RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Maybe OT, reprap build started

Thanks Mike,

I finally did "drill down" to the extruder files I wanted to examine, thanks
to your instructions and URLs. Now to understand some of them.

> -----Original Message-----
> [mailto:CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mike Payson
>
> On Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 10:35 AM, Alan <KM6VV@...> wrote:
> > I too found that the mechanical drawings were woefully inadequate, and
> > schematics to be missing.
>
> Mechanical drawing may be scarce, but when you have a 3d printer you
> don't use them. CAD files are available for everything, however. Most
> of the RepRap world uses OpenSCAD which is a free, Opensource CAD
> program that should be able to export DXF's.

I haven't found the CAD files yet, as I'm not actively looking for them now,
as I was 6-9 mo. ago. Sorry if I used " Mechanical drawing" and "CAD
drawings" somewhat interchangeably.

>
> > I was interested in machining up an extruder to be used on a CNC

platform

> > (either my Sherline mill, or a PCB router I built).
> >
> > The RepRat parts I've seen hardly compare to those I've worked with made

on

> > a Dimension.
>
> This does not surprise me at all. The quality has improved
> DRAMATICALLY in the last 6 months. 6 months ago, even the best reprap
> could only produce really high quality prints with a fair amount of
> luck. The software has improved so much since then that once you have
> your machine properly calibrated and tuned, you can produce good
> poarts quite consistently. Things still go wrong, but it is nothing
> like it used to be. I would say that most people are still not getting
> quite as good as a Stratasys, but some people are getting far better,
> including printing .05mm layers compared to the .2mm layers the
> Stratasys uses. The trade off is speed, most people don't have the
> patience for that sort of print, so most people don't really push the
> quality limits.

Glad to hear that! Yes I had last seen parts made some 6-9 mo. ago. Finer
then a dimension? That is impressive!

>
> > I'm familiar with the Arduino, and would consider using it for an

extruder.

> > Comments I've read are that only a very few (one?) EMC-ported RepRat is
> > being run.  Apparently there are several additional G-Codes that must be
> > added to accommodate the extruder, and possibly other things (?) to run

on

> > CNC.  I don't have all the information, and I'm in no way ready to start
> > adding the necessary G-Codes to my own CNC controller program (Step4);

but

> > it's a thought.  I'd like to understand the algorithm controlling the
> > extrusion process first.
> >
> > Show me the source code!
>
> To what? Ask a specific question and I will happily attempt help you.
> There are dozens of electronics variants (two of which I linked to
> earlier and had prominent source file links), dozens of firmwares,
> many printer designs, etc. ALL have source available, though in a few
> cases the source locations are not as well linked as they should be.
> But the GPL does not say you need to make the source easy to find,
> only that you have to provide it, and it is all available.
>

Nicely answered with the URL I subsequently found in your posts. Certainly
better than the last time I looked. Yeah, navigating Sourceforge and other
GPL repositories was always a challenge!

Thanks!

Alan KM6VV