Lego CNC Project
LEGO CNC PROJECT
Lego genius Arthur Sacek just created another Lego CNC Project, a Lego CNC RCX lathe. The Lego RCX Lathe is extremely easy to program. You simply draw the shape you want to cut onto a sheet of paper ad the Lego RCX Lathe uses light senors to follow a line to create the shape. When the light sensor sees a dark color it moves the cutting tool, when it sees a light color it doesn’t move the tool. Using this technique Sacek is able to create very complex turnings in floral foam.
The Lego RCX Lathe is a “remake” of Artjur Sacek’s first LEGO CNC projects that worked with floral foam. The original machine was built in 2005 to be shown in an educational event. After the success of the lathe Sacek was inspired to create the LEGO Milling Machines.
Sacek is a member of Brazil’s ZOOM Education for Life, a 13-year-old company that is developing innovative learning projects in cooperation with LEGO Education. Sacek made his RCX Lathe using parts from an older Lego Mindstorms building system. Lego Mindstorms kits are being used in schools all around the world to introduce children to robotics. The latest Mindstorms kit is the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 building system.
LEGO 360° Milling Machine
Arthur Sacek didn’t stop building Lego CNC projects after his first success. He continued to develop new projects. He also built a new version of his LEGO 3D Milling Machine. It was developed to participate in the WRO 2011 – Abu Dhabi in the “LEGO Robotics Experts” area.
Sacek made several improvements to the design, but the most important improvement was writing the software to run under leJOS with a linked PC. Operating the machine under leJos allows Sacek to create larger more complex programs. Now there is no more file size restrictions imposed by the Lego NXT memory. All the data is stored in the computer and is sent out in small packets of coordinates to the NXT every loop. LeJos is a version of the Java programming language designe for Lego Mindstorm
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The Lego 360 degree milling machine can create complex 3D objects that were not possible before.
http://www.makermasters.com/diy-lego-3d-cnc-milling-machine
