Why we BOT the printer-bot

As I mentioned before, the missing wheel on the dishwasher causes it to derail every night.  There is always a crash of dishes, and frequent howls of frustration from the boys.

Troy offered a reward of 100 points to design and make a new wheel.

Tristan is rattling off fluent design-speak while I nod and say uh-uh.  Troy already designed the wheel and now Tristan is finishing up the axle.

It takes 10 minutes or so to print. The print head melts a plastic thread and then lays down layer upon layer of crosshatched threads.  It chirps and whirs like R2-D2.

The third attempt at the axle was the one that worked.  Now the basket glides in as smooth as silk.

Tristan is so happy and excited with his success.  If he isn't telling us that he's so happy he could explode, he's sitting and sighing beatifically. (I got that word from Little Women about a surpassingly happy child.)