Open source manufactured case for open source mpg guino
 

I now have a makerbot MakerBot Industries - Robots That Make Things. and will soon have several working mendels.
I would like to propose that someone design a printable case for the mpg guino.
In exchange for designing it and making it open source I would be happy to manufacture and donate a number (10?) to the original designer and 1 or 2 to anyone who made a meaningful change to the design. The designer would then be free to sell/ distribute as they saw fit.

Just a proposal.

For those interested check out thingiverse.com and RepRapWiki .
For those highly interested, I sell mendel parts.

Hmm, I got to see one of these up close an personal the other week. I don't know if I have the design skills to write a program for one, but I'll at least try to find time to look into doing such. Maybe get my code monkey friend and our CNC operator buddy to help...

Well, I don't need G-code, I can make that myself from a .stl using SkeinForge. All I actually need is a 3D model.

LCD Module Case by CatsWhisker - Thingiverse

May actually be a good start.

I'd design it myself, but 1) I'm crazy busy and 2) I have virtually no 3d modeling knowledge.

I will make a suggestion, that would be that when you make them, have them fit the MPGuino that DCB sells. I built one a while back (before he was offering them for sale) and it looks different than the one he has. All you have to do to see the number of different ones out there is look at the MPGuino wiki page. If you aren't careful, you will wind up with too many designs... stick to one, and let others work to it. You could make it slightly oversized if you wanted, but the screen/button holes should accommodate the most widely distributed MPGuino out there.

I would be willing to take a stab at a google sketchup case for the prebuilt (looks like one of the supported formats), won't be right away though, and I'm sure there will be some trial and error involved.

I am also looking at a revision to make it a little shorter (hide less dashboard), but will cross that bridge when we get there.

Too bad makerbot doesn't work with old milk jugs though :)

Makerbot can print from HDPE (milk jugs), unfortunately, they have to be ground up and extruded in to 3mm strand first, and I hear it is still a pain.

HDPE can be purchased in filament at HDPE (5lbs) - Plastic - MakerBot Industries

However, I'm looking at 100lbs of black ABS right now, so it is my material of choice.

And black is slimming...

If you can make some quick sketches I can draw up whatever you want in solidworks dremd.

It would be nice if we could target a more open cad model (i.e. sketchup), as that is what makerbot is targeting as well. I can sketch it up in sketchup, but then it's basically done :)

MakerBot Industries: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

EDIT: I probably should look at Blender since it is actually open source and not just free like sketchup

If you want to build in sketchup, I can import to Blender and Export as a stl no problem. Matters none to me.


But, yeah blender wold be better.

That would be great, but It's not about what I want (MPG guino is no go on my TDI) It is what "WE" or "THEY" want.

That said, my first guess would be a simple case that would make it installable something like a scangauge is . . . . . . .