Tag: MakerBeam

Buttons to suit MakerBeam 1

MakerBeam offers fitted button head screws with the Starter Kit. They are 6mm length M3 screws and especially made to fit the MakerBeam profile. Since MakerBeam is made to fit M3 we thought that finding other lengths would be easy. Just take some M3 button head screws and slide them into the MakerBeam profile. Unfortunately this has proven to be more difficult. Not all screws fitted in that nicely.

After some trial and error we thought we found the distributor with just the perfect screws. Socket Button Head Screws, M3, 12mm length. The screws we need to fit our bearings. We had some packages from one batch and one from another batch. And yes, you probably guessed it by now, these screws from a different batch did not match. Aaarghhh!!

We thought the problem was with the manufacturer not accurately applying the DIN standards. M3 socket button head screws adhere to DIN standard 7380. This standard stipulates meticulously most features of a M3 screw. But not all we found. The DIN standard does not stipulate the curvature of the button heads. That is what is the most critical for the MakerBeam profile.

We now have a limited number of screws that actually fit. For this reason we will reduce the number of screws we pack with our bearings from 15 to 12 until we have found a more durable solution. Right now we are working on an affordable custom made solution. Of course we will keep you posted.

Team MakerBeam.eu

X-Y carriage

James Hardiman made a x-y carriage using MakerBeam and the bearings we sell through our webshop. It is the world’s first MakerBeam x-y carriage. Or so we think. Let us know if we are wrong.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asl5LT2QF_U

The design looks good. We do have some comments though.  Here the bearings are on the inside of the frame. If you put them on the outside there is more space for the frame to move. Also if you use three bearings in one dimension it is stable. Then a single beam would be stable  and you do not need a frame to realise stability.

James Hardiman is working on a book about 3d printers. He is also looking into the power of making. What is happening with 3d printing, homemade cnc machines, sites like etsy.com and makerfaires in various places is sometimes referred to as the industrial revolution 2.0 or micromanufacturing.

Johan and James met each other in the Netherland at ProtoSpace, the fablab in Utrecht. There Johan handed James a MakerBeam starter kit. The x-y carriage is James his first serious MakerBeam project in connection with his book on 3d printers. We love the initiative. Thank you James!!

Team MakerBeam.eu

Demo kit MakerBeam

We just shipped our first demo kit for educational use. We want to thank hogeschool Zeeland (university of applied sciences) for ordering one. They want to see whether MakerBeam suits their course ‘Engineering, Design and Innovation‘. To see if the beams will be just the right addition to their newly started course they want to tinker with our aluminum T-slotted beams . We hope MakerBeam is just their thing!

Team MakerBeam.eu

Beams, bearings, bolts and more

MakerBeam is wonderful construction material and accessories will only expand the possibilities. Movement suddenly becomes an option when you add bearings and that is why we were looking for ones to fit MakerBeam.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSdKXuFbD1s

The search for the right size bearings moved up a bit on our list of priorities after meeting the guys behind Ultimaker. Building a 3d printer with Mini T-profiles now is feasible. Or maybe someone wants to build their own CNC-machine, just to name another popular possibility.  There must be all sorts of projects that can benefit from these little wheels.

When you use bearings you will need longer bolts. Also we think self locking bolts will make your construction more rigid. Ideal for the machine of your choice in working mode. We made a small pack with 10 bearings, 15 M3 12mm bolts 15 M3 nuts and 15 M3 self locking nuts for €15,-.  We hope you will have fun with our latest addition to our webshop!

Team MakerBeam.eu

 

Makerbeam meets Ultimaker

We are proud to tell you that one of our starter kits found its way to the guys behind Ultimaker, Martijn and Erik. It was a nice surprise discovering Erik had ordered a kit. Ultimaker works together with Protospace FabLab Utrecht. When they learned we would give a lunch lecture there it was real easy for them to attend. It gave us the opportunity to personally hand them a starter kit and to shake hands.

20110901 Ultimaker MakerBeam 120110901 Ultimaker MakerBeam 2

The relationship Ultimaker has with MakerBeam goes back a few years. A 3d print of a makerbeam was made some years ago. Back then it was just an open source hardware project paying the other budding open source hardware project a compliment. Today it was time for a more serious introduction.

20110901Ultimaker MakerBeam 120110901Ultimaker MakerBeam 320110901Ultimaker MakerBeam 420110901Ultimaker MakerBeam 7

The Ultimaker of course is in full production. The process of improving the production process is ongoing as well. Especially the production of the wooden framework takes up a lot of time. There is definitely room for improvement there. Could the aluminum Mini-T profiles of Makerbeam fit in? We talked about it and the guys of Ultimaker took their starter kit home. So who knows what beautiful combination the future will bring!

20110901Ultimaker MakerBeam 520110901Ultimaker MakerBeam 10

Team MakerBeam.eu

Coupled pendulum

The pendulum is a universal topic in schools. Understandably so since it is full potential for learning about physics. The coupled pendulum, or coupled harmonic oscillator as it is also known, may very well be the most important classical system. The basic behavior of such systems comes up over and over again in every branch of physics. The swing of the pendulums teaches about potential energy, kinetic energy and energy transformation.

More importantly it is fun to watch!

This  setup was made using makerbeam.

We hope to post new projects soon!

Team MakerBeam.eu

First post, first project

Upon showing our website www.makerbeam.eu or the starterkit we were asked the same question again and again. What are the possibilities? What can you make?

We were surprised to hear this question. The possibilities the aluminum Mini-T profiles give you are endless! That is why we decided to start selling MakerBeam.  To get you started we just opened a projects gallery.  We just put up our first project. The creation of a test setting for the Wandy lux.

The test setting is ready to be photographed

The Wandy lux is an idea for a new product. A multi integrated accesspoint that can be fitted to a ceiling. To get the creative process going pictures were needed to send around. Makerbeam provided a good solid structure to mount the required hardware. The next step will be to actually test the setup created using the Mini-T profiles.

We hope to keep posting new projects in the future!

Team Makerbeam.eu