RepRap: Blog

There are some interesting goings on at UPenn/UMich. They have created small autonomous mobile robots sized at 200 by 300 by 50 microns. There is an onboard CPU, solar panels and a propulsion system. Admittedly it is a press release based article but the claim is: "the world’s smallest fully programmable, autonomous robots: microscopic swimming machines that can independently sense and respond to their surroundings, operate for months and cost just a penny each"

This is innovative stuff - and an interesting read.

 https://www.seas.upenn.edu/stories/penn-and-umich-create-worlds-smallest-programmable-autonomous-robots/ 

# posted by OfItselfSo @ 8:22 AM 0 comments

A couple of things have happened as a result of the Everything Open conference. First off, the Hackaday folks have run an article on it https://hackaday.com/2026/02/01/the-latest-from-reprapmicron-nail-gel-first-objects-and-more/ which is nice for a bit of exposure.

Second, Jon Oxer of SuperHouse (Maker Electronics maestro and entrepreneur Down Under) has said https://youtube.com/live/DVUR0oRK5SI he wishes to build a RepRapMicron and livestream the process, which is brave of him. I intend to follow along and see where, and how badly, my documentation fails. What I'm not going to do is hang around the livestream and keep offering advice, because an important part of this project is accessibility. If the likes of Jon can't follow it, I'm really messing up somewhere. We'll have to arrange a safeword beforehand...

From the hardware angle, I'm noodling with the Z Axis. I think the complementary flexures on the side of it might benefit from being a little thicker, and I'm adding a spring washer to help stop the Probe Arm from loosening up when you manually move it back and forth a lot. Probably tidy up the Z Touch Wire while I'm at it.

# posted by vik-olliver @ 3:38 AM 0 comments

The organizers of Everything Open 2026 in Canberra earlier this month have kindly made a video of the talk and slides available. Damn, it's come a long way in the last year.

https://youtu.be/dq_ZCf0-KmM

# posted by vik-olliver @ 7:00 PM 4 comments

I've been assembling, photographing, documenting, and testing the V0.05 RepRapMicron Axis Driver. Please have a look and pass comment.

The pre-built STLs are here https://www.printables.com/model/1577934-reprapmicron-v005-micron-accurate-axis-driver

# posted by vik-olliver @ 10:00 PM 0 comments

So, what's wrong with this picture?

Peer in and observe those little yellow hooks at the bottom of those bands. Now observe the diameter of the blue pillars. Yes, that's right. The hooks do not fit into the gap between the pillars!

This is because doofus here reused some pillars off an old axis, and didn't check to see if they were the ones that were compatible with the new hooks.

Net result is that when the Drive Screw attempts to lift or lower the yellow mechanism in the middle, it tries to snap the hooks off. Well, the good news is that the yellow bit canted over and snapped off its flexures before the hooks came off, so I guess they're strong enough...

Now of course I have to reprint all the bits, reassemble them, and redo all the pictures I took with the wrong pillars before I can finish the build docs. *Sigh!*

# posted by vik-olliver @ 4:52 AM 0 comments

If you're assembling a V0.05 Axis Driver, insert all the nuts, then put the silicone bands on. You can hang them up out of the way on a couple of screws like this:

 (The blue bit and 50mm M3 screw was added after I'd hung the bands on, but it propped it up at a photogenic angle...)

Then you can pull them over the top of the Nut Bar once it is in place over the Drive Screw. 

# posted by vik-olliver @ 12:23 AM 0 comments

Back in NZ. μRepRap is in bits in the suitcase. It survived the outgoing trip well, and the Everything Open trip was a success. Might be doing some colabs on YouTube, and there is a video that is going up (and I quote) "soon." Last time that meant six months...

I'll post the slides once I've sorted my unpacking.

Footnote: The X and Z axes got smashed on the return trip. Nothing 16 hrs of 3D printing can't fix, but the machine will be down for a bit.

# posted by vik-olliver @ 8:56 PM 0 comments