Acceleration and PyPy

While trying to dial in the acceleration on my Replicator original, I ran across a post regarding the alternative "just in time" Python compiler, PyPy.

http://mbot3d.eu/install-pypy-to-accelerate-replicatorg-slicing/

It offers much faster slicing when using Replicator G and Skeinforge.  I tested PyPy out and can confirm that it indeed does take much less time, about 1/3rd of the speed of Python 2.6!

On a top secret unidentified part:

• Python 2.6:
• 2 minutes, 59 seconds to slice.
• PyPy:
• 1 minute, 1 second to slice.

Needless to say, I switched over and haven't looked back since.  

On the acceleration front, after replacing the Makerbot Mightyboard a while back, I never got around to setting up the acceleration settings.  For a while, I was only printing at about 40-50mm/s with low acceleration settings before the machine felt like it was rattling loose.

After dialing in the settings, I'm now printing at about 75-85mm/s with overall much quieter operation.  : )

The New D.I.Y: Design-It-Yourself

I've had the Makerbot Replicator for a little over a year and a half now and I've come to realize just how much a 3D printer has changed my life.  I love making things, both in the real world and in the computer.  My two worlds collided the day I got my printer up and running smoothly.

DIY projects used to require that I peruse the aisles of hardware stores and dollar stores for the required bits and pieces to kitbash.  I still love looking at dollar stores and supply stores, but now it's more for "raw materials".  

For example, I can get 3 button cells for $1 at Dollar Tree, and it comes with free LED circuit and reed switch.  It was also cheaper for me to buy a $17.99 sheet metal rack from IKEA than to pay nearly $100.00 for the sheet metal needed on the Quad-Quad MK1 blades.

Since the Makerbot: Replicator came into my life, things that used to exist only in the computer can now have corporeal form.  Things that had to be shaped through blood, sweat, and tears, can now be designed in the computer!

Well, actually, it starts on paper.  The first thing I do when I have a random idea for a "DIY" project is to doodle out concepts on a piece of throw away paper.  Usually the first few sketches are brain dumps, and the idea that I'm drawing on scratch paper helps quite a bit with my paralyzing 'blank page' syndrome.

From there, the next generation of sketches make it in to my current sketchbook.  The sketchbooks include anything from sketches to dimensions on parts that I have at hand.  I have a library of sketchbooks for myself to recall information that has, or definitely will, skip my mind.  My girlfriend can attest to the fact that I have the memory of a goldfish, and getting worse by the years.  

Then I bring it into 3D (Solidworks or Maya) and begin the modeling process.  I start with modeling out the physical items I already have at hand.  Battery packs, PCBs, buttons, etc.  I measure the dimensions with a set of metal calipers from Harbor Freight ($8.99 on sale) and try to get these as close as possible to the real world counterparts.

After that, I model out the project parts with close attention to matching the real world part dimensions.  I take into account the print tolerance of my Replicator when building parts that need precise fitting. Note, screw holes can be drilled or bored out post-print.

When in doubt, I print out a sample and test.

Nothing's more satisfying than holding a physical piece of your digital creation in your hands after a successful print.  Even more "awesome-er" is when everything fits and works the way it was meant to.  Even if it does, there's always a way to make it better!

"D.I.Y" projects for me are no longer hand-made "Do-It-Yourself" projects of yore.  They're now "Design-It-Yourself" projects.