Messages

26

Living Room / Re: Show us the View Outside Your Window

« on: April 04, 2018, 07:48 AM »

April 4 and the view outside my window is snow snow snow today. But here's one from a few months ago that I just downloaded from our game camera:
(This should be an animated .gif, hopefully it works...)

27

Living Room / Re: Show us a photo of your mutt or other creatures..

« on: April 02, 2018, 06:37 PM »

Couldn't participate in this thread until today. Introducing our 4 new Buff Orpington chicks, Lady, BonBon, Sally, and Orckle. (Not sure the spelling has been pinned down on the last one yet).

28

General Software Discussion / Re: OpenSCAD is a game changer for 3d printing

« on: April 01, 2018, 06:56 AM »

I knew you'd like it I had the same experience after trying more organic programs (blender) and more supposedly-precise ones (sketchup). Neither category was compatible with my brain. But OpenSCAD just makes sense! Lately I've been printing parts for my father-in-law's recumbent bicycle. He needed a part with a radius to match that pipe and a hole just right there, and in about 10 minutes I had a design done. While there are certainly applications for which it is unsuited (c.f. my attempt at modelling Cody), for anything which is basically geometric, or for anything which requires precise dimensions, the use of a language rather than a gui is a huge asset.

Edit to add: I won at the 3d-printing game when I used OpenSCAD to model, and then successfully printed, a new heel-tip for one of my wife's high-heel shoes. Other models I've made which might be useful to others include a model-rocket launch-rod cap, and a little platform to mount a circuit board to a rod.

Eric

29

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« on: March 31, 2018, 06:15 AM »

I bought a surprisingly-inexpensive intervalometer for my DSLR.

-ayryq (February 16, 2018, 08:29 PM)

Use HD, full screen or you can't see the stars!

30

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 30, 2018, 08:37 PM »

I will soon try painting one of the baby codys.

-mouser (March 30, 2018, 07:31 PM)

You should try acetone-fuming with one of the codys. It smooths out all the ridges and makes it much easier to paint. Lots of info online; I did it with a widemouth mason jar on my heated bed and a little lower-able platform made of stiff electrical wire.

Edit: this is for ABS. good link here: http://blog.reprap.o...ng-abs-rp-parts.html

31

Developer's Corner / Re: Update Drupal ASAP - Over a Million Sites Can Be Easily Hacked by Any Visitor

« on: March 30, 2018, 08:37 AM »

Ugh I hate updating Drupal. It's so fraught... after backing up you're supposed to:

Delete all files except the Sites folder and any files such as ".htaccess" and "robots.txt" that have been customized. (This assumes any contributed modules, custom themes etc. That you use are in the sites directory)

I cringe when I hit that delete key.

Did it last night though since it seems to be a very serious vulnerability.

32

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 30, 2018, 07:12 AM »

Here, use this one instead. I got rid of all the "center=true" so things grow "up" instead of "out". Should make dimensions easier to play with.

33

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 30, 2018, 06:51 AM »

I think I will need your help making the "rod".

-mouser (March 30, 2018, 06:36 AM)

You can do it! Look at the bottom of the file; I've commented out a cylinder "//simple platform for Cody".

[Select]

translate([0,0,2]){cylinder (r=20,h=3,center=true);}

First change r and h - note that the height expands from the middle so it sticks out the bottom.

[Select]

translate([0,0,2]){cylinder (r=2,h=30,center=true);}

Then change the "z" value in the translate function to slide it upward. You can move it up by half the height, plus half the thickness of the cylinder. Overlap is OK.

[Select]

translate([0,0,17]){cylinder (r=2,h=30,center=true);}

34

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 30, 2018, 06:28 AM »

mouser,
The nice thing is everything you suggest (mostly) is really easy. Comment out the cody, change the height of the column, etc.

I haven't tried it but I think OpenSCAD can import an stl - you may be able to do this in one print.

I changed the font in the latest version, from Arial Black to Liberation Mono (DC.com) and Liberation Sans (other text).

I normally go through and fix indenting and comment things before I do this but here's the source - I included the font needed for the edge; fonts for the top will need to be on your system (OpenSCAD has a font list under the help menu to be sure).

When you're using OpenSCAD it shows a "preview" but to print it you need to do a "render" (F6 or a toolbar button) which is pretty slow with the fonts. Then you can export an STL.

Helpful tip for OpenSCAD, if you put a "#" at the beginning of a line or object then it's highlighted in red, so you can see what you're editing.

35

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 29, 2018, 09:53 PM »

OK, this one is thinner (5mm) but just as large, has a gear-looking thing for the pedestal, and has a chunkier, simpler cody on the bottom. I switched the font but no matter what I do that "e" in "coder" is high. Since that text won't change maybe I'll make it in Inkscape and bring it over as a dxf. It's also not manifold, and I don't know why, but it sliced fine as far as I can tell.

http://ericandchar.com/dc/codycoin02.stl

36

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 29, 2018, 02:46 PM »

"currency" symbol:

37

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 29, 2018, 02:40 PM »

I think this is what you meant:

I had the plain center to serve as a base for Cody (edit: with the hex socket for some sort of peg); I'm not sure how it'll look with him sitting on the $ sign. Also, the symbol is pretty US-specific. Maybe kill two birds by using the "currency" symbol i.e. "¤" instead. I spun the text around as well.

I need a test print to see how these small bits look. Currently the size of the coin is 76mm, about 3 inches.

38

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 29, 2018, 11:23 AM »

Here's what I'm working on. I'm happy to receive creative direction!

39

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 28, 2018, 01:50 PM »

I found a better library to use:
https://github.com/b...ick/text_on_OpenSCAD

Updates as they become available

40

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 28, 2018, 06:47 AM »

Text on the bottom/sides is easy to design and render, less easy to print.
the write.scad library is nice because it does curved text for tops and sides of cylinders, but it has a weird format for fonts and doesn't look like it kerns correctly.

41

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: March 27, 2018, 03:22 PM »

Sure, I can look at that. Could you maybe draw a sketch of what you're thinking?

Edit: Also is there an "official" DC font?

42

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: February 17, 2018, 12:23 PM »

This is hard!

43

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: February 16, 2018, 08:29 PM »

If we could get a cody holding a big coin/medal where we could customize the writing it would be so awesome to be able to print out custom "awards" to send to people..

-mouser (February 16, 2018, 04:21 PM)

Mouser, have you played with openscad at all? I think it would be the most DC-like way to design something like this. Though it doesn't lend itself to "organic" shapes it might be an interesting challenge--and could be easily customized with text (there's a font library I believe).

Everything I've successfully designed (rather than just downloading from thingiverse) has been done in OpenSCAD. I just don't have the chops for traditional CAD programs but the programming-language style seems to click better (for me). It reminds me of back in the day when I played with POV-RAY from some shareware catalog

And now a gadget, for it is the weekend!

I bought a surprisingly-inexpensive intervalometer for my DSLR. It's got a wireless remote and plugs into the port on the side of the camera. All it "does" is trigger the shutter on the camera (both half- and full-press), but can be programmed to do so in quite a large variety of ways, from using it as a time-lapse controller to using it to control ultra-long "bulb" photos. I've used it already as a remote trigger for a family portrait: we also have an infrared remote but that requires line-of-sight and so you can usually find the person controlling the picture - this device is 2.4GHz wireless so can be hidden. My intention is to use it to take wide-angle astrophotography, but it's been too cold, cloudy, and snowy here in Michigan to give that a try so far. I have a Nikon but it's available for Canon too; only the cord is different.

44

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: February 14, 2018, 01:57 PM »

Mine came out a little worse -- I printed him upright and one of his legs became encased in supports and came off with them.

-mouser (February 14, 2018, 01:14 PM)

Yes, you have to think about not only what's going to print most successfully (least support, or support in least obvious places), but also where the strength is going to be after printing. Think in terms of woodworking... if you print cody upright you have "short grain" in the legs—easy to break. The way I did it, the layers extend (at least partially) through the legs from the body, adding strength.

45

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: February 14, 2018, 12:59 PM »

Printing it now..

-mouser (February 14, 2018, 12:53 PM)

46

Living Room / Re: Thread on 3d Printing Cody Model

« on: February 14, 2018, 10:35 AM »

Here's an STL to get you started. Gonna need support.

http://ericandchar.com/dc/cody.stl

47

UrlSnooper / Re: Help finding stream URL link

« on: January 25, 2018, 01:31 PM »

Hmm, they work for me (still). Maybe there's a token or session of some kind that is associated with me.

48

Living Room / Re: Google Photo: Query/s re related info

« on: January 23, 2018, 04:49 PM »

Does Picasa still sync with Google Photos?

-Deozaan (January 23, 2018, 12:19 PM)

That's a good thought (and I don't know the answer), because the description typed into Picasa does wind up stored in the photo metadata. I don't know if Google Photos uses that metadata when uploaded; what I read indicates it might not (or maybe keywords do but descriptions don't).

49

Living Room / Re: Google Photo: Query/s re related info

« on: January 23, 2018, 11:14 AM »

ExifTool might do this automatically? I haven't tested it but see the following thread:
http://u88.n24.queen...dex.php?topic=8154.0

And get the executable from:
http://owl.phy.queen...u.ca/~phil/exiftool/

To clarify: What the command-line ExifTool will do is read the description from the json file(s), and write it to the metadata attached to the picture(s). Then you'll have to find another program that lets you view them together (though this should be easy).

50

UrlSnooper / Re: Help finding stream URL link

« on: January 22, 2018, 01:45 PM »

Try these:

94.9:
http://17253.live.st...m:3690/WOGGFMAAC.aac

104.3
http://17603.live.st...orld.com/WOGIAAC.aac

103.5
http://17603.live.st...ld.com/WLYIFMAAC.aac

92.1
http://17253.live.st...ld.com/WKPLFMAAC.aac

99.3
http://17603.live.st...ld.com/WPKLFMAAC.aac