Got a little sidetracked :)

I got my tax refund and decided to get one of these cheap CNC routers from China. I got the 3018 Pro and a 5.5 w laser to go with it. I highly recommend getting some real safety goggles, the one it comes with do not seem to do anything. I got some from Amazon and now I can’t see the beam at all which is what I think you want.

It went together very easy and so far it’s worked quite well. I’ve cut some wood with it without any issues, and I am really liking the Easel software from Inventables to create tool paths and run the machine. I was thinking about buying the pro version, but honestly what they charge it’s really not worth it to me. It’s around $12 per month, every month, and you really don’t get a whole lot more. I’ll probably end up dusting off my copy of Cut-2d from Vectrix, and might even go ahead and get VCarve pro eventually. One thing I can see that’s going to happen is first I’ll be getting a real spindle and then build a larger frame for it.

The laser is pretty nice too, does engraving really well, and will actually cut 3mm plywood, so it will definitely be worth an upgrade. The laser module is a diode version and this actually has me considering getting a more powerful one for the full size laser cutter that I’m building.

Latest update

Well since I didn't go to the maker faire I started doing a lot of long awaited fixes and upgrades to my Bumblebee II printer.  I'm putting the E3D V6 hot end back on it, building a regulator board to provide power for the Raspberry PI, and power for the lighting so I won't need separate power adapters.  I'll only have one power cord going forward.  I also am going to do the same thing for the Hippie so it too will only have the single power cord.

I'm toying with the idea of converting the Bumblebee to a Bowden extruder, I've got all the components except I need to print the extruder itself and the Bowden mount.  I think once I get some other things printed that I need to get down that'll be the next thing, then dual extrusion.

I have a prusa I3 kit to build, but it's going to be a group build with the robotics class so they can learn about 3d printers more, and we haven't gotten that scheduled yet.  But I've been going through the kit and looking at the parts and I have to say I'm very impressed for a $320 kit.  The only thing I think I'll be changing is using a RAMPS and a graphic LCD instead of the melzi, but I might try experimenting with the Melzi first to get the auto-bed leveling working.

I am also going to start building my 3DR rostock printer, which I'm very excited about.  That thing is just going to be a blast I think :)
 

Burlington Mini Maker Faire

Work has been very busy lately, and that combined with the upcoming Maker Faire I haven't had a lot of chances to work on much.  I still need to make some minor fixes to my printers to prepare for Saturday, and I have to make some signs and start printing out the Yoda heads :)

I have ordered another printer, this is actually a kit from Banggood for an acrylic Prusa I3.  I'm going to add a heated bed to it and we'll see how well it performs.

I have also been working on cleaning up my two workshops at my house in preparation for the Laser Cutter build.  I've finally got the last parts I needed (the laser tube, power supply and controller) so I'm ready to start the assembly.  The first step is to hook up all the electronics and make sure that's all working, then I'll be starting on the frame.  I still haven't decided what material to use for the panels, but I might get some panels from Inventables to use.

Then I have my Rostock 3DR to put together, I've had all the parts, but again no place to build it.  I had let my workbench get cluttered and it's just not good to try and put together a printer in a cluttered workspace :)

I also want to put together my 1.75 extruder for filament, and also the chopper so I can do colors more consistently.

Two more updates

The first one is about my Libelle first flights.

I took it out to a local park (Gibson park) and went out on the soccer field.  Did my assembly of the plane, range checked it, checked the controls, and started with the trim flights.

It was pretty spot on, only took me 5 trim flights to get it dialed in where I could throw it and just watch it glide and land on its own :)

Then I tried a side hand throw and it did pretty well again, flat flight, forgot to turn on landing mode, but still landed well.  Did another side hand throw, then did a full DLG launch throw but didn't try to push it.  

It climbed well and floated really good, I was really enjoying it a lot.  Next DLG launch and all of a sudden it goes into a left hand spiral VERY hard. Flips over and noses straight in with the wing halves going separate directions away from the fuselage.  During the entire time I was frantically trying to correct it, but had no response.  Took a look at the plane and couldn't figure out why the left aileron was all the way up, or the rudder all the way hard left.

Took the radio and tried turning the ailerons and the rudder, and I heard the servos but their was no motion.  Turns out the servos had been stripped :(

So I think I'm going to just buy a whole kit again and build another one, buy some new servos and then get started again :)  I just had too much fun on the short flights I had.

The other update is on my personal smart watch project, well it's actually the OSWatch Project.

I've gotten almost all the parts to start assembling it, but I missed ordering the TTL to usb converter that I need to program the Microduino.  That's been ordered and hopefully should be here soon.

In the meantime I downloaded the iOS app source code to my new laptop, and compiled it and loaded it on my iPhone 5s.  Worked the first time, so I'm very happy with how that went.

More updates to follow as I continue to actually get some of my projects done!!

The Olio glass blowing studio in Winston Salem

I was so excited to find out about The Olio, I've gone to another glass studio in Durham called Firefly Hotglass and made an ornament and a glass heart, but it's a bit of a drive.

They were having a special session this afternoon for making a Shamrock or a Paisley in celebration of St Patricks Day, and I had to go out and check it out.

The studio is impressive, very well laid out, and I love the glass shop out front where they sell a lot of what they make there.  The atmosphere is awesome, it's more of a workshop/glass shop mixed together, and they use a lot of recycled material from the tables and benches, to the actual glass they use for blowing.  They purchased a recipe that allows them to recycle beer bottles (clear ones) and other commercial bottles and mix it to make glass that works very well for glass blowing.

The teacher was awesome and explained what we were doing and why, and I had an absolute blast.

If you've ever wanted to try glass blowing definitely attend, if your just curious about how it is done come by and watch it's very kid friendly as well.  

Be sure to read the guidelines about what clothes and shoes to wear as you will be working with VERY hot glass :)

http://theolio.com

Burlington Maker Faire News

Exciting news about the upcoming Burlington Maker Faire.  I'm going to be attending as part of the WSMixxer maker space, which is a new maker space being formed in Winston Salem.  If you're interested you can get more information at http://wsmixxer.org.

I'll be bringing my printers (as many as I have running at the time) and my filament extruder and demonstrating them.  I'll also have my Structure.io scanner and I'll be scanning peoples heads and e-mailing them to them, and if they would like I'll be printing small busts on the printers.

The other thing I'm going to be involved in is the balloon launch being done by the Blessed Sacrament School of Burlington.  I have a ham license and I'll be helping them with the tracking of the balloon by building an APRS tracker that will download the balloons altitude and location for tracking on a map in realtime. 

It's going to be shaping up to be a VERY busy Maker Faire, I'm really excited to be involved in both the new maker space, and the balloon launch