Gripper from a 3D Printer

[JonHylands]

Hey Guys,

So, I finally got around to getting one of my grippers printed on an ABS 3D Rapid Prototyper machine.



Details here: http://www.huv.com/blog/index.html

I'm very impressed...

- Jon

[Admin]

How much would your friend normally charge for a gripper to be made like that? I dont feel comfortable using my work 3D printer for personal projects . . .

btw, my robot fish fin was 95% ABS from 3D printing, too

oh, and if you fine-grain sandpaper it, it'll come out even smoother

if I ever settle down the first investment Ill make is my own 3D printer . . .

[JonHylands]

He would charge $79 for this part to be made. He owns the printer, so there's no issue with "work" versus "personal".

- Jon

[Brandon121233]

Whats about the cheapest a good 3D printer costs?

[ed1380]

I think at least a grand

[JonHylands]

Hah! If it was a grand, I would own one. The cheapest commercial 3D printer I'm aware of is from Dimension Printing, and costs $18,900.

- Jon

[JonHylands]

More gripper stuff - I got a couple Firgelli actuators (http://www.firgelli.com) and put one in place in the gripper - its looking nice...



- Jon

[gamefreak]

how are we money challenged high school students supposed to get these? lol i know my parents arent gonna pay and 100+$ a week is never gonna get me enough.....

why do they cost so much? They dont look all that complicated and its just a nozzle spraying liquid whatever, isnt it?

and btw: http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=461.0

only 2.5 k, im only 1.5 k away from emptying my bank account for it

[Admin]

you could make your own for ~$2.5k . . .
http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=461.0

[gamefreak]

i beat you admin

[JonHylands]

You can make your own for a lot less than $2.5K if you already have a CNC mill (like I do). There are a couple problems with the home-made versions, which will probably be overcome in the next year or so...

- they don't handle support, so you can't model complex 3D shapes with hollows (my gripper has a number of those kinds of hollows)
- the software still isn't that good, although like everything else its getting better

- Jon

[nanob0t]

I saw a 3D printer in use a long while ago.  Those things are pretty amazing.  Are they also called prototyping machines? 

What I saw was a bunch of plastic dust inside of a bin, and a laser would move over the surface melting certain points of the plastic together, eventually forming an object. 

Too bad they're so expensive, or else I'd get one      I think it would be extremely cool just to be able to turn a CAD image of a robot into a solid robot with no screws or anything.  It would look very futuristic.

[gamefreak]

the only thing i have that could help me with a robot is: an electronic drill, and a miter box

lol, not much but just enough for the basics

[ed1380]

no soldering iron?

[JonHylands]

What I saw was a bunch of plastic dust inside of a bin, and a laser would move over the surface melting certain points of the plastic together, eventually forming an object. 

That is an example of SLS, or selective laser sintering. The process my gripper was made from is somewhat different - its literally like an ink-jet printer, but the ink is abs plastic, and it can move the print head in 3 dimensions to allow it to build up a solid object.

- Jon

[ed1380]

it's cool how it can make assembled bearing and such

[JonHylands]

Well, the two parts on my gripper are actually made separately - I just put them together.

- Jon