3D printer actually controlled by a Raspberry Pi

Several people have claimed to have a 3D printer ‘powered by a Raspberry Pi’. It has always turned out that this meant that there was a Pi in there somewhere, but actually it was being controlled by something else and the Pi was being used to send the raw data to the controller.

Now, in what appears to be a first, Owen Jeffreys has developed a custom 3D printer which is really 100% controlled by a Pi. He’s produced all the parts of the machine himself and has developed a custom circuit board which is linked to the Pi via ribbon cable.

You can read more about the printer by viewing this Vimeo page. Thanks to Mark Pearson for spotting the story over on 3dprint.com. Take a look at the video below for a tour around the printer.

Raspberry Pi integrated with Capistrano and a traffic light

Randy Westergren uses Capistrano to deploy projects across multiple server environments. He wanted some way of visualising the deployment process and decided that the best way to go was to get hold of a full-size traffic light and use a Raspberry Pi to link the two together. As you do. He’s written up the project on his blog – take a look.

Raspberry Jam comes to Covent Garden, London

Frank Thomas-Hockey is organising a Raspberry Jam in Covent Garden, London, on Saturday 29th November. The event is due to take place at Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust on Stukeley Street which is easily accessible from a bunch of London Underground stations including Holborn and Covent Garden itself. It’s completely free to attend and it will run from 2-5pm. You can register here on Eventbrite. It’s a great opportunity to find out more about the Pi and see them in action!

Raspberry Pi CPD for teachers comes to Wales – Picademy Cymru

The Raspberry Pi Foundation have announced that they are to hold a special Picademy in Wales on 19th and 20th November. The event, which is seeking to attract Welsh primary and secondary teachers, is to be run at the Sony factory in Pencoed. Promised within the event are: a tour of the factory, hands-on Raspberry Pi workshops, cross-curricular resource generation, and Welsh cakes! Apply for a place here or visit this page for more information.

Maker store Phenoptix to close after 11 years in business

Online maker retailer Phenoptix is to close its doors after a successful 11 years of operation.

Speaking on his blog, Ben Gray has explained that he wants to devote more time to his family, and so has taken a role at Openmicros (home of Ciseco). Ben’s highly successful product, the meArm (pictured), will still be sold by Phenoptix but the majority of the stock has transferred to Jamie Mann’s Makersify maker store (see video below).

I’d like to wish Ben all the best in his new role and hope that he gets loads of time to spend with his family!