Glass Etching 3D Printer

thingiverse

Dubbed jokingly the "LesterBot", this printer is little more than an XY table with a swiveled glass cutter moving over a glass surface, etching in a pattern that grows deeper with time. Topological features are possible to accomplish, making it a limited form of a 3D printer. Other materials, cutters, or deposition heads may be fitted if they are light enough. The motors are plastic and also act as the bearings for the rollers, which accept bands of the correct length. The control is frequency to position mapped audio on the left=x and right=y channels out of the stereo jack of any mp3 player, phone, or computer. GCode is converted to musical frequencies by a custom written program. Power is provided through USB cable from computer, phone, or battery pack. Audio frequency to servo position conversion is done by three ATtiny85 Arduino processors which only cost $2.50 each. With this simplified printer one can make many things, yet the parts are either printable or scroungeable. This makes it a perfect third world printer, one that any student with access to a 3D printer can assemble themselves. It may even be possible to etch the parts for another printer on this printer (maybe)...