Fab@Home

[Slug Toy]

so i was making my nightly news rounds on various websites... and googling things that i remember hearing about. i was thinking about tybrenis and his home made CNC machine, and sgtm's idea for a home made laser etching machine. guess what i found.

http://www.fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

i havent had a chance to look through the site a lot, but it appears to be just what some of us need.

[GT40_GearHead]

wow..... home made printer
this i got to see!

great stuff slug

[DaveW]

Wow slug, +Rep! great find!

-Dave

[SgtM]

Sweet find! +rep

[Scotty]

Saw this on Digg, looks great.

[slytherock]

Nice stuff :up:

[public_eyesore]

dang why don't I ever post stuff (I found this like a month and a half ago) I could get many reps. Anyways, I guess a high school made one and they print with chocolate.

[Slug Toy]

haha, thanks for the rep. makes me feel all warm inside... and i need it... its minus 10 and it snowed another 8 inches here yesterday.

the one thing that i was really thinking about over the course of today is the rapid prototyping. i had a bloody 4 hour break between classes, and nothing to do, so i just sat around imagining everything you could do with a fab machine.

it looks like theres designs for pumps to place plastics and resins. this would be awesome if you wanted to make a custom plastic bezel, or an extra piece like the stuff paul did on the doom case. it could save you time because you just whip up a model from the looks of it, and let the machine do the work while you can do something else.

this could also help us out here... if everyone made a fab machine. if someone needed help with the design of a piece for a mod, someone else could send an idea via a file to be manufactured. i wonder if this could be an idea for the community pc eventually... everyone can contribute by just making the design, and sending it to someone who has made a machine so the fabrication can happen.

[tybrenis]

Those 3D printers are pretty cool. Once my CNC router is finished, I plan on building a 3D printer and eventually adding a laser to my router - along with a list of tons of other things to do.

Anyways, once my CNC machine is complete, I have decided to give back to the modding community by offering machining/engraving etc. to fellow modders. You guys have given me so much, and I would be honored to help out with some great mods that go on here. Hopefully, I'll be able to do some custom fabrication work for anyone here that might need it.

[public_eyesore]

what will a laser on your router do?

[GT40_GearHead]

what will a laser on your router do?

it could etch windows, and stuff like that

[DaveW]

Allow the sharks to eat hot meals.

-Dave

[GT40_GearHead]

Allow the sharks to eat hot meals

god damn it dave! you almost got me kiled with that....
i was eating, almost lost it..

[tybrenis]

The laser will allow me to etch and engrave things like glass, wood, etc. However, my main prupose would be for cutting out sheet metal.

[Slug Toy]

and what sort of laser were you thinking? not to put a downer on that idea, but the powerful lasers tend to be big.

[Vertigo]

Nice find, and you go tybernis.

[tybrenis]

Probably a small co2 laser, possibly an argon laser.

[Slug Toy]

Probably a small co2 laser, possibly an argon laser.

alright, in this case define small. a lot of the CO2 lasers with high outputs are at least 2 or 3 feet long, and pretty heavy.

[tybrenis]

Yes, even 20 watt lasers can still be a few feet. That's why they are not mounted directly to the gantry but use reflectors and other devices to allow you to not have to mount a huge laser on your gantry.

[Aero]

Yes, even 20 watt lasers can still be a few feet. That's why they are not mounted directly to the gantry but use reflectors and other devices to allow you to not have to mount a huge laser on your gantry.

what are your parents going to do when you goto college...

They'll have a CNC, laser cutting machine, vacume former, paint booth, and I'm sure you've got some other things up your sleeve.

[Slug Toy]

Yes, even 20 watt lasers can still be a few feet. That's why they are not mounted directly to the gantry but use reflectors and other devices to allow you to not have to mount a huge laser on your gantry.

this is true, but it also means you have to figure out a way to control everything to get an image out of it. as far as im concerned, its not an easy thing to do. its possible, but probably not practical... but hey, YOU"RE the one with the cnc machine... if anyone can do it, i suppose its you.

[tybrenis]

Hehehe....

My parents will be left with a large vacuum box and accompanying oven (that reaches 1200 degrees!) for the vacuum former, sheets and sheets of wood, metal, and above all, acrylic, a large paint booth, about 6 or 7 computers, a cnc router, hopefully a laser, a large acrylic bender, and so much other things that aren't completed yet...

A smoke chamber, a home foundry, a digital stress analizer, a welding machine, and my personal favorite summer project: soon to be a full sized, remote control UFO complete with abilities to swirl LED patterns and then dissappear into the Philadelphia skyline.. erm I mean my back yard. During testing. And thats it.

[Zephik]

:eek:

I think I can understand now why Dave said he would pick you of all people to be stuck on an island with... lol

[tybrenis]

Hehehe....

[CanaBalistic]

:eek:

I think I can understand now why Dave said he would pick you of all people to be stuck on an island with... lol


I just cant see it... Not to put a downer on the conversation but i doupt you'll be making anything extravagant out of twigs and twine. :)

[tybrenis]

Not any complex gadgets, but when it comes to survival of that type I am actually quite keen.

[DaveW]

I just cant see it... Not to put a downer on the conversation but i doupt you'll be making anything extravagant out of twigs and twine.

Like i said before, you won't be saying that when we've finished the Hot Tub. And now, apparently, the coconut UFO. With advanced T-wig LASERs. ;)

-Dave