I know that there are a lot of people out there who dislike the calibration process. This is especially true for people that are using derivatives of printers or have made their own modifications. That being said, anyone who recieves a printer as a perk will have their printer pre-calibrated with the standard values for my particular build. This also goes for those donors who are only recieving the printed parts or the files.
I know it really doesn't seem very important or necessary since the maths involved is pretty simple but it's my way of making everything just a tad easier. That is one of my goals for this project, isn't it? To make this whole process just a tiny bit easier. Also, I'm familiar with technical difficulties in classrooms and, although it is recommend in the materials provided with the printers that calibration methods and formulae be covered simply to round out the build experience, it's one less thing to worry about for whatever reason.
Happy Building!
Showing posts with label perks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perks. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Day 29: First Drafts and an Update
Okay, so this first draft is pretty awful and incomplete but I promised to post something and I am.
The design is pretty general and looks like every other delta bot out there pretty much. The arms each have two points of articulation for a grand total of 16 printed pieces not including the pulleys that will be attached between the two rods that make up each arm. The extruder carriage is pretty basic as well. This is mostly because I can't decide what kind of attachment I want.
The motor for the extruder may be mounted on the extruder and hot end or it may be mounted to the side. It really depends on the weight of the motor, which, if there are any RepRap forum readers here that have seen my thread, will either be the standard Nema 17s or 23s. Again, this all depends on how much weight the printed arms can handle since I really want to keep this area as light as possible. There are so many options for this that I really won't know what I like for this project until I start building.
This morning, I ordered new motors for my mendel so, hopefully, I can start printing by Monday or Tuesday, depending on when my post arrives and assuming that the motors work.
I have also decided that there will be some lower priced perks:
-Printed parts only- This is for those of you that would like to source your own materials. This includes only the printed parts and fasteners. The price for this will likely be in the $50- $75 range and will account for the cost of printing materials.
- Printed parts files- This will be the lowest option and will be a $25 donation for which you will recieve the .stl files to print out your own parts.
The design is pretty general and looks like every other delta bot out there pretty much. The arms each have two points of articulation for a grand total of 16 printed pieces not including the pulleys that will be attached between the two rods that make up each arm. The extruder carriage is pretty basic as well. This is mostly because I can't decide what kind of attachment I want.
The motor for the extruder may be mounted on the extruder and hot end or it may be mounted to the side. It really depends on the weight of the motor, which, if there are any RepRap forum readers here that have seen my thread, will either be the standard Nema 17s or 23s. Again, this all depends on how much weight the printed arms can handle since I really want to keep this area as light as possible. There are so many options for this that I really won't know what I like for this project until I start building.
This morning, I ordered new motors for my mendel so, hopefully, I can start printing by Monday or Tuesday, depending on when my post arrives and assuming that the motors work.
I have also decided that there will be some lower priced perks:
-Printed parts only- This is for those of you that would like to source your own materials. This includes only the printed parts and fasteners. The price for this will likely be in the $50- $75 range and will account for the cost of printing materials.
- Printed parts files- This will be the lowest option and will be a $25 donation for which you will recieve the .stl files to print out your own parts.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Who Doesn't Love Free Stuff? or Pay It Forward
Sorry it's taken me so long to finally get around to posting this.
The whole mission of this project is to encourage hands-on learning and creativity. That being said, what could be a better way of promoting the this idea than by giving away a few free printers?
Here's the catch: I will only be giving units to teachers who are nominated since this is primarily an education project. You can nominate yourself or a friend or a well deserving teacher. Depending on how many people are nominated and how many units are purchased through donations, I will determine how many free printers are given away. The cost to produce these free units is included in all (except the basic model) donations. So, the more units people buy, the more I will be donating. Of course, not everyone nominated will recieve a unit. The winners of the free units will be chosen based on why you think they (or you, if you are nominating yourself)deserve a 3d printing kit. Just leave a comment with the individual's name, school they teach at, and your reason why. I'll be choosing the recipients sometime in October.
What will you recieve? I haven't made a final decision as this will also be determined by how well funded this project is so let everyone know about it! It will most likely be a mid-range version of the classroom kits with a laser scanner and a full complement of teaching materials.
The whole mission of this project is to encourage hands-on learning and creativity. That being said, what could be a better way of promoting the this idea than by giving away a few free printers?
Here's the catch: I will only be giving units to teachers who are nominated since this is primarily an education project. You can nominate yourself or a friend or a well deserving teacher. Depending on how many people are nominated and how many units are purchased through donations, I will determine how many free printers are given away. The cost to produce these free units is included in all (except the basic model) donations. So, the more units people buy, the more I will be donating. Of course, not everyone nominated will recieve a unit. The winners of the free units will be chosen based on why you think they (or you, if you are nominating yourself)deserve a 3d printing kit. Just leave a comment with the individual's name, school they teach at, and your reason why. I'll be choosing the recipients sometime in October.
What will you recieve? I haven't made a final decision as this will also be determined by how well funded this project is so let everyone know about it! It will most likely be a mid-range version of the classroom kits with a laser scanner and a full complement of teaching materials.
Friday, 3 August 2012
Options
While I have yet to set final price points, here are the tentative donation amounts and the perks that go with them!
~$50-$100 - These amounts don't have perks as of yet. What it is is a $100 donation towards a printer that I will be donating to a deserving teacher or school. If you would like to nominate someone to be the recipient, please let me know why you think they deserve to recieve a free unit and how it might make their job a bit easier. ~$250 - The Class Project: Included is everything you need to get set up: An unassembled (this includes the electronics which you will recieve unsoldered) kit with everything you need to build your opensource printer. Also included are worksheets, diagrams, software options and instruction manual on a thumb drive. Shipping is not included.
~$350 - Deluxe Class Package- Everything from the basic package except the electronics will come to you pre-soldered and you will recieve a spool of ABS filament. Shipping is not included.
~$600 - Premium Classroom Model- This has everything you need: 2kg Filament, pre-soldered electronics, class materials, a larger print bed, 3D laser scanner, and acrylic casing.
~$800 - Premium Model (Aseembled)- Note: The increase in price has to do with the cost of shipping the finished product to you. This includes everything from the premium modeled but you will recieve it pre-assembled and ready for use.
~$1200- The Ultimate Perk- Light and tough, this model includes everything found in the previous models except that it has a casing of 2mm thick carbon fibre and will arrive mostly assembled (The plates for the casing will be laid flat and wrapped to preserve their high gloss finish and the top portion of the frame will be left off to make shipping easier). The frame will either be of carbon fibre or of aluminum. I anticipate that this model will also come with bluetooth and a second print bed for larger projects.
This information is likely to change as I come across parts and make final adjustments to the kits. I will likely be posting a detailed expense list in the next couple of days. Also, I have decided that I will be listing this project on Indiegogo instead of kickstarter simply to get this project in motion and not have to worry about it not making the fundraising goal.
~$50-$100 - These amounts don't have perks as of yet. What it is is a $100 donation towards a printer that I will be donating to a deserving teacher or school. If you would like to nominate someone to be the recipient, please let me know why you think they deserve to recieve a free unit and how it might make their job a bit easier. ~$250 - The Class Project: Included is everything you need to get set up: An unassembled (this includes the electronics which you will recieve unsoldered) kit with everything you need to build your opensource printer. Also included are worksheets, diagrams, software options and instruction manual on a thumb drive. Shipping is not included.
~$350 - Deluxe Class Package- Everything from the basic package except the electronics will come to you pre-soldered and you will recieve a spool of ABS filament. Shipping is not included.
~$600 - Premium Classroom Model- This has everything you need: 2kg Filament, pre-soldered electronics, class materials, a larger print bed, 3D laser scanner, and acrylic casing.
~$800 - Premium Model (Aseembled)- Note: The increase in price has to do with the cost of shipping the finished product to you. This includes everything from the premium modeled but you will recieve it pre-assembled and ready for use.
~$1200- The Ultimate Perk- Light and tough, this model includes everything found in the previous models except that it has a casing of 2mm thick carbon fibre and will arrive mostly assembled (The plates for the casing will be laid flat and wrapped to preserve their high gloss finish and the top portion of the frame will be left off to make shipping easier). The frame will either be of carbon fibre or of aluminum. I anticipate that this model will also come with bluetooth and a second print bed for larger projects.
This information is likely to change as I come across parts and make final adjustments to the kits. I will likely be posting a detailed expense list in the next couple of days. Also, I have decided that I will be listing this project on Indiegogo instead of kickstarter simply to get this project in motion and not have to worry about it not making the fundraising goal.
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