Plotting, Printing, Soldering
I'm a bit overdue for a regular post, which means I have too much to share in just one entry. Sometime in the middle of April, I hit a bit of a creative streak and started cranking out little projects with my free time. Below are of some of the things I've been working on when I'm not up to the usual madness.
Monthly subscription services that provide little boxes crammed with goodies; i.e. Nature Box, Loot Crate, etc. seems to be in vogue right now. Naturally I had to subscribe to one that was more catered to my interests, so I chose Hacker Box. They send out two or three small electronics projects and components in each shipment - enough to not only keep my lab stocked, but also introduce me to new ideas and keep the creative juices flowing. My first one came in early April.
Also on the electronics bench, I've been working on developing some special effects for the bathroom project. I haven't taken anything to the breadboard just yet, but I've got an idea that will fit the theme nicely. In the meantime, I had a commission from a friend for an anniversary gift/prank that involved throwing together an amplified sound board, a latching relay, and a red candy-like button.
A big chunk of my time in the workshop has been dedicated to plotting and weeding out dozens of Haunted Mansion demon's eye wallpaper decals for the bathroom. I think a big reason why I managed to find time to work on other projects is that I cranked out enough to create a backlog on the application side of the project. Of course, this lead me to spending a bit more time playing with my plotter. One night, I had the inspiration to try etching glass by using the vinyl as a relief. I ordered some Armor Etch via Amazon and hit the thrift store after work one day for some cheap glasses. They came out alright (sandblasting would look much nicer), but it was a fun attempt. I also discovered that Rub n' Buff wax is a pain in the ass to apply, and does not stick to acid etched glass.
Having cleaned thousands of little nodes on the Haunted Mansion graphic, I got pretty good at it. So I started a project that I've been wanting to do for a long time - a vinyl plot of the classic Fellowship of the Ring scene with a line from Tolkien's All That is Gold Does Not Glitter
Cliff and Jill were expecting their first child in May, so I had a couple baby shower presents in mind. The first was an original piece I made after getting some inspiration from a Star Wars themed stick family I saw on a minivan. The other was a 3D print from a Thingiverse file that any child of a Marklander must have - a mace-shaped baby rattle.
So, onto 3D printing. As you may already know, I've been having some extruder issues and a blown fan MOSFET on my Replicator2. I've been able to crank out 0.2mm resolution pieces with no issues, but 0.1mm was hit or miss. I had been thinking ahead about what to do and started looking into replacing the motherboard and heating block. Serendipitously, at the same time Amazon was clearing out their stock of Rep2s at 60% off retail price. That's one hell of a deal for a solid machine..so now I have 2. I also downloaded and printed a spool rack to hold all of the filament, so now my 3D printer side of the workshop is impressive.
Elena was having herself a Star Wars themed birthday party last month, so I was suddenly inspired to collaborate with Deb to make it memorable. First thing I did was download and print out a bust of Yoda, and then Deb painted it. Then the two of us worked on incorporating 3D printed parts and her artistry to make an R2D2 birthday cake. It came out great!
Still feeling a little residual creativity, I took my tablet to coffee one Thursday night and started doodling with one of my 3D programs. I ended up sculpting a cat, then printed him out.
Just as April and my energy were winding down, Deb started working on her garden. One of her goals was to make it as herbivore-proof as she could, so she started driving conduit into the ground to create a fence. She asked me to design her some brackets to create cross pieces at the top of the fence, so I was off to my Autodesk software to crank a few of them out for her.
...and then I was spent. Well, I had other business to attend to and distractions that come with the nicer weather. But that's for another post...coming soon.
Monthly subscription services that provide little boxes crammed with goodies; i.e. Nature Box, Loot Crate, etc. seems to be in vogue right now. Naturally I had to subscribe to one that was more catered to my interests, so I chose Hacker Box. They send out two or three small electronics projects and components in each shipment - enough to not only keep my lab stocked, but also introduce me to new ideas and keep the creative juices flowing. My first one came in early April.
Also on the electronics bench, I've been working on developing some special effects for the bathroom project. I haven't taken anything to the breadboard just yet, but I've got an idea that will fit the theme nicely. In the meantime, I had a commission from a friend for an anniversary gift/prank that involved throwing together an amplified sound board, a latching relay, and a red candy-like button.
A big chunk of my time in the workshop has been dedicated to plotting and weeding out dozens of Haunted Mansion demon's eye wallpaper decals for the bathroom. I think a big reason why I managed to find time to work on other projects is that I cranked out enough to create a backlog on the application side of the project. Of course, this lead me to spending a bit more time playing with my plotter. One night, I had the inspiration to try etching glass by using the vinyl as a relief. I ordered some Armor Etch via Amazon and hit the thrift store after work one day for some cheap glasses. They came out alright (sandblasting would look much nicer), but it was a fun attempt. I also discovered that Rub n' Buff wax is a pain in the ass to apply, and does not stick to acid etched glass.
Having cleaned thousands of little nodes on the Haunted Mansion graphic, I got pretty good at it. So I started a project that I've been wanting to do for a long time - a vinyl plot of the classic Fellowship of the Ring scene with a line from Tolkien's All That is Gold Does Not Glitter
Cliff and Jill were expecting their first child in May, so I had a couple baby shower presents in mind. The first was an original piece I made after getting some inspiration from a Star Wars themed stick family I saw on a minivan. The other was a 3D print from a Thingiverse file that any child of a Marklander must have - a mace-shaped baby rattle.
So, onto 3D printing. As you may already know, I've been having some extruder issues and a blown fan MOSFET on my Replicator2. I've been able to crank out 0.2mm resolution pieces with no issues, but 0.1mm was hit or miss. I had been thinking ahead about what to do and started looking into replacing the motherboard and heating block. Serendipitously, at the same time Amazon was clearing out their stock of Rep2s at 60% off retail price. That's one hell of a deal for a solid machine..so now I have 2. I also downloaded and printed a spool rack to hold all of the filament, so now my 3D printer side of the workshop is impressive.
Elena was having herself a Star Wars themed birthday party last month, so I was suddenly inspired to collaborate with Deb to make it memorable. First thing I did was download and print out a bust of Yoda, and then Deb painted it. Then the two of us worked on incorporating 3D printed parts and her artistry to make an R2D2 birthday cake. It came out great!
Still feeling a little residual creativity, I took my tablet to coffee one Thursday night and started doodling with one of my 3D programs. I ended up sculpting a cat, then printed him out.
Just as April and my energy were winding down, Deb started working on her garden. One of her goals was to make it as herbivore-proof as she could, so she started driving conduit into the ground to create a fence. She asked me to design her some brackets to create cross pieces at the top of the fence, so I was off to my Autodesk software to crank a few of them out for her.
...and then I was spent. Well, I had other business to attend to and distractions that come with the nicer weather. But that's for another post...coming soon.