During the sci-fi convention in September, I visited the booth where they do a full body 3D scan of you, then print it out on a laser sintering 3D printer with basically same capabilities as an Inkjet printer.
This means, that you do not only get a 3D model of whatever you scanned, but it is also printed out in colour!
About a week ago, I got the results.
So: without further ado: Have a look at my 3D printed clone of my very own R2-D2:
For a while, I wanted to change out the cable braids on my MakerGear M2 for chains, and now the work has been started!
Firstly, I found this nice model on thingiverse, tosdjuenfs Cable Chain: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:40124
I printed out a bunch of those, first to test my PET, worked great, but I wanted them black, so back to the old ABS.
To mount them to the M2, I found another nifty mod on thingiverse by rklosinski: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:151024.
Since I was not using a store bought chain, but rather my own, I downloaded the original Makergear part, and inspired by the thingiverse cable holder, I made my own version of it with a cable chain end point integrated.
I cut off part of the model in order to allow for this to be printed without supports, as well.
Then I also needed to fasten the other end somehow. There is a very nice little hole near the edge where I’ve previously had a cable tie holding the Y axis cables in place. This was perfect for my needs. Now i just needed to draw and print a holder that was made for this task:
Once I had printed enough links in the chain above, it was a simple matter to remove the braid and carefully thread the cables one by one (largest first) through the cable chain.
While doing this, I had them broken un into segments of 4 pieces, as this was easier to thread the cables through smaller segments.
There was one big 4MM bolt that helps holding the top plate to the steel frame that was a bit in the way, but I replaced this with a smaller screw that should normally be counter sunk, but it got the bolt low enough to allow the chain to pass over without issues.
Here’s the result of the Y-axis DONE!
Now for fixing mounts for the heated bed and X-axis….
A little while ago, I became aware of an organization called Enabling the Future.
They focus on bringing 3D printed prosthetics to children in need of a prosthetic hand at a fraction of what this would normal cost.
The hands are simple, but allow for someone without fingers to grab something with the prosthetic hand by simply bending the wrist!
As soon as I found out about this, I immediately signed up and started printing a hand within a few days.
This is what it looked like on the print plate.. granted not much at that point, but when the pieces were assembled together, you could really see the shape and how it was supposed to work.
Ingenious stuff, and since I’ve signed up, I am awaiting my first assignment to provide a hand for a specific kid, measured to fit on this kids hand….
Amazing. It only takes a couple of hours, but can make a huge difference in someones life to print one of these.
If you have a 3D printer, I would suggest you sign up as well!