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- Written by Simon Arthur
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
Ghost Robotics, one of our customers, has been in the news lately because of their Ghost Minitaur robot. What makes this robot special? It's the first first direct-drive, legged robot, and it's available for purchase!
Gavin Kenneally of Ghost Robotics told a little bit more about the Ghost Minitaur via e-mail:
The motors have custom motor drivers and a microcontroller to control them. The legs each work in a plane (2 degrees of freedom), but the body has a sprawl angle, so the left/right pair are not in the same plane.
There are lots of gaits that it can do, and this is ongoing work. So far, bound, pronk, trot, and crawl are possible.
It can even open doors despite its small size.
The video shows more of Ghost Minitaur doing a variety of other tricks like jumping and climbing a fence!
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- Written by Super User
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
Big Blue Saw's biggest sale ever runs from Monday, September 19 through Wednesday, September 21 thanks to 3 of our most supportive communities of customers. Big Blue Saw is offering discounts on the following THREE materials:
- 0.1875 inch (4.8 mm) thick aluminum 6061
- 0.06 inch (1.5 mm) thick stainless steel 304
- 0.125 inch (3.2 mm) thick aluminum 5052
Each of these materials represent something special to 3 online communities who have helped Big Blue Saw grow over the years.
0.1875" Aluminum 6061
This is the material of choice for the waterjet cut parts of the FarmBot Genesis. Interest in this robotic gardening machine is growing, and Big Blue Saw can help you build yours by cutting the brackets from aluminum.
Of course, this material is useful for a variety of other things as well: electric cycles, lightweight tools, aircraft parts and bottle openers to name a few.
0.06" Stainless Steel 304
This decorative and tough material makes an excellent keyboard plate for enthusiasts assembling their own custom mechanical switch keyboards. This group needs their keyboards made THEIR way and Big Blue Saw's online quoting and ordering system lets them easily order one off parts.
Stainless steel is renowned for its luxurious appearance and corrosion resistance, making it a great material for decorative pieces like jewelry, charms, and outdoor signs. And recently I read in the RioBotz Combat Robot Tutorial that stainless steel 304 has outstanding mechanical toughness as well.
0.125" Thick Aluminum 5052
The Astromech community is dedicated rebuilding and re-imagining the droids of the Star Wars universe. We first started to see some sales from this group back in 2013, but it wasn't until 2014 when CAD designs for various droid parts became publicly available that sales really took off. Word spread that if you wanted foot shells waterjet cut, Big Blue Saw was the place to go. We waterjet or laser cut a number of different designs over the years for individual hobbyists who want to bring their robotic creations to life.
The uses for aluminum 5052 extend way beyond robots, though. Its high strength, weldability and formability make it a great choice for lighting fixtures, control panels, and costumes, plus many of the other things on our list of waterjet cutting applications.
The Sale
During the sale, all orders placed online for the sale materials will automatically receive a quantity discount.
Let's take a look at what this means for some of our loyal customers.
A set of farmbot brackets, waterjet cut from 0.1875" thick aluminum 6061 is normally priced at $178.00 in quantity 1, but during the sale will be just $142.70, or 20% off.
The Astromech battery box, waterjet cut from 0.125" thick aluminum 5052, normally costs $112.80 in quantity 1. During the sale, this will cost only $77.50, a savings of 31%.
The sample 60% size openable Alps-compatible keyboard plate, waterjet cut from 0.06" stainless steel is usually $92.10 for quantity 1, but during the sale is just $42.00. That's 54% off the regular price!
Order real parts made from your designs by uploading them now to the online quoting system. Remember, the sale runs from Monday, September 19, through Wednesday September 21.
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- Written by Simon Arthur
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
You've seen our parts in action grabbing asteroids, fighting robots, and growing lettuce. But Big Blue Saw helps keep the world clean as well.
We were contacted by Saiful Islam about a part needed for a soap plodder, which is a type of extrusion machine for making soap. Our services were needed to keep a production line working.
In the photo below, you can see the part Big Blue Saw waterjet cut to keep the production line running. It's a round plate, about 4 inches in diameter, where the soap emerges from the plodder. The hole in the center is shaped to match the profile of the soap.
The shape varies depending on the product being made. Here's another shape we made.
Here's an overview showing a little more of the process.
The finished product, after cutting and molding.
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- Written by Super User
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
Here's a project that brought Big Blue Saw closer to the final frontier.
Sherman Lam from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) wrote to tell us about how some of the parts from a recent order from Big Blue Saw are being used:
We’re developing a robotic gripper for the Asteroid Redirect Mission. This component (we call it a microspine) will have hooks embedded in it that adhere to rough surfaces. The [image] shows one subassembly of the gripper. This image only shows one microspine unit in the assembly but in flight, there will be 20ish microspines in the assembly. The spacecraft will have 1000s of these hooks on each gripper and it’ll use these grippers to grab onto a boulder.
Big Blue Saw helped by waterjet cutting some of the microspine 6061 alloy in 0.063 inch thickness. Here's a peek at JPL's raw design as it was uploaded to our online quoting system.
For more information about the Asteroid Redirect Mission, check out the video below.
Even if you're not bringing rocks from the heavens back to earth, Big Blue Saw can still help with your projects. Check out our gallery of example parts and upload your design to our online quoting and ordering system today.
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- Written by Super User
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
Aluminum sculpture in Ville de Montbard, France. Photo CC BY-SA 4.0 Elekes Andor.
Regular customers know that we like to announce our sales early. This way, if you have an idea for a metal part, you have a chance to get the design ready before the sale begins. Today we're giving the details on the sale coming up later this month.
From Monday, August 15, through Wednesday, August 17, Big Blue Saw will be having a sale on waterjet cut 6061 alloy aluminum in 1/8 inch (0.125") thickness. Any order placed online during the sale will automatically receive a quantity discount.
6061 alloy is made by combining blending pure aluminum with silicon, copper, magnesium, and chromium in just the right amounts. This alloy has a very useful combination of strength, toughness, corrosion resistance, and weldability. You will find aluminum 6061 used both for decorative purposes, like signs, as well as structural ones like on the BattleBot Bite Force, or the Space Shuttle. The Pioneer Plaque, humankind's message to extraterrestrials, made to last through milennia of space travel, was made of aluminum 6061.
Remember: the sale starts Monday, August 15. Get ready early by verifying your design in our online quoting system.