Finished building the Y-stage

This part was very simple and straight forward.

The only two problems I ran into while making the Y-stage was

  • That I did not know what “Flanged bearings” were – and it took me a while to find the <a href="part lists in the subversion archive. Once I had that it was simple to find a data sheet with a drawing on it.
  • [not MakerBot related] The lid for the superglue bottle had been glued to the plastic below. Had to find a Tongue-and-groove pliers to get it unstuck

Tips for other builders:

  • Try to insert the magnets from both sides before finding a small file to make the holes larger
  • If you are unsure what the part you are looking for should look like, consult the part list and the try to find a drawing of it – if you live in a country that isn’t native English speaking there is little point trying to ask others; unless they have made a MakerBot or similar before.
  • When adding the acrylic build surface to the wood start with the two screws that are diagonally to each other (if you would start with one side there is a rather large chance that the last screws won’t line up correctly) [see construction picture 3]
  • When putting in the last magnets, using a plastic plier (or some other non magnetic item) is easier than using a hex key 😉

Some images from the process:
All parts laid out before:

y-stage_parts

The flanged bearings are the white "tubes with a lip on"

Construction images:
y-stage_construction_1
y-stage_construction_2
y-stage_construction_3

Final result:
y-stage_construction_completed

Arrival of MakerBot

Got my MakerBot in the mail.
It is made in batch XVI (hint the batch number is etched into the wooden parts, unlike the serial number it is not printed on a label)

Decided I should name it Fermat (in honor of Pierre de Fermat)
Also stared reading the build instructions and consider if I should paint it or not … the decision is to not paint it for now, maybe try to give it some protective lacquerer later on (not a optimal plan – if you know you want to paint your – do it before starting assembly).

Important: If you have gotten a kit that includes a power supply. Make sure you verify that it is set for the correct operating voltage – if not you will release the magical blue smoke from it.

All parts of the MakerBot (deluxe kit, no plastics plus a heated build platform and a extra Plastruder MK 5 gear upgrade kit) laid out on my bed:
fermat_parts_unpacked