Keep an eye out at local auctions, etc. Would AFRL know where an old arm would be on base?

Subject: [New post] Salvaged robot arm makes a big 3d printer
From: "Hack a Day" <donotreply@wordpress.com>
Date: Tue, 19 June, 2012 9:03 am

Post : Salvaged robot arm makes a big 3d printer
URL : http://hackaday.com/2012/06/19/salvaged-robot-arm-makes-a-big-3d-printer/
Posted : June 19, 2012 at 8:01 am
Author : Mike Szczys
Tags : 3d printer, extruder, pid, robot arm, scara, servo
Categories : cnc hacks, robots hacks

http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/robot-arm-extruder-printer-e1340116161366.jpg

Wow, building a precision 3d printer is amazingly easy if you can get your hands on an industrial-quality robot arm. [Dane] wrote in to tell us about this huge extruder printer (http://transistor-man.com/3dprintbot.html) made from an '80s-era SCARA robot arm. It is capable of printing objects as large as 25"x12"x6.5".

This 190 pound beast was acquired during a lab clean out. It was mechanically intact, but missing all of the control hardware. Building controllers was a bit of a challenge since the it's designed with servo motors and precision feedback sensors. This is different from modern 3d printers which use stepper motors and no feedback sensors. A working controller was built up one component at a time, with a heated bed added to the mix to help prevent warping with large builds. We love the Frankenstein look of the controller hardware, which was mounted hodge-podge as each new module was brought online.

You can see some printing action in the clip after the break. A Linux box takes a design and spits out control instructions to the hardware.

Read more of this post (http://hackaday.com/2012/06/19/salvaged-robot-arm-makes-a-big-3d-printer/#more-77352)

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