The documentation about WinchBot 1.5 is online.
I am back from the SPS IPC Drives in Nuremberg and I have finished the documentation about WinchBot 1.5.
November 27, 2017
WinchBot 1.5 works better.
With my Sponsor RS-Components I have build an improved version of my WinchBot that I call version number 1.5.
The final product - called version 2.0 - will be displayed on the SPS IPC Drives 2017 in Nürnberg, Germany at the stand of RS-Components.
November 19, 2017
The video about the base car for another rover is online.
I got a 1:8 model car of a monster truck that will be converted to another rover (R8). In the first part I'm showing the base car and talk about some issues of the conversion.
November 08, 2017
Video and build instruction of R7 are online.
The page with the build instruction of R7 including the video is online. I am still working on the software and I have also a couple of minor improvements of the hardware in mind, however even in the current stage the robot works fine.
November 5, 2017
R7 goes out for a test ride!
The control page of R7 is online and today is another test run. The rover is outdoor for the first time even while it is raining today here in Germany. Meanwhile I have 3D printed a cover for my latest robot so that the water falling from sky should not bring the explorer into trouble.
October 29, 2017
R7 lives!
Today you can control my latest robot R7 on a special test page. It will become part of my RoboSpatium as soon as the battery sensor is implemented and the control interface got a redesign.
October 25, 2017
My application video for the Shuttleworth Foundation
My video for an application for a fellowship of the Shuttleworth Foundation shows some of the projects I am working on.
Watch this video on my YouTube channel.
October 5, 2017
I visited RS Components
I was at the headquater of the German section of RS Components in Mörfelden-Walldorf. During the hours of my visit I was pushed into a universe called "Social Media" and that is more or less an onknown space to me. The video report from beyond that new frontier will follow by RS components as soon as all the raw material is edited by their social media experts. I am curious about the result.
The reason for my trip is a project made with parts from my sponsor that I am currently working on. It will be displayed at the SPS IPC Drives 2017 in Nürnberg, Germanyfrom November 28 to 30, 2017 at the stand of RS Components. I will be there and I am looking forward to talk with technicians and creators. Thursday is a special day for students.
Before driving home I could put a box of Raspberry Pis into the boot of my 2CV estate special edition and you know my slogan: A Raspberry a day keeps boredom away!
Oktober 2, 2017
Review of the Anet E10 3D printer
The Anet E10 is another 3D printer I got for a review. The test wasn't free of trouble, but to my mind problems are no reason to start whining, they only need a soulution ...
September 23, 2017
Test drive R6
The batteries of R6 are recharged and another public test will start at 10:00 CEST (UTC +2) lasting for the whole day. During this test run I will continue optimizing the picture stream. With that I'll try to reduce the traffic generated by the rover to get a continuous stream even in areas with low Internet bandwidth. Besides various resolutions, the color might also fade away whenever the rover transmits grey scale images, such as the early moon rovers did.
You can enter the control center of R6 to take part on the test runs. Have fun with driving my rover during the daylight hours and give a feedback whether all works fine with your equipment or what went wrong eventually.
The first public test run will be next Sunday (September 17th) at 10:00Uhr Central European Summer Time (UTC+2).
August 17, 2017
Review of the Tronxy X5
The review of the Tronxy X5 including the video is online. I had to make modifikations to get the Z axis less shaky and so to get good results with this 3D printer.
August 08, 2017
Remarks about 3D printers.
I have added remarks about 3D printers in the overview chapter.
August 01, 2017
Physical Computing: Schalten von LEDs.
The chapter about switching LEDs with GPIOs is online.
The video is public now.
Review Anycubic i3 Mega 3D printer.
With the Anycubic i3 Mega I got an extremely sturdy 3D printer for a review. "Smart leveling" makes bed leveling a quick and comfortable task.
20. Juni 2017
Review of my first Delta printer.
With the Anycubic Kossel the first 3D printer in Delta design has arrived in my workshop. Delta printers move the print head through 3 linear drives and push rods. The special kinematics makes the needed calibration tricky.
June 07, 2017
Winchbot 2 under construction.
I am working on an improved version of my WinchBot. I am using bipolar stepper motors for driving the winches and a Raspberry Pi operates as computing unit. I have cut the acrylic plastics with CNC v3.2.1 which was the test run for the improved coolant flow of this machine - it works really fine.
May 25, 2017
My smallest 3D printer.
With the Ender 3D printer, the smallest printer (so far) has entered my workshop. You can watch my review to see why small is beautiful.
Have a look at the shopping tips to get the latest special offers of 3D printers and more.
May 22, 2017
A little helper.
Many square tubes have to be cut for my CNC v3.2. To make things easier for me I have build a digital ruler.
May 08, 2017
Physical Computing starts...
The first chapters of my new series about "Physical Computing" are online. I will update those pages every now and then and of course many new pages will appear. The content of the series depends not only on my ideas, but also on your feedback, thus use the comment functionality on my pages to share your thoughts.
Here are the new chapters Introduction, Hardware and Software.
May 02, 2017
Physical Computing reloaded
With the microcontroller starter kit from my sponsor I have started a new series about "Physical Computing", something I had in mind for many months. I will add new chapters to that series every now and then, explaining in detail how to build, connect and program DIY peripherals using microcontrollers or single board computers.
CR-10 3D printer
Video and chapter about my latest 3D printer, a CR-10 are online. It is my largest printer so far that comes with most parts preassembled.
If you'd like to buy a 3D printer, have a look at the column shopping tips that lists special deals from my sponsor Gearbest.
April 10, 2017
My HackadayPrize2017 entry
For this years HackadayPrize I will create a tiny Earth Explorer (details on the page). Each like on the Hackaday page means 1$ for the project.
With my new 3D printers and my CNC v3.2 I have the equipment to build a robot with a mass of less than 500g.
April 09, 2017
Video and chapter about the Anet A8.
Video and chapter about the Anet A8 are online.
Recording the video took much longer than I thought, because I was diving deeper in 3D printing during the past days.
Discount offers for 3D printers are available in the section shopping tips.
April 03, 2017
I am doing more 3D printing.
From my sonsor Gearbest I got an Anet A8 3D printer that I used to do more printing over the past days in order to find optimal parameters to set in Slic3er. Link by link I composed a cable chain. The video about the printer will go online this week.
The column shopping tips lists coupon codes for extra discount offers for 3D printers..
March 27, 2017
Video and chapter about the T8 are online. Video and chapter about the T8 are online. You get a short build instruction and sample photos of all items I made for the video.
If you are interested in the machine, have a look at the column shopping tips, listing special promotion offers from my sponsor Gearbest.
March 20, 2017
The Gearbest CNC engraver made it's first run.
The CNC engraver type T8 is assembled and the first video sequences are recorded. The chapter about this machine is under construction. A full resolution image of my first engraving work using acrylic plastics is online.
If you intend to buy such a machine or a 3D printer or another gadget, have a look at the shopping tips, because currently there are special coupon codes available provided by my sponsor Gearbest.
March 15, 2017
My first commercially available CNC router.
A new package from China arrived. The kit of a CNC engraver type T8 includes 3 bipolar stepper motors, an electronic board, aluminum profiles for the frame and more parts for a compact, functional machine. I got the engraver from the online store Gearbest.com and a review video about the device will follow, soon. After that I will examine what else can be done with that interesting machine...
March 13, 2017
Coolant flow and CNC table got a redesign.
Work on CNC v3.2.1 goes on. The filter system is now outside the bowl unter the CNC table.
I have added a (double) Acrylic plastics sheet on the CNC table, as well as guides on the edges. With that, workpieces can be fixed more easy.
The next test run will show if the (reduced) G code commands are interpreted exactly by the new software.
March 9, 2017
Special offers by one of my sponsors
From Gearbest.com I already received my first 3D printer. More parcels are on their way to Germany. On my new page with shopping tips you can find a list of products I already used in my projects and things to come...
March 6, 2017
Work on CNC v3.2 goes on.
I am typing on the source code of CNC v3.2.1, to implement G code functionality. Furthermore I am redesigning the coolant flow to get the filter system out of the bowl underneath the table, so that I can remove chips while the machine is running. Third update in progress is the clamping mechanism for workpieces on the CNC table.
February 27, 2017
New videos are online
I am short of time, which is why the sites about my 3D printer review and my WinchBot are still under constuction. The video about my WinchBot was scheduled for today, so here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5W_5T_raW8.
The link is still marked as private; you can watch it, but it's still not listed on YouTube. The note to all my followers will go out this week, as soon as the documetation is published.
Update March 2, 2017:
The page about WinchBot is online, the video is public now.
My 3D printer review is already public, same as the page about the printer, but there is still not much information listed: 3D Drucker Tronxy P802.
Update March 3, 2017:
The pictures from the assembly of the printer are online.
February 20, 2017
3D printing is here! Gearbest sent me a 3Dprinter kit type Acrylic 3DCSTAR P802-MHS.
Gearbest is an online electronics seller based in China, shipping to most countries in the world. The prices this company offers are definitely lowest. Including shipping to Germany, the printer is clearly less than 200,-€! Don't forget to add filament to your order, because for this price, all you get is the bare printer kit.
I will use the printer to write a short series of chapters (including videos) about filament printing, starting with the mechanics needed to do 3D printing.
First thing to be done is assembling the kit...
The video about my WinchBot is available for my Patreons and it will go public in a week - stay tuned!
February 13, 2017
...it's a WinchBot.
All parts of my latest project are assembled, the circuit is soldered and the software written.
Next thing to be done is recording video sequences and put it all together in a new chapter.
February 6, 2017
Work on my new robot goes on.
The winches are in place. The central part with 5 servos is missing. As soon as it is in place, I will start coding.
You still can guess how it will work...
January 30, 2017
The starting page of my project got a redesign.
The "News" section is now part of the starting page. The intention is to give you information about what is going on at least on a weekly base. Many of my projects require a long preparation until a machine runs, a video is recorded and schematics or animations are painted. With the blog like starting page you will see that I am still working on this project ;-)
The machine under construction is another robot. Guess what it will look like and how it works...