The eggbot arrives as a box of parts, a lot of parts. I didn't take any pictures or videos before assembly but it's a little daunting to look at all of them. Fortunately, there is an excellent set of instructions in pdf form available. The instructions were well illustrated and very thoroughly written. Assembly basically went without a hitch. The toughest part was wiring but that had more to do 66 year old eyes and nerves than anything else. Plugged everything in and it worked as it should right away. Now, the learning begins and the easy part is over.

 

 

I had some spheres I'd turned a few years back, this one has a bee in flight on it that I downloaded from a library I found. Simple but I think it shows a lot of potential.

 

I bought the "ostrich" eggbot and I'm wondering if I may have been better off with the smaller one. There is a Christmas ornament globe  mounted and it's almost too small to put a pattern on. I like a small globe but may have to start making them a little larger to accommodate this tool. I don't have the pen mounted but it goes in that arm that is directly over the globe.

It's going to be harder than I thought to use a pencil, the machine is designed to use a sharpie and that won't work for some of the things I want to do with it. Anyway, that's where I'm at this point, I think the possibilities are very promising but I don't expect it to be a quick process. The kitchen table is a train wreck but it's mesmerizing to watch this thing draw.

 

Steve

 

 

Very Cool!

That is so cool. This is one of those tools where I just have to watch how others use it, don't think I'm smart enough to run one.

Great assembly work. Looks like a Rube Goldberg contraption. Glad it works for you. Is it programmable? 

59 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

That is so cool. This is one of those tools where I just have to watch how others use it, don't think I'm smart enough to run one.

 

Fred I get that, seriously I do. I'm not smart enough either, only I'm not smart enough to know I'm not smart enough.

 

Steve

15 minutes ago, Ron Altier said:

Great assembly work. Looks like a Rube Goldberg contraption. Glad it works for you. Is it programmable? 

 

 

Rube is my hero! LOL but you're right it is kind of. I am sure there are those who could write code to control the motors and the pen servo. For the rest of us there is a free program called INKSCAPE with which a person can draw a picture or pattern and it will generate the code, or path, for the pen to plot the pattern.

 

Steve

Pretty cool Steve...can (I'm sure you can), fashion an adapter either out of wood, an old Sharpy body, or even acrylic to center and hold a pencil? Not sure how the program would react with a different stylus but might be interesting to try.

6 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Pretty cool Steve...can (I'm sure you can), fashion an adapter either out of wood, an old Sharpy body, or even acrylic to center and hold a pencil? Not sure how the program would react with a different stylus but might be interesting to try.

 

Dave, the clamp can hold a pencil just fine, it's about pressure. The arm that holds the sharpie uses only gravity to apply pressure. More than adequate for ink but not nearly enough for a pencil lead. Even using a soft lead pencil the lines were just too faint to see very well. I'll figure something out eventually.

 

Steve

3 minutes ago, Steve Krumanaker said:

 

Dave, the clamp can hold a pencil just fine, it's about pressure. The arm that holds the sharpie uses only gravity to apply pressure. More than adequate for ink but not nearly enough for a pencil lead. Even using a soft lead pencil the lines were just too faint to see very well. I'll figure something out eventually.

 

Steve

OIC...can't tell well enough from the pic about the hinge(?) type on the stylus arm,  but possibly fabricate an aluminum strap overarm then using a spring out of an old ball-point pen perhaps to apply light pressure...just typing out loud here...

 

6 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

OIC...can't tell well enough from the pic about the hinge(?) type on the stylus arm,  but possibly fabricate an aluminum strap overarm then using a spring out of an old ball-point pen perhaps to apply light pressure...just typing out loud here...

 

Open to any and all ideas, thank you. I think I can use a rubber band maybe to pull down on the hinge a little. It's just going to be part of the learning process. How I normally do it is to make every mistake possible and when I  get done I can fix anything! LOL

 

Steve

Just now, Steve Krumanaker said:

 

 

Open to any and all ideas, thank you. I think I can use a rubber band maybe to pull down on the hinge a little. It's just going to be part of the learning process. How I normally do it is to make every mistake possible and when I  get done I can fix anything! LOL

 

Steve

My dad used to tell me "let others make some of the mistakes, you're not going to live long enough to make them all yourself'"...so I was just trying to take the pressure off you a little. Through the years with my mechanical background, I've learned there is nothing that has been made I can't render totally inoperable given enough time!

1 minute ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Through the years with my mechanical background, I've learned there is nothing that has been made I can't render totally inoperable given enough time!

I resemble that too

I like it already.  I am sometimes afraid to mess with something I know nothing about.  A lot of times it comes down to a saying a mentor of mine used to use.  "Go for it.  If man made it man can fix it".  I guess nothing ventured nothing gained rings true.