I made an app that can hackishly control a MakerBot! Code is here. Clone via Git, open and compile with XCode 4.
I say “hackishly” because it only works on the X-axis right now and it only supports absolute coordinates. Eventually, I want this to become a full ReplicatorG implementation so you won’t need a computer to control a MakerBot.
You need a Redpark serial cable and EITHER a provisioned iOS device and developer program membership OR a jailbroken iOS device and modified XCode. I have the latter.
If you want to help the development, feel free to fork the repository and do any dev work you want! This is a great resource to use. I really do need help with this because my coding skills are less than adequate.
Can it start a print from an SD card? That’s the main thing I would want to do with it. Also, Serial over Bluetooth (compatible with Bluetooth Mate-equipped bots) would make it a lot more useful, though if I get the cable, this might be a good use for that Gen 1 iPod touch I’ve got lying around unused… is the app compatible with hardware that is stuck on iOS 3? That would be way better than the Gen4 interface board.
Well… It doesn’t do much yet. Right now, you can only move the X-axis.
I’ve been building the app for 4.2 and up, but it may work for iOS 3.
Whatever you do, don’t buy the cable expecting the app to be on the App Store tomorrow.
I’m still getting the hang of how the S3G codes work, so it will be a long time till this is complete.
Bluetooth will probably never happen.
Printing from SD is a good possibility, but I have to get the app to work at a basic level, first.