today.

As far as I see most of their stuff is under CC license that is great for me as Open Source supporter.

Here is their homepage where you can get full building instructions, code and STL files for their robots:

http://makerclub.org/

You can also find and support them on Indiegogo, there you can order robotics kits:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/maker-club-3d-printed-robots-for-everyone

Quadmonster robot, one of the cool robots from Maker Club

Prototyping Pi Top DIY laptop with 3d printing

Pi Top is DIY laptop kit based on Raspberry Pi and aimed at education and students. The team used 3d printing to prototype the casing. Maybe they could release the files and open source the project for the people who want to build it completely on their own and not buy it in kit form.

Pi Top features (from the project page):

• Free Hardware Innovation Lessons: Pi-Top is where it starts. We will be building new content for Pi-Top users.Learn to 3D print, design PCBs and create your own products from start to finish. 
• No Compromising on Quality: Mobile designs often use Bluetooth keyboards, that took away from the user experience. Enjoy using Raspberry Pi with a fully integrated laptop keyboard and track-pad with extra ports.
• Easy Component Access: A clear sliding panel allows access to the Raspberry Pi. Kickstarter DAY 1 editionPi-Tops will feature a lazer-etched panel design, as well as the standard clear panel.
• Raspbian Operating System: Once built your Raspberry Pi is ready to go. Start learning to program on the latest Raspbian OS.
• 6 - 8 Hour Battery Life & Wifi enabled: Battery time 6+ hours. Wifi enabled out of the box, Pi-Top is truly mobile. 
• 13.3" Screen: No compromising on screen size. Enjoy using your Raspberry Pi with a 13.3" HD screen.

Pi Top homepage: http://www.pi-top.com/

Reddit thread where they presented their 3d printed prototype:

http://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/2g0opb/fullsized_3d_printed_laptop_prototype_pitop_print/

They used the following setup:

• Printer used: Rostock Max V2 kit - with E3D full metal hotend
• Filament: PLA 1.75mm nozzle: 205 Bed temp: 55 Speed: 70mm/sec
• Print time: 3 prints total (two pieces together and the two larger pieces seprately) roughly 160 hours of printing
• Support settings: KISSlicer with medium support, at 45 Degrees with a horizontal gap (from object) of 1mm.
• De-string Settings: Prime 5.5mm Suck: 5.4mm Wipe:5mm Z-lift: 1mm
• Notes from the creators: "PLA really keeps its shape well. We had to use floating beams in the STLs to achieve a rigid enough support structure so the model wouldn't wobble after 10 inches tall and ruin the print. We found KISSlicer worked the best in terms of support structure."

Free webinars on 3d printing jigs, fixtures and hollow composites layups

Another great video from GoEngineer on all kinds of jigs and fixtures used in various manufacturing processes and made with 3d printers. Very educational!

Here is the previous tutorial on injection molding:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/08/free-webinar-on-3d-printing-and.html

Update (14.5.2015.):

Here is a new free webinar on FDM 3d printing with soluble material to create low cost, quick, one-time use patterns for hollow core composite layups.

Update (5.7.2015.):

Here is another great webinar on benefits of 3d printed fixtures by Aaron Latzke

Oddbot is 3d printable DIY robot with Mecanum wheels

Oddbot is 3d printable open source DIY robot with omnidirectional Mecanum wheels which you can make yourself with your 3d printer. It is aimed at robotics education and small projects. It doesn't look optimized for FDM printers but it is probably possible to do it.

Mecanum wheel

Detailed construction instructions with all the files and software can be found at:

http://www.odd.org.nz/oddbot.html


The project is developed by Olaf Diegel whois  well known for his 3d printed electric guitars and 3d printed saxophone.

NIH 3D Print Exchange for publicly available biomedical files

Ever needed to download some 3dprintable models of cells? viruses? molecules? Some scientific lab equipment? Here is a new place for you!

What is NIH 3d print exchange:

The NIH 3D Print Exchange is a collaborative effort led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in collaboration with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and the National Library of Medicine.

Few scientific 3D-printable models are available online, and the expertise required to generate and validate such models remains a barrier. The NIH 3D Print Exchange eliminates this gap with an open, comprehensive, and interactive website for searching, browsing, downloading, and sharing biomedical 3D print files, modeling tutorials, and educational material.

The site will have prewritten scripts that can turn 3D medical data, such as free models from the Electron Microscopy Database, into 3D printable files using the open-source UCSF Chimera software package.

 

http://3dprint.nih.gov/

NIH 3d print exchange youtube channel 

User can also submit their projects to NIH 3d print exchange

Some of the models on NIH

NVBots presents NVPrinter designed for schools with simplicity and automation as main features

New Valence Robotics presents new 3d printer aimed ad education institutions that features fully automatic 3d printing and part ejection with storage. The company wants to lease this NVPrinter they describe as "the first of its kind, fully automated, cloud-connected 3D printer," to schools for between $3,000 and $5,000 a year.

NVPrinter features:

This new machine is certainly evolutionary step forward from the first one they presented:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/10/new-valence-robotics-nv-3d-printer.html 

There are no independent tests or detailed technical specifications. I'm always skeptical with printers that claim high level of automation. There is not even a video of machine printing. We will see ...

They are crowd-funding at: http://www.fundable.com/nvbots

Company page: http://nvbots.com/

Automatic part removal is nothing new, but it was usually done in DIY fashion with many custom variations mostly by people who use their printers as small business machines to produce many parts:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/08/upgrade-of-reprap-automatic-printing.html

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2012/11/ultimaker-print-farm.html

Free webinar on FDM and PolyJet 3d printing basics

It is 30 minutes worth watching if you are starting with FDM and PolyJet commercial grade 3d printers. It gives the technologies overview, advantages and disadvantages, applications and materials.  It is based on Stratasys machines, but it the knowledge is mostly universal.
This webinar is made by Tyler Reid of GoEngineer. You can go to his channel and see many more interesting videos on various 3d printing / CAD / CAM topics.

FDM and PloyJet applications examples and intersections 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAJMi8n2wso