This all-in-one personal fabricator can 3D print, laser engrave, mill and more.
While the 3D printing world has provided us with some pretty remarkable creations thus far, from robots extruding structures to machines whipping up chocolate treats, one Austin-based startup may be raising the bar even higher. That’s because the Techjango team is about to unveil one of the slickest projects yet. Even better, we’ll be able to get a firsthand look right at Maker Faire Bay Area.
Dubbed Makerarm, the gizmo is exactly what it sounds like: a personal fabrication system packed into a sleek robotic arm that sits on your desktop. The modular device, which boasts a build envelope of 32 inches and an arm reach of 30 inches, is equipped with interchangeable heads for various applications that extend well beyond just 3D printing. These include plotting, engraving with a 500mW laser, milling at incredibly high speeds, PCB assembly for electronics, among several others. Future plans even entail pick-and-place capabilities using suction, electromagnetic or gripper heads.
We first saw Techjango’s proof-of-concept nearly a year ago — you too can see it in this video. And from the looks of the clip, though in very rudimentary form, it would appear to be driven by some sort of Atmel based Arduino.
The Makerarm is being billed with many of the components one would expect from today’s desktop 3D printers, including a 10″ Z-axis. What’s more, it comes with features like auto-leveling (particularly useful as it’s meant to be mounted), Wi-Fi for wirelsss connection, and even expandability through add-on compartments. The impressive gadget is built around the versatile ATmega2560 MCU, tasked with handling the I/Os and motion control.
Safe to say after watching its teaser reel, the Makerarm is surely not what most of the DIY community has been accustomed to with conventional Cartesian or Delta-style machinery. While most of the project remains under wraps, we can’t wait to see it in action — that’s for sure!
Atmel | Bits & Pieces 