That's just silly.

Yesterday was a comedy of errors.  The day started well enough with some test cuts of small pieces to test slot clearances, and all went well.  Then I decided to mill out something big: the standing computer desk:

Now, while for the most part it fits together without hardware, the adjustable keyboard rack does require the drilling of the holes.  After figuring out how to get poor 'ol CamBam (free version) to drill holes (and testing this), I started the program.
It started out ok, but then by the third hole it started generating a good deal of smoke.  It took lots of experimenting with feed rates, pecking, and other such stuff to figure out what was going on:  I was trying to drill holes with a downcut bit.  
For the non-machinists out there, allow me to explain: your standard drill bit is what's called an upcut bit, that is the spiral flutes of the bit will bring chips up to the top of the bit.  This is good for high-speed cutting, where you have to worry about keeping the bit clear.  However, the drawback to using upcut bits in a CNC router is that it will cause the face of your material to chip and break near the cut, especially if you're working on a laminate material like plywood.  For this reason I bought downcut bits, where the flutes of the bit spiral the other way.  This eliminates chipping on the face, but has other drawbacks, such as not being good at drilling holes.  What was happening to me is that the MDF dust created by the bit was being kept down in the hole where it was compressed and rubbed against itself a high speed, causing it to burn.  To fix this, I changed the program so that I'd only drill shallow holes, the plan being to take the pieces over to the drill press and finish them after they were cut out.
Just before I was going to start cutting the actual pieces out, suddenly everything shut off.  Turns out someone in the wood shop next to me blew a fuse.  To avoid this in the future I used an extension cord to plug into a different outlet.  I thought nothing of this at the time, but it would haunt me the rest of the night.  After that I could not get the machine to do what I wanted.  It wouldn't always move when it was told, and nothing I did or changed seemed to help.  At 11pm I decided to call it a night and went home.
I came in this morning and after implementing a clamping system I thought up to keep the workpiece from moving (we thought that perhaps this was causing some of the error), I got back to work.
As one would imagine, the same problem was still there, but this time I noticed that it seemed to be limited to the Y and Z motors.  I checked the connections, moved cords around to avoid possible interference (even though they were shielded), but no dice.  The most annoying thing was that it would work fine until I actually went to run a program.  A stroke of luck finally showed me what was going on:  I turned the router on and had the program start and then when I saw it was moving I turned on the shop vac.  I look back to see that the Y motor had stopped moving right when I had hit the vac's switch.  Remember when I changed outlets?  Turns out the new one didn't supply the same amount of current as the old one, so the motors weren't getting enough juice when the router and vac were on as well.
They're now on a different circuit.  Off to cutting!

It was a good day

It would seem that after some teasing, Murphy decided to give me a break yesterday.
First, the motors arrived right when UPS said they would.  Installing one on the x axis went smoothly, but I ran into some problems once I started testing and tuning it.  First, when I tried to run it it kept stopping at the same place on the table and clutching out.  Turns out the set screw that was keeping one of the drive sprockets in place had loosened somewhat and was catching on the chain.  For some reason it now wanted to be tighter than it had been before, which meant grinding a new flat into it's head to prevent further catching.  Once that problem was solved I started the process of finding the right amount of current to drive the motor.  Surprisingly, even with the current turned all the way up to 4.3A (the motor should only get 3A), it was still not able to move at the speeds I thought it should.  In looking for a cause of this, I had the first of the day's breakthroughs. 
It turns out the dip switches are "on" when they are in the down position.  This meant two things: that the auto half current function (which helps keep motors from overheating) was off when I thought it was on, and that the boards were set to microstep at 25 subdivisions instead of just 5.  While microstepping does give you much more precision (which I don't really need), it also severely reduces the amount of torque (which I do).  I turn the auto half current function, set the driver to 2 subdivisions just to be on the safe side, modify the necessary settings in the software to reflect this, and resume testing.
The torque of the motor improves significantly, but it's still not performing as well as I'd expected.  I could get it up to about 9 inches per second, but higher than that and it would choke, regardless of current.  Now, when I was running my previous jobs, I had the machine running at feed rates of 50 and 100, so I was understandably concerned.  I had no idea what was wrong, and was starting to get very frustrated.
Then it hit me: the units are different.
See, those feed rates of 50 and 100 were inches per minute, not second, so what I thought was a slow 9 was in fact 540 IPM, way faster than I'd ever need to go.
It's amazing how one small realization can improves one outlook on life.
After that, it was all cake.  I re-tuned all three motors and cut the next prototype of the card dispenser.  The y axis motor got a little on the warm side, so I had to let it rest half-way through the job, but I can turn the current down on that one with torque to spare.
There were some issues with the card dispenser job itself, but that was because of how I had it cut, not any hardware problems.  I assembled it today, and it works quite well:

You can find other pics of it, along with screenshots of other things I've modeled in Solidworks that are destined to be milled out on a CNC here.

More shopping

I had to order two new motors today.  One to replace the z axis motor that got too hot the other day, and one to replace the x axis motor that got too hot today.  Not sure exactly why, since I thought the current was turned down on that one, but perhaps not.  The CNC is again out of commission until the motors arrive, which with any luck should be before the weekend.
*sigh*
Ah well, time to do some more CAD modeling.  I'll have plenty to mill once it's up and running again.

First prototype!

A quick update today:
On Friday I milled out parts for a prototype business card dispenser.  Check out the flickr set here.

Two steps forward...

Yeah, damn clichés.
Yesterday, as you all saw, the machine was up and running.  However, by the time I left it was once again non-functional.  I'm pretty sure what happend was that the current was turned up to high on the z axis motor, causing it to overheat and eventually burn out.  Usually I keep an eye on motor temp using an infrared thermometer, but it's batteries died.  Thankfully my good friend Calvin had a small stepper I could borrow until I make sure the other motor is dead, or it gets fixed.  I picked it up from him this morning, and that was one problem licked. 
Another issue I had yesterday was that while the machine did work, it was painfully slow; that one part took around 45 minutes to mill out.  This was because the router I was using could only spin at 500 RPMs, which meant I could only make the machine move at six inches per minute.  I can't afford to spend that much time waiting, so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a bigger router.  A wood working supply store near where I live happened to cary exactly what I needed: a replacement motor for a Porter Cable 3 1/4 hp router.  Of course, about an hour after I bought it I get an email from my friend Jeff telling me that he has a mailer from that same store that's advertising a replacement router motor for $30 less than what I paid, plus a $25 gift certificate.  I call the place back, and they told me that if I come back on Saturday (when that sale starts) with just the receipt,  I can get the discount and the gift certificate.  Two problems licked.
I get to the Asylum, rebuild the z gantry using the parts designed to hold the larger router, slap it back on the machine, wire in the new motor, install that, and start testing.
The new motor won't drive the gantry.  Instead it just clutches out.  No worries, the current is probably turned down too low, all I need to do is turn it back up until it has enough power.  After much headache, I realize that the potentiometer on the driver board that is used to adjust the current is ever so slightly broken, so that the board doesn't work unless a slight pressure is applied to the dial.  A small screw and some electrical tape later, and I've MacGuyvered it back to working condition.  Third problem licked.  
Now that it's all working again, I'm calling it a day.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.

It Made a Thing!

Look!

My CNC made a thing!
It's a replacement for part of the vacuum attachment that was originally milled upside-down.  As you can see here, the lobed part that hangs beneath the router has a channel that connects the two openings.  That channel is supposed to face downwards, but if you flip the part the bolt holes don't line up.  To fix this, I simply milled out another copy of the part and used the current piece as a guide for drilling the holes.

Much better!

It's Ready!

Finally!
My CNC gantry router is finally ready to start making stuff!  I'm sure I'll still do a lot of tweaking as I go along, but tomorrow I'll actually be able to start making things.
First order of business will be to go back to Atlantic Carbide to talk to their Onsrud rep, who apparently is only there between 6 am and 2 pm.  I need to find out what the best bit for cutting masonite hardboard, which I plan to use in my first project: a business card dispenser.  I've already done the CAD modeling and part layout; now all I need to do is to write the g-code.  I should have a prototype to show off tomorrow!

I had to go and brag about it

So what happens when you go and say that something will be finished on a certain day?  Murphy shows his ugly head.
Damn you, Murphy.
See, everything was ready.  I had bought an extension hose for the shop vac, and onsrud cutters for the router. I had even done testing!  Apparently, I hadn't done enough.  Here's what happened:
I got the new motor wired up to one of my cables, poped it on the y axis (it had a longer drive shaft than my other motors, so it fit better there), connected everything, and loaded up the config wizard to make sure my settings were right.  X and y axises still worked fine (so the new motor was good), but when I tried to test the z axis, nothing happened.  I called someone over to listen to the motor while I tried to drive it, and apparently it would make a faint humming noise, but that was it.  I disconnected it from the z axis lead screw, and it still didn't move.  Out came the multi-meter.  The cable was good.  The port on the electronics box was good.  I tested the motor on a different stepper driver board and it worked just fine, so it wasn't the motor.  This leaves (as far as I know) only one thing that could be failing to work: the z axis stepper driver board.
Some good news:  The guy who built the electronics is going to be here soon, he should be able to accurately diagnose the problem.  With any luck, it's something silly I didn't know about, and he'll fix it.  Also, I have an extra driver board that only needs very minor repairs to be fully functional, so even if the current z axis board is busted, we've got a replacement; no waiting for shipping.
Wish me luck!

Today it will be COMPLETE!!

The replacement motor has just arrived!  After I finish this post I'm off to buy some Onsrud cutters for the router and an extension hose for the shop vac, I'll slap the new motor on the z axis, and I'll be OFF AND MILLING!!!
It's about damn time.
Over the weekend I did some testing and tuning using only the x and y axises and a sharpie mounted in the router.

As you can see, with the first run (at the bottom), it started off pretty good, but as it progressed the x axis kept slipping.  The problem was that since the set screw in the drive sprocket was so small (#8, no head), I couldn't really torque it down tight enough without stripping the socket and/or allen wrench.  Thankfully my friend Calvin was around, and offered me a couple socket-headed screws that took a much larger allen wrench, allowing me to apply plenty of torque.  While the larger heads did rub the chain, a little quick grinding with my dremel took care of that.  As you can see, the final test showed no slippage at all.
Another mod I implemented at the suggestion of others was the addition of two brackets to help support the x axis drive shafts:

We had noticed that when the drive chains were tightened, it would cause the 1/4" drive shafts to flex.  To counteract this, Jeff designed and milled out several pieces of MDF to hold an additional bearing for each drive shaft.  This way, the shaft would be supported on either side of the drive sprocket, taking most of the lateral tension off the sprocket.  They work great.
Off to finish the machine!

Setbacks and opportunities

In a response to an earlier post of mine where I had stated that the CNC machine was 'almost done', a friend of mine said "Great! 90% down, only 90% to go!"
This comment is becoming more prophetic than I'd like.
The machine has been capable of movement for a few days now, but the x axis has been troublesome.  Even though it's being driven by a beefy NEMA34 motor that should be capable of over 600 oz-in of torque, I've been able to stop it with just a couple fingers.  After sleeping on the problem Monday night, I decided to check the documentation of the motors and the driver boards, and discovered that the boards can only supply 4.3A of current, while the motor wants 5.5A.  After consulting with some of my friends at the Asylum and some testing, we've decided that the best course of action is to order another smaller NEMA23 motor like the ones currently driving the Y and Z axises, which we know the driver boards can handle.
Some good news is that I had an interview with Because We Can for their internship position that went very well.  However, I wouldn't be available until June, and they said that because of their size they can't reliably plan that far ahead.  Still, I'm pretty optimistic about the opportunity, and will be staying in touch with them.

Completion is imminent!

So close now!

The mechanics are all done, and the electronics are functional.  All that's left is to finish up the wiring and software configuration, which I should be able to knock out today.  After that's finished I'll do some test "cuts" using a sharpie in the router to make sure it's moving like it should, and then I'll start milling!
Other than some replacement parts and a few additional ones for the gantry, the first thing I plan on making is a toy I've been working on I'm calling the launcher.  The original idea was a snow ball launcher, but then I realized that it could be used to launch pretty much anything than could fit down the barrel, so I made sure it could at least fit a tennis ball.  It'll be large, unwieldy, and completely impractical, but it's a great example how a large CNC mill can be used to make things other than furniture and signage.

Getting Close Now!

It's starting to look like a CNC!

As you can see, the machine is coming along nicely.  I've attached the rails on the z and y gantries, which has allowed me to put all the main assemblies together.  Jeff, one of the guys here at the Asylum, wanted to paint the torsion box with a stainless-steel paint, so it's all nice and shiny now.  The next big steps will be to fasten the top to the torsion box (it's upside down now), and put it on top of the table structure.  Once that's done, I can install the long x-axis rails and chains.  Almost there!  

Busy Busy

Lots has happened in the past few days.  First off, I forgot to mention on Monday that I got all the pieces for the gantry milled out by Terry at Village Sign Works and picked them up last Saturday.  As you can see, I've also made headway on putting them together.

On Tuesday I put in all the orders for hardware, and today the last package arrived!  Sourcing the aluminum rails locally proved to be a great idea.  It turns out that there's a local company called Admiral Metals that sold me full ten foot rails; this allowed me to avoid having a join in the long x-axis rails, which would most likely have caused a small bump.  I also happend to run into a fellow CNC machinist while I was there who offered to help me machine any small parts I might need.  I love this town.  
I now have everything I need to finish the build; the only thing I have yet to get is an old computer to run the thing, but I've got several leads.  Tomorrow is going to be a long work day.

Change in plans

I've decided that instead of going to the bay area for a month, I'm going to spend the entire quarter here in Boston, and then spend a few months in Oakland after I graduate.
Here's what happened: a few days ago I read on Because We Can's blog that they're offering a couple internships, one of which is focused on the use of CNC tech.  As you can imagine, my first reaction was extreme interest, thinking I could do it right after I graduated, but after a few moments of consideration I decided that I'd probably be better off just going straight into business for myself.
A couple days later I found myself re-considering this internship.  As it turns out, part of my resistance to it was the fact that I was very weary of becoming too interested in the bay area as a place to set up shop because I'm already in love with Boston.  As I thought about this, I realized that this had caused me subconsciously to sabotage it's chances by only spending a month there, while giving Boston the better part of two.  If instead I spent a full four months in Oakland, I'd be much more likely to get a more full picture of what living there was really like, and have more time to make the connections I would need.  The more I thought about this idea, the more I liked it; even if I didn't get the internship it would still be a better plan.  Another benefit would be that I would then be free to spend the full quarter here which, considering how long it's been taking to get the CNC up and running, would be very helpful.
After talking to several people about this plan and hearing no strong objections, and making sure my housemate wouldn't mind me staying an extra month, I decided to go ahead and put this plan into action.  I'll miss not being able to see my father and step-mother for Thanksgiving, but being able to spend that much more time with them in the summer should make up for it.

Construction has begun!

Last night I finally started nailing and gluing boards together.  Of course there was a last minute design change to the torsion box, but it was the awesome kind that cut down dramatically on weight, construction time, and material used.  Put simply, I increased the space between ribs in the box, and made each row staggered from the one before it.  This change is largely thanks to Edison, one of the guys at the Asylum.  God, it's nice to have intelligent monkeys to bounce ideas off of!  After I cut all the new short ribs and laid down some plastic to keep the box from getting glued to the concrete, I managed to get almost half of the thing built before I headed home for dinner.

The process of getting the gantry parts milled out, while complicated, is progressing nicely. When I went down to the SETC Thursday evening, there were indeed people there, and a shiny 4x8 ShopBot capable of doing all the cuts nicely.  Unfortunately, the (one?) guy who can teach people how to use it was not there, and it was unclear when he might ever return to the SETC since he was currently in the middle of grad school.  I did make some good contacts though, including one guy from a hackerspace near David Square called Sprout.  I'm going to try to make it there sometime this week.
I also heard back from a guy I found through 100k garages who makes signs.  His business is Village Sign Works, and it's run by a guy named Terry and his son.  I drove up there Friday afternoon and spent some time discussing the job and generally talking shop.  He seemed very eager to help me out.  We couldn't get the g-code files I had from buildyourcnc.com to work with his system, so we decided that the best thing would be for me to take the DXFs I had, separate the cuts into layers based on depth of cut, and send those to him for an estimate.  It's a good thing we did this, since an extra DXF I had also been sent turned out to contain several updated parts that I was strongly urged to use.  I swapped out the old parts for the new, split everything into layers, and sent the revised DXF off to Terry.  Hopefully I'll hear from him sometime today with an estimate and he'll be able to get cutting in the next day or so.

CNC status update

The CNC is coming along.  We've settled on the BlackFoot design from buildyoucnc.com, and I've purchased the g-code files files for it.  Before we build the mill though, we first have to make a table for it to go on, and the first part of that is making what is known as a torsion box.  In turn, the first part of making a torsion box is having a flat, level surface on which to build it.  To that end, a frame of 2x4s was bolted to the floor over plastic, and self-leveling concrete was poured in.

A torsion box is a long thin box containing a grid of boards that form a ridged lattice.  This will insure that the table to of the CNC mill will always be flat.  Right now I've got most of the parts of the torsion box cut out; I just need help cutting the long sides of the box along with the top.  Once that's done I'll assemble the box, build the table, and then start building the CNC onto it.
In the mean time I need to find a place that already has a CNC machine that will cut the out the parts for mine for me.  Some other people at the Asylum tried to scope out a possible place called the South End Technology Center, but when they went during posted open hours on Saturday, the place was closed.  Hopefully it'll be open today.

Much Progress!

On Sunday I met with several people from the Artisan's Asylum about building a CNC mill.  Going into the meeting my plans and dreams looked something like this: if money was no object, I would build a small mill like the one I just made in Cincinnati, power it with overpowered electronics, use it to mill out precision parts for a larger mill that could handle a whole 4'x8' sheet of ply, build that, and then use the electronics from the first machine to power the second.  When it would be time to return to Cincinnati I would rent a U-haul and take the larger machine with me, leaving the smaller one.  Once reality set in, I decided that a more prudent thing to do would be to just make the smaller machine; building the larger one could wait until I was back in Cincinnati.  Minutes into the meeting on Sunday, several things became clear:

• The Asylum guys saw no reason to make anything other than a full 4'x8' mill.
• One of them was already willing to buy the machine once I left town.
• Another said he knew of several places that would mill out parts the parts for us at cost.

!!!
This means that I'll get to build and have access to a full size CNC mill, not have to worry about getting it back to Cincinnati, and all it'll cost me in the end is my time and labor!  This is better than I had dreamed of!  Tonight we're meeting again to decide on a design to use, and possibly get started on the table that will hold the machine.  Unless someone has found another well-tested design of the size we need, we'll probably be building this one.


In other news, this weekend I'm attending StrowlerCon, another Maker event of sorts where I have been assured I'll meet lots of awesome people.


Ye gods, I owe you people a report from D.C., don't I?  I'd start a list of posts to do, but I'm afraid it would only encourage me to add to it rather than actually post.

Maker Faire Recap

The Maker Faire was amazing. All sorts of cool stuff from reps from big companies to small local shops selling their wares. Of course, I spent most of my time in the digital fabrication area. As you can imagine there were a great deal of 3D printers at the faire; most of them were MakerBot's cupcake CNC, including a few of the new version that just came out. At first blush, it doesn't seem that different, but I was told that it now supports microstepping, has a slightly larger print area, and of course comes with all the upgrades to the old cupcake. Honestly, I didn't see anything that really impressed me, but then again, I'm a miller, not a printer. I was more impressed by the RepRap Mendel, which has printing area of approximately 8x8x8, as opposed to the cupcake 4x4x6. Also, one guy told me it only cost him about $500 plus about 2.5 lbs. of printed parts, and was surprisingly easy to assemble (easier than a cupcake, he claimed). The Fab@Home guys showed off their versatility by printing in everything from silicon to cheesewiz using a variety of extruders, some of which were driven by air pressure. Neat idea.

I have to admit, after seeing so many printers, I caught the bug a bit and was tempted to get one myself. This lasted until Sunday, when I went to a talk given by a man from Shopbot Tools. His talk was largely about additive (3D printing) vs. subtractive (CNC milling) digital fabrication. Put simply, while there are some forms that can be 3D printed as one piece that can't be milled (hollow forms for example), milling is faster, cheaper, works on more practical materials, and can make parts much larger than even the most expensive printers.

Naturally I spent a lot of time talking to the guys from Shopbot Tools. They had three machines there: a 4x8 that was milling pieces for a construction set out of a full sheet of 3/4" ply, a 2x2 doing full 3D work to mill a pirate sign out of high-density foam, and smaller machine I didn't see running. I learned a lot by picking their brains, from the advantages of different types of cutters to pass depth increments to prices for electronic setups. It's too much to write out here, but I might make it a separate post later.

I spent some time checking out Alibre, an affordable CAD suite. Turns out it's designed to work much like Solidworks which I have come to know and love, but at around five grand I have dreaded buying. Alibre, on the other hand, is a lovely $99 for the basic version, and even if I bought the expert edition with the CAM suite add-on, it would still be cheaper.

I also went to a short talk given by the two owners of Because We Can on how to go pro as a Maker. Turns out what they're doing is similar in many ways to my own business idea in that their main tool is a large showboat CNC mill. I got a lot of good tips from them, which again I'll probably post about later.

Finally, there were all the other makers there. Most were doing jewelry, print work, or small soft goods; stuff that can easily be made by a couple people without any really expensive machinery or tools. One guy was selling messenger bags made out of bicycle tire tubes and scrap canvas from a sailboat factory. His company is called Vaya, and all their bags are hand-made by his wife. Cool stuff.

One last thing: While I was there I ran into an old acquaintance from Boston. Turns out he's also one of the directors for Artisan's Asylum, and can help me rent some space. Things are looking good.

The adventure has begun!

My apologies for the lack of recent posts, but the last couple weeks have been hectic. First I went to Burning Man, then I had a week to get ready to move to Boston for a month and a half. Now that I'm here and somewhat settled in, I finally I have time to catch my breath and give that promised debriefing.

Burning Man was, unsurprisingly, amazing. The art cars, mutant bicycles, sculptures, and art installations were all incredible and wonderful grist for the creative mill (I'm already working on a transforming mutant bicycle design). However, probably the most useful thing I learned there was this: if I ever have some crazy idea for a project that needs lots of space and willing guinea pigs who won't try to sue my ass off, I now know where to go.

Of course, I also met a bunch of awesome people with sexy brains ripe for the picking. I got a lot of positive feedback on my CNC shop idea, and some interest in my bicycle tire armor that I brought; if I get an etsy shop set up I might be able to actually make some money this quarter!

Thankfully, my primary venture of getting access to a shop to work on my CNC projects is also looking very promising. Last night I hung out at the Artisan's Asylum and met a bunch of cool people, several of which are very interested in CNC tech. Now, while they won't be ready to have open shop hours for a few months at least, it looks like if I rent some space (only $1 per square foot!) and pay a monthly fee I could have access to the shop now. My current plan is to rent enough space for a 4x8 machine, build it, and then take it back to Cincinnati with me when I leave using a U-haul and the handy trailer hitch on my Toyota.

Tomorrow I leave for New York to meet with family before the maker faire on Saturday and Sunday. After that I'll spend a few days with my friend Lea down in DC looking at hackerspaces and museums before catching the bus back to Boston and start working on my projects in earnest.

The chair is done!

What a crazy life. First I stay up all night busting my ass to finish my chair before the crit at 7 am on Friday, and now I find myself sitting in the Salt Lake City airport waiting to be picked up by a bunch of crazy burners to take me to Burning Man. Rediculous. I'll be incommunicado for the next ten days or so, but I promise a full debreifing when I get back.

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IT'S ALIVE!!

My CNC is finally finished! I'll post some pics of it to the flickr album later. Of course, that means that I can now devote all my time to finishing my chair. Oh, and packing for Burning Man of course.

It's going to be a long, fast week.

One way or another...

I'm getting my CNC machine running tomorrow. The cable I thought would arrive Wednesday still isn't here, but according to the friendly mail guy said that a package from Peoria would take two to three days, so it should arrive tomorrow. In case it doesn't, my partner-in-crime Nate thinks we could rig something to take it's place pretty easily.

Soon, my precious, soon.

So.....Close......

OK, so over the weekend Nate and I finished getting (almost) everything we need and wiring up all the electronics for the CNC so we could start testing it. Sunday evening we plugged it all in, launched Mach3, and entered our first bit of G-code.

Nothing.

Checked and rechecked the wiring. Confirmed that the motors were receiving power. Tweaked the settings a bit. Still nothing.

The following morning I called Probotix, the guys who we bought the electronics from, and they helped me confirm that the fault did not lie with what we got from them; the computer simply wasn't talking to the breakout board. Feeling out of my depth (electronics and Windows computers are not my area of expertise), I decided to try the one thing I could think of that might help: reinstall the driver software. I call Nate and tell him what I learned from the Probotix guys (very helpful and patient, I would highly recommend them) while I waited for the computer to restart. While I had him on the phone, I tried testing the setup again.

Success! The motors MOVED!

Thinking I was close to finishing, I started installing the motors on the machine. Then I noticed that some of my tweaking from the other day meant that I'd have to do some rebuilding to make things line up again. Ok, very doable, I figured I'd still be done by the end of the day. Unfortunately, I forgot about the small 10-pin ribbon cable I needed to get until just after the two electronics supply places in the city were already closed. So now I have a CNC machine with all three motors mounted, but electronics that's only capable of running two of them at a time. Today I have DesCom, which means not much time for the machine, but damn it, I will make time get those wires and finish the thing TODAY!

Boy, you'll be a burner soon.

I was working on my CNC machine last night (snugged up a lot to reduce play, installed router) in the shop which happens to be part of the local burner community, and as often happens people were trying to talk me into going to Burning Man. Usually I can't because of school, and said so, until someone mentioned the actual dates of the festival.

It starts on the 31st. My final crit is on the 27th.

Holy shit, I could make burning man.

Next thing I know, I'm being handed a packing list while someone looks up on their phone how much a flight to meet the caravan in Salt Lake City would cost. Turns out if I fly out the evening after my final crit, I'd easily be able to meet the group en route, and then drive back with them after the burn. There's already space for my stuff in a trailer, and a spot waiting for me in a camp. All I have to do is say yes so they can find me a cheap ticket.

Bloody hell, I'm going to Burning Man.

Plans!

Ok, plans for the quarter are coming together. At this point it's looking like I'll be heading out to Boston in early September, hitting the Maker Faire in NY later that month, then driving back to Cincinnati in time to fly out to Oakland in mid to late November.

In other news, my CNC machine is coming along quite nicely. I finally got the electronics back from my friend who's been really sick with pneumonia, and got the X axis stepper motor installed. I wanted to start testing the software, but I discovered that the computer in the shop I'm using doesn't (yet) have a parallel port on it. Thankfully, our driver board also has a USB port, so I'll just bring a cable from home next time.

I also picked up a copy of Makers by Cory Doctorow. All I knew about the book was that it was somewhat of a manifesto for the maker movement, so I was expecting non-fiction. I was therefor quite surprised to read the dust jacket and discover it to be a fictional narrative in a genre that could be described as "makerpunk." I started it last night and it looks like it's going to be quite a ride.

Blogger, my old friend, we meet again

Poor blog, I've really been neglecting you, haven't I? Well, fear not, for I now have a reason to post to you on a regular basis for the next three months!

How is this possible? Well, let me explain: Instead of getting one last coop for the fall quarter, I've decided to take a travel quarter instead. This will let me investigate my CNC shop idea further, and form the basis of my senior project (not to mention the business plan I'll use after graduation). Now, one of DAAP's requirements for taking a travel quarter is that I document what I do, to show that I'm spending the time productively. This is where you, my dear blog, come in. Now, not only will you be used to make my final deliverable for my quarter, you will also be the repository of all the information I gather, AND you'll keep everyone up to date on what the hell I'm up to, which is why my LJ friends will now see all of these posts as well (we'll see how well this email-posting thing works). Here's to lots of productive blogging!

If you ever want to start anything, watch this. Now.

Simon Sinek is one clever monkey. I just watched this amazing TED talk by him describing his very simple explanation for why some businesses and movements succeed while others fail. In short, you're selling what you believe, not what you do. As Sinek put it, Martin Luthor's speach was "I have a dream," not "I have a plan." I love it. It just feels right.

New Solar Tech

So I was going through my backlog of RSS feeds, and I stumbled across this article on Engadget about a new type of solar cell being developed by Caltech. These new cells have several advantages, from using fifty times less semiconductor material than conventional cells to being able to convert 90 to 100 percent of photons absorbed into electrons. Oh yeah, and they're flexible as well. Here's a link to the original article on Caltech's site.

Final Process Books

To keep things simple for our over-worked professor, I'm posting all my process books here. Thanks again Mike! You were great.

Flash Drive

Tea Kettle

"Computer, is it the future yet?"

Remember the computer from Star Trek: The Next Generation? While there were touch screens in every room and corridor, most people interacted with it by talking. "Computer, where is the captain?" "Computer, increase lighting by twenty percent." "Computer, who won the 1989 world series?" What a cool idea, right? We use speech to communicate with other people, so as computers get more and more sophisticated (read: more like people), we'd eventually start talking to them as well.

So why aren't we talking to our computers yet? Good question, given that the technology is already there. Remember the Motorola Razr? I remember my amazement when I discovered that pressing one of the buttons on the side caused my phone to prompt me to "Please say a command." Even more amazingly, it could usually understand what I said. I'd show this to other people and they'd be surprised that my fairly basic phone could do something so "advanced."

I had a similar experience when I started using a comic book reading app called FFView. It turned on the speech recognition software that apparently came with my mac, and allowed me to control the app by speaking to it. Not only that, but if I wanted to create a new voice command, all I had to do was type in the word and it would be able to recognize it right off the bat! No training or calibration necessary! Of course, this led me to explore this feature more, and I discovered that macs have a lot of voice commands built in, and creating new ones is very easy, as long as there is an associated key command. Check it out for yourself: just go to "Speech" in the systems preferences. Mac help can tell you everything you need to know to start using this feature.

So why have I never heard of anyone using this feature? I'm guessing the main reason is this: the people who would poke around enough to find it are usually computer-savy enough to already use keyboard shortcuts to do the same things, so they have no use for it. Shortcuts, after all, are faster, more precise, and easier to find.

I wonder though: what about people who are not that computer literate? Could this help them? I've got a good guinea pig in mind; I'll let you know how it goes.

The Final Kitchen Crit

The final crit for my festival kitchen crit was today, and I have to say it was one of the best crits I've had at DAAP thus far. Our professor Tony brought in half a dozen local designers to critique our designs, and they had a lot of really valuable insights. Granted, it can be a little frustrating to get criticism from people who haven't been there for all the revisions and past crits, but it is a better measurement of how well you resolved the design. The main criticism I got for my design was that I didn't push things far enough, which I understand. I wasn't really trying to push the envelope with this project; I wanted something that would do a good job of filling the need I had seen simply and easily. Keep it simple, right? On the other hand, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from the people I actually designed the kitchen for, so I'm pretty happy with my design.

Coop Confirmed!

I've finally got it nailed down: This next quarter I'm going back to work for Sean Mullaney at Quiggie design! I'm really looking forward to it; we had a great time last fall. Sean is an accomplished toy and game designer, and I learn a lot about the industry when I work with him. The only downside is that I'll never be able to tell anyone about most of the things we work on. Ah well, such is the toy invention industry.

The Kettle is Finished!

I'm very happy with how this turned out. Perhaps what I'm the most proud of is the fact that all the details save the silver pipes are functional. Now, I'm also fairly certain that this is one of those projects I'll go back to in the future and refine; the cool thing about steampunk artifacts is that there's no such thing as too much detail, and there are a few features I'd like to add that I simply didn't have time for. Wish me luck on the crit!

Steampunk Kettle Project

Our next project in DesComm is to design some sort of tea kettle using some sort of theme as inspiration. Given that tea makes me think of Victorian England, the first thing that came to my mind was to make a steampunk kettle. Now, given that the steampunk aesthetic is known for very complicated and ornate artifacts, I'm a little worried that I'm biting off a little more than I can chew, but the idea is simply too cool to pass up.

Touch Everything!

While catching up on my RSS feeds, I stumbled across an article about a technology that could turn any surface (even curved or transparent ones) into a multi-touch interface simply by applying a very thin film. You can even put the film under the surface, as long as it isn't deeper than 15 mm. Read about it here.

Protoss Flash

So, since the snow has closed the entire university and I won't have the crit that was supposed to be this evening, I thought I'd post my work here. The assignment was to design a series of three flash drives with a particular brand in mind; I choose to base mine on the Protoss race from Blizzard's Starcraft franchise. Please let me know what you'd think; I've now have a couple more days to tweak it. Thanks!

CNC Machinations

So, given that I'll be graduating in a year or so, I've started to think about what I'd like to do for a senior project. Naturally, I want it to reflect my values as a designer; namely something clever, useful, and centered around functionality.

At my last coop I was introduced to MAKE magazine, a wonderful publication devoted to, well, making stuff yourself. It's awesome, and probably deserves a post of its own, but for now all you need to know is that one issue had an article on building your own CNC machine, and within that a mention of a site called Build Your Own CNC. This site was made by a guy who is so into CNC tech that he's designed a fairly inexpensive set of CNC machines you can build yourself made primarily out of MDF pieces cut out on . . . a CNC machine. Poking around on this guy's site really got me thinking about the possibilities of CNC tech, and led me to the following idea:

Why not design a small furniture shop devoted to making products out of sheet goods machined on a CNC?

Weirdness in the Workplace

My uncle, who sometimes sends me random bits of interesting stuff, just sent me a link to this interview with the CEO of Zappos.com about developing an internal culture to maintain people's passion for what they do. It's a great read for anyone who's interested in running their own business.

Why a Creator?

So it occurs to me that I should explain the title of this blog. Why creator? Why not designer, since I'm going to school for design? To add to this confusion, I'll answer the second question first. The thing about calling one's self a designer is that it's horribly vague. Graphic designers, fashion designers, and interior designers all use the word 'design' as if it only refers to what they do. Their are lots of business called [name here] Design, and there's no way to know which kind they do without visiting their website. I want a word that will either let people know exactly what I do, or at least force them to ask. I don't want to just be another 'designer.'

So why creator? Well, to me, the creation of something is a wholistic process, including inspiration, research, revision, prototyping, and production. Art to part, as they say. I want to do all of that, not just make pretty pictures of a neat idea. I want to take my ideas and make them REAL. I want to create.

Designing a Better Portfolio

I just finished reading these three articles on how to improve your portfolio. The first one has some pretty standard (but still good) advice on what all portfolios should have and do (consider your audience, show a range of skills, try to stand out somehow), but doesn't have any real insight. The second is fairly similar, but it also makes the point that you need to demonstrate some business savvy by acting in a professional manner when interviewed. Again, good points, but not ground-breaking.

The last article however was a real gem. It was by far the longest of the three, and it really went into detail about what the author, a co-founder of a product design studio, looks for in a potential hire. From telling a story to keeping the graphics to a minimum to demonstrating your design thinking, he covers a lot of ground. If you're looking to revise your portfolio any time soon it's well worth a read.

Goals

One of my favorite books in the world claims that ambition will take you further education, charm, or even talent. A big part of that is having some good goals. Now, I've put a great deal of thought into my big-picture goals, but my professor has asked us to put down some goals for the next quarter. I'll put down those big ones later.

First, the obvious ones:

Make a great portfolio

Design an impressive workstation

Both of these are required by the studios I'm taking, but don't see them just as chores to get done so I can get a diploma. I take pride in my work, and I really want that to show. As far as an action plan for getting these done, we've got one in they syllabus, so I see no need to write a new one down here.

Work on sketching

One of my weaker skills, I really need to devote some time to sketching. I feel that I can sketch well enough to communicate my ideas, but very beautifully or quickly. In all honesty, it's my least favorite method of getting an idea out of my head (I prefer to work in three dimensions), but I recognize that it will be much harder to get to where I want to go if I don't get better. To that end, I plan on setting aside a chunk of time each day to sketch.

Get more organized

Organization is one of those things I'm quite good at when I actually try. Specifically I'm talking about time management here. To this end I've already started using iCal with my iPod Touch to keep closer tabs on my classes, and I plan on using it to schedule blocks of time to work on specific tasks as well.

Get more connected

Ah yes, social media. This is something I've been working on gradually already, but I want to continue to focus on it. Maintaining this blog will be part of this (and this means posting more than just what Mike is asking for). I also want to actually use my LinkedIn account, and reach out to and maintain relationships with those I already know in the design community.

Those look pretty good. I'll keep you posed on how these go.

Beginnings

You know, I never seriously considered starting a design blog (or any blog for that matter), but now that I have to for a class (thanks Mike!), I'm realizing that this will be a damn useful tool. Here's a place where I can rant about design, post neat stuff I stumble across, throw out interesting ideas I'm considering, and (hopefully) get some useful feedback.

I think I might actually be looking forward to this.