Makerbot ToM Assembly LIVE Stream: COMPLETE

[PedroR]

Hi all

[UPDATE] We have completed Assembly of the Machine.
You can see the The Highlights and milestones of the build bellow.
We'll also be adding a time lapse video shortly.

The Assembly took us a little under 2 work days and by the afternoon of day 2 we were hapilly printing

Make sure you chekc out the Milestones of the build and our comments bellow!



Tomorrow RoboSavvy will be hosting a Live Streaming of a Thing o Matic Assembly starting 10AM GMT.

It'll be a great opportunity to check out the ToM Assembly process and check out RoboSavvy HQ!

We'll also be proudly streaming from our 29 GBP embedded Linux board (RALINK at 320 Mhz). Webcam Streaming and Webserver are all running on the embedded board.

A direct to link to live streaming will be available here http://makerbotassembly.dyndns.org/

Be sure check it out!

Regards
Pedro

[PedroR]

Here is a Snapshot updated every minute (refresh this page to see the latest images):



UPDATE: The LIVE stream is now unavailable, as we have finished the assembly process. A time lapse video will be posted soon.

If you'd like to chat with us, we're on Skype (robosavvy) and on the Site Chat System (Click "Join Chat" on the left column but you need to be logged in to the forum first).

Pedro.

[PedroR]

Hi all

We hope you've been tuning in every now and then to check on the progress (we keep a little piece of paper on the lower left corner to explain where we are in the build).

We've already got some nice footage and covered some milestones in the build that we'd like to share.
We dedicated 6 hours to the build by now (a bit more if you consider there were 2 people during some parts of the assembly) and here are the highlights:


All calm, preparing to begin 10am by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

We began with the X axis assembly (Automated build platform).

11:17 A little trick we've learned by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

When Assembling the X axis, sand a little more the space where the timing belt will move (see the small circle? we've sanded that).
Over time, the timing belt tends to create friction with this part, so sanding it down ensures there is enough clearance for the belt over time.


Using Loctite 248 to Secure the Screws Firmly and Prevent Vibrations over time by RoboSavvy, on Flickr
(something we've learned from Humanoid Robots!)


11:56 Automated Build Platform Completed by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


11:59 Beginning Y stage Assembly by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


13:22 Out for Lunch: check out the XY Stages fully Assembled on the table (with the Heated Build Platform) by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


14:39 Back from Lunch, Beginning Z stage Assembly by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


15:13 Z stage nearly complete by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


15:20 beginning MK6 Assembly by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


16:19 First part of the Stepstruder Assembly completed: Motor and Structure assembled; moving on to Nozzle and Heater Assembly by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

We're now working on finalizing the Nozzle Assembly and will post back more progress in a couple of hours.

Tune in and watch the LIVE stream on http://makerbotassembly.dyndns.org

[PedroR]

We've reached the end of the day.

Today we've built the X, Y and Z axis (including the Automated Build Platform),. the MK6 Stepstruder and began work on the main body assembly.

The Stepstruder Assembly is the task that takes longer and is the most demanding, having a number of parts and procedures that require time and skill.

Here are some pictures of the rest of the day:

17:43 MK6 Stepstruder Assembly Complete by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


17:49 Preparing the main Body Assembly by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


18:07 Cleaning the Laser Cut parts by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

Preparing the Main Body Assembly today meant cleaning up all the remaining Lasercut wood parts. The laser cutting leaves some dark dust around the edges that needs to be cleaned up before the assembly.


18:16 End of the Day. We'll be back tomorrow by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

25 minutes (of wood cleaning) later we wrapped up the day.

Tomorrow is the most exciting day as everything will come together and you'll get a fully functional machine. The tasks for tomorrow are:
- Main body Assembly (ie putting all the axis, extruder, etc together inside the body)

- Electronics Assembly and connections

Tune in tomorrow for the LIVE streaming and some more news.
(LIVE streaming will be down during the night so the links will not work)

Pedro.

[PedroR]

Hi all

We're back witht he progress report of Day 2.

The tasks for Day 2 were the Main Body Assembly, Electronics Assembly and finally the software tests, callibration and first print.

The first two tasks (Main Body Assembly and Electronics) were completed in the morning, leaving the afternoon for the software related tasks (callibration, testing and first print).

Here are the highlights:

09:23 Resuming the Build by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


10:17 Body Assembled with X, Y and Z axis by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


10:48 Body Assembly: the ATX power supply won't fit by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

For some reason the ATX PSU that shipped with this machine didn't fit propperly (Makerbot seems to have different batches of PSUs with different batches of machines). Using an X knife the spacing issue was quickly solved.
We must admit, though, that this PSU is very quiet and makes practically no noise.



11:09 Power supply assembled by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


11:42 Begin Installing the Electronic Boards by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


11:54 Final steps installing the Electronic boards by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


12:04 Routing cables for Extruder, Endstops, ABP, ... by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


12:15 Crimping the cables by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

You need to Crimp some of the cables that connect the different boards yourself.


12:27 Assembling and Connecting all the cables and Electronics inside the machine by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


13:30 Lunch Time; hardware assembly complete by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

By Lunch time all the Hardware/Electronics assembly was complete.

[PedroR]

With everything assembled, the second part of the day was Dedicated to Testing, Callibrating and making the First Print.


14:22 back from Lunch, cleaning up to begin Software testing by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


14:42 Preparing for the First test by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


15:09 Fixing the High Pitch noise on the Z axis by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

The first tests revealed a High pitch noise on the Z axis. This is fixed by regulating the potentiometers on the Stepper Motor Controller board.
Regulate too much voltage on the REF potentiometer and motor overheats; regulate too little and you get a high pitch noise.


15:36 Fruit Punch Magenta Plastic 1.75mm by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

This was the plastic chosen by the customer. It was also the first time we assembled and used an MK6 Stepstruder with 1.75mm plastic.


16:05 Beginning First Print by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

Our first print was this part from Thingiverse www.thingiverse.com/thing:8704

It's meant to improve stability of the Y axis timing belt anchor point (secured on the Plexiglass).



16:21 First Print Complete by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


17:37 A 3D printed Add-on to improve your machine by RoboSavvy, on Flickr

Our 3D printed part from Thingiverse (and also our first print). This is probably the first thing we recommend you print and assemble once you finish assembling your machine. It prevents the plexiglass from cracking around the anchor point of the timing belt.



17:44 Build and test Prints Complete. One more Makerbot, Ready for Personal Fabrication. by RoboSavvy, on Flickr


The task is complete a the machine is ready to ship a to a Happy new owner.
If you wish to purchase a ToM but lack the confidence (or time) to embrace the hardware assembly task, RoboSavvy offers the option of having the Machine pre Assembled (by qualified and experienced Makerbot operators). We'll send it to you Fully Tested, Callibrated and ready to Print!

We loved the experience of streaming the assembly process LIVE and are already thinking of new ideas about how to show some more of what we do here at RoboSavvy!

Regards
Pedro

[PedroR]

We've made a Time lapse Video of the Build which is now available on Youtube:

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The video is a keyframe animation with one frame corresponding to a picture taken every 20secs during the build. The original video looks great on the PC but the recompression on Youtube has changed it a bit. It's still quite amusing though!

Regards
Pedro.