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house in Mons

(c) Guy Pommares

We were asked to turn a Mendel 3d printer into a computer controlled router.

So we designed and printed out a mounting bracket made of ABS plastic.

To enable a quick change of router head we started with a thumblock cam.

This would exert pressure on a gate which was to hold the Dremel router head.

This bracket was then mounted on the X axis carriage of the printer.

Then the router head and its bit-changing collet could be accessed easily and quickly.

The Opto-stops were replaced with mechanical ones which were also printed out.

A kill-switch and a power connector were printed and mounted in a shared housing block.

A custom caliber solved the problem of setting the bit at an exact length.

A tupperware tray was adapted to house and shield the electronic boards.

The resulting machine could then be used to make parts for robotic quadcopters.

As it is it can be rapidly switched between router and hot-wire cutter.

SolidWorks Design ready to be converted to G-Code and sent to our computerized router.

Pairs of parts cut on the MendDremel are glued to form basic elements for the central cross brace assembly.

Interlocking parts preassembled into supporting cross structure for mounting motors.

Schematic concept for how interlocking parts can be glued together to form a solid frame.

Design for a spherical helicopter with short interlocking parts cut on the 20cm MenDremel.

Basic half part for one arm of the combined central bracing element and motor mount.

Spherical helicopter assembly ready to receive electronic flight control components.

Operational MenDremel assembly with optional vacuum system for gathering foam particles.

From 3d Printer to CNC Router