Nov.25, 2012
Do you sometimes get tired of bringing laptop and your 3D printer in every event? Jarkko Moilanen did. The UltiController from Ultimaker is a nice option but has limitations for example unable to slice and such. That's how he started with his little experiment: he made his own control unit by mounting a tablet to Ultimaker frame.
His old ExoPC, a Tablet PC, that uses Windows 7 Home Premium as its operating system, has 11.6" TN-panel touch screen (1366×768 resolution), a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 processor with fan. After installing Cuba and python tools he made a desktop launcher for Cura. It took not long before he got his desktop.
Mounting ExoPC to frame needed some modifications to Ultimaker, as well as bolts and plates to hold the tablet in place. When all are done the tablet fits nicely inside Ultimaker frame.
Moilanen got a satisfactory result, now he doesn't need a laptop while showing 3D printing.
(Images credit: Jarkko Moilanen)
As it was stated above ExoPC hardware is not the most powerful setup. Slicing with it is painful, it's slow as compiling C++ with P4. Cura works with WeTab OS, but complains something about mismatching library versions. That could be fixed by syncing lib versions with the versions Cura wants to use. Using the "all in one package" requires that the setup is raised from table level a bit higher. It's really annoying to lower your self to screen level to see what's happening. All in all, I'm happy with the mod:
- I have "all in one" package
- I can slice and dice (gcode)
- I can easily retrieve models from web
- Easily change my 3D printing software (currently Cura) to another one
- Play radio while waiting slicing to finish
- Play / show video clips
- I still need two power sockets
Watch the video below showing Moilanen's DIY "UltiController".
Source: ossoil
Posted in 3D Printer Accessories
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