I haven’t been using my Printrbot Simple for a while and had to make some minor repairs to get it running again.  Tried to use up the translucent filament that came with the Printrbot when I first purchased it.  Was able to print a bust of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, a bust of Vladimir Putin, and Yoda.

I’m very happy to see that a $350 printer that I had to assemble has been able to endure two years. There are many horror stories about printers that are in the same price range. I have a 2014 model which I don’t believe they make anymore since producing the metal Simple.

Recently I attended the Makerbot Make-a-thon event last weekend. I learned a lot from the people there.  You definitely got your money’s worth at this event. For the event, I opened up a Thingiverse account and uploaded some chess pieces I designed quick on Onshape.  Onshape is also something new to me but I’m getting the hang of it pretty quick.

For our MECH3550 : Simulation and Visualization class, we have group projects and presentations due. Our topic is a static analysis test using a CAD generated model of the Saqqara bird, an artifact found in Egypt. It was reported that with a proper rudder added to the back of the bird, it had the ability to fly, based on wind tunnel tests. This supposedly supported the “Ancient Alien” theory. Regardless, we thought it would be fun to do our own test.  This design was based on images found online; most were crude top and side profiles of the bird.

Recently been using my Rostock Printer. The quality has not been as good compared to my other printers. This is the first time I’m dealing with ABS; I’ll have to purchase some hair spray to help with the piece sticking to the bed. I do notice that it bubbles a lot leaving gaps sometimes. And the quality is good towards the bottom of the piece but it leaves gaps during the last few layers of the piece. This was a model of the Death Star from Star Wars made of three separate pieces.

Somehow I’d like to combine both

Last Thursday GAMC students had their second workshop on 3D printing entitled, “3D Printing: From Local to Global.” We started with a tutorial on Inventor; for some students this was a beginner’s guide and for most this was a refresher. Things that were discussed during the tutorial was how to create a 2D geometry, how to revolve a figure around an axis, how to create additional sketches on existing surfaces, how to extrude a 2D geometry, and how to create a circular pattern of an existing 3D feature.

Next, we had a lecture about the history of 3D printing, current developments as far as industry (Manufacturing, Biomedical, Fashion, etc.) as well as discussing the future prospects of the technology.

During the workshop, I had the machine running and had it print some test parts so they can see it in action and get used to seeing it as well as hearing it.  Hearing the printer run is something I don’t get tired of hearing for some reason.

Finally each person had a chance to upload their file to the Makerbot software to be printed. They were taught how to save the Inventor part file as an .ipt extension as well as the important part; the .stl extension which is used for the actual print job.

The students enjoyed watching the printer working.  They had a lot of questions and I enjoyed answering as much as I could.

The students came out with some really great pieces. I only gave them a rough guideline to follow and they used their creativity to make some really unique looking chess figures.

During the Spring semester one of my classmates asked me to create a piece for his father’s Oldsmobile; this was a coupling used for the car’s automatic seat adjustment. The original piece was cracked and held together with scotch tape. I used this piece to measure with a caliper and created the piece with Solidworks. Obviously I used the 3 point arc to create the feature and the ‘keyhole’ was a pretty simple shape to make. Unfortunately I don’t have the Solidworks file anymore but I think I have the .stl file.

Picked up my third 3D printer. I wanted to learn as much about 3D printing so I started with the Printrbot Simple kit, and once I was able to do that, I started to purchase used 3D printers. Somehow it was actually cheaper to buy these used but already assembled printers from people who spent three times as much buying them as kits that they had to put together themselves. This latest printer is the Rostock 3D Printer from SeeMeCNC. Personally I don’t know if I would have assembled this printer as well as it is right now; the gentleman whom I purchased it from had professional CNC experience. I was worried about any damages that may occur transporting it from the drive back. Everything seems to be working well but there are issues with the filament.  I know that filament does to some effect “warp” when exposed to the moisture from the air. This is what I believe led to some jamming issues, which are resolved since I removed the jammed filament. I’ll need to buy some new ABS filament.  My attempt to use PLA was thwarted because this particular 3D printer has much longer Teflon tubular pathway for the extruder to travel through.  As you might already know, PLA is much more brittle than ABS so it chipped immediately when I attempted to feed it through the extruder.

The image to the left are all three of the printers I’m using.  To the left is the Printrbot Simple, the middle is the Bukobot, and the one to the right is the Rostock model from SeeMeCNC. Unfortunately I came to the realization that I can’t run one program off Repetier to run all three machines. I was even contemplating installing the hardware to run an SD card through for immediate printing. 3D printing can be very complicated and usually you print based on limitations you have on your machine based on the build volume and what materials you use, what angle you want it printed, how dense you want the infill to be, etc.  Each printer literally operates in different ways even though they accomplish the same task.  In my opinion, it would be more optimal to be able to run the software on the computer so you can manually control the printer.  Ultimately, I have no choice but to get separate computers to run each printer because each version of Repetier I run will be different to each printer. And you cannot change the settings each time you jump from one printer to the other because each printer has its own preferred configuration. The gentleman who sold me the Rostack was kind enough to configure it for me on my laptop.

There are a lot of headaches involved in this process and a lot of money invested in this ( perhaps some might say wasted )  but I’m definitely learning a lot from each printer that you wouldn’t necessarily learn from school and definitely wouldn’t if I had a Makerbot or a more industrial 3D printer.

Tonight I will be having a 3D printing workshop for the Green Advanced Manufacturing Program (GAMC) students at CityTech titled, “3D Printing Industry: From Local to Global,” which covers a little bit of history regarding 3D printing and its current applications in manufacturing, construction, and biomedical applications.  I will give the students a little refresher on Inventor before that and lastly show them how to save the .ipt as an .stl extension, then show them how to print their design on the Makerbot Replicator 5th Generation model.  The previous workshop was held last Saturday and it went very very well.

March 20, 1979 – July 31 2015

Andrew was a fellow classmate who was a part of the Research Scholars Program.  Last week, I was informed that he passed away over the summer. It was even more of a shock that it happened days after the Research Scholars Symposium at John Jay College.

The last day I saw him was during the symposium; a few of us from City Tech left together and Andrew and I  were discussing his project. As we were all about to leave he said he left something behind and had to retrieve it. I asked him if I should get everyone to wait for him to come back. He said to just go ahead.  So we left and I figured we would get in touch during the fall or I would call him with the business card he gave me. The business card was for his Magic services under the pseudonym, ” Doctor Magic.”

Although we’ve only spoke a handful of times few and far between, it was always great having a conversation with him. I’ve always liked talking to him about magic. He recommended I look at Corinda’s “13 Steps to Mentalism,” which I did in fact have. But like many endeavors I was either too intimated and or too undisciplined to give it a go.

I also enjoyed learning more about his work with Professor Kolchenko.  It was interesting learning about different teaching methods being implemented in this project. It was especially amazing his knowledge of video editing and computer animation. Seeing his work and hearing him explain things always gave me the impression as if I were speaking to someone with many lifetimes worth of experience.

He didn’t just spend time on his individual research project; as most Research Scholars from City Tech know, Andrew designed the logo that we used for our poster presentations and even assisted Joyce with the animations for the PowerPoint for her oral presentation at the symposium.

Last Saturday I went to the “memorial service” for lack of a better term.  There were many things I didn’t know about Andrew until that day.  I guess none of us in the Research Scholars program would know each other that well considering we only met once a month during mandatory meetings. Even though we spoke a few times after meetings I always assumed that he was more of a quiet, stoic type.  But that wasn’t necessarily the case and I got to hear a lot of heartwarming stories from his loved ones. Initially I was going there with a somber mindset but it was refreshing to see people there celebrating his life and reflecting on good memories.

What I got from Saturday and from my experience with Andrew is that if people were like onions, sometimes we only see the first layer and don’t realize there are layers and depths of people we don’t realize.  I thought he was more of a loner but it was great to see that there were so many people there to celebrate his life; he obviously affected so many people, in a positive way.  The other lesson I learned that we push things aside too often.  I always meant to call him to talk to him about magic and perhaps ask him if I could pay him to teach me some basics.  Sometimes you just have to take advantage of opportunities before those opportunities are gone. Although our interaction was limited I won’t forget those long conversations we had and his memory will definitely not be forgotten.

Purchased a used 3D printer, Bukobot brand. Build volume is 8x8x8. My plans are to print the parts and buy the rods, bed, extrusions, controller, etc. and build another printer. If it works out I will try to build another printer with a larger build volume.