The Automated Build Platform

Today we built the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic’s Automated Build Platform. The ABP has a heated base and a motorized conveyor belt so we can print multiple copies of 3D objects if we want to. Here’s a picture of the parts for the heater board and conveyor belt motor.

Wiring the motor was easy: a little bit of solder, heat shrink over the connector to make it pretty, done.

Sticking the foil on the heater board was a little tricky to do neatly but not too bad.

This is one of the rollers for the conveyor belt. A rubber tube had to be cut precisely to 50mm pieces to make the rollers. For some reason, the rollers attract a lot of cat hair. Moistened disposable wipes got them clean again.

Here are the laser cut parts for the body. Most of these pieces are cut from plywood and some are cut from plexiglass. I wiped the ash from the edges using disposable wipes.

Here’s the body assembled with the motor and timing belt inserted. At this point I noticed that I attached the motor to the wrong side of the platform. The instructions explicitly stated that it needed to go on the left side but I was holding the unit upside-down when I read that. Oops.

All better. The faceplate makes it cool.

Fully assembled with heater board, gears and conveyor belt in place.

The dinosaur is not a 3D print by the way. We just like dinosaurs.