Tuesday, April 17, 2007
You can't spread a bit of CAPA on your copper
Yesterday I bought a piece of copper-clad board and tried sticking it under Zaphod. The idea being to deposit a trail of CAPA on the copper and then etch the exposed copper. Unfortunately, it looks like copper makes a nigh on perfect non-stick surface for CAPA extrusions. Even after cleaning with contact cleaner and cranking up the heat, I couldn't get any CAPA at all to stick to the copper.
Looks like time for plan B; the etch resist pen.
Vik :v)
Looks like time for plan B; the etch resist pen.
Vik :v)
Labels: board, capa, circuit, etch, pcb, polymorph, track
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Time-lapse video of test hexagon.
A few people have asked me if I would make a short time-lapse movie of something being RepRapped. So, thank you for the inspiration. I finally got round to it on the second attempt, after earlier borrowing a higher quality camera that unfortunately lacked macro focus:
The object is a standard 20mm (approx) test hexagon, 5mm (quite accurate) thick, extruded from CAPA. There are approximately 2.5 seconds per frame. I used a Linux script of my own devising and a Logitech 320x240 webcam clamped to the base board, which I will document and GPL if anyone is interested. Donations of higher quality equipment greatfully accepted!
Here's what that lot looks like:
Vik :v)
The object is a standard 20mm (approx) test hexagon, 5mm (quite accurate) thick, extruded from CAPA. There are approximately 2.5 seconds per frame. I used a Linux script of my own devising and a Logitech 320x240 webcam clamped to the base board, which I will document and GPL if anyone is interested. Donations of higher quality equipment greatfully accepted!
Here's what that lot looks like:
Vik :v)
Labels: capa, extrusion, fast, hexagon, polymorph, reprap, sped up, test, time lapse, video, zaphod
Sunday, March 04, 2007
CAPA vs. ABS bodies extruders
I've hit a temporary snag with the PC software, so I'm going for the firmware while fixes happen by magic. Well, sweat & swears - er - tears from Simon and Adrian, I suspect, but let me carry on in ignorant bliss...
I've noticed that my half-washer bearings slip a bit (crappy job of smoothing the lands on the screw, I suspect), so I've packed a little bit of CAPA on top of them. This prevents exposed sharp edges engaging with the filament from dragging things around. In short, it stops your half-washers from popping out. I hope. Here's an old ABS one compared to the freshly-minted CAPA part. The CAPA part is the one on the left. The slightly fuzzy appearance of the bearing is due to Vaseline.
I've taken advantage of the squishy properties of CAPA a bit, I know, but it seems to work. Now we just hope the bearings don't heat up enough to melt the CAPA when you run them fast.
Keep on reading for our shameless fund-raising plug...
Vik :v)
I've noticed that my half-washer bearings slip a bit (crappy job of smoothing the lands on the screw, I suspect), so I've packed a little bit of CAPA on top of them. This prevents exposed sharp edges engaging with the filament from dragging things around. In short, it stops your half-washers from popping out. I hope. Here's an old ABS one compared to the freshly-minted CAPA part. The CAPA part is the one on the left. The slightly fuzzy appearance of the bearing is due to Vaseline.
I've taken advantage of the squishy properties of CAPA a bit, I know, but it seems to work. Now we just hope the bearings don't heat up enough to melt the CAPA when you run them fast.
Keep on reading for our shameless fund-raising plug...
Vik :v)
Labels: bearing, capa, darwin, extruder, polymorph, reprap, washer
