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Carolin Liebl and Nikolas Schmid-Pfähler have returned to their hometown Offenbach, Germany, after 3 weeks spent in the FabLab and CSAD. They have been busy, started experimenting with the Formlabs 3D printers and 3D scanners. They made charging pods for their Sibling robots and printed nature-inspired shapes.
They gradually realised that they were not interested so much in printing 3D sculptural forms as they were in inventing their own way of printing objects with plastic, preferably recycled from faulty prints or plastic bottles. They came up with the idea of making a mobile robot that would at times extrude rough plastic shapes in its environment. They started by removing the printhead from a discarded Makerbot Replicator, drilled new holes in the extrusion nozzle and designed a control circuit. After successful testing they put the assembly on a custom mobile chassis with vibrating legs.
In parallel they also made from scratch a prototype extruder, a precursor for the printing engine of their larger robot. They got inspiration from the great plastic recycling instructions provided by Precious Plastics. After a couple of days working in the metal shop at CSAD the extruder was ready to go. It is a heated tube inside which an endless screw rotates slowly, pushing melting plastic towards the extruding end. Early tests took place on the last evening of their residency, where the screw spun, the heaters heated and pieces of plastic bottles melted, a promising start!!
Carolin and Nikolas will continue working on the plastic sculptor robot in their studio, ready for exhibition for the Cardiff EASTN-DC Festival in March 2021. We are really looking forward to see them and their robot!
============ Welsh • Cymraeg ===============
Cwblhawyd y preswyliad cyntaf
Mae Carolin Liebl a Nikolas Schmid-Pfähler wedi dychwelyd i’w tref enedigol Offenbach, yr Almaen, ar ôl treulio 3 wythnos yn y FabLab a CSAD. Maent wedi bod yn brysur, wedi dechrau arbrofi gydag argraffwyr 3D Formlabs a sganwyr 3D. Fe wnaethant godennau gwefru am eu robotiaid siblingiaid a siapiau printiedig wedi’u hysbrydoli gan natur.
Yn raddol, sylweddolon nhw nad oedd ganddyn nhw gymaint o ddiddordeb mewn argraffu ffurfiau cerfluniol 3D ag yr oedd ganddyn nhw mewn dyfeisio eu ffordd eu hunain o argraffu gwrthrychau gyda phlastig, yn ddelfrydol eu hailgylchu o brintiau diffygiol neu boteli plastig. Fe wnaethant feddwl am y syniad o wneud robot symudol a fyddai weithiau’n allwthio siapiau plastig garw yn ei amgylchedd. Dechreuon nhw trwy dynnu’r pen print o Makerbot wedi’i ailgynhyrchu a oedd wedi’i hepgor, drilio tyllau newydd yn y ffroenell allwthio a dylunio cylched reoli. Ar ôl profi’n llwyddiannus fe wnaethant roi’r cydosodiad ar siasi symudol wedi’i deilwra â choesau sy’n dirgrynu.
Yn gyfochrog gwnaethant hefyd greu allwthiwr prototeip o’r cychwyn, rhagflaenydd ar gyfer peiriant argraffu eu robot mwy. Cawsant ysbrydoliaeth o’r cyfarwyddiadau ailgylchu plastig gwych a ddarparwyd gan Precious Plastics. Ar ôl cwpl o ddiwrnodau yn gweithio yn y siop fetel yn CSAD roedd yr allwthiwr yn barod i fynd. Mae’n diwb wedi’i gynhesu lle mae sgriw diddiwedd yn cylchdroi yn araf, gan wthio plastig sy’n toddi tuag at y pen allwthiol. Cynhaliwyd profion cynnar ar noson olaf eu cyfnod preswyl, lle troellodd y sgriw, cynhesodd y gwresogyddion a thoddi darnau o boteli plastig, dechrau addawol!!
Bydd Carolin a Nikolas yn parhau i weithio ar y robot cerflunydd plastig yn eu stiwdio, yn barod i’w arddangos ar gyfer Gŵyl EASTN-DC Caerdydd ym mis Mawrth 2021. Rydyn ni’n edrych ymlaen yn fawr at eu gweld nhw a’u robot!