3D Printing and why I really bought one of these things
22 May 2016 13:18:42 UTC
Topic 198613
(moderation:
A while ago I wanted to mount a camera on a Raspberry Pi tank but it did not achieve the appearance I would like so I designed a camera enclosure and had it printed locally. It came out great. But the costs of local 3D printing is expensive when it comes to large parts. By this time I was tired of drilling, snapping, and filing Plexiglass/Lexan/LEGO base plates and wanted a better way. So I decided to venture into the world of 3D printing. I bought a 3D printer kit and the fun began. What follows are some pics of what I consider a "better way" - 3D printed parts. Not perfect but certainly a step in the right direction. 3D printing is a learning curve and I am still in that process.
Before pics:
This show the Pi stack: a Pi2, two motor HATS, a LED circuit board (gone in the new build), and two large chrome power switches for track motors and servos/LEDS (changed in the new build).
After pics:
This picture shows two "rocker switches on the camera base. These are wired to their respective battery packs for track power or servo/led power. The rear compartments covers the Pi stack consisting of a Raspberry Pi, a ServoHAT (powers servos and LED headlights), and a MotorHAT (powers tracks). The cover also has a 5V fan attached for ventilation. It connects to the MotorHAT and keeps the Pi2 temp at around 40C. Not bad. Not sure howlong the Powercell will last driving the Pi and the Fan though.
Front view showing headlights. After reading the instructions for the Adafruit ServoHAT I was able to do away with the LED circuit board and drive the LED headlights off of the ServoHAT's channel's GND and Signal Pins (3V) since the HAT has built in resistors for this purpose.
Top View: Note 5V fan. It pulls air in.
Rear Views
I was never satisfied with the onboard video performance. I am using a USB camera and had been using Linux's motion application. After spending a lot of time tuning it there was still to much video latency. Translation: I would be ankle deep in water before the video feed would show it!!! Googling more I came across "ffplay". This solved the latency problem and simplified the integration/configuration for an onboard feed.
You can see the video stream of the onboard camera using ffplay here.
More build detail can be seen here
3D Printing and why I really bought one of these things
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I've never been able to get lego to do that *turn green with envy*
That looks really impressive robl!!! I don't understand any of it, but I know I like it :)
Please wait here. Further instructions could pile up at any time. Thank you.
Awesome work ! :-) I think
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Awesome work ! :-)
I think it is neat that one can mix off-the-shelf components with bespoke manufacture to craft a specific design. I can understand why quick prototypes are so neat : nothing like a 3D object in the hand to stimulate the thinking.
Cheers, Mike.
( edit ) Highly nerdy I know, but if I had the time/etc I'd 3D print some great mathematical shapes I yearn for a solid version of.
NB. On the weekend my SO had to completely undo her knitting ( 30+ rows ) because she produced a ( two-twist ) Mobius strip rather than a cylinder ( a neck piece ). LOL. ;-)
( edit ) To be clear, this is how you do it when starting the second row :
assuming that you intended that of course. :-)
{ dives behind couch ..... }
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
For example a 3D slice of a
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For example a 3D slice of a 4D object is useful :
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
mike/anniet, Thank you.
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mike/anniet,
Thank you.
mike,
seeing the picture of the knitting fail reminds me of a very long time ago when the peace of the evening at my parents home would be interrupted by my mothers knitting. I can still hear the clicking of the knitting needles followed by occasional grumbling when she "dropped" something and had to undo it. Thinking back I now make the connection between knitting and today's current CNC machines. Isn't it funny that while we humans are incapable of doing repetitive error free tasks ourselves we are capable of passing that skill/ability onto machines that can do it for us. I do not know of too many people today who have the skill to knit or the patience, but there are looms that do.
RE: Isn't it funny that
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The difference is that when an anomaly comes up, we are able to think it through and handle it. The machine that can the same thing forever can't deal with a problem.
David
Miserable old git
Patiently waiting for the asteroid with my name on it.
RE: RE: Isn't it funny
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It can deal with a problem, as long as it is an expected problem. They don't have AI yet that can deal with the unexpected.
RE: They don't have AI
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Hmm, this article might change your mind. Its a bit long but to quote a mutual friend of ours, "Fascinating!!".
[EDIT] Amazing developments are happening everywhere. Wishing I could see where it takes us.
Yeah the mention of 3D
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Yeah the mention of 3D printing made me think of knitting. But in the more abstract context of tying together little flat bits of spacetime to produce a curvey part.
I actually have a knitting machine. I have used it with a passion. It is rather an aged specimen probably made in the early 1970's. Fortunately it came with the instruction book. It is a wee miracle of engineering and metal forming, the key ( replicated ) component being the latched hook. With it I learnt the merits of thread tension ( which is everything in knitting ) and the uncoiling of excess twist. Plus of course the practical use of arithmetic ! :-)
I think I might go and have a look for it tonite when I get home ....
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
RE: Yeah the mention of 3D
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And should you have some spare time maybe you can build one of these for your listening enjoyment. Go Amadeus!!!
RE: But in the more
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I still have a bit of trouble with this spacetime thingymajig. I mean space is space, that is what is inside a blown up balloon and apparently what our Solar system is in, and between some peoples ears. Time is a measure of elapse between two events measured in arbitrary units. Spacetime? Presumably what the astronauts in the ISS have as opposed to earthtime for us lot down here. (which apparently is slightly different according to atomic clocks)
But when you talk about the curvature of the fabric of spacetime it makes no sense at all, it's just a phrase to try to explain some theory or other that nobody can prove. In any case fabrics are cloth, so there! We know that light can be bent by gravity that is the easy bit to comprehend, it can also be re-directed by prisms, did that at school.
Time flies like an arrow
Fruit flies like a banana
Waiting for Godot & salvation :-)
Why do doctors have to practice?
You'd think they'd have got it right by now