RoboBeast: A Toughened 3D Printer

An anonymous reader writes "Carpenter Richard van As shot to fame a year ago thanks to a 3D-printed prosthetic he developed to help him get back to work after an accident. A year later, RoboHand has helped hundreds of people who can't afford expensive prosthetics, and has been used all over the world. Now van As is back with RoboBeast — the 3D printer built to be extremely durable, designed specifically for taking RoboHand into conflict zones and areas of extreme poverty."

Comments

Recursive solution

[tomhath]

Kudos to him for his work. Better for someone to just get this done instead of waiting for governments/UN/etc to finally get around to talking about it

Re:Recursive solution

[PopeRatzo]

Start the clock running to when he gets shut down for violating some patent or TOS. The problem is he's not using his invention to get rich.

He's taking money out of the mouths of medical device industry CEOs. Can't let that happen.

Re:Recursive solution

[Anonymous Coward]

If he designed it with any sort of patented mechanism, he will get the medical device Goon squad sicked on him fast. Even if you design stuff now in a vacuum you still get sued. Even if you do win it ruins you. Capitalism would be nice to have, but the Medical industry is an example of why we can't have nice things.

80/20 Series Extruded Aluminum

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like what they used to build it. Good stuff. It's lightweight, can be put together like legos, you can even buy it right from Amazon.

Downside is that while the extruded aluminum frames are pretty inexpensive, the joints and specialty attachments are really expensive.

Re:80/20 Series Extruded Aluminum

[Anonymous Coward]

Kind of ironic considering how 3D printing is supposed to be one step away from a Star Trek replicator...

Re:80/20 Series Extruded Aluminum

[Anonymous Coward]

Kind of ironic considering how 3D printing is supposed to be one step away from a Star Trek replicator...

Yes.. But only by idiots who don't actually use them. Journalists, salesmen, forum trolls..

This could prove interesting.

[allaunjsilverfox2]

If it proves sturdy enough, it could be used for quick and dirty parts durning disasters. Or even in situ repairs where humans can not go due to danger. For a example, a squad of drones carry the device itself and a explorer bot. And then you can print off custom tools needed for that situation.

Old news. DeltaMaker already did it.

[Thantik]

Deltamaker already did it, and is a much cooler machine to look at. No frame adjustments needed, automatic bed leveling, T-slot and makerslide based frame which is going to take a load of abuse before anything could actually damage it.

Re:Old news. DeltaMaker already did it.

[Cutterman]

I'm South African and I've built stuff for Africa (a paraplegic turning frame).

It has to be very simple and very very tough as well as repairable by the village blacksmith.

I reckon van As knows more about it than you or Deltamaker.

The Cutter

King Zarkon

[SleepyHappyDoc]

is gonna be pissed!

Re:Old news. DeltaMaker already did it.

[Anonymous Coward]

I have nothing against the Deltamaker and I'm sure its extrusion-based construction makes it tough, but it doesn't quite look "toss it in the back of a Land Rover and drive off into the bush" tough.

Just sayin'.

This is what technology needs to be about.

[erfunath]

Making tech accessible to people in isolated parts of the world that need it more than I do is what excites me about tech. I used to live and work in the Alaskan bush, and dust threatened to kill just about everything with an on switch during the summer, and extreme cold during the winter. Now if only we had more people focusing on making reliable, effective, and modern tools like this, and fewer working on free-to-play games designed to suck out your money/identifying information/dignity/life force.

innovation in healthcare

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep, pretty much it just takes one person who is very determined to get it right. Health care organizations do everything in their power to encourage passivity in the client and stupidity with healthcare workers. It's a real nightmare being in healthcare, and this really just proves that individual contributions are very needed and valuable.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Old news. DeltaMaker already did it.

[drewm19801927]

I'm surprised they based their designs on linear slides.... it looks like the next generation of RepRap will do away with them entirely: http://reprap.org/wiki/Wally

"the Chuck Norris of printers"

[Half-pint HAL]

The article refers to it as "the Chuck Norris of printers," which is odd, because it's not wooden at all....

Re:Old news. DeltaMaker already did it.

[Half-pint HAL]

I'm surprised they based their designs on linear slides.... it looks like the next generation of RepRap will do away with them entirely:

You're forgetting that the main purpose of this project is to produce something durable and reliable. The RoboBeast design is based on RepRap designs that have been tried and tested to destruction, and then improves on them. Linear actuators are also far more reliable than non-linear ones, and far easier to stabilise (remember, this is resistant to a high degree of movement).

Besides, traditional manufacturing has had non-linear robots for ages, so they are a known factor -- if it was that easy, first-gen 3D printers would have used them.