4 ms·
Part of it is hardware costs, part of it is human nature. Many robot hobbyists I know fall into the "That part is $X? I can build it for $X/N!!!" Soon they h
by Qworg 14y ago
Part of it is hardware costs, part of it is human nature. Many robot hobbyists I know fall into the "That part is $X? I can build it for $X/N!!!"
Soon they have no robot, and half a part.
- hugs 14y agoWell, that's been true, but there's hope. I'm a robot hobbyist and I need lots of linear actuators (like dozens or hundreds) for a project I'm working on. I can't believe how expensive they can be (between $50 and $150 a piece). So, I've fixed that for myself that by starting my open hardware project - http://bitbeam.org http://bitbeam.org. My first stab at my DIY actuator: http://youtu.be/YO-7tiwibiY http://youtu.be/YO-7tiwibiY Doing it myself (with a laser cutter at TechShop SF), I'm able to get my own linear actuator cost down to about $3 per actuator. Not perfect, but way better. Next step will be to figure out how to make my own DC motors to drive down costs further. :-) As fab tools like 3D printers (MakerBot) get cheaper and tools get easier to access (TechShop), more robot hobbyists will have robots and cheaper parts. :-)
- Qworg 14y agoYou are part of the top 1% then. Most makers try to cobble something together and don't approach it from first principles. 3D printers need to print high strength components and TechShops need to be all over the country before I think we'll see this take off. =) Also, at scale, things get cheaper - why not look at scaling your actuator production? What would it take?
- hugs 14y agoWhat would it take? The biggest thing I need is knowing there's a market, how big the market is, and who to market to -- classic customer development activities. Right now, I know my actuators meet my needs for the stuff I'm building, but need more data to know if I should scale it. So... you want one (hundred thousand)? :-)