Project Update Thread: Miniature Indigos

[rooprob]

Yes please!

[Dodoid]

Yes please!

Glad to see interest, but they aren't for sale yet. Still very much in development.

[Dodoid]

IG-01 printing now. No "PT" moniker here. There may be minor revisions, but this means I consider the device good enough to sell in its current state and will focus on preparing for sale from now on. If you would like to contribute to the development of the device, a survey regarding how the community would like me to proceed with the project will be coming soon.

[Dodoid]

IG-01 printing now. No "PT" moniker here. There may be minor revisions, but this means I consider the device good enough to sell in its current state and will focus on preparing for sale from now on. If you would like to contribute to the development of the device, a survey regarding how the community would like me to proceed with the project will be coming soon.

3D printer has had some issues, upgraded firmware, trying again. Hoping for a complete IG-01 soon.

[Dodoid]

Body printed nicely, new lid printing now.

[Dodoid]

Hey there!

I just peeled the last piece of IG-01 off the 3D printer, and the unit has been successfully assembled. I took some nicer pictures of the unit and its parts, and they are seen here.

In total, production of all the parts for a mini Indigo takes roughly 24 hours of print time with perhaps 15 minutes of sporadic human involvement. If I time prints correctly, I can keep the printer running 24/7 without modifications to my daily schedule. You can see an ODROID-XU4 installed in the device, but a Pi B+/2/3 is also supported on the other side. The part of the design which I am most proud of is that the design contains zero screws, catches, snaps, or other complicated holding devices. It attaches entirely by pegs and holes built into the parts, and through tight tolerances can be turned upside-down, shaken, bumped, transported without it coming apart. Of course, when you want to take it apart, it takes under 5 seconds, involves no tools, and can be put back together in a similar amount of time. I plan to sell the cases and have buyers purchase and attach their own boards, as having me buy and resell boards adds needless shipping and tax costs for the buyer that would likely amount to a significant price raise. Selling units with pre-installed boards would also require spending a lot more upfront to manufacture a device, and could possibly increase order times on completed mini Indigos if I have to order boards from Korea.

[vishnu]

Wow, nice! Or, as the Val Kilmer character said to the Mark Kamiyama character in Real Genius, "Ick, the ice turned out so great! "

[computron]

is it possible to have a better surface quality ?

it's a bit rought !! no ?

Cheers

Eve

[Dodoid]

is it possible to have a better surface quality ?

it's a bit rought !! no ?

Cheers

Eve

There are some things which could be done to improve quality, and I will definitely test them out, but ultimately the slow, layer on layer additive process of 3D printing means you are bound to end up with ridges of some sort. All you can really do is try to make them smaller.

[Dodoid]

Returned the printer I was using to the friend I borrowed it from, ordered my own (better) one. Testing faster, less hands-on production with the better printer.

[robespierre]

You can smooth the surface using a bath of acetone vapor (for ABS). Smoothing PLA is also possible, but requires solvents that you really don't want in your living space, so should only be performed outside or in a fume hood.

[ClassicHasClass]

Some decals, too.

[Dodoid]

Some decals, too.

Planning to get decals for it. Already have designs, haven't ordered them yet.

[Dodoid]

Still having printer problems. Tomorrow, I guess.

[Dodoid]

Finally got the printer to do it's job. Still has some imperfections that didn't exist on the last printer, but the actual quality and fit is much better than the last (less rough, as computron requested).

A few imperfections, but generally better.

Fits an ODROID-XU4 (reccomended)

Or a Raspberry Pi 3 (not reccomended, you will need to use bluetooth and WiFi as the USB and Ethernet ports are blocked by the case)