August 2020 STEAM Camp

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Narrative

From website posting, we have a narrative:

What are the critical tools that we need for effective collaborative design? These tools involve, first and foremost – Collaborative Literacy – a mindset and a practical process – that enables people to work together for the common good. Beyond these soft skills is a set of hard skills and interdisciplinary technical knowledge that enables one to come up with creative and effective design.

On the first day:

  1. we provide an introduction to Open Source Ecology and collaborative design – for a transparent and inclusive economy of abundance. We discuss the potential of open source, collaborative design to transform the world’s economy from proprietary to collaborative – with an accompanying cascade of positive change throughout the world. 1 hour.
  2. We dive right in from the theory to creating industrial productivity on a small scale: building our own 3D printers from scratch. Each person builds a rapid prototyping 3D printer from scratch, and runs a first print on the same day. The 3D Printer is called D3D Universal – a 3-axis machine with quick-connect tool heads. This is the machine that we will use to build 2 more tool heads throughout the rest of the program.

On the second day – we dive into the design aspect:

  1. a crash course on FreeCAD – an open source computer-aided design (CAD) tool. In one hour, we will teach you how to go from an idea in your head – to a basic design workflow – and end up with an object that you can print readily on your own 3D printer that you just built. Throughout the program, you’ll be able to practice your CAD design skills with other simple designs in FreeCAD as you build your skills. All the things you design will be practical tools tools or parts that you then print and use – and upload online so anyone can benefit from them or improve them.
  2. The practical designs of the second day is pen plotter. You can either print out existing designs that we have provided – or you can modify them – or you can create your own. The pen holder turns your D3D Universal into a CNC pen plotter for drawing pictures or circuits. You will learn how to control these machines with the same Universal Controller as the 3D printer.
  3. Generating control code by hand with a super-basic lesson on g-code generation. This is useful whenever you want custom operation, whenever software for the specific task you need is not available, or whenever you are doing something so simple that it's easier to generate code by hand.
  4. Generate control code using software such as Inkscape, or FreeCAD. These can be used for drawings or to generate tool paths for your plotter or CNC hole drill.
  5. Because D3D Universal has a height sensor, you will learn how to level the workpiece automatically for plotting.
  6. Simple exercise - draw something simple in Inkscape, and convert it to a plot while doing Marlin-based auto leveling.This kind of workflow is important because you can use it for many different purposes: a vinyl cutter, a CNC torch table with automatic leveling + operator adjustment.
  7. Flow of Day 2: start with designing something basic for a 5 minute print job - of a bit holder. Move into Inkscape and plotting, with insights of how to use the plotter for drawing, printing cutting patterns onto a metal substrate, and circuit plotting. The idea here is to master digital control of 2-dimensional motion, which serves as a basic for multiaxis machining - such as with a screw machine
  8. Last task: set up a print at the end of the day for the CNC Drill Attachment.

The intent of these exercises is to learn how these machines work, to the point that you can design and build a modified, larger, or more robust version that can be used in production. While the tools built are entry level and focused on education, they have a clear path of extensibility and scalability that allows them to become workhorse machines. With the tools and skills gained, and a support community to help – we encourage people to start open source microfactories that contribute to a circular economy based on global, collaborative design. For example, you can print our professional grade printer – D3D Pro – using the D3D Universal – so that you can bootstrap readily to real production. Or, you can even print parts for a CNC Torch table for cutting metal parts. In fact, our build techniques can be applied readily to make heavy CNC machines for milling steel.

On the third day – we move on to electronics

  1. Aand make more fabrication tools while we are at it! We start with 3D CAD to design or modify a CNC drill attachment, which we will then print and add to our toolchest of open source CNC tools.
  2. Then we will use the CNC pen plotter that we built on Day 2 – to plot circuits on copper-clad board. We can use Inkscape to do this. Or we can use KiCad. Or we can draw the circuit by hand. We will then etch this circuit in a bath...
  3. and then CNC drill holes in it so we produce a circuit board.
  4. We then add components to this board and make a functional, minimalist Arduino Uno microcontroller.
  5. We will then use this controller to switch large loads using a solid state relay...
  6. ...to deomonstrate that this self-made microcontroller actually works and does what you program it to do. We will program the arduino using simple programming code to switch on a wall light or fan or any other electrical device – demonstrating that we have the power to control kilowatts of electrical power automatically – using a microcontroller that we built ourselves – using a 3D printer and plotter that we made together from scratch.
  7. We will learn how to produce the circuit design in KiCad open source electronics software,
  8. and how to export files for circuit plotting and drilling from KiCad – so we can plot and drill anything we want on the D3D Universal machine.

Flow of day: learning basics about circuits - why and where they are important - and how to go about making a circuit if you need one in your project. Kicad, Inkscape, and manual generation of files. CNC hole drilling.

On the fourth day – we move on to the Pi Fablet

A computer tablet based on the Raspberry Pi 4B+ microcomputer. We will design and print the enclosure, add a camera lens and touch-screen display, wire it all up – and make a functional, practical touch-screen tablet intended for every-day use. We will even learn to program a simple camera app by the end of the 4th day! The intent is to have this become part of a continuing and collaborative effort to make a practical product that can be produced anywhere in the world. The advantage of open source design is that the Fablet will never die – because you can modify it for ever, replace parts, and create new functionality using its powerful 64-bit quad core processor running at 1.5GHz. This is an example of eco-friendly design, where lifetime design can keeps this product from ending up in a landfill. We will use a Raspberry Pi 4B quad core 1.5 ghz wuth 4GB RAM – a powerful base for a practical tablet. We are including a 7″ touch screen, a Camera v2 8 megapixel module capable of 4000 pixel horizontal resolution (4K) to work with, and a battery pack. These parts are all included in the STEAM Camp admission.


Learning Goals and Outcomes As a result of the 4 day STEAM Camp, we expect that participants have an opportunity to gain:

Basic proficiency in designing parts and assemblies in FreeCAD, the leading open source 3D computer-aided design (CAD) modeling application Practice in a collaborative design process in which projects are broken down into small parts, prototyped rapidly using a 3D printer, and documented. Introduction to a process of designing, 3D printing, prototyping, iterating, and documenting as a coordinated team towards designing practical products Ability to convert 3D designs into successful 3D prints by understanding printing parameters to genearate working printing files Ability to build a 3D printer and 3D printer extruder from scratch. Basic practice in working collaboratively as a team to solve relevant problems while teaching and learning from one another Understanding of the Universal Axis and Universal Controller system and how to apply it to building different CNC machines Understanding how to start and update part libraries of 3D CAD design Ability to coordinate collaborative design work by using a work log, wikis, cloud editable documents, and FreeCAD for 3D design A basic overview of how to approach a design problem starting with a concept, formulating requirements, doing technical design, and evaluating the result Basic understanding of how a microcontroller circuit works, and ability to build a basic microcontroller from a processor chip and discrete components Basic understanding of how a CNC circuit mill works, and the ability to build a circuit mill spindle starting from a motor Understanding how to generate toolpath files for plotting drawings and circuits, and for milling and drilling materials Entry-level proficiency in designing and prototyping circuits in KiCad, and transferring those designs to copper-clad boards via CNC hole drilling and etching of copper clad boards Basic practice of soldering components to make circuits Basic understanding of how to design and build a computer tablet from a small microcomputer board, touch-sensitive LCD screen, and battery pack. An improved appreciation of the potential of collaborative design to transform the economy from proprietary to collaborative Introduction on how to upgrade and scale small Universal Axis-based CNC machines such as those built in this STEAM Camp to production-grade machines for the distributed economy Access to a community of individuals committed to open source product design and development Relationships and friendships with others who are interested in a livelihood based on open source microfactories fueled by open source design Ongoing collaboration with other STEAM Camp participants on projects dedicated to the common good


Narrative Summary

Day 1

On the first day – we provide an introduction to Open Source Ecology and collaborative design - for a transparent and inclusive economy of abundance. We discuss the potential of open source, collaborative design to tranform the world’s economy from proprietary to collaboratve – with an accompanying cascade of positive change throughout the world. We dive right in from the theory to creating industrial productivity on a small scale: building our own 3D printers from scratch. Each person builds a rapid prototyping 3D printer from scratch, and runs a first print on the same day. The 3D Printer is called D3D Universal – a 3-axis machine with quick-connect tool heads. This is the machine that we will use to build 2 more tool heads throughout the rest of the program.

Day 2

On the second day, we dive into the design aspect – with a crash course on FreeCAD – an open source computer-aided design (CAD) tool. In one hour, we will teach you how to go from an idea in your head – to a basic design workflow – and end up with an object that you can print readily on your own 3D printer that you just built. Throughout the program, you'll be able to practice your CAD design skills with other simple designs in FreeCAD as you build your skills. All the things you design will be practical tools tools or parts that you then print and use – and upload online so anyone can benefit from them or improve them.

The practical designs of the second day is pen plotter. You can either print out existing designs that we have provided – or you can modify them - or you can create your own. The pen holder turns your D3D Universal into a CNC pen plotter for drawing pictures or circuits. You will learn how to control these machines with the same Universal Controller as the 3D printer – by uploading new software, generating control code by hand, or using software such as Inkscape, KiCad, or FreeCAD to generate tool paths for your plotter or mill. Because D3D Universal has a height sensor, you will learn how to level the workpiece automatically for plotting.


The intent of these exercises is to learn how these machines work, to the point that you can design and build a modified, larger, or more robust version that can be used in production. While the tools built are entry level and focused on education, they have a clear path of extensibility and scalability that allows them to become workhorse machines. With the tools and skills gained, and a support community to help – we encourage people to start open source microfactories that contribute to a circular economy based on global, collaborative design. For example, you can print our professional grade printer – D3D Pro - using the D3D Universal – so that you can bootstrap readily to real production. Or, you can even print parts for a CNC Torch table for cutting metal parts. In fact, our build techniques can be applied readily to make heavy CNC machines for milling steel.

Day 3

On day 3, we move on to electronics - and make more fabrication tools while we are at it! We start with 3D design to design or modify a CNC drill attachment, which we will then print and add to our toolchest of open source CNC tools. Then we will use the CNC pen plotter that we built on Day 2 - to plot circuits on copper-clad board. We will then etch this circuit in a bath, and then CNC drill holes in it so we produce a circuit board. We then add components to this board and make a functional, minimalist Arduino Uno microcontroller. We will then use this controller to switch large loads using a solid state relay to deomonstrate that this self-made microcontroller actually works and does what you program it to do. We will program the arduino using simple programming code to switch on a wall light or fan or any other electrical device - demonstrating that we have the power to control kilowatts of electrical power automatically - using a microcontroller that we built ourselves - using a 3D printer and plotter that we made together from scratch. We will learn how to produce the circuit design in KiCad open source electronics software, and how to export files for circuit plotting and drilling from KiCad - so we can plot and drill anything we want on the D3D Universal machine.

Day 4

On the 4th day, we move on to the OSE Pi Fablet - a computer tablet based on the Raspberry Pi 4B+ microcomputer. We will design and print the enclosure, add a camera lens and touch-screen display, wire it all up - and make a functional, practical touch-screen tablet intended for every-day use. We will even learn to program a simple camera app by the end of the 4th day! The intent is to have this become part of a continuing and collaborative effort to make a practical product that can be produced anywhere in the world. The advantage of open source design is that the Fablet will never die - because you can modify it for ever, replace parts, and create new functionality using its powerful 64-bit quad core processor running at 1.5GHz. This is an example of eco-friendly design, where lifetime design can keeps this product from ending up in a landfill.

Expected Outcomes

  1. Day 1: Good overview of OSE's vision (summarized in Vision, collaborative design process, roadmap for enterprise scaling of 2020 from STEAM -> Summer X -> The World's First Collaborative Incentive Challenge. Not trying to be haughty here - we emphasize how the Challenge is different from any other to date. That is NOT an overstatement, and we should make that clear: the distinction between a challenge where people compete, vs collaborate. From FIRST to HeroX - everything that at least I know of is competitive (not collaborative), undocumented (but could be collaborative, such as inside a corporation), or both, and I would love to hear of examples to the contrary. Successful print on the first try. We have a well-defined checklist and quality control procedure (need to improve documentation of it) - and we can do a final dry quality control for the electronics prior to making all the connections prior to final install and wiring of control panel. We can take all the components, and verify in a 5-30 minute procedure (including part replacements if needed) that all components are working. All electronics are tested prior to shipping kits, and we can verify that nothing was damaged in transport using a Final Five Minute Control Panel Test. Then when we wire everything up, correcting direction of axis motion only takes a few minutes. Once motion on 4 axes is verified (includes check of extruder direction via control panel) - the first print is guaranteed to succeed. Period. This is a procedure that all instructors need to master to provide a seamless experience, and to teach the process to participants.
  2. Day 2: Printer Calibrations: Retraction calibration; filament feed calibration; perpendicular (skew) calibration; alignment of head parallel to bed and data point collection; how to modify menu to say My Name D3D Universal.
  3. Day 3: KiCad lesson: KiCad Arduino stripboard - make a proper PCB - plot and drill.
    1. KiCad workflow overview. Setup of project and KiCad interface. What version of KiCad to use for OSE and how to install it.
    2. How to draw a schematic by starting with a voltage source, wire connections, an SSR, and a load such as a lightbulb.
    3. How to insert more complex components - the 328p chip example
    4. How to add through holes that will be turned into a drilling file
    5. How to export a schematic
    6. How to produce and export a layout
    7. How to produce and export a CAM file (gerber). Is there any other alternatives here?
    8. How to import the design into FreeCAD
    9. How to generate toolpath for Marlin, either via FreeCAD or FlatCam.

BOM

Followup

Hi Participants,

Thank you for registering for the Open Source Microfactory STEAM Camp - glad to have you on board. First of all - which location will you be attending? How did you find out about this event? What are your learning goals?

This will be a collaborative learning experience, and we start right here. Please start by downloading or testing OSE Linux v1.0 - the software suite that we will use:

https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Linux#Download_and_Install_OSE_Linux_Live_ISO

Please read more about this in our FAQ:

Feel free to sign up to our OSE Workshops FB Page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/398759490316633/

Next, if you are participating in the live or remote event - bring a camera and download a timelapse app - we recommend Open Camera - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera&hl=en_US. We want to capture as much documentation, time-lapses, build pictures - and the OSE Workshops FB page is where we post updates and during-event pictures.

In the  meantime, please peruse the D3D Universal Page about the 3D printer: https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/D3D_Universal

If you are ambitious - please start learning FreeCAD. We have tutorials 1-3 that get you started:

https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/FreeCAD_101#Lesson_1:_OSE_FreeCAD_Tutorial_1

Please let me know if you have any questions. Glad to have you on board.

Can you fill me in a little more on your learning objectives, and how you found out about the STEAM Camp?

Thanks,

Marcin

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