I've been working on the directions for assembling the new ShapeOko 2 (a hobby-level, open source CNC machine which can be used as a mill/router or 3D printer or be fitted out w/ a drag knife, &c.) for a while now, and have recently begun up-dating the diagrams so as to make them interactive, and to make them function better on tablets w/ high resolution displays and which have browsers which support zooming in / magnification.
The files are on docs.shapeoko.com --- thus far I've finished the diagrams for Wheels & Idlers and Carriages, and have begun on the Z-axis.
Unfortunately, the file sizes have been increasing quite a bit (I'm using Inkscape and publishing the files as SVGs) and this should be dealt w/ by putting them on a server we have more control over and using SVGZ compressed files, but I was curious as to what people thought of the idea of making the diagrams interactive.
Here are links to the ones which are done thus far:
The first two are pretty simple:
http://docs.shapeoko.com/content/tPi...203-02-100.svg
http://docs.shapeoko.com/content/tPi...197-02-100.svg
The next two are variations on a theme:
http://docs.shapeoko.com/content/tPi...S20021-100.svg (arguably this one should come first, since the second adds parts)
http://docs.shapeoko.com/content/tPi...S20022-100.svg
And it's in the Z-axis that the file sizes really ratchet up:
http://docs.shapeoko.com/content/tPi...S20029-100.svg (warning ~15MB)
http://docs.shapeoko.com/content/tPi...S20028-100.svg
The diagrams became an issue 'cause some of the new purchasers haven't been as mechanically inclined in the past, so weren't able to visualize ``missing'' hex nuts, washers and other hardware.
You can see a full page on the ShapeOko 2 in the April _Popular Mechanics_ if you're not inclined to click on the links.
Anyway, I was curious as to what other CNC machines do for assembly instructions and whether or no people think this sort of thing helps or not, or if anyone has any suggestions as to how they might be further improved upon.