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| From sketches |
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| From sketches |
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| From sketches |
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| From sketches |
Sunday, April 19, 2009
April Maker Challenge #19/30: petMelter
WHAT: yes. the title "petMelter" sounds a little dubious. but it should be PET (polyethylene teraphtalate) melter. This is the thermoplastic that is typically labelled PET or PETE on your soda bottles. wayy too much of this stuff ends up in the landfill.
OBJECTIVE: i want to be able to melt plastic bottles, and press them into "manageable" sheets. sheets suitable for vaccuforming. i should be able to take a bottle, split it in half, place it into this press/melter - and i should have a handy dandy piece of (close to uniform thickness) PETE, ready for heatforming.
HOW: And i wont so much "melt" this stuff. i dont require this to be shot into a injection mold - so i dont require a full melt. if i dont want to mess with crystalline composition too much (which would affect opacity quite a bit), i could float it just safely above PETE's crystallization(glass) temp of 75 C and apply a steady load to hopefully reflow. If that doesnt work, i could crank this stuff up to its Vicat temp (170 C), and just squish this stuff into a sheet or "ingot". experimentation will determine the ultimate method.
APPLICATION: this wont yield any readily useful blobs of plastic. but in future projects - where i intend to shape/mold blobs of plastic, this should proove ultra handy. might even feed in to Michael's (@uptownmaker) REPscRAP project.
OBJECTIVE: i want to be able to melt plastic bottles, and press them into "manageable" sheets. sheets suitable for vaccuforming. i should be able to take a bottle, split it in half, place it into this press/melter - and i should have a handy dandy piece of (close to uniform thickness) PETE, ready for heatforming.
HOW: And i wont so much "melt" this stuff. i dont require this to be shot into a injection mold - so i dont require a full melt. if i dont want to mess with crystalline composition too much (which would affect opacity quite a bit), i could float it just safely above PETE's crystallization(glass) temp of 75 C and apply a steady load to hopefully reflow. If that doesnt work, i could crank this stuff up to its Vicat temp (170 C), and just squish this stuff into a sheet or "ingot". experimentation will determine the ultimate method.
APPLICATION: this wont yield any readily useful blobs of plastic. but in future projects - where i intend to shape/mold blobs of plastic, this should proove ultra handy. might even feed in to Michael's (@uptownmaker) REPscRAP project.
April Maker Challenge #18/30 : flatpackMobile
WHAT: a flatpack mobile. for babies. I am about to be an uncle for the first time (due November)!! However, my sister and her as yet unborn child live in Australia. thats why the mobile will be flatpack.
OBJECTIVE: make a relatively "green" mobile out of high density cardboard. has to fit within a standard USPS tyvek mailer. has to look cool for the kid and the parents.
HOW: lasercut cardboard and some thread. i'd like to use the negative space between the cutouts as additional components and the outer card areas to be assembled into the frame of the mobile.
APPLICATION: for nephew development!
OBJECTIVE: make a relatively "green" mobile out of high density cardboard. has to fit within a standard USPS tyvek mailer. has to look cool for the kid and the parents.
HOW: lasercut cardboard and some thread. i'd like to use the negative space between the cutouts as additional components and the outer card areas to be assembled into the frame of the mobile.
APPLICATION: for nephew development!
April Maker Challenge #17:30: sunBake!
WHAT: a homemade solar oven. yea, they have some stuff on instructibles - but i'd like to design and build one myself.
OBJECTIVE: should be able to get warm enough to cook meat (not necessarily boil water). hold a constant(ish) 200 F. temp control obviously isnt the primary objective - but the easiest first test is to cook an egg to completion within an hour (i think thats a modest goal). extra nice if i could get away without actually PURCHASING any new supplies specifically for this project.
HOW: cardboard, HD tinfoil, possibly some insulation material, and a light focusing apparatus (havnt figured this part out quite yet)
APPLICATION: sun cooking! eat em up yum!
OBJECTIVE: should be able to get warm enough to cook meat (not necessarily boil water). hold a constant(ish) 200 F. temp control obviously isnt the primary objective - but the easiest first test is to cook an egg to completion within an hour (i think thats a modest goal). extra nice if i could get away without actually PURCHASING any new supplies specifically for this project.
HOW: cardboard, HD tinfoil, possibly some insulation material, and a light focusing apparatus (havnt figured this part out quite yet)
APPLICATION: sun cooking! eat em up yum!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
April Maker Challenge #16/30 : plushHeadCrab
WHAT: i don't know if you're familiar with a game called Half-Life. in it - there are these creatures called headcrabs. i want to make a plush one.
..after doing a small bit of research - it seems they already make one. but goddamnit i want to make one anyway.
OBJECTIVE: make a headcrab. looks sort of like this:
it has to fit over my head. machine washable would be nice. i dont need the fancy posable limbs - but that might be a nice feature.
HOW: plush fabric, maybe some nice soft copper rod stock for the posable limbs, and stuffing. and it will probably require a whole lot of learning on my part, as how to make a plushtoy.
APPLICATION: it'd just be nice to have around the house. possibly used as a halloween costume (i would be a headcrab zombie - obviously). maybe my cat might find it amusing. we shall see.
..after doing a small bit of research - it seems they already make one. but goddamnit i want to make one anyway.
OBJECTIVE: make a headcrab. looks sort of like this:
it has to fit over my head. machine washable would be nice. i dont need the fancy posable limbs - but that might be a nice feature.HOW: plush fabric, maybe some nice soft copper rod stock for the posable limbs, and stuffing. and it will probably require a whole lot of learning on my part, as how to make a plushtoy.
APPLICATION: it'd just be nice to have around the house. possibly used as a halloween costume (i would be a headcrab zombie - obviously). maybe my cat might find it amusing. we shall see.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
April Maker Challenge #15/30 : b3nqnlnw
WHAT: inverse pendulum. (look at the title in a mirror). yes, it is a very academic problem. but hopefully easily enough solved with the use of a gyro.
OBJECTIVE: make a two (or one wheeled) robot that can stand upright. a mini segway, if you will.
HOW: stepper (probably). and hopefully a single gyro. hooked up via some small processor - see what happens. (i know its not THAT simple - but i dont want to think about the gory details here)
APPLICATION: lots! something that can stand up on command? two of these flipped might be able to make a controlled cartwheeling robot. could use this to make a ballbot*
* this will be another challenge, for another day.
OBJECTIVE: make a two (or one wheeled) robot that can stand upright. a mini segway, if you will.
HOW: stepper (probably). and hopefully a single gyro. hooked up via some small processor - see what happens. (i know its not THAT simple - but i dont want to think about the gory details here)
APPLICATION: lots! something that can stand up on command? two of these flipped might be able to make a controlled cartwheeling robot. could use this to make a ballbot*
* this will be another challenge, for another day.
April Maker Challenge #14/30 : NoiseNeedle
WHAT: you know the needles on turntables? how they interpret texture on vinyls into sound? i want to make a little rangefinder, that reads textures in real life - and converts them to sound. like a little laser beam scanner, feeding back textural (distance based) information and turning it into sound.
OBJECTIVE: make a portable, free standing, noise "needle". would be nice to have a visible laser dot scanning the surface. should sit on a little turret that has adjustable scan-rate. bonus points if i can make it actually read a vinyl LP.
HOW: there are lots of little rangefinding setups out there. will require lots of playing around with these techs to get this figured out. once that is done, the scanning turret should'nt be too hard. aiming for something that reads a short range (less than 3 ft). it would be crazy cool if i could convert this to read FAR away (ie: cityscapes)
APPLICATION: noise. interesting ones.
OBJECTIVE: make a portable, free standing, noise "needle". would be nice to have a visible laser dot scanning the surface. should sit on a little turret that has adjustable scan-rate. bonus points if i can make it actually read a vinyl LP.
HOW: there are lots of little rangefinding setups out there. will require lots of playing around with these techs to get this figured out. once that is done, the scanning turret should'nt be too hard. aiming for something that reads a short range (less than 3 ft). it would be crazy cool if i could convert this to read FAR away (ie: cityscapes)
APPLICATION: noise. interesting ones.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
April Maker Challenge #13/30 : bubbleboat
WHAT: a tiny boat. that is propelled solely by bubbles! works in lakes AND bathtubs!
OBJECTIVE: exactly as above. it shouldnt sink when it's air reservoir is emptied. make them cheap and easy enough to make a fleet.
HOW: probably a balloon would be in play somehow. it would be really nice if i could manually change the direction of propulsion using a little rudder.
APPLICATION: boats. that make bubbles. there is no useful application other than fun.
OBJECTIVE: exactly as above. it shouldnt sink when it's air reservoir is emptied. make them cheap and easy enough to make a fleet.
HOW: probably a balloon would be in play somehow. it would be really nice if i could manually change the direction of propulsion using a little rudder.
APPLICATION: boats. that make bubbles. there is no useful application other than fun.
April Maker Challenge #12/30: Cheshire Baloon
WHAT: a hot air type baloon that has the Cheshire cat on the bottom of it.
OBJECTIVE: make a baloon that looks like the Cheshire cat looking down. make it float for relatively sustained periods. low altitude (mostly over parks or crowds). techsmarts inside is optional.
HOW: would be really cool if i could make it out of used plastic bags already headed for the landfill. not sure how technically feasible that would be tho. i want this thing to float. not fly. the "cheapest" way to get hot air would be a candle i suppose. could charge the thing up with a hot air gun - then have it sustain using a candle?
APPLICATION: fun! would be sweet if i could release this over parks, floating just out of reach. in the bright daylight - the most visible thing would only be the eyes and the smile.
bonus points: techsmarts. this thing would be awesome if it had a little camera, a GPS, barometric pressure sensor, and maybe some way to tweet where at what it was looking down at.
OBJECTIVE: make a baloon that looks like the Cheshire cat looking down. make it float for relatively sustained periods. low altitude (mostly over parks or crowds). techsmarts inside is optional.
HOW: would be really cool if i could make it out of used plastic bags already headed for the landfill. not sure how technically feasible that would be tho. i want this thing to float. not fly. the "cheapest" way to get hot air would be a candle i suppose. could charge the thing up with a hot air gun - then have it sustain using a candle?
APPLICATION: fun! would be sweet if i could release this over parks, floating just out of reach. in the bright daylight - the most visible thing would only be the eyes and the smile.
bonus points: techsmarts. this thing would be awesome if it had a little camera, a GPS, barometric pressure sensor, and maybe some way to tweet where at what it was looking down at.
Friday, April 10, 2009
April Maker Challenge #11/30: ThirstyNoMore!
WHAT: a "simple" system indicating whether or not my plants need water. Visual feedback only.
OBJECTIVE: cheap little stake modules that can be entered into the soil - measuring moisture. can be tuned to different "trip" moisture levels for different ones. should turn an LED on when my plant(s) are thirsty.
HOW: hoping to use some fancy pantsy opAmps! would help in my understanding of them - and should be cheaper than having a digital read in each one (i think?). hopefully just run off a AAA or a watch battery for a long time.
APPLICATION: my plants are thirsty! and different ones have different needs. and i am sometimes quite absent minded about keeping them alive.
possible developments: pH measurement would be nice to implement into the same stake, pending on cost and complexity. if the plan doesnt prove cost effective (less than 10 bucks per) - then i might just make a plant probe meter. like a multimeter - but for plants (moisture and pH). i could also then sample several spots in the soil and use it to double as a mini aerator.
OBJECTIVE: cheap little stake modules that can be entered into the soil - measuring moisture. can be tuned to different "trip" moisture levels for different ones. should turn an LED on when my plant(s) are thirsty.
HOW: hoping to use some fancy pantsy opAmps! would help in my understanding of them - and should be cheaper than having a digital read in each one (i think?). hopefully just run off a AAA or a watch battery for a long time.
APPLICATION: my plants are thirsty! and different ones have different needs. and i am sometimes quite absent minded about keeping them alive.
possible developments: pH measurement would be nice to implement into the same stake, pending on cost and complexity. if the plan doesnt prove cost effective (less than 10 bucks per) - then i might just make a plant probe meter. like a multimeter - but for plants (moisture and pH). i could also then sample several spots in the soil and use it to double as a mini aerator.
sketch 6
i was watching Anthony Bourdain's no reservations right around dinnertime tonight.
(it was the Paris episode)
sorta HAD to sketch this.
this is a Boulangerie. french bakerman.
large-ish fellow. plenty of upper body muscle to lift massive tubs of bread batter.
doesnt really say much - considering he's up at 4am baking in a cramped hot kitchen.
has developed a little bit of a hunch from keeping his eyes on the counter.
and he has apparently strong hands from kneading and such..
you'd also figure forearm burn scars are from reaching in really hot ovens.
(it was the Paris episode)
sorta HAD to sketch this.
 |
| From sketches |
this is a Boulangerie. french bakerman.
large-ish fellow. plenty of upper body muscle to lift massive tubs of bread batter.
doesnt really say much - considering he's up at 4am baking in a cramped hot kitchen.
has developed a little bit of a hunch from keeping his eyes on the counter.
and he has apparently strong hands from kneading and such..
you'd also figure forearm burn scars are from reaching in really hot ovens.
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