{"id":16,"date":"2013-03-18T23:34:01","date_gmt":"2013-03-19T04:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cwackduck.com\/?p=16"},"modified":"2013-03-18T23:34:01","modified_gmt":"2013-03-19T04:34:01","slug":"this-marks-the-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cwackduck.com\/?p=16","title":{"rendered":"This Marks the Start."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Here<\/a>

Here are all of the parts I’ve gathered so far that will hopefully become a functioning 3D Printer.<\/p><\/div>\n

So. \u00a0A little group of items gathered in a pile in my floor.
\nBy themselves, they all hold little value or use, but they all have great potential.
\nThese are all of the pieces I’ve collected so far on my way to building my own 3D printer. \u00a0There are many pieces still missing, but about 2\/3 of what I need is here. \u00a0Waiting.<\/p>\n

I’ve been following 3D printer development since I saw a short piece about the Makerbot Cupcake on CBS nightly news back in July of 2010. \u00a0I was among the many people who crashed the Makerbot site shortly after the story finished. \u00a0I knew of printing technology but I had no idea that it was attainable for ordinary people. \u00a0Though the prints coming out of the cupcake looked rough, I knew the tech would progress quickly.<\/p>\n

And it did. \u00a0I watched each limitation get overcome and the quality increase rapidly. \u00a0I thought for certain that it was only a matter of time until I forked over some cash to Makerbot for a kit to build my own Thingomatic. \u00a0 But, I was a recent college graduate and was moving back to my hometown from Denver, CO. \u00a0That kind of cash is hard to come up with all at once when you work in an art-related job. \u00a0It continues to be an important issue. \u00a0Which is what made me wait long enough to see Makerbot begin to change into a company that was clearly interested in a different segment of the market. \u00a0Their kits went away. \u00a0The thought of owning a 3D printer was exciting for me, but not nearly as exciting as having the ability to assemble it myself. \u00a0When this option disappeared and the cost-barrier to entry for a Makerbot branded printer jumped up I shelved my dream.<\/p>\n

I’ve typically been a kit builder. \u00a0I really appreciate those who can just come up with things on their own. \u00a0Right now, I’m not skilled enough to be one of those people. \u00a0I watched all of the other styles of 3D printer come and go. \u00a0Each was very interesting but the task of gathering all the many pieces seemed daunting. \u00a0And the software to drive all of this? \u00a0Very confusing. \u00a0The field was quickly filled with jargon. \u00a0Rep-rap. \u00a0Rep-Strap. \u00a0Gcode. \u00a0PLA. \u00a0ABS. \u00a0Metric measurements? What?
\nI spent many hours following forum discussions and wiki pages. \u00a0 Slowly it all started to make a little more sense. \u00a0It’s still pretty confusing but I’ve got a pretty good grasp on the process now.<\/p>\n

I decided I was ready to start saving up and build one of these printers. \u00a0But which one? \u00a0Well, the cheapest one with the best track record. \u00a0I quickly settled on a Prusa Mendel. \u00a0It was popular. \u00a0Had good support. \u00a0Seemed easy enough to assemble. \u00a0I wasn’t sold on the design though. \u00a0I didn’t find it all that\u00a0aesthetically\u00a0pleasing. \u00a0And the minute calibration seemed like a pain in the ass.
\nThen, one day while browsing Thingiverse, I saw a featured item. \u00a0It was thing weird spider-lookin’ doodad someone had named a “Rostock”. \u00a0I instantly fell in love with it. \u00a0It was designed by a guy named Johann Rocholl. \u00a0That was in May of 2012. \u00a0The development was moving quickly with it and the quality of the prints were impressive. \u00a0I was ready to start building right then but I decided to wait a bit longer until the design stabilized a bit.
\nIt eventually did stabilize, but not before Johann moved on to a new design. \u00a0One that, to me anyway, looked easier to build for a novice.
\nSo I sat back and watched the development go forward patiently. \u00a0It started to near a final design in October of 2012 but then the development slowed drastically.
\nAbout that time, in the forum that was dedicated to the Rostock-style of printer, another user named Steve Graber posted his idea for a design her later named the “Cerberus”. \u00a0I immediately was drawn to the design. \u00a0It was symmetrical, colorful, and simple. \u00a0It appealed to the designer side of me.
\nAgain, I sat back and watched the development. \u00a0It, too, was slow in the beginning but sped up near the end of December 2012.
\nIn January of 2013, I decided I’d had enough of this waiting and planning crap. \u00a0I began scouring the forums and all of Steve’s posts about the Cerberus for information and specifications. \u00a0By the end of January I had a rough list of parts. \u00a0I started ordering parts near the beginning of February and have been gathering pieces slowly but surely. \u00a0One thing I’m learning about the Maker community is that, just because you ordered something from an official looking website, doesn’t mean you’ll get it in a time frame you’ll be happy with. \u00a0But I’ve been very patient.<\/p>\n

So. \u00a0Right now I’m waiting. \u00a0My only local access to a 3D printer that I need to complete this printer is at a local hackerspace, Squidfoo, in downtown Springfield, MO. \u00a0Being the cheapo that I am, I’m choosing to use their equipment to print my parts instead of ordering them from someone else online. \u00a0Not only will this be a crash course on the process of 3D printing, it will allow me better quality control.
\nThe hang up? \u00a0No one locally is a “printing expert”. \u00a0The person who built the printer for Squidfoo (a Prusa Mendel, as it turns out) wasn’t able to get it calibrated well enough to be reliable. \u00a0So they’ve sent it off to another hackerspace in Kansas City to get properly tooled. \u00a0No word on when it will return but I’m stuck in a holding pattern until it does.<\/p>\n

So there’s my whole life story. \u00a0 Right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So. \u00a0A little group of items gathered in a pile in my floor. By themselves, they all hold little value or use, but they all have great potential. These are all of the pieces I’ve collected so far on my…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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