Buildparty Düsseldorf Report

The build party was another big success, the 7 participant teams built themselves a brand new Reprap “Prusa i3“.
The people from GarageLab were very helpful, and have a nice space to work at. We used the coworking space rooms to do our building. Thanks to Daniel Bruns and Carsten Born, they helped out a lot. Also thanks to Lab maintainer Axel Ganz for helping setting things up, and Yvonne Firdaus, the Coworking Space / GarageLab owner.

We had a lot of help from the community people attending, there is a lot of information to be had when you are in a room with Kliment Yanev, Josef Prusa, Joachim Glauche, Nathan Zadoks and Ruben Lubbes. Also there was a group of locals working on their Reprap’s in the fablab itself, there were a few machines from our earlier parties present. It was nice seeing them improve the machines, and using them a lot.

We built a reasonably new model, the Prusa i3, and it is a big improvement in building the machine. That was also one of the reasons the machines are so quick to be in use, most of the people were printing at the start of sunday afternoon, and everyone printed a model that looked pretty nice.

The i3 is different from the model we used in our previous courses because it now uses a wooden box-frame that is very stiff, stable, and easy to build. Also it moves the motors to the bottom of the machine, so the Z-axis does not hang from the motors anymore. Also the amount of noise the machine makes is lower, and cable management is improved. Also the spool mount is integrated on top of the machine.This makes the i3 a very good option to build as your next Reprap. The design is still in developement, so for now the build info is still incomplete.

We did most of the building in the first day, and were mostly doing the last part of the electronic setup on sunday morning. The electronics we used were ReprapDiscount RAMPS system, and jhead hotends. Most of the other parts were sourced at ReprapSource. Both of these performed very well. Around lunch most of the people were getting ready to print, and we made some cool models in the afternoon.

Then we also did some presentations on the history of the project, getting help from the community, and some info on how to do 3D modelling with OpenSCAD.

2nd print on a newly built Reprap

Just look at this 7,4cm tall Statue of Liberty, it is not very visible because of the background and transparent material, but the crown is really very nice. I hope we will get more pictures of that soon.

2nd print of the new Reprap, different angle

Some pictures are already available here, but i hope to see more soon.

And this time we managed to do a group picture again, so here it is!

There was even an interview done with me by Josef Prusa in his series of interviews, see it here

And finally: a timelapse of the build!
[youtube_sc url=1Lxe34VohlQ]

I would like to personally thank Axel Funke, for driving me home afterward although he had to go a totally different direction to get home himself!

We will be doing more of these buildparties, so if you want to organise one in your town or hackerspace, contact us!

Prusa interviews me in Düsseldorf

During the Reprap BuildParty in Düsseldorf Josef Prusa did an interview with me in his series of interviews about Reprap and the community, and he posted it to Youtube.

In the interview we talk about me finding the project, collecting reprap memorabilia, my island promotion of Reprap, the history of IkMaak, why the courses are organised, and the way progress in the project is made. I’m rambling a bit, but i did not prepare for the video, so have fun!

[youtube_sc url=HcCO_aSkhJI]

The FrankenBot project is also mentioned, if you want to join in with a part for that, get the part from the list, do anything you like with the design, as long as it is still functional, print it out, sign it, add some documentation, and send it to me! Contact me for more info.
I hope you like the interview, there’s more where they came from. They are featured after the break.
Continue reading Prusa interviews me in Düsseldorf

Reprap Buildparty Düsseldorf

Another Reprap Buildparty is set to be held at the GarageLab in Düsseldorf on 27-28 october!
A unique chance to build your own Reprap 3D printer in just one weekend.
You will get all the parts and guidance from some of the most experienced reprap builders in the community.
The machine being built is the Prusa i3, a recently developed but well-tested version of the popular Reprap type of 3D printers.

update: First pictures are here

The new Prusa iteration 3 model, the machine that is being built.
The new Prusa iteration 3 model, the machine that is being built.

With the help of will build the machine on the first day of the event and finish it on the morning of the second day. After that we will look into the workings of the machine, and how to operate the software.
It is possible and even recommended to come as a team of two or more for extra fun. Josef Prusa, Kliment Yanev, Joachim Glauche, Ruben Lubbes and other community members will be there to help you.

The course is given in German/English, but Dutch speaking community members are available.

More information is available in German at the infopage of the GarageLab

Most places are taken, but it is still possible to join! Registration is at verein (at) garage-lab (dot) de

Also, if you are looking for another date, location, or other request, this can be taken into account, just mail us at info (at) ikmaak (dot) nl.

Workshop data:
Time: 27th and 28th of October 2012.

Location: GarageLab
Bilker Allee 217
40215 Düsseldorf
Deutschland

Price: 850€ per printer. 1 or 2 builders per machine.

Included in the course price are all the parts as well as some plastic print material. The electronics, hotend, and cable terminations will be done for you in advance. Food and drinks are included for up to two participants.

Required tools:

  • Laptop
  • Extension cord
  • Set of hexagonal keys (allen keys) including small sizes
  • Screwdriver set
  • Wrenches in sizes 13 (ideally two pieces), 7 and 5.5
  • Electronics pliers set (at least needle nose and side cutters)
  • Tweezers
  • 8mm round file

Note that we have all these tools available onsite, but not enough for everyone. Please bring your own set of tools if at all possible.

Photos of past build events are available at http://ikmaak.nl

This info is also available on our events page

RepRap Buildparty Berlin

Another RepRap buildparty is going to take place in Berlin, Germany on the 18-19th of February (18-19-02-2012). Ten groups will have the opportunity to build their very own 3d printer, get it working, and take it home with them.

Under the guidance of Josef Prusa, Kliment Yanev, Joachim Glauche and Ruben Lubbes, we’ll build ten printers of the latest Prusa Iteration 2 variety. More info on Prusa iteration 2 at Prusa Iteration 2

After building the printers, we’ll look at control and design software, basic troubleshooting, and where to get designs, ideas, and help. At the end of the workshop, every participant or group will go home with a working printer.

Here is a video of an earlier workshop organized by the same team:

[youtube_sc url=qq7roeoTM9g]

Workshop data:
Time: 18th and 19th of February 2012, from 10.00h to 19.00h on both days. Impatient builders may continue past 19h on Saturday if they wish to, but that should not be necessary.

Location: Change in venue, switch to IN-Berlin, Lehrter Str. 53, Berlin, Germany (Hackerspaces.org info)

Price: 850€ per printer. The number of participants per printer is not limited (though 2-3 is ideal).

Signup by email, info @ ikmaak.nl

Included in the course price are all the parts as well as some plastic print material. The electronics, hotend, and cable terminations (the boring bits that eat a lot of time) will be done for you in advance.

Required tools:

  • Laptop
  • Extension cord
  • Set of hexagonal keys (allen keys) including small sizes
  • Screwdriver set
  • Wrenches in sizes 13 (ideally two pieces), 7 and 5.5
  • Electronics pliers set (at least needle nose and side cutters)
  • Tweezers
  • 8mm round file

Note that we have all these tools available onsite, but not enough for everyone. Please bring your own set of tools if at all possible.

Photos of past build events are available at http://ikmaak.nl

This info is also available on our events page here

Are you not able to come to Berlin, but would liketo have one of these buildparty’s in your town, contact us too, so we can provide you with the options of having one. It is a great community builder!