1. Purchase replacement parts:
   1. Core Tube (buy one) – http://store.makerbot.com/machined-core-tube-for-mk6-1-75-mm.html
   2. Replacement PTFE Tube (no longer carried by Makerbot) – McMaster-Carr #8547K23 – (1/4″ OD by 1/8″ ID ) order 1′ length.  Will need to be machined and beveled to the proper dimensions (to fit inside the 1/4″ ID Thermal Barrier Tube and guide 3mm ABS filament).
   3. Motors (buy two) – http://store.makerbot.com/nema-17-stepper-motor.html
   4. XY Motor Pulleys (buy two) – http://store.makerbot.com/xy-motor-pulley-for-5mm-shaft.html
2. Print and install Heated Build Platform Strain Relief (Makerbot #2 has one of these already)
3. Remove Automated Build Platform and replace with Heated Build Platform.   ABP does not work well for raftless printing.

Makerbot #2 (tag #6776)

General

1. Construct a spool handler.
2. Further calibration of printing process (such as leveling the X/Y table, further tuning Skeinforge settings)

Another trick to getting an object to adhere to the build surface is to make sure that the initial extrusion (which the gcode generated by ReplicatorG refers to as an “anchor”) does not become a blob that the extruder nozzle drags around the platform during the first few layers of a build.

From the time of its first testing, Makerbot #2 head never positioned the extruder nozzle above the silicon wiper at the beginning of a build, so it was always necessary to snag the anchor with a pencil or pliers to make sure it didn’t get pulled along by the nozzle.

The “start” section of the gcode that ReplicatorG generates contained some notes about this — and after tweaking a very short gcode file to discover the proper coordinates of the wiper, the next big challenge appeared: which file to modify.  The file which ReplicatorG notes in the comments of the gcode it generates indicated one file, but after combing through a bunch of start.gcode files, it was ultimately determined that the correct start.gcode  file was [ReplicatorG install path]\machines\thingomatic\start+HBP+Stepstruder.gcode

If ReplicatorG is installed on a different workstation, start+HBP+Stepstruder.zip should be unzipped and copied into the above file path to properly home and wipe Makerbot #2.

Thing-O-Matic #1 (4391 )

• Stepstruder Mk6+ (configured for 3mm filament)
• Motherboard v2.5 (with Arduino 2560) – firmware v3.1
• Automated Build Platform
• Extruder Controller board v3.6 – firmware v3.1
• Spindle kit (missing feed tube)
• Calibration
  • Servo voltages
• Modifications
  • Stepper shafts ground to accommodate pulleys (probably need to replace steppers since pulleys don’t spin true)
  • Location of Z- and A-axis control boards swapped on mounting board to accommodated shipped cable lengths.
• Issues
  • Extruder jamming – originally, unit was assembled with 3mm filament capability.  Tried to run 1.75mm filament through it before realizing this, which jammed the extruder.  After several cycles of taking apart and reassembling the extruder, I rebuilt the unit with 3mm capability and “repaired” the tip of the  PTFE tube that guides the filament through the heater.  Ultimately, we should order replacements for both of the filament tubes.

Thing-O-Matic #2 (tag 6776) — operational

• Strepstruder Mk 7 (using 1.75mm filament)
• Heated Build Platform
• Motherboard v2.5 (with Arduino 2560) – firmware v3.1
• Extruder Controller board v3.6 – firmware v3.1
• Calibration
  • Servo voltages
• Modifications
  • Left side cutout for power supply modified to accommodate Makerbot’s change in power supply part geometry.
  • Heated Build Platform Strain Relief to prevent damage to HBP cables.

transparent_png_writer_bare.zip contains a Processing sketch which writes out a variable sequences of .png files with a transparent background.

framewriter is a Max patch that loads all of the .png files in a specified directory and dumps them frame-by-frame into a .mov file encoded using the “Animation” codec (which supports transparent backgrounds).

MagnetoPots from SpectraSymbol

I received word that 4MP (a reincarnation of my rope&pulley system) has been accepted for exhibition at Maker Faire New York.  Come out and join me for some improvised dance music.