Cyberbrick is a (mild) challenge right at the start. It’s just a box, not even a big one. Crammed in that box are several dozen bits of “stuff”. The “stuff” is in plastic bags that only partially explain what they hell they are. There’s minimal documentation and all the “handholding” details are on-line. (There’s plenty on line!) Thus, the challenge begins as soon as you open the box and try to make sense of the ensuing mixed up pile of “stuff“.
It’s just a box of “stuff“.
The “stuff” is a kit with sufficient parts to make one “thing“. You can buy a larger kit that has parts to make two “things“. Here’s where 3d printers are weird. You’re asking “what thing”? The answer is “whatever damn thing you choose”.
I bought the “double kit” because why not? I recommend that for anyone. Yeah it costs more but then you’re not screwed if you lose some bit or widget.
I realized immediately that everything is tiny and therefore must stay corralled. Given the slightest chance, various bits will fall off your table and disappear into an alternate dimension. Make yourself a workspace or you’ll lose half your shit before you even get started!
Trust me on this, if you can avoid losing shit you’re already halfway to complete success. Dump this complexity on the kitchen table and your cat will eat half of it before you’re done picking out the filament colors for your 3D prints!
In my case, I setup a magnifying glass with light to see the “stuff”. I have owned it for several years and used it for various other projects. You might not need that. Ya’ whippersnapper!
I also ordered a “kit” of tiny screwdrivers… which made me happier than a set of screwdrivers ought. They’re all the same and they all come from who knows where in China. I selected a “58 in 1 Cordless Eectric* Precision Screwdriver with 50 Magnetic Bits“. (*It is not I but them that misspelled “electric”!)
This kit is massive overkill for a single Cyberbrick project but just look at it… it’s shiny and colorful… it’s practically a trout lure for humans! How can you resist? I only used a few bits (and I didn’t need the electronic driver at all) but I have no regrets. Also, if you’re a normal human with a normal collection of normal tools you do not have the tiny hex and Philips bits you’ll need.
After that, get some smallish boxes. As a 3d printing nerd I have plenty of them lying around. (3d filament comes in boxes of just the right size!)
Put the stuff in the boxes and work from there. You’ll thank me.
Then, because nothing makes a nerd happier than procrastinating, I printed a super elaborate box to hold my “double kit”. There’s several of these lurking on MakerWorld and I picked one of the more elaborate ones. It has little nesting containers for every little bit and bauble. Some of the compartments I never quite figured out, others are obvious.
Just look at it! Is that not the most groovy “parts kit” you ever saw? (This is what it looks like after I used half of the kit.)
The kit came with some decals. I slapped one on the top of my little parts box.
Incidentally, the “parts kit box” (which is not necessary at all and merely me being a huge dweeb) requires six dowel pins for the hinges. It only needs six dowels and they’re cheap. Unfortunately, buying from MakerWorld requires shipping and I break out in hives paying shipping that costs as much as some cheap little hardware. So I bought 80(!) dowel pins from Amazon (it cost $6.99 for a box of 80 pins). I reasoned that I’d probably like to make more hinges in the future so why not? Here’s the link: M2 X 30mm Stainless Steel Dowel Pin. (This is entirely unrelated to the Cyberbrick project itself, the pins are just for the box.)
Have I dithered enough? I think so! Remember, this is for fun, it ain’t a job! Take your time y’all!
Plus, I’ll actually make progress in the next post.
A.C.
P.S. If you click an Amazon link and buy anything, I get a small kickback. Thanks. It’s not limited to things I pointed out (like obscure stainless steel dowel pins). If you had an enormous and expensive purchase in mind, start with my link and I’ll get beer money. Don’t fret that I’m selling you out to corporate overlords to make a buck. I’m only including links because it’s my way of “paying it forward”. I like when I see some guy doing a cool thing and he specifies he used part/tool XYZ and I can just click on the link and say “yeah, I’ll take one of them”. It’s not a big money thing. I cleared something like $4 last month. 🙂