Tag: mini-T beams

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

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

 

Lunch lecture ProtoSpace FabLab

 

Thursday September 1st we were at Protospace FabLab Utrecht to give a lunch lecture and introduce MakerBeam there. There is a lunch lecture every month at ProtoSpace. The topics vary widely. The lunch lecture is a very informal meeting. For us it was a good opportunity to introduce MakerBeam to a small but interested audience. We left one kit behind. FabLab’s well filled toolbox now has a new addition.

 

20110901 protospace 1
Pictures were taken for the website of protospace.

A FabLab offers the ideal environment for prototyping. Johan hoped to work on the Wandy lux after the lunch lecture. That did not work out that day. Instead he worked on sheaves to fit our aluminum Mini-T profiles. It gave us information about what size and shape we want.  Now we are looking for sheaves we can buy of the shelf.

We feel that MakerBeam needs more accessories to truly make it irresistible material and are looking for accessories to complement the MakerBeam starter kit. We will keep you posted on this topic.

20110901 protospace 2
MakerBeam wants to roll

Johan his prototyping plan also did not work out because of a very interesting meeting we had with the guys from Ultimaker. In our next post we will tell you more about this spontaneous meeting of maker minds. It is this meeting what prompted the sheaves prototyping excercise.

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