Difference between revisions of "Team:Cambridge-JIC/Design"
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<p>Below is a list of software programs that we have found useful for developing open-source hardware, supplemented with other commonly used programs:</p> | <p>Below is a list of software programs that we have found useful for developing open-source hardware, supplemented with other commonly used programs:</p> | ||
<ol> | <ol> | ||
| − | <li><p>OpenSCAD – a free, open-source, parametric CAD platform used to design 3D objects for printing (available from http://www.openscad.org)</p></li> | + | <li><p>OpenSCAD – a free, open-source, parametric CAD platform used to design 3D objects for printing (available from <a href="http://www.openscad.org" class="blue">here</a>)</p></li> |
| − | <li><p>Tracker – a free, open-source, video analysis and modelling tool. Used to track moving objects in videos and extract data (available from http://physlets.org/tracker/)</p></li> | + | <li><p>Tracker – a free, open-source, video analysis and modelling tool. Used to track moving objects in videos and extract data (available from <a href="http://physlets.org/tracker/" class="blue">here</a>)</p></li> |
| − | <li><p>Cura 3D – a free, open-source 3D printer interface from Ultimaker. Used to control printer settings (available from https://ultimaker.com/en/products/cura-software)</p></li> | + | <li><p>Cura 3D – a free, open-source 3D printer interface from Ultimaker. Used to control printer settings (available from <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/products/cura-software" class="blue">here</a>)</p></li> |
| − | <li><p>Fiji - a free, open-source image processing and analysis platform. Particularly useful for microscopy (available from http://fiji.sc/Fiji)</p></li> | + | <li><p>Fiji - a free, open-source image processing and analysis platform. Particularly useful for microscopy (available from <a href="http://fiji.sc/Fiji" class="blue">here</a>)</p></li> |
| − | <li><p>Inkscape – a free, open-source vector graphics package. Extremely useful for 2D design followed by linear extrusion (available from https://inkscape.org/en/)</p></li> | + | <li><p>Inkscape – a free, open-source vector graphics package. Extremely useful for 2D design followed by linear extrusion (available from <a href="https://inkscape.org/en/" class="blue">here</a>)</p></li> |
| − | <li><p>DesignSpark – a free electronics design software for PCB prototyping. Has an online library of over 80,000 parts (available from http://www.rs-online.com/desig-nspark/electronics/)</p></li> | + | <li><p>DesignSpark – a free electronics design software for PCB prototyping. Has an online library of over 80,000 parts (available from <a href="http://www.rs-online.com/desig-nspark/electronics/" class="blue">here</a>)</p></li> |
| − | <li><p>Scribus – a free, open-source graphics software. Particularly useful for publishing (available from http://www.scribus.net/)</p></li> | + | <li><p>Scribus – a free, open-source graphics software. Particularly useful for publishing (available from <a href="http://www.scribus.net/" class="blue">here</a>)</p></li> |
| − | <li><p>OpenCV – A FOSS released under a BSD license that provides a library for image processing software (available from http://opencv.org/)</p></li> | + | <li><p>OpenCV – A FOSS released under a BSD license that provides a library for image processing software (available from <a href="http://opencv.org/" class="blue">here</a>)</p></li> |
</ol> | </ol> | ||
| − | <p>For a detailed list of free, open-source software programs available | + | <p>For a detailed list of free, open-source software programs available, look <a href="http://www.datamation.com/open-source/open-source-software-list-2015-ultimate-list-1.html" class="blue">here</a>.</p> |
</div></div></section> | </div></div></section> | ||
</html> | </html> | ||
{{:Team:Cambridge-JIC/Templates/Footer}} | {{:Team:Cambridge-JIC/Templates/Footer}} | ||
Revision as of 16:20, 9 September 2015
3D Printing
© All About 3D Printing, 2015
The majority of the microscope parts were printed using a MakerBot Replicator Mini and an Ultimaker 2. These have RRPs of around £1,200 and £1,300 respectively, making them the most expensive aspect of the microscope project. However, this is relatively cheap in the context of standard laboratory hardware and once purchased, it can also be used for plenty of other projects.
The printer has 200 micron layer resolution. This is sufficient for the detail of the microscope chassis, optics bench parts and stage. The much finer detail of the Epi-illumination cube means that a printer with higher resolution may be necessary. As the name suggests, the printer is relatively small. It has a build volume of 10.0cm W, 10.0cm D and 12.5cm H. It comes with its own printing interface software, and is compatible with .stl files.
OpenSCAD Design
We are using an open-source software called OpenSCAD to design our components. Here the focus is on the CAD aspect, making it extremely powerful for designing machine parts. It is not an interactive modeller, and instead reads a script and compiles a 3D image. This allows configurable parameters to be programmed in to the designs.
When creating lens holders for the Optics Bench, this became extremely useful as the parameters for each lens could be filled in individually. A single design was readily modified to make each individual component. The software outputs .scad files, which can then be converted to .stl for printing.
