Re: gEDA-user: Schematic Capture to dxf File - using gEDA, Inkscape, and pstoedit

[Dave N6NZ <n6nz@xxxxxxxx>]

On Jan 24, 2010, at 3:40 PM, dfro@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

> <snip>

> Dave,
> 
> I have been following the RepRap project with interest. A 3D printer that anyone can make is a very cool scratch to itch. I am fascinated by the artwork of the sculpter, Bathsheba Grossman. She really shows what is possible with 3D printing. (http://www.bathsheba.com) Maybe the RepRap will progress to this level of precision, eventually. I am very impressed with the parts that people are currently making with it.

I just placed an order for a MakerBot CupCake http://www.makerbot.com/ -- mainly just as a toy to share with my 10 year old daughter, who  is both nerdy and arty (her self-chosen free-time activities this past Sunday were: a) drawing with her oil pastels, b) doing pcb layout on a game she is building for herself with my help, c) building cholesterol with her organic chemistry model kit)   The CupCake should be an interesting toy.

If you already have a good X/Y mechanism, I think just taking the CupCake's plastruder and mounting it on your mill or CNC router or whatever makes sense.  

> 
> I like the idea of using a cnc mill to vector plot the pcb artwork onto a photo-resist board with a laser. I do not think mounting a laser would be very difficult. There must be a low intensity laser that is in the correct frequency range to cure the resist. You could make different apertures easily by creating transparent slides with a single white dot against a black background.
> 
> As far as a cheap x/y bed, how about doing it with a cheap machine that is massive and solid, like rock? I have been following the epoxy-granite thread on cnczone.com for a long time:

Moving a laser pointer or a plastruder around doesn't require a highly rigid X/Y, not like milling or routing.  How much rigidity you need really depends on what all you want to do with it.  One of the light X/Y's like the Probotix Fireball V90 might be a reasonable choice for plotting and plastruding and light routing.

In other news -- a few weeks ago some of us from the robot club visited a local used machine dealer and also the local Haas dealer, kicking tires, mainly.  If you want a nice, rigid X/Y.... the Fanuc Robodrill is a nice rig. :)  I won't have one any time soon, but I did get checked out on the Tormach at the TechShop.

-dave





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