mikew67

Bruce, Can you please provide a few words on each of the folders in your GitHub repository to explain the purpose of that folder's files? I can infer much of it (especially using comments in this thread), but I'd rather not make a mistake FYI, I converted most of the files from your .dxf format (which app?) to AutoCAD 2007 dxf (or at least, that's what the conversion utility I used on the Mac purported to produce. I can then import them into TurboCAD on the Mac (where mm measurements get interpreted as inches, making a truly large! Ultimaker BTW, my efforts to have the coordinates interpreted as mm produced scrambled drawings (suspect a TurboCAD bug). I'll just have to re-scale the objects. All of the files successfully converted have been essentially 2D (or 2D projections). The one file I couldn't do anything with was the aluminum heater block in the extruder. Will try that one on from Windows (running a Win XP VM under VMware Fusion). Thanks again for all the info. Mike

Bruce, And I looked at the Eagle files (board and schematic), so I now know what you mean. Thanks for all the hard work it took to assemble your material on github. I installed the github app on my Mac and synced with your repository (definitely easier than trying to download the individual files :-) Ran into two problems: 1. After github completed the pull, it went into cardiac arrhythmia - both CPU cores at 100%. Probably pilot error on my part 2. Almost all of the dxf files cannot be read by either of two apps on the Mac side and by 123D on Windows. Only got one or two of the 2D cutout templates to open successfully. Probably some format incompatibility between your CAD package and mine. What app are you using? Thanks again, Mike

Thanks, Daid and BruceW, Bruce, I've been ignoring the electronics thus far (mainly because I anticipated having to make major revisions there, either to accommodate the high impedance steppers I have, or to move to a different processor). You say $20 per PCB. Sounds about right. I just did a half dozen small (24x46mm) boards for a wearable sensor and they were $10 each (mainly fixed cost, could have been bigger without costing more). Is there one combo board (containing 4 stepper drivers, heater driver, etc.) or several smaller ones. (Feel free to tell me to RTFM; just point me at a relevant web page :-) Mike

Have seen an Ultimaker in the "flesh" (wood, plastic, metal, electronics, etc., actually). Very nice machine. Thanks to the designers, especially for publishing the plans (wooden parts at least) for others to copy. And I certainly would like to subsidize the developers, even in a small way, by ordering parts kits from them. But I'm motivated to go it alone for several reasons: Hey, cash is short :-) I'm fortunate to already have a stock of stepper motors, linear bearings, and other mechanical parts which are close enough that they can be used with minimal modifications to the design. I also have a stock of polycarbonate sheet that can be used for the plywood parts. I even have a small machine shop with lathe and vertical mill, so I can machine stuff. For example, I've already made my own "improved" version of Wade's geared fiber drive out of aluminum, complete with purple anodizing :-) Plan to machine my own extruder parts, too. Even have electronics design and fabrication capability (but haven't decided whether I want to go the standard, i.e., Arduino, route or use a "better" MCU yet). Having said all that, it would be very useful to have a complete BoM (Bill of Materials) that I could use as a starting point for my mods. Has anyone assembled it? (I've seen some partial efforts.) I'll even be happy to assemble one from partial lists. Mike (who has a precocious 6-yr old grandson who's anxiously waiting to print some of his inventions :-) Palo Alto, CA