Printrbot

                                         My self sourced Printrbot, nearing completion!

Hot End/Extruder Completed.

I finished the assembly of my extruder and hot end today. I decided to go with Wade's Geared Extruder and a J-Head hot end.  

Right View

 Left View

 Top View

 Front View

Back View

ScanStrap:Drawing Board

With a little inspiration from the scanner I am using to bootstrap my Rap, I think I will add a mount to hold a Xbox Kinect. This would be accompanied with 3D scanning ability, of course, and maybe some A.R. action as well. ;) This will all come after the initial build if finished, however. 

 I will post a fresh video of my progress as soon as my lm8uu linear bearings come in, which is the only thing holding my build progress back. 

FreeCAD

Today I will start a basic tutorial on FreeCAD, the most comprehensive free open source CAD program on the market.  

                       It is similar to most CAD programs; all you need to start is in the tool menu.                        
 
The BLUE circle is where most projects start. Select a set of tools from the drop down menu. You should see a different sets of tools appear in the BLACK circle. The squares in the RED circle represent different views; the one without any shading it the standard isometric view. 

  The drop down menu should look like this.

Select the DRAFT tool to begin drawing. 


**I've noticed that starting from the "part" tool allows for faster, but less custom design.**

Once you have a closed shape, go to the isometric or "axometric" view

After use of the "Part" and "Part Design" tool sets, I managed to make a simple structure like this.