8 ms·

Totem construction system with cuttable parts

49 points by unwind 4y ago

buildbot 4y ago
The idea in general seems pretty useful - it’s really hard and expensive to design separate parts with cad that combine together well - having a set of existing standard parts makes that way easier. Is anyone aware of a similar offering for small metal components? Clockwork components?
- mcphage 4y ago
  I don't know about clockwork, but for small metal components: https://www.makerbeam.com/ https://www.makerbeam.com/
  - neatze 4y ago
    This is awesome, thank you, I was searching for this but without success when looking for smaller beams then 8020 :(
    - mcphage 4y ago
      You’re welcome :-). I used to have a few other similar things bookmarked, but now that I’m checking them, the rest seem to be discontinued.
- neatze 4y ago
  First thing comes to mind is Soviet Constructor Kits.
- zokier 4y ago
  Meccano/Erector are the classic predecessors of this idea.
- tkarolis 4y ago
  I'm one of the creators behind Totem -- that was actually the original idea that started it all, seeing the difficulty in assembling electronics boards in our own projects made us think if there could be a better way around it. We chose 10mm as a basis for our H-shaped beams and boards, and designed adjustable metal brackets to have an easy way to join them together with M3 bolts. My personal favourite feature is that the holes in beams are just slightly concave shape, so it provides enough friction to hold brackets in place while putting in bolts. We also provide STL, STEP and SketchUp files of our parts here https://totemmaker.net/wiki/parts-library/ https://totemmaker.net/wiki/parts-library/ for those who want to include it in their designs or 3d print it themselves.
- mhb 4y ago
  ServoCity is worth a look: https://www.servocity.com/ https://www.servocity.com/
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
adhesive_wombat 4y ago
What really annoys me is it is really, really hard to just buy big kits of generic Meccano/Erector-alike parts. I don't want a kit that makes a tiny car with 50% custom bits for the exact model. I just want hundreds and hundreds of plain metal strips and angles and brackets and braces, all with a compatible module. I can add thousands of nuts and bolts of any size myself. Cheap and replenishable enough that I can bend and cut and drill and solder and glue and paint and prototype, and and generally make with them without worrying. The best you can apparently do is to buy cheapish vintage bits onesy-twosy on eBay or a few dealers. Which is both needlessly complicated to assemble a good pile that has the network effects to be truly useful, more expensive than it needs to be, especially with postage, and feels somewhat sacrilegious to trash 70+ year old parts.
- scotty79 4y ago
  You could just buy nuts, bolts, threaded rods and metal strips with holes. This might be too soft but you can cut it to any length: https://www.amazon.com/AOOF-Pocket-Carabiner-Screwdriver-Keychain/dp/B09NFTJ5G4/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Metal+Strip+With+Holes&qid=1680639134&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.com/AOOF-Pocket-Carabiner-Screwdriver-Key...
  - adhesive_wombat 4y ago
    I thought of that but it's slightly too big and thick: if it was scaled down to have 3mm (or M3 clearance, rather) holes it would be better. For things on the order of a half-inch-ish wide, I usually reach for 15mm slotted DIN rail offcuts, which is usually straight and rigid due to the profile.
- tkarolis 4y ago
  Honestly that's the very gap that we're trying to fill with Totem. All of our mechanical parts that are available in our kits first are made available as individually purchasable parts, the whole section is here https://totemmaker.net/product-category/totem-mechanics/ https://totemmaker.net/product-category/totem-mechanics/ , and strips like you're talking about here: https://totemmaker.net/product/cuttable-strip-bracket-200-mm-4-pack/ https://totemmaker.net/product/cuttable-strip-bracket-200-mm... , with the intention of them being abundant enough for exactly these purposes. I'm genuinely curious and would appreciate your response on what components could be added or improved to our system to make it more fit for such use cases?
cultofmetatron 4y ago
kind of loving this. was debating getting a 3d printer but didn't wanna print every single part. I can see this being great for 80% of the model and then I can 3d print the specialty stuff!
taneq 4y ago
Ever thought, “I love Lego but I wish it were less reusable”? :P To be more fair, this looks like it fills a useful niche between Lego and larger systems like aluminium profile.
- tkarolis 4y ago
  It's always good sign for us to be compared to Lego/Meccano kits :) Although certainly one can see similarities, but we're striving for a bit different philosophy in our approach - a small number of different structural parts that are adaptable to specific needs. With aluminium profiles you either need to have a wide range of different lengths at your disposal, or be able to and have the tools to cut it. PC/ABS beams sort of sit in the middle, where they provide plenty of structural strength, but also is not too much hassle to work with. Here's an example of our beam cutter in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72namnhBf3g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72namnhBf3g
zeckalpha 4y ago
Is there a connection to indigenous people? Looks like not https://totemmaker.net/about/ https://totemmaker.net/about/ Joining the list with Apache, Kayak, and more...
- UncleEntity 4y ago
  Didn’t the Norse have totems?
  - zeckalpha 4y ago
    The word totem comes from Anishinaabe.

49 points by unwind 4y ago

The idea in general seems pretty useful - it’s really hard and expensive to design separate parts with cad that combine together well - having a set of existing standard parts makes that way easier. Is anyone aware of a similar offering for small metal components? Clockwork components?

mcphage 4y ago
I don't know about clockwork, but for small metal components: https://www.makerbeam.com/ https://www.makerbeam.com/
- neatze 4y ago
  This is awesome, thank you, I was searching for this but without success when looking for smaller beams then 8020 :(
  - mcphage 4y ago
    You’re welcome :-). I used to have a few other similar things bookmarked, but now that I’m checking them, the rest seem to be discontinued.
neatze 4y ago
First thing comes to mind is Soviet Constructor Kits.
zokier 4y ago
Meccano/Erector are the classic predecessors of this idea.
tkarolis 4y ago
I'm one of the creators behind Totem -- that was actually the original idea that started it all, seeing the difficulty in assembling electronics boards in our own projects made us think if there could be a better way around it. We chose 10mm as a basis for our H-shaped beams and boards, and designed adjustable metal brackets to have an easy way to join them together with M3 bolts. My personal favourite feature is that the holes in beams are just slightly concave shape, so it provides enough friction to hold brackets in place while putting in bolts. We also provide STL, STEP and SketchUp files of our parts here https://totemmaker.net/wiki/parts-library/ https://totemmaker.net/wiki/parts-library/ for those who want to include it in their designs or 3d print it themselves.
mhb 4y ago
ServoCity is worth a look: https://www.servocity.com/ https://www.servocity.com/

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

adhesive_wombat 4y ago

What really annoys me is it is really, really hard to just buy big kits of generic Meccano/Erector-alike parts. I don't want a kit that makes a tiny car with 50% custom bits for the exact model. I just want hundreds and hundreds of plain metal strips and angles and brackets and braces, all with a compatible module. I can add thousands of nuts and bolts of any size myself. Cheap and replenishable enough that I can bend and cut and drill and solder and glue and paint and prototype, and and generally make with them without worrying. The best you can apparently do is to buy cheapish vintage bits onesy-twosy on eBay or a few dealers. Which is both needlessly complicated to assemble a good pile that has the network effects to be truly useful, more expensive than it needs to be, especially with postage, and feels somewhat sacrilegious to trash 70+ year old parts.

scotty79 4y ago
You could just buy nuts, bolts, threaded rods and metal strips with holes. This might be too soft but you can cut it to any length: https://www.amazon.com/AOOF-Pocket-Carabiner-Screwdriver-Keychain/dp/B09NFTJ5G4/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Metal+Strip+With+Holes&qid=1680639134&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.com/AOOF-Pocket-Carabiner-Screwdriver-Key...
- adhesive_wombat 4y ago
  I thought of that but it's slightly too big and thick: if it was scaled down to have 3mm (or M3 clearance, rather) holes it would be better. For things on the order of a half-inch-ish wide, I usually reach for 15mm slotted DIN rail offcuts, which is usually straight and rigid due to the profile.
tkarolis 4y ago
Honestly that's the very gap that we're trying to fill with Totem. All of our mechanical parts that are available in our kits first are made available as individually purchasable parts, the whole section is here https://totemmaker.net/product-category/totem-mechanics/ https://totemmaker.net/product-category/totem-mechanics/ , and strips like you're talking about here: https://totemmaker.net/product/cuttable-strip-bracket-200-mm-4-pack/ https://totemmaker.net/product/cuttable-strip-bracket-200-mm... , with the intention of them being abundant enough for exactly these purposes. I'm genuinely curious and would appreciate your response on what components could be added or improved to our system to make it more fit for such use cases?

cultofmetatron 4y ago

kind of loving this. was debating getting a 3d printer but didn't wanna print every single part. I can see this being great for 80% of the model and then I can 3d print the specialty stuff!

taneq 4y ago

Ever thought, “I love Lego but I wish it were less reusable”? :P To be more fair, this looks like it fills a useful niche between Lego and larger systems like aluminium profile.

tkarolis 4y ago
It's always good sign for us to be compared to Lego/Meccano kits :) Although certainly one can see similarities, but we're striving for a bit different philosophy in our approach - a small number of different structural parts that are adaptable to specific needs. With aluminium profiles you either need to have a wide range of different lengths at your disposal, or be able to and have the tools to cut it. PC/ABS beams sort of sit in the middle, where they provide plenty of structural strength, but also is not too much hassle to work with. Here's an example of our beam cutter in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72namnhBf3g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72namnhBf3g

zeckalpha 4y ago

Is there a connection to indigenous people? Looks like not https://totemmaker.net/about/ https://totemmaker.net/about/ Joining the list with Apache, Kayak, and more...

UncleEntity 4y ago
Didn’t the Norse have totems?
- zeckalpha 4y ago
  The word totem comes from Anishinaabe.