5 ms·

Piccolo, a tiny CNC bot

188 points by ghosh 12y ago

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
eps 12y ago
This so reminiscent of Japanese robotic kits. Just look at the assembly process from the beginning of the video ... damn :) My dad got me a simple clap-and-it-walks robot kit when I was 8 or 9 and I still remember the insane excitement of putting it together... It was a one-time thing, but the rush of making something physical and complex from a pile of simple parts is really something. Especially when it actually works in the end. I mean, this sort of thing has virtually no immediate practical value, but it is such a treat for anyone who likes to tinker with things.
nnnnni 12y ago
I wonder if a 3d printer hot end could be added to this thing? It'd be the perfect (ie cost-effective) way to print small figures (eg minis for wargames)!
- rplnt 12y ago
  You would need to move it (or the print) on the z-axis as well. And printer heads are usually quite big and heavy, I'm not sure if they can get small enough for this.
  - unwind 12y ago
    The Piccolo seems to be a 3-axis machine, i.e. it can already do that since lifting the pen is quite essential when drawing. However, I guess it can't control the extrusion rate dimension that a 3D printer has, so it would still fall a bit short.
  - VLM 12y ago
    Use the CNC to move the stage, not the head.
- ckvamme 12y ago
  You may be able to attach a 3Doodler http://the3doodler.com/ http://the3doodler.com/
- geon 12y ago
  Look at the spiral it's drawing. It has way too much play, like several mm.
rqphqel 12y ago
Too bad this is not open source but CC by-nc-sa.
- jgmmo 12y ago
  My thoughts exactly. I hate when companies call it open hardware, but then turn around and say 'non-commercial use only'.
  - fizx 12y ago
    You can't commercially sell the bots, but their output is fair game. Think of it like a GPL'd compiler. This seems reasonable to me.
    - mikeash 12y ago
      Except you can sell a GPL compiler.
nanoscopic 12y ago
If you get the parts cut via the linked online place ( ponoko ) it costs $48 just to get the cut parts. This obviously doesn't include the rest of the parts. Buying all the needed parts for this would cost $130 ( am including the $48 here ) each if you build them yourself. You'd have to build at least 5 to get this price. Realistically making one of these would cost around $200. It will never be sold commercially, since the designs are CC by-nc-sa. Unless you are hardcore about building cute expensive tech toys, best move along.
- VLM 12y ago
  In capability it appears to basically be a "flat eggbot" and an eggbot costs $200. I bought one on sale back in '11 and have been inking a new personalized christmas ornament with it every season since then (more or less). As a tool, its hourly cost has gotten pretty low compared to other toys. If I could find a similar recreational activity for this device, I'm just saying past experience shows that something similar ends up as a reasonable financial deal.
  - nanoscopic 12y ago
    I agree that it may in fact be reasonable to pay $150 ( perhaps even $200 ) for such a thing. The real cost is much higher due to a need to solder components. This is an especial blocker for people with no soldering experience. Really, the whole thing would make sense if it had a full cost breakdown to make a single one of them, getting the parts mostly from one location, rather than a random mix, many requiring a minimum purchase of X of them, instead of one. It's a really cool project, it is just unclear exactly how much effort and money it would cost to make one of these. ( and what tools would be needed )
- joshu 12y ago
  i have a small cnc machine. i wonder if i can adapt the model to be cut out from that.
- sitkack 12y ago
  It would be better to build a drawbot with 3 servos and an arduino.
ssw1n 12y ago
For a second there, I thought it would be about a Command and Control Bot, and was really intrigued ....
hobbes78 12y ago
Does anyone remember playing with the Logo programming language in the 80's and being able to control a "turtle" robot that had a pen attached and was able to pretty much do the same?
- freiheit 12y ago
  Yes. I learned recursion from drawing "trees" with it when I was about 12...
sytelus 12y ago
I know there is a huge coolness factor to this but why do I need 3-axis moving thing to do 2-axis drawings? Can't I just use software to print them out straight out of printer?

188 points by ghosh 12y ago

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

eps 12y ago

This so reminiscent of Japanese robotic kits. Just look at the assembly process from the beginning of the video ... damn :) My dad got me a simple clap-and-it-walks robot kit when I was 8 or 9 and I still remember the insane excitement of putting it together... It was a one-time thing, but the rush of making something physical and complex from a pile of simple parts is really something. Especially when it actually works in the end. I mean, this sort of thing has virtually no immediate practical value, but it is such a treat for anyone who likes to tinker with things.

nnnnni 12y ago

I wonder if a 3d printer hot end could be added to this thing? It'd be the perfect (ie cost-effective) way to print small figures (eg minis for wargames)!

rplnt 12y ago
You would need to move it (or the print) on the z-axis as well. And printer heads are usually quite big and heavy, I'm not sure if they can get small enough for this.
- unwind 12y ago
  The Piccolo seems to be a 3-axis machine, i.e. it can already do that since lifting the pen is quite essential when drawing. However, I guess it can't control the extrusion rate dimension that a 3D printer has, so it would still fall a bit short.
- VLM 12y ago
  Use the CNC to move the stage, not the head.
ckvamme 12y ago
You may be able to attach a 3Doodler http://the3doodler.com/ http://the3doodler.com/
geon 12y ago
Look at the spiral it's drawing. It has way too much play, like several mm.

rqphqel 12y ago

Too bad this is not open source but CC by-nc-sa.

jgmmo 12y ago
My thoughts exactly. I hate when companies call it open hardware, but then turn around and say 'non-commercial use only'.
- fizx 12y ago
  You can't commercially sell the bots, but their output is fair game. Think of it like a GPL'd compiler. This seems reasonable to me.
  - mikeash 12y ago
    Except you can sell a GPL compiler.

nanoscopic 12y ago

If you get the parts cut via the linked online place ( ponoko ) it costs $48 just to get the cut parts. This obviously doesn't include the rest of the parts. Buying all the needed parts for this would cost $130 ( am including the $48 here ) each if you build them yourself. You'd have to build at least 5 to get this price. Realistically making one of these would cost around $200. It will never be sold commercially, since the designs are CC by-nc-sa. Unless you are hardcore about building cute expensive tech toys, best move along.

VLM 12y ago
In capability it appears to basically be a "flat eggbot" and an eggbot costs $200. I bought one on sale back in '11 and have been inking a new personalized christmas ornament with it every season since then (more or less). As a tool, its hourly cost has gotten pretty low compared to other toys. If I could find a similar recreational activity for this device, I'm just saying past experience shows that something similar ends up as a reasonable financial deal.
- nanoscopic 12y ago
  I agree that it may in fact be reasonable to pay $150 ( perhaps even $200 ) for such a thing. The real cost is much higher due to a need to solder components. This is an especial blocker for people with no soldering experience. Really, the whole thing would make sense if it had a full cost breakdown to make a single one of them, getting the parts mostly from one location, rather than a random mix, many requiring a minimum purchase of X of them, instead of one. It's a really cool project, it is just unclear exactly how much effort and money it would cost to make one of these. ( and what tools would be needed )
joshu 12y ago
i have a small cnc machine. i wonder if i can adapt the model to be cut out from that.
sitkack 12y ago
It would be better to build a drawbot with 3 servos and an arduino.

ssw1n 12y ago

For a second there, I thought it would be about a Command and Control Bot, and was really intrigued ....

hobbes78 12y ago

Does anyone remember playing with the Logo programming language in the 80's and being able to control a "turtle" robot that had a pen attached and was able to pretty much do the same?

freiheit 12y ago
Yes. I learned recursion from drawing "trees" with it when I was about 12...

sytelus 12y ago

I know there is a huge coolness factor to this but why do I need 3-axis moving thing to do 2-axis drawings? Can't I just use software to print them out straight out of printer?