Just thought I’d take a minute and say “Thanks” again Ryan. I’m the proud owner of a 3dp, cnc, lowrider, and a laser.
But, here’s the coolest part. The younger boy is building something for science Olympiad. A few years ago, this would be me having to go to the hardware store multiple times for parts, lots of messing around with balsa and generally being creative with whatever stuff I can get a hold of.
Tonight, he has been using fusion360 to design out the parts for his stuff. The base made of .25" mdf, bearing holders 3d printed, generally fitting things together in fusion to see if they work. Then 10 minutes on the 3d printer or 2 minutes on the low rider to cut out whatever he needs. Get the size wrong, no biggy, size it up a bit and print it again… I left a 1/4 sheet of the Mdf on the low rider, so he can just move the router and cut out pieces.
So, thanks. My kids can now prototype in Jr High and High school using technology that I’d have killed for a few years ago… and the best part… they think it’s normal. You’ve changed the lives of a few different kids (my own and some of their friends) who now just draw up and print/route whatever they need, whenever they need it. They’ve grown to think that it should be perfectly normal to have CNC’s and 3d Printers just setting around to be able to create random stuff… You’ve been an instigator in helping build a better world for them.
I gotta add on to this because I think I am a decent example at what you’re talking about. Ryan is an inspiration! The king! My best friend! (okay maybe not that far but you get the idea) The mpcnc and all the other machines are a great learning experience. They’re just the right difficulty. Not incredibly frustrating due to cheapo parts, but also extremely customizable and includes enough “problems” to where you actually learn how your machines work and what they can do for you.
I also am earning moneys from your machines which is again another thumbs up. Beats working at Target stocking shelves in my opinion.
That’s awesome John. I look forward to the days when my little kid can make something of his own. He’s definitely going to think it’s normal. Right now, here just likes to watch it work, but he has no idea about the computer half.
I used to be a judge for SO before I had a kid. I didn’t see any CNC stuff then. It would be hard to be there for eight hours on a weekend now, but maybe in a few years I’ll get back into it. I used to judge the helicopters. They were pretty impressive. Balsa wood creations that would fly for two minutes on a single rubber band. I was always really nice until the parents tried to tell them what to do during their run .
Jeff, just wait for the day the kid tells one of his friends that there’s no magic in the printer/Cnc, we can just build one… you’ll smile so big the top of your head might fall off…
Dude, you guys trying to bring me to tears or what…Jeez making a me a sappy mess. I saw this post last night but was out celebrating my BDay with friends so I didn’t want to mince my words…slur type? I did have to show a few people, like “this is my job”. A few more distant friends asked what I do for fun I tell them “work”. I am doing exactly what I used to do after work in any spare time I had.
Just to think someone would stop and write a post like this, or donate a few dollars, that is a very powerful feeling.
Thank you all for this thread, I made a machine, but WE made a community, and that is not just a cheesy line I swear that is my true feeling about this all. I feel incredible every morning, looking forward to the days “work”, I pour a coffee and start digging through the emails to see what you guys have posted in shear anticipation of some first movement videos, build logs, proud owners, first uses or just some crazy thing I could have never pulled off myself. I show off your guys projects from the gallery and share the stories behind them all the time.
I actually feel bad that I can’t iterate faster, or sell parts cheaper. If I start hiring employees it isn’t for more money it’s for freeing up my time so I can iterate. My goal is to keep the community alive and fun. We like making things, some for fun and some for fun and profit either way we all have this in common.
It’s funny how much our kids have no idea of how things were prior to the ‘toys’. They can be playing in the study with the 3d printer chugging along in the background and not even bat an eye in it’s direction. It’s just ‘normal’ for them.
One day my kids will be old enough to start designing their own stuff. That will make things fun. I still plan on showing them how to manually craft stuff on the bandsaw/tablesaw/etc… but it’ll be great to show them the CAD side of things too. They’ll have such a huge step up when heading off to college (if they decide to go down the engineering path).
I’ll bring something to work that I cut out or printed and will have coworkers baffled when I tell them I cut the parts on a $400 CNC (your cost may vary ).
When I was first looking at buying my 3d printer, I had the hardest time deciding between a 3d printer or a CNC machine. The availability of your design made it so I could easily have both.
Thank you so, so much for creating an economical design that is so multipurpose. I think this post will be the best place to say this instead of my build post. All the work that has been put in from the design through to the testing has made it easier for me to build and adapt the machine to work with Fusion 360 (thanks to Martin DB for the post processor).
There are still a lot of settings to change in Fusion and in the post configuration, but I’ve been drawing many things with just a pen and paper. Next stop may be getting a laser unit, then a router, and definitely making a case for the RAMBo board. Maybe a better thing to do would be build a stand to put the machine on that is more permanent instead of sitting on top of a sheet of MDF that is covering the pool table.
Either way, this project is great because even though the build is done, I still have a lot to learn about everything. That makes it harder too because there is too much to learn and I don’t know how far I want to go. Where is the line that separates something from Computer Science and systems analysis to more of a pure engineering area (if it’s even possible)? Oh well.
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