Oh interesting, I hadn’t thought of using those but they look neat. Do you have a particular one in mind?
I’m thinking that this would be quite difficult, but I’d love to see it done
I think that would work fine, but from the quick chucks that I’m seeing you could probably do it from the side of the router without needing a particular location or to access the bottom of the sled. Wait for today’s kickstarter update, I’m going to extend the z-axis travel in part to make changing the router bit easier.
I think that you could absolutely do something like this, but my guess would be that if you wanted to paint the whole wall it would be faster to spray it by hand. If you want to paint a mural or a precise pattern then I think it should work.
I’m doing my best to make sure that it is as hackable and improvable as possible so this should also be possible. I think the biggest issue with something like glue is that since the sled slides over the surface it could smear it.
the only thing i can think of is to have the glue dispensed from a side of the sled and only apply while trailing the sled as it moves in the direction opposite the applicator.
It would require that an offset be programmed to account for the X and Y delta from center of the applicator.
It would also require that the pattern be programed in such a way that the glue is applied with the sled moving in one direction only. Alternatively, programmed to apply the glue dot matrix style.
First time backer here, thanks @bar and the whole team.
Been following Maslow for a few years now and decided this was the right time for me, both for having the workshop space and also the new features that Maslow4 has.
My use-case is a bit mixed but might be interesting. For sure will be doing the usual diy workshop projects, cutting plywood, 3d cutting foam etc, but also thinking about marking and cutting cloth.
So potentially looking at making a pen holder attachment and maybe a low power laser or hot knife for cutting thin paraglider cloth
I’m a mechanical engineer, product designer and for the last few years have been working with arduino and esp32 to develop my own products so if there’s anything you guys need help with let me know as I really appreciate the openness of the project and the community.
I think that this is a super interesting and exciting use case. Once we get the basic features dialed in, that’s something I’d like to explore too. I think that maybe the hardest part will be holding the cloth still. Maybe a vacuum bed is needed or something like that.
A vacuum bed made with a thin sheet of porous MDF will work but it will also suck the sled down to the table too.
However, if all they were going to cut is the zero porosity nylon used for paraglider wings then the vacuum may not penetrate the fabric at all. another option is rollers or slides on the sled bottom that would create a gap in the sled and break the vacuum there. You could get away with them in this case as there isnt any gaps that the rollers or slides would have to traverse
Zero-P fabric is incredibly slippery stuff. Makes for an efficient wing but is hella hard to pack.
That’s what I was thinking too. Because the material is so slippery I think if it’s cut at a high angle close to vertical it would probably just glide over it quite well.
I thought of a vaccum table originally but to be honest don’t think it will be necessary. Just some clips to hold and stretch the corners at the edges or even double sided sticky tape.
Was also thinking about the order in which panels are cut out of the cloth could be used to try to keep most of the structural integrity.
For instance cutting the panels from the bottom of the sheet first so that gravity keeps stretching the cloth.
I’m quite excited about the potential of doing this because paragliders are so big, one airfoil section at the root of the wing can be as big as 2 or 2.5 meters long so I don’t think there’s any other solution that comes even close to Maslow when being able to cut something that big in one piece. Even if it didn’t cut it and just marked it with a pen it’s a huge help
I would think you would want everything to remain firmly in place until completed because the sled will probably dislodge the cut pieces. I would give the vacuum table serious consideration.
Performance Designs made my skydiving canopies. Take a look at this factory tour video. They show off their laser tables which also have vacuum:
This could be a problem. You would want to cut the fabric in its natural, relaxed state. If you were to stretch the fabric, even a little, you will induce a tension in the fabric. Once cut from the base fabric, the trimmings will distort as that tension is released and they probably wont be the size or shape that you want.
Also, I would look at a low power laser rather than a blade. The less contact with the material, the better.
Paragliders. I’ve done a couple before but cut by hand. Will try in the future to make bigger ones.
True. It doesn’t stretch very much at all to be honest, but once I get around it I’ll give it a test. It doesn’t need to be production grade, just a bit better than hand cut. I’m keen to try the simplest solution first and only increase cost and complexity if needed.
This is an idea that many people have made over the years, but nobody has made
it work. The cushion of air ends up being inconsistant enough to be a problem.
although, if you are cutting fabric with a laser, you may be able to accept
variation in the Z direction, but what would that air do to the fabric as it’s
cut?
In theory, the fabric should be held very still by the depression of the work surface, and the same air that is sucked through the fabric should be blown inside the sled, so as to cancel the suction effect and prevent the sled from detaching. But I think that the sled should have a cavity inside, with micro holes at the base.
I’m not sure if it’s needed to go that far, you could get a similar effect just by tilting the whole table closer and closer to the vertical.
Also, if one was to build vacuum table for paraglider type cloth quite likely almost none of the pressure would make it through the cloth as it’s virtually impermeable to air when the cloth is new.
A vaccum test is actually how you measure the airworthiness of paraglider fabric.
getting the exact right amount of airflow is hard, the table will have a large
area sucking down, so you can’t just have that same amount of air going through
the much smaller area of the sled.
Cloths used for paragliders or kites are very stable in my experience. The thread count and the weave is one thing, but the treatments applied after weaving is what really makes a difference. They are made to have minimal stretch to keep the designed airfoil shape through the different windspeeds, and you have to apply quite some force to make them stretch. The same applies for modern sailcloths.
Easiest way to distort these cloths through stretching is on the bias of the weave. But then they wrinkle and it is obvious that cutting them in this state will be a problem.
Of course you can stretch the cloth with enough force applied. But it is not really a big issue in my opinion. Some care when fixing the cloth to the table and this should be under control. Leaving some tabs is my idea for avoiding the cloth curling or dislodging as the Maslow cuts.
Honestly dont make it all open source. Simply not providing the electronic circuit board files will stop most companies from duplicating it IMHO. Maybe just make the hardware open source? require a non compete agreement and some kind of payment any electrical schematics.
The original maslow with ridgid router had known hardware issues that caused fires, and I can’t believe there are still companies selling that version.
I dont’ think there is anyone smart enough to modify the Maslow4 to make it better. There wasn’t anyone that modified the original maslow to be better electronically IMHO. Sure there were hardware improvements like dedicated z axis, but the only attempt to upgrade the board to the DUO was a disaster. It was released with known kinematic issues, and then fixed latter.
Realistically, what would be smallest bit I could use to with the Maslow4 to cut fine detail over a large area? I know the precision goal is +/- 0.5mm but could I with confidence do fine detail work (~2mm) over a 3ftx6ft area?
If all of that is possible, what resources does this community recommend for feed rate and bit type? Thanks for reading.
some people used 1/16" bits with the original maslow.
feed rate and bit type depend on what you are cutting.
Maslow 4 is supposed to be more accurate than the original , especially in the corners. we wont’ know how good it is till it is shipped and people start using it.
If you like to tinker be an early adopter, of if you are like me and find that process annoying then wait at least a few months till the bugs are worked out.
