It would be great to see some kits released too for those who might not yet understand the full potential of MicroRAX. Something simple like a custom humanoid or hexapod robot stand would be cool or perhaps a new Lynxmotion arm built primarily from MicroRAX. A 2-axis gantry like the one you created would also be great. I’m sure hobbyists will find many unique applications after they have some time to experiment but a kit might be useful to help people get started.
The beauty of extruded aluminum t-slot is that there’s really no limit to how it can be used. 80/20, a manufacturer or full-size extruded t-slot, has a gallery showcasing some of the many different applications their products are used in: 8020.net/8020-Stuff-Flip-Book5.html
Some of our machines at my work use the same material for the internal frame and then a custom shell for the outside. I work for a contract electronics manufacturing firm for the oil and gas industry that uses an array of different machines. One of the machines we have is an optical inspection machine which uses this material for the frame and camera head assembly.
I think kits using this material would be a great idea for future products.
This T-slot is intended to be “open source” and the number of available brackets and other hardware will likely grow fast. Once development is complete the dimensions and specifications for these parts will be made available so anyone can manufacture them. I hope to get my hands on some as soon at it’s available to evaluate the differences between the two.
I’m not sure if it’s possible but it would be very handy if “universal” hardware could be made that is compatible with both MicroRAX and MakerBeam extrusions.
I looked and could not find a dimensioned drawing. It is mentioned that it’s 10mm, I assume width of the extrusion. The plates I saw look like the holes are spaced the same as the width, 10mm. This is the same spacing we used on our plates. I think they will work for either extrusion.
Yeah this is good news. The plates I’m making will certainly work with the Mini-T extrusions. I’ve already ordered hundreds of the MicroRax extrusions. Am putting in my next order of plates for the servos, motors, etc. This should be ready to go in a few more weeks. 8)
Project update. I finally found a good source for roller wheels. I was in Menards last weekend and happened to look in the hardware area and… viola! There it was. The answer to my nylon roller problem staring me right in the face. And for a whooping $1.50 each… 8) They use bushing instead of bearings, but the price is right and they work pretty darn well to boot. In case you can’t read the number on the bag it’s 84252 and any Handi-Pack distributor should carry it. LOL
I’m really interested in these small-scale metric aluminum profiles. Two questions: will the extra parts that you’re making be metric as well? Also, have you considered integrating parts from companies like compact-technik.de? They’ve got some really neat compact-technik.de/pages/en/component-program.php components that could be useful, but are difficult to get because in North America.
The parts are metric. The holes are 10mm apart and the extrusions are 10mm wide. I went there and looked. It looks interesting, but I could not find any dimensions. I don’t know if the two are compatible or not.
While I haven’t been able to get CAD drawings (the owner doesn’t have them for release) there are dimensions on the price list. The list isn’t as convenient as proper CAD drawings, but it’s alright. Here is the price list (mixture of German and English) for the components: compact-technik.de/media/pricelist.pdf
(I’m looking into getting some sample parts to take the measurements myself. )
I’ve finally found some time to play around more with the MicroRAX extrusions and have been very pleased this far. I’ve used the extrusions to create a simple frame for a mecanum wheel robot I’m working on and I also picked up a few of the rollers Jim found and threw together a simple assembly to test them. The rollers work great and I’m very excited to use them for another project I’ve been planning involving a Lynxmotion arm.
I’ve created a new page on my site to document the various projects I’ve used MicroRAX with thus far and plan to add many more pictures as I continue to use these extrusions in my robots. I’m very anxious to play with some new brackets and hardware too. Any update on the estimated availability of MicroRAX parts through Lynxmotion?
I got the mecanum wheels from Fingertech Robotics. They offer “hobby” and “competition” versions of the wheels with the main difference being the stronger aluminum mounts and pins used in the “competition” version. It takes quite a bit of work to get the wheels to work correctly because they need to contact the ground equally and spin at the same speed which is not easy to do with cheap ESCs and gearmotors. I’m making progress and hope to implement a Bot Board and wireless PS2 controller in the final version. I actually started with this controller setup but was having problems with my custom mecanum drive code so I’m using a Spektrum transmitter/receiver temporarily.
I recently ordered some servo gears and rack from ServoCity to create a linear motion system using MicroRAX. The rack is a perfect fit for the 10mm extrusions and can bolt on directly using the same MicroRAX hardware. I built a small assembly for the Lynxmotion rotational base and added the rollers discussed earlier in this thread. To accomplish linear motion I mounted a micro-size servo with a small gear which I hacked for continuous rotation. Right now the servo is temporarily attached to the outside of the base with double-sided tape but I plan to mount the servo inside the base for the final design.
Below you’ll find a link to some pictures as well as a short video I created showing a test of the system. As you can see the rack and pinion system provides very accurate movement and can even operate at a significant incline. I’m very excited to reattach the arm to the base and get the entire system running. Progress has been rather slow as I wait for more hardware from MicroRAX but I’m excited to continue on this project as soon as possible.
