Year: 2014

Raspberry Pibot – Part 1

Sean and I have started working on a wheeled robot powered by a Raspberry Pi. Last weekend we finally got it to move! On Sunday we got the RPi mounted, and we also 3D printed a bracket to mount a couple of bump switches to. Currently, the Python code Sean wrote to control it will make it move forward until it bumps into something, then move backwards and turn before starting to move forward again. Pretty simple, but we've got to start somewhere!


Laser Engraver – Part 3

I ended up breaking the laser engraver body back down so that I could paint it. I've still got some old paint samples my sister gave me when she was figuring out what colors she wanted to paint the rooms in her new house. So I went with a jaunty green for the main body components, and a grey for the two sleds. Once the paint is dry I will put everything back together, put on the end caps I 3D printed in the previous entry, and get ready to start on the electronics!


Laser Engraver – Part 2

Got another chunk of time to work on the laser engraver recently. Both the y-axis sled and the x-axis gantry are now built. I also 3D-printed some covers for the holes that the bearing shafts are mounted in, to be sure the shafts can't pull back out of the holes when things are moving. Next up is to mount those covers, and then possibly paint the whole thing (still on the fence about that) before I start trying to wire up the electronics.



Sandwich Dome

Hiked Sandwich Dome on Saturday with a group of friends from work. It was unseasonably warm for late September - it climbed above 80 at times! We saw surprisingly few people on the trail. We were still a week or two out from peak foliage, but it was a nice trip regardless.


Laser Engraver – Part 1

I started working on a home-built CNC laser engraver this weekend. I ordered some parts weeks ago - stepper motors, shaft couplers, etc. I've been doodling plans for the machine for the last week, trying to get the dimensions down. This weekend I got over the mental roadblock keeping me from starting, and finally started building. I got the base built, and started the y-axis sled. I need to add the center section that will house the nut for the threaded rod that will move the sled. Then it's on to the gantry!


Caliper Holder

3D-printed a wall-mounted holder for my digital calipers today. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done and keeps them in easy reach. You can't see it, but it's in even got a little cutout for the caliper's micro-adjustment wheel.

New Microscope

I got a new small USB microscope for checking solder joints and such. But Sean and I have been playing with it for other stuff too. For fun, we took a bunch of photos of different areas of his skin, and he wanted to quiz you guys and see if you could guess which part of his body each picture came from. The answers are after the photos, so don't look if you want to guess first!




A: Back of the hand.
B: Fingertip.
C: Fingernail.
D: Elbow.
E: Tongue.

Random 3D Prints

I printed a random things recently. The red keys on the right are for getting the all of the toothpaste out of a tube - you just twist up the tube on the key as you go. The print on the right is a small puzzle box I designed on paper years ago. I found it in an old notebook and decided to try to model in SketchUp and print it. Both of the green keys ride in dovetail channels, so they can both slide along their respective axis. A channel along the bottom of the smaller key engages with a pin on the blue box's body. You have to slide the two green keys in the correct pattern to move the pin through the channel until the keys can be freed and you can get access to the interior of the box. Maybe sometime soon I can make a short video showing how the box opens.


Pandora Radio – Final

Finished up the Pandora radio yesterday - I installed a clear plexiglass back, and finished up the software changes I needed to make. Now I just need to find a permanent spot for it down in the shop! I might need to add another shelf somewhere.