The Cinderella Table is an exploration of the possibilities of CAD-CAM (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing). Objects are increasingly designed digitally, on screen, and the files that describe them in two dimensions on the computer are the same files that are used to control the machines that make the objects too. Because human intervention, interpretation of a design and handcraft are omitted, fault-free three-dimensional versions of digitally designed objects are possible. CAD-CAM would appear to negate the individualism of craft objects. But Verhoeven wanted to use CAD-CAM as (in his words) a ‘new modern craft’ because he felt it was ‘hiding a craft’ within it.
This process took three months to perfect. The virtual design was ‘sliced’ and each of the 57 slices, each 80mm thick (a total of 741 layers of plywood), was fabricated by CNC (computer numerically controlled) cutting machines, working on three, and sometimes five axes. Each slice was cut from the front and from the back to perfect the curves and undercuts, pushing the boundaries of the technology. All the slices were assembled and the entire object, which is a hollow plywood form, was finished by hand.
NEW PRODUCT – Aluminum Extrusion Double Corner Brace Support (for 20×20) – Brace yourself! You’ll definitely want to pick up a couple of these double corner brace supports when working on a project with 20×20 extrusion. They’re nice and solid, made of cast aluminum so they are stronger than extruded corner supports. Four holes, two in each corner allow you to easily connect two pieces at a 90 degree angle.
Comes as just one piece, you’ll also need T-nuts and 10mm long screws (8mm will also work).
NEW PRODUCT – Slotted Aluminum Extrusion – 20mm x 40mm – 610mm long – Oh boy, now you have no excuse for not building that robot! Nothing is easier or faster than building with extrusion and we’ve added dual-20mm square aluminum extrusion and components to our catalog. This product is the extrusion itself. Made of aluminum, it’s exactly 40x20mm and has slots on all four sides. You can use T-nuts that slide into the slots to connect plates, couplers, PCBs, cut-outs, etc. It’s sort of like a big-sized Erector set.
We like the 40x20mm for being slim yet incredibly strong. Great for sturdy DIY projects and robots, but not too clunky and heavy. Each piece here is 610mm long (2 feet), and is easily cut down with a hacksaw or bandsaw. Grab some T-nuts, screws and plates to build a frame, then finish off with end-caps.
NEW PRODUCTS – Stepper Motor Mount with Hardware – NEMA-17 Sized – You have a stepper motor, but you need to attach it to your CNC project, eh? Not so easy if you don’t have a stepper motor mount just like this fine one one here! This mount will fit any NEMA-17 motor (with 31mm hole spacing) with four screws. There’s two 30mm long slots, 30mm apart so you can easily attach it. Made of steel with welded 90-degree support triangles, it’s got a solid construction.
Comes with one mount and a bag of hardware for attachment:
Here’s a great resource for those messing with DIY 3D printers relying on M-Codes and G-Codes from Ed Nisley.
Here’s a combined and sorted list of all the G-Code and M-Code commands for (as many of) the Free Software G-Code interpreters (that I could find) relevant to DIY 3D printing. With any luck, I now know:
What a given command does
What other interpreters do with that command
The short descriptions come from tables on the original source pages, perhaps with a bit of massaging to make things more uniform; I did as little rearranging and editing as possible.
If you see anything wrong or have another G-Code interpreter I should include, let me know…
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!
NEW PRODUCT – OpenBeam Advanced Precut Kit – Silver Aluminum – Get cracking on your robot, fixture or gantry with this luxurious extruded aluminum kit. This is the ultimate Open-Beam kit, for machine builders! You get tons of stuff, so you won’t end up frustrated and missing a component. The pieces are also pre-cut so for many projects you won’t even need to get out your hacksaw. All extrusions are 15mm by 15mm square.
NEW PRODUCTS – Aluminum GT2 Timing Pulleys! For precise motion control, GT2 belts and pulleys offer excellent precision at a great price. This pulley is meant for use with GT2 6mm wide belts only – MXL belts will slip due to the different tooth profile. Full aluminum construction means these are very light and very durable.
NEW PRODUCT – Timing Belt GT2 Profile – 2mm pitch – 6mm wide 1164mm long. Timing belts are a fantastic way to transfer rotational motion (from a stepper motor) into linear motion (along a rail) and these GT2 belts are excellent for the task. They have a special profile with rounded teeth which reduces slippage. Often used for precision 3D printers and CNC machines.
This belt is 1162mm long (581 teeth on a 2mm tooth pitch) and is 6mm wide. It comes in a loop but you can of course cut it down if you need a shorter length.
NEW PRODUCT – Adjustable Angle Support for 2020 Aluminum Extrusion – This is an interesting hardware piece addition for 20×20 aluminum extrusion. Rather than being a 90 degree type plate, it’s a hinged piece that connects the end of one extrusion to the side of another, but with any angle you wish. You can loosen/tighten the angle with the screw on the side. Given it’s just a bolt, it’s not incredibly strong so while you can use it for structure, it’s not a load-bearing connector: make sure there isn’t a lot of torque on the joint. You can use thread-lock to make it stronger.
The half that connects to the side one an extrusion simply uses a single M4 or M5 x 8mm long screw + T-nut as you’d use with any other plate. For the half that connects to the end of an extrusion, you’ll need to tap the 5mm diameter center-hole of the extrusion and screw directly in. We don’t include a tap or matching screw so you’ll want to pick those up from a hardware store.
NEW PRODUCT – Linear Bearing Platform (Large) – 8mm Diameter [SC8LUU]. Make your robot or CNC move on rails super fast with a linear bearing platform. The platform is 34mm x 58mm and has four holes tapped for M4 machine screws so you can attach pretty much anything you want. All you need to get started is two 8mm supports and a precision-ground 8mm rod. Often times, CNC projects will have two of these on opposite sides to support a larger platform.
Comes as a single bearing. We have a bunch of bearings, supports and platforms that you may want to use with an 8mm based rail system so check out our CNC category.
NEW PRODUCT – Linear Ball Bearing – 8mm diameter [LM8UU]. This linear ball bearing is sort of the opposite of the radial ball bearings you may be familiar with. Its intended to slide along an 8mm linear shaft, rather than rotate around it. These are very slim, and good for when you want to attach a motion carriage onto a railing without adding a lot of weight
Comes as a single bearing. We have a bunch of bearings, supports and platforms that you may want to use with an 8mm based rail system so check out our CNC category.
NEW PRODUCT – Linear Bearing Platform (Small) – 8mm Diameter [SC8UU]. Make your robot or CNC move on rails super fast with a linear bearing platform. The platform is 34mm x 30mm and has four holes tapped for M4 machine screws so you can attach pretty much anything you want. All you need to get started is two 8mm supports and a precision-ground 8mm rod. Often times, CNC projects will have two of these on opposite sides to support a larger platform.
Comes as a single bearing. We have a bunch of bearings, supports and platforms that you may want to use with an 8mm based rail system so check out our CNC category.
NEW PRODUCT – Linear Rail Shaft Guide/Support – 8mm Diameter [SK8]. If you have an 8mm linear rail, you’ll want to give it a bit of guidance and support to help it through the day. Sometimes a good word and a pat on the back is all you need, but when that’s not enough, use a pair of these aluminum cast rail supports!
Usable with any 8mm linear guide, you can simply slide the rail through, then tighten the clamp screw at the top to fix it in place. Then use up to 6mm diameter bolts to attach them. If you need to disassemble or otherwise repair your robot or machine, its easy to open up the clamp and remove the rail.
NEW PRODUCT – Aluminum Flex Shaft Coupler – 5mm to 5mm. Connect this to that with a set-screw coupler. These couplers are made of machined aluminum and have a spiral cut that makes them slightly flexible so they can be fit to two shafts even if they are not perfectly co-linear and will help reduce binding effects. The way they’re cut, they’re a little springy in the X Y & Z linear axis but not in the rotational axis. That means that you won’t get increased backlash – so they’re suitable for precision CNC work.
This coupler will connect two shafts of 5mm diameter. A perfect add on for our stepper motors. Comes with two sets of double set-screws (two per side) for secure attachment. You’ll need a 2mm allen wrench to tighten/loosen the set-screws.
Measures 1″ x 0.7″ diameter / 25mm x 18mm diameter
NEW PRODUCT – Vibrating Mini Motor Disc – *BZZZZZZZZZZ* Feel that? That’s your little buzzing motor, and for any haptic feedback project you’ll want to pick up a few of them. These vibe motors are tiny discs, completely sealed up so they’re easy to use and embed.
Two wires are used to control/power the vibe. Simply provide power from a battery or microcontroller pin (red is positive, blue is negative) and it will buzz away. Works from 2V up to 5V, higher voltages result in more current draw but also a stronger vibration.
Printable catalog (PDF)
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