RepStrap 1 0 Seedling

RepStrap v1.0 "Seedling"

This page is under construction. The machine should be fully documented by February 2008.

Mechanics

The mechanics are how you move the toolheads around in 3D space.

One of the things we've striven for in this project to achieve modularity with our designs. The mechanical system is one system of a RepRap machine that is suitable for this. For a normal RepRap machine you have 3 Axes: X, Y, and Z. Regardless of which axis you place the build area on, and which axis you place the toolheads on, it all functions nearly identically regardless of which electronics system you are using.

Read more on the mechanical system, or skip to the recommended McWire Cartesian Bot.

Electronics

The electronics are the brains of a RepRap system.

The electronics system is another area that is suited for modularity. There are basically two interfaces between the various systems: the computer/RepRap interface and the electronics/machine interface. These are generally the same regardless of which system of electronics you are using.

Read more on the electronics system or skip to the recommended Arduino based electronics.

Toolheads

The toolheads are the things that actually lay down the build material.

Currently, there is only one toolhead that is ready for general use, the Thermoplastic Extruder. However, eventually we would like to support many different toolheads from simple markers for drawing to support material extruders to paste extruder to lasers for cutting/sintering to wax deposition heads for doing metal casting. If you have a toolhead that does not heavily stress the cartesian bot, then it would be well suited for the RepRap platform.

Read more on the toolheads system or skip to the Thermoplastic Extruder.