Version 0.1

I've collected a box of parts from stripping down old Epson printers that were given away on Freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org). We're having some building work done so I've stripped some old MDF cupboards out of our little boys' room**. I can't wait until I've got the funds for the rest of my 'proper' 1.0 machine - so I think I'll hack these together as a dry run. I should be starting in the next couple of days depending on how my chores go (when I was a kid I longed to be a grown up so I didn't have to do chores any more... Ah well :roll:)

I'll post some pix later.

Charlie

** Hahah I just noticed that this makes me think of TOILET instead of 'number one son's' room hahaha.***


*** ROFL snikk! snikk! hruurrrgh! Number one!! THAT makes me think of TOILET!!!

Oh god I need a holiday.

Great stuff !

Sorry to be a noewbie, what is it your going to be making here?

The Scrapster!

Made from scrap. Mainly old printers and cupboards :)

Day 1. I thought I'd annoy the neighbours for a few hours. Aren't routers LOUD! It's my first one. This is why I'm making something out of scrap. I'm just getting a feel for things. I think it's better to just do _something_ rather than sit and twiddle. I don't care if it looks shit. I don't really care too much if it never works well. Just as long as it goes. Anyway - here *I* go!

RZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZzzzzZZzZZz ZZzzZZzZZZzzzz!!!!!!

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And the result of the first few cuts was a pair of rail supports. Well, actually it was a close shave with an out-of-control router, but I'll save that story as a warning tale for my kids. Let's say the first thing that _worked_ was a pair of rail supports. These were clamped together and the bottom edge routed flat. Still clamped, I marked up and drilled the holes for the rails and drive shaft in a cheap-assed drill press that I bought. It doesn't even drill straight - it's going right back to China on the first slow boat let me tell you. I *know* you get what you pay for. Don't lecture me. If the wife finds out what I've just paid for, I'll sure as hell get it.

But at least I saved some money somewhere. Around the back of Halfords to be exact. Where I found the base. It was a palette, screen-wash most likely. Still, it's a flat surface which meant that I didn't have to make a base :)

The left rod is 10mm. The right is 9. It came from a smaller printer. Don't go on about it, you'll give the poor thing a twitch. I've got a pair of lovely 1/2'' rods (matron!) that came from a brace of HP inkjets that I scored from work. I'm saving those for the X axis, as it's going to be supporting the weight of the Z.

Here I've test fitted bits together.

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And now I've started squaring up and glueing. I've got the supports all clamped and glued nicely parallel. the Rods are perpendicular. (To the supports at least!)

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I didn't have a 9mm spade bit. Or any kind of bit, for that matter. So I thought I'd make a couple of these contraptions to stand a good chance of being able to make this Y axis slide without too much bind. I've squared off the head of one of the screws so I can adjust it with a spanner, as it'll be snuggled underneath.

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And here it is, in all its glory, in-place:

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The printers provided me with some good gear. The slide mechanism (that's a bit too grand, really) is the print-head carrier. I've dremmelled off all the inky bits, and just left these. As you can see, they're brass insets for low friction. Nice!

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And when the glue had set (at least enough for impatient me) I plopped the riders on the rails, routed up a board 1/2 the travel length and bolted the sucker down. I was going to glue it but In the nick of time I remembered little things such as drive mechanisms and replacing the top when I drive the Z axis a touch too far...

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Yaaay! It's starting to look like a machine. Sort of. You may think different, but bear in mind this is my first attempt at making anything mechanical *ever*. And like most things - it looks better in the sun.

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OK. That's it for today - I'm off for a beer and a wee thinky about Xs and Zs. Or I might just have a quick whizz on Wipeout 2097 - the best racing game ever made IMHO - and try and beat some of my lap records.

Hmmm ... or I could *just* pop that drive mech in... hmmm.

Guess which it was!

Now I *know* this is a ghetto machine, and it's getting more so by the minute. If you're laughing *at* me (instead of *with* me - you know the difference!) then stop reading right now. You've had your fun :)

I've threaded the skate bearings onto my threaded rod. The internal diameter of these abec 7s is about 8mm. The threaded rod is M6. So I had to insert a shim. I used some PVC tubing that I had lying around, around my water rocket launch system that is. Another repair to do later. I've gripped the bearings in a nippy-wood-thing. I'm sure it has a proper name and someone please correct me. I should have given it a shave, shouldn't I! I forgot to give it a going over with the file - might have been to do with the can of stella glupping its way down the back of my workbench into the cd player and amp I have there :oops: No damage done, thankfully.

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This is glued on. I didn't see a need to remove it. It's made from realwood(tm). Pine. But you all know that. I did this because MDF doesn't have a grain and would probably snap if I tried to make a nippy-thing with it. I chose realwood because it has grain. In this case I *did* remember something from school, and made the grain go horizontally, perpendicular to the screw that serves to make the nippy-thing nip, so it doesn't shear. The glue is only on three quadrants, to allow the upper left quadrant to do its nipping.

So the threaded rod is in place. Do you think that I forgot to put the nut on before gluing stuff? Did you?? Well not this time buster :D

I used what they call a stud connector. It's a long hex nut. Virtually no backlash. Hurrah!

Here in this picture is the nut, gripped on both sides by white glue and some MDF, cunningly dremeleered into a shape designed to cuddle it. The nut that is, not the glue.

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And here she lies, ready for the morning zip up and down under the power of a black'N'decker! This is an 'ambient light' pic., which kind of shows the mood of the evening better than the crisper pic. that I took with a flash.

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Oh go on then, since you asked so nicely. This is right before I reinstalled the clamp on the rear nippy-thing.

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More soon.

I'm hoping to get a motor attached on Sunday. I'm going away for the weekend, so BCNU.

Wow, i hadn't considered printer parts what so ever, now i'm thinking i could have saved some money on the rods i got this week!

I love the comedy you put into your posts, makes it that bit more fun to read. Also with the rod supports you'v made, i thought the screws going in on all 4 sides were to align the rod as you need to rather them clamp it, i dont know if i'm right on that but i guess they serve for both jobs.

Thanks :)

The rod supports are for both. Adjust & clamp. As for saving money; this is just for me to get a feel for building - there's no way this thing'll work :lol:

Dont see why not providing you get all the right bits "right" lol.

Nice build SM and admire your "have a go approach" this is what its all about learning and if you make a mistake well you start again, the bronze bearings are a good choice and the company that make them are called Oilite I think they have a website.
i looked at some bearing called Pacific which were a ceramic bearing and they were the dogs bollocks very,very smooth and they were awesomme and I have been contemplating using these over the skate bearings,aluminium angle approach but worked out at about £12-13 each but I have not ruled them out as I can guarantee the precision would be phenomenal with solid ground shafting, take a look at them you will not be dissapointed :)

SM calling SM....echo...echo...echo...