S100 - The Arduino Starter Kit - Project 03

Love-O-Meter! In the video you will see the results I got from the project. The sensor doesn't change very quickly, like I had originally expected it to... I watched the serial monitor a lot during the testing phase... I also modified the temperature variables in the code quite a bit... The temperature range settings I got to work are less drastic than what was recommended.


S100 - The Arduino Starter Kit - Project 02

Project 02 : Spaceship Interface

In this project, I was introduced to the basics of digital input and output, writing code, programming, and specifying variables.  The kit came with this super-glitzy-gold piece of paper to help me set the mood for the action scene of my sci-fi movie - "ENGAGE HYPER-SPEED" (per the instructions).



I have been utilizing arduino programs for the past year or so, but have never really sat down to learn what everything means. Today, that world opened up to me. While the majority of the coding for this specific project was laid out for me, it was extremely helpful to learn what each function means and some of the "grammar" of coding (; and // for example).

S100 - The Arduino Starter Kit - Project 01



YES, the Arduino Starter Kit is packaged with just as much thought as each of the tutorials inside. I am blown away by how thorough this kit is. In just one tutorial, I feel like I've learned more than I did all last year on my own! Don't get me wrong - I definitely learned a lot last year - but never in such depth. It goes to show - sometimes it's worth spending the money on a "professional." Thank you, Mr. Arduino Starter Kit. 

STEP ONE: 

My first interactive circuit, using a switch, a resistor and an LED:






Series Circuit:




Parallel Circuit: 





... and, OF COURSE, a little bit of playing around got me a big green letter-C. 



S100 - Prusa i3 - Custom Aluminium Frame - Part 2

Engraving more logo-love: I CNC machined it. 
 I ended up engraving one side with a larger logo pattern and the other with a smaller variation. Despite the minor alignment issues, I'm pretty happy with the results! The pattern isn't exactly what I had originally wanted (due to careless vinyl application during the etching step) but I'm really happy with the results. MAN - that would have taken a long time to do by hand! I love technology (today). 


 #TOTD (tools of the day)



... And a quick look at it partially assembled. 


I <3 CNC machines  <--- T-Shirts coming soon ;)

S100 - Prusa i3 - Custom Aluminium Frame - Part 1

 This week I designed a pattern to go on the frame of my Prusa i3. I am doing two different surface treatments - etching and CNC engraving. Today, I cut the vinyl sticker on the vinyl cutter for the resist and etched the aluminium.


I had to piece some of the edges together due to scale in Sure-cuts-a-lot being different than Rhino. 
Frankie helped me mix up a batch of root kill, salt and water to etch the aluminium. After agitating in the solution for about 5 minutes, we took out the frame and the results are below. 

Rinsing off all of the reddish-brown build up from the solution. 
Peeling the resist off of the frame was tedious but well worth it for the results. 
I'm really pleased with the level of detail the etching gave me. The natural oxidation of the aluminum is also a nice variation. I'm not sure If I will keep it until the end - but I will definitely wait to see what it looks like with the CNC engraved details before I clean it up. 


To be continued...


S100 - RhinoGold - Gem Creator

I have been creating these gem forms in Rhino for a couple days now by hand... Starting with a profile curve, extruding a small girdle, creating a duplicate edge of the girdle and then extruding that curve to a point...
The forms are turning out relatively nice - I'm getting interesting facets but they aren't true gem forms as both sides are the same. 
I was browsing through the RhinoGold tool panel and noticed the Gem Creator tool and decided to give it a try. All this tool requires is the outline curve to create the gem shape and from there you are just selecting options on a tool panel. It significantly reduces the time spent modeling. This tool is a definite win. 
Below you can see the gray gems are the ones I've created by hand, and the black were created by the Gem Creator tool. 

I appreciate the ability to easily achieve consistency in the Gem Creator - You can also save your gems to a library to use them with other functions like the array and channel commands. I can definitely envision myself using this tool a lot in the future in jewelry to create and utilize custom stones/forms. 

S100 - RhinoGold - 3D Texture

I've figured out a few things about RhinoGold's 3D Texture tool....
You cannot apply 3D texture to multiple surfaces at once... 

You can create your own surface textures! 
You cannot apply surface textures to irregular shapes... only rectangles. 
You can cut rectangular surfaces into irregular shapes! 

with cutting planes, using a boolean split operation.


Hooray!
But this makes for very large file sizes. 

Above: Custom surface texture from two dimensional pattern. 
You can add multiple 3D textures to one object!

S100 - Rhino Gold - Illustrating Movement with Bend & Dynamic Array

I am looking at different ways to illustrate movement of the chain I drew in Rhino - The above is achieved through the bend command. It distorts shapes a lot, which is not helpful - but again, I think this could function nicely as a quick sketch to demonstrate the design and it's potential movement.
Above I've used the dynamic array command in Rhino Gold... This time instead of doing one object, I've selected the whole grouping of elements that form the chain and arrayed them along another curve, in an attempt to open up the chain. You can see the results are again distorted - but this time the distortion has become actually kind of interesting... I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with the different "glitches" I can produce. I could see these leading to new design ideas. Happy accidents!

S100 - Rhino Gold - Chain & Dynamic Array Commands

In Design for Digital Fabrication, we are creating orthographic drawings of objects that already exist with Rhino ("Reverse Engineering an Object"). I chose to draw a necklace from my silver structure series. I like this for two reasons - (1) ultimately, if I wanted to mass produce this piece, creating an orthographic drawing would be one of the first steps in getting the design manufactured - and (2) having a digital version of the necklace will allow me to experiment with the individual components in so many ways - textures, color, form, etc... and start to combine the components in new ways. So, in keeping with my desire to constantly learn new - I've also begun experimenting with the necklace components in Rhino Gold. Rhino Gold is specifically made for jewelry designers and has so many really great functions for composing designs (kid in a candy store), like the chain command. 

From one single component or element, you can use the chain command to essentially "array" that object on a designated curve of any shape - open or closed, however many you want, and at whatever angle you'd like. You can see above, I've used the chain command to array the orange diamond shape on the oval. I also drew a control point curve that was open at each end (right - blue & orange), which I did two separate chain commands for each separate component. The results are OK. You can see that with a component of this size, it is are to take sharp angles - but overall the rendered designs, while completely inaccurate in function - are relatively believable mock-ups that could function as quick sketches with ease.
I also experimented with the dynamic array command - which I suspect was originally designed for creating halos. This tool - while it is a little bit more finicky with the irregular shapes of my design - gave me more control over the spacing, angle relation, and scale of my components.


The dynamic array coupled with slight gumball adjustments - yielded precise interlocking results, and it only really took about an hour to figure out, once I found my rhythm. I can definitely see this coming in handy when I am in need of the perfect model. Now, I just need to figure out how to make the chain move digitally like the chain moves in real life. Small task, I'm sure.


Machines that Make - Instructions and .stl Files

Throughout the creation of this Machine I have utilized numerous online resources and have borrowed (in some cases - borrowed and modified) lots of open source knowledge, parts and code. Without the information that is available through websites like Thingiverse, github, Instructables, and the RepRap Wiki, the creation of my machine would have been imposible in the amount of time I've completed it.

So, in the spirit of the open source community - I encourage you to download these files and create your own "wall mounted cartesian light machine." (If you want to of course.) OR, make a derivative!

Here is a link to all of the .stl files that have been used in the creation of the "Wall Mounted Cartesian Light Machine." In that folder, you will also find a brief instruction sheet, detailing all of the other components of the machine. Enjoy!

Machines that Make - Carriage

Today, I wired up the LED Matrix for the short axis carriage and designed the mount. The mount is made out of 1/8" acrylic that I laser cut to size. I tapped screw holes for the 2mm screws that came with the LED Matrix for constructing. I welded all of the acrylic parts together with Weld On. I then designed a space for the light to sit further elevated off of the carriage - so that I get the maximum travel distance out of the short axis. The new modified mount works well with the endstop. I've also uploaded a couple videos of the machine in action from when I was testing out code for the movement and the light pattern. I'm pretty happy with the progress... Even though it is doing something completely different than what I envisioned it would do. 










Machines that Make - Mechanism Install

This weekend I installed the mechanism onto the structure of the machine. I've added a 40 teeth pulley to the long axis that I am using with a high torque 60mm Nema17 and a 16 teeth pulley to the short axis that is attached to a 34mm Nema17. I'm using GT2 belts for both axes. 












Machines that Make - Endstops

Today, I added end-stops and finished all the ends of my wire with sockets. 
The end-stop design came from thingiverse, but I drew a new version to hold a 10mm rod (below). Also, preparing wires to go into sockets is hard. If I were to do this again.... I think I would make a machine that doesn't require any wiring... AH HA just kidding, I am getting better at it slowly.   




Machines that Make - Structure

Over the weekend I started to build the wall that will house my Machine that Makes project. There is a steel stud frame, plywood, sheet metal, lots of metal screws, more plywood etc. I added a hinge to the back panel that will hold the steel rods that make up my machine, for easy access. Eventually, I will also add some trim over the shims that surround the acrylic. Next step is to fill the screw holes in the plywood, sand and paint. 












Machines that Make - Making Parts - Part 2





Mocked up X Idler
Mocked up X Idler

In addition to the corners, I also designed new X axis parts this week. Taking cues for the Prusia i3 parts I had already printed, I made a few modifications to allow for 8mm and 10mm steel rod. I started by printing a few test pieces at 2% infill and 2 shells, on Fast.
  
New Part designs - with modifications after test prints:
 The take a LONG time to print at 45% infill and 3 shells! 


Assembly and testing with the motors: 



 There is a bit of sag in the rod - so hopefully I will be using the smaller, 34mm Nema 17's, instead of the higher torque...