14 DAY TRIAL // You all know about 3D printing. Probably. Definitely, if you're reading this. You also probably know about the Raspberry Pi credit card-sized mini PC, given how often I've written about it.
But do you know about the Raspberry Pi 3D Printer? Well, if you don't, then you're about to learn.
A level 3 engineering student, by the name of Owen Jeffries managed to connect a Raspberry Pi to a 3D printer in such a way that the former controls the latter.
Usually, 3D printers use Arduino-based electronics, or something along similar lines. Jeffries decided to add another star to the already long list of Raspberry Pi achievements and inventions though.
It wasn't a simple matter of just connecting two pre-existing devices though. Jeffries spent eight months developing and building the printer. He not only had to design the hardware, but the software also.
It's different from other, past attempts by other people, which only had the Raspberry Pi sending buffered GCODE commands.
Admittedly, the current Raspberry Pi Printer is only a fourth as fast as normal printers, but new stepper motors and gears can fix that. It's not a limitation on the micro PC's part.
Speaking of which, the Pi can be linked to a laptop, monitor, TV or other display, but can work without it. The video below should explain more.