Please, please, please....

lol yes DJ we are all exited

The end of January is coming soon... please.... :)

I started a blog on this EZ-Robot adventure in the summer. It has been private, but i will be making it public shortly. It will explain what has been going on in my world - to share with you :)

So, before I unveil the inner thoughts of a crazy dude named DJ, I'll give you an update on the mystery of Revolution.

We had a few deadlines that have been missed - and we're on our fourth deadline now.

The first deadline was missed because we purchased a Makerbot Replicator 2 for prototyping. We could have purchased a few other 3D printers, but the Replicator 2 specifications were amazing for the cost. The lead time was originally only 4 weeks from our order date. That changed to 6 weeks, and eventually 8. So we spent most of our time waiting for the 3D printer to arrive at the lab. We did a great deal of software and 3D modeling - so our time wasn't entirely wasted.

So we created a second deadline...

The second deadline was missed because the Replicator 2 was not printing correctly. I gave the Replicator to our first Solidworks engineer, who had major issues printing. The printer would work at medium resolution (sometimes) and fail on high resolution (always). A few weeks went by without the ability to print any objects successfully. I had returned to the lab from being out of town for a few weeks. I took the Replicator 2 and attempted to diagnose the issue. I needed to determine if the Replicator 2 was broken, or it just generally didn't work. I phoned their support a few times and did not receive any useful help - they are very busy with support calls. I took the printer apart to see if there was a reason for the poor quality prints. It turned out that one of the stepper motor gears was too close to the stepper motor chassis and added a great deal of friction. This caused the stepper motor to "miss steps". I repaired the Replicator by spacing the gear from the chassis.

So we created our third deadline...

I was now able to successfully print one of their demos - we celebrated assuming the Makerbot Replicator 2 was working now! The second high quality print failed - and so did every consecutive print. The print would fail due to one of two reasons.

1. The object would not stick, warp, and loosen off the build plate. This would make a very interesting abstract art mess of PLA. Of course, this wouldn't happen until 2-3 hours into the printing process.

2. The PLA would stop extruding. The printer would move around, as if printing... But with no PLA. This also would only happen 2-3 hours into the printing process.

So, as you can imagine - we were very frustrated. We put nearly 100 hours on the printer in 4 weeks. And we only had 2 medium quality items to show for it. I continued to try different things to get the printer to work. We cleaned the extruder often... Aligned the build plate... Even used engineering tools to measure tolerances and verify angles of the printer's assembly to see if anything was out of whack.

Last week, after watching 3 hours of an 8 hour print - everything was going great! I was very happy and the object was looking "alright". It wasn't perfect, but it was alright... I left for dinner and a meeting. A few hours later I returned to a large mess of PLA. In fact, I returned to 5 hours of PLA being squirted into random areas of the build plate. Half of my object was there, under a huge mess of stringy hard PLA. Also, the printer was making some awful Dubstep noises.

At that point, it was easy to recognize that one of the stepper motors had failed. I performed a quick diagnosis by swapping the cables - and it turned out to be the stepper motor driver that failed. I phoned Makerbot support the next day and they asked for us to send it to them.

Our Makerbot Replicator 2 was shipped to Makerbot New York on Thursday January 24th.

So we now created a fourth deadline... This deadline is merely abstract - because we have no idea when our Makerbot Replicator 2 will be returned to us. Makerbot assured me that their product does in fact work, just not the one we had. I'm a bit skeptical and have been talking to 3D Systems about purchasing a professional 3D printer. However, the timeline on purchasing a 3D Systems Printer will take a few weeks - and we'll have the Replicator 2 returned by then.

In the meantime, we have been making some great use of our time by working on the software enhancements and 3D models. There has also been some amazing development on the business side - but I'm not able to release that information yet. I can say that there have been some amazing new members to the EZ-Robot Team. One is the ex CEO of a very large company. Another was one of the original advisors to the internet's largest online auction site.

These new team members are helping structure EZ-Robot into a real company Not to say that we haven't been doing great on our own! In order to scale and truly change the world, we need a little help. Internally, a lot has been happening in the company - not just fighting with our Makerbot Replicator 2.

In reflection to the issues we have experienced with the Replicator 2 - it wasn't such a bad thing. During the time of it not working, we have used our energy to complete other business related tasks. I'm always an optimist!

Looks like a bright horizon for EZ Robot Inc! How exciting! Way to go. ;)

It's been an honor to have been here near the beginning. Kinda like watching a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral!

Personally I feel really lucky to have discovered a Dj and ez robot for two years, and like many people I realized his dream of giving life to my robot despite not being a programmer. So I never tire of saying congratulations Dj for his project and thanks! :)

Thanks Dj, I think we're all optimist and exilted to see the result !

Hang in there DJ.... 3D printing is still young.... like the EZ-B platform ... evolving...

I purchased the Replicator dual head 6 months ago for my classroom.... the reality is you spend more time trying to get your models out of the thing than anything else.... but there is fun in the making... designing, developing... problem solving...

If something don't fit with 3D projects we just , redesign and reprint! Looking forward to your realising this part of the journey and will work towards getting my students interested as well.

And as for the Revolution we're havng fun in the waiting, the whispering, the cajoling ... lol.

You're rocking our world so roll with it!

I've enjoyed getting into the hobby of building or modifying robots using the EZ-B. One thing I've learned over the years with various telephone companies now that I'm a retired Bell Labs Sr. Engineer and wish to pass along to my peers here at the EZ-Robot community is the need for duplex services. I run dual routers using two different internet providers with two different web sites, I have a 20KW generator just in case the AC power fails, and now I am the proud owner of TWO EZ-Boards along with two WiFi boards. My odds of total failure have diminished due to backup processes being in place.

"So we now created a fourth deadline... This deadline is merely abstract" Nice, and well said, deadlines are very 20th century. The real makers just get the work done as they can, reality permitting. With superior project management software you never need to set a deadlines all are informed and and understand the process as it unfolds. If the entire process and its variants can not be quantified then an accurate deadline can never be set. For some deadlines make them feel in control yet others know deadlines were made for missing! Looking forward to what you can dream up, just don't get lost in the red/black ink leave that to the suits...