If you’ve been paying attention to the Make: Blog recently, you would’ve noticed a cool little machine called the CupCake CNC. It’s produced by MakerBot Industries (http://www.makerbot.com/), and is built off of the RepRap project (http://reprap.org/).
Makerbot is a company run by Zach Hoeken (http://www.zachhoeken.com/), Bre Pettis (http://www.brepettis.com/), and Adam Mayer.
RepRap and CupCake CNC have a few things in common. They are both Additive CNC machines. That means that they take a piece of plastic (usually ABS, but sometimes HPDE) and push it through a nozzle. That nozzle has a heating element in it that turns the plastic into something you can mold and shape. The nozzle/ plastic pusher is called an extruder.
The extruder, also known as the print head, is mounted on the XYZ translation stage. This stage is made of three stepper motors, which are motors that have a little accuracy in their movement.
The translation stage is moved by the electronics assembly. In past versions of the RepRap, these electronics have included the PIC microcontroller, the Arduino (which was the brains for the first version), and the Sanguino (which is embedded on the Generation 3 motherboard). These all do the same basic job; the only difference is capability. With the PIC, usage is hard, you need a serial to TTL logic convertor, and the compiler is wonky on most machines. With the Arduino, you are limited to smaller sized projects. With the Generation 3 electronics, you can print anything that can fit in your machine.
The CupCake CNC wrapps up all of the messy details of a RepRap (finding and buying parts) and puts it in a nice shell. The CupCake CNC includes everything you need- The electronics, the frame, hardware, mechanics, everything- and puts it in an easy to assemble and use package.
You know what the coolest thing is, though?
You can print the parts for a RepRap in a CupCake CNC. That makes it a RepStrap- a machine that “bootstraps” the furtherment of the RepRap.
The whole point of the RepRap and CupCake CNC projects is to bring rapid prototyping and production to the masses. That idea even takes root in the name- RepRap stands for Replicating Rapid Prototyper. And, to top it all off, the design in open source, which means anyone can share, modify, sell, or exploit the design. I could mod it and make my own model. You could, too. Again, the entire project comes back to production. The robot (RepRap Darwin, that is. He’s the official v1) is designed with affordability in mind. Almost all of the machine can be reproduced in another machine. The only thing you need is some metal rods, metal ball chains, stepper and regular motors, electronics, and some nuts and bolts. Even then, the ability to produce the electronics in the machine is being worked on.
So, take the time to build a RepRap or CupCake CNC. It’s fun, and it serves a greater purpose, too. Once you have one, it becomes all the more easier for another person to get one- with your help, of course. Also, with a 3D printer, you can make your own stuff, eliminating the need to buy the same product.
At the last time I checked, it cost about $400-$500 to build a RepRap. A CupCake CNC costs $750 to $950, depending on which kit you buy, and the same machine costs $2,250 to buy fully assembled. Those figures may seem steep, but compared to the other 3D printing project, Fab@Home, which costs about $3000, it’s pretty inexpensive. And, compared to a commercial 3D printer, which can run you $30,000 to over half a million dollars, it’s down right dirt cheap.
This is the first article of many about 3D printing. I can’t wait to see what you print!
Posted by ziplock666 
