Previous posts for this project:
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Description
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #1
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Guide: Setting Up the Raspberry Pi 2
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #2
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Review: Bare Conductive Touch Board
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #3
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Guide: Stepper Motors with Gertbot
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #4
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #5
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Guide: Controlling NeoPixels with the Raspberry Pi A+/B+
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #6
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #7
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #8
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #9
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Guide: Capacitive Touch with Atmel's AT42QT1070 Touch Sensor IC
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #10
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Guide: Magic Lamp with wireless charger, Adafruit Trinket & NeoPixels
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #11
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #12
- Sci Fi Your Pi: PiDesk - Project Update #13
Project Update
I started working on the lift assembly this week. After figuring out how to mount everything to the desk, I designed a piece meant to hold the screen and attach it to two threaded rods capable of lifting it.
The piece was designed in Sketchup after I had measured the size of the nuts used on the threaded rods and the width of the screen assembly. This is the result:
There are two slots to pass the threaded rods through and to keep the nuts in place, and four holes meant to screw the piece to the bottom of the screen assembly. By having the nuts locked in place, turning the rods using a stepper motor will result in the assembly going up or down.
The next step was to print the piece. Something I expected would go rather smoothly ... I was wrong. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong:
1) Slipping: one of the timing belts (X-axis) started slipping, resulting in inconsistent results. Perhaps the result of the high summer temperatures resulting in looser belts ?
2) Running out of filament. Annoying, but luckily, I had a spare roll. Prints will no longer be white, but light blue now!
3) Nozzle clogging. Due to incorrect bed levelling. I placed the nozzle to close to the build platform, not allowing enough material out of the nozzle. Fixed by levelling more accurately.
I hope I can resolve the slipping issue as soon as possible, so I can print te piece and start putting together the lift assembly! And even though the print failed, I was able to validate most of the measurements based on the first layer.