Bot of the Cloth

The Bot-of-the-Cloth.
Bird's-eye view of tool. All folded up.
This CNC machine borrows structure from your table. It folds! Also note the collapsing tent-pole construction of the cross beam.
It fits in a bag. The pen shuttle.
The BOC fits perfectly inside a Sandvik Coromant bag from IMTS 2010. A marker mounts in the shuttle, with the eventual goal of actuating it with a servo motor.
Motor sewn onto fabric. Transverse pulley set.
A DC motor is adapted to the fabric using a 3D printed part. The path of the cable makes the mechanism self-stabilizing.
Double idler pulleys. The corner tie-down.
One of the most personally interesting aspects of this project was sewing 3D printed components onto fabric. Tension is imparted on the fabric using nylon webbing and buckles.
Original cardboard box mockup. Initial sketches.
The mechanism (later named CoreXY) was first prototyped using thumbtacks and a cardboard box. An initial sketch of the Bot-of-the-Cloth.
Laying out the fabric on the floor. Sewing machine.
The fabric was laid out on my apartment floor. This cheesy little machine did all of the sewing work.
3D printing components Post-machining bearing seats
Many parts were 3D printed at the MIT Edgerton Student Shop. Printed pulleys were post-machined to seat bearings.
All of the pulleys. Motor mounted to 3d printed carrier.
A collection of 3D printed idler and drive pulleys. The motors came with gears attached to their shafts, which are press-fit into the drive pulleys.