Posted: April 3rd, 2012 | Author:Marshall Wilson | Filed under:Blog | Tags:CAD, Solidworks | Comments Off on Solidworks & CadJunkie
Many CAD packages I’ve worked with seem to approach 3D models from a geometric approach – simply mapping the geometric shape of objects within space. In my mind these are the Swiss Army Knives of CAD – they do 2D, 3D, etc. Then you have software like Rhino (which I have little experience with) which takes a more rigorous mathematical approach to modeling called NURBS to generate shapes in three dimensions – but these shapes are still not solid but are shells which have no material properties. Solidworks, by contrast, is a solid modeling tool – all operations are done on fully realized 3D models of solid objects which behave like real materials. It uses similar mathematical tools to generate curves but implicit in everything is material – everything you create is from real stuff. Add to that is that all parts relate to each other parametrically – there are mathematical relationships between shapes & objects – be they dimension based (length = 2x diameter) or constraint based (keeping things parallel, for example).
As someone who takes creative ideas from others & makes them real, I love Solidworks – I first got introduced to the software by designing some architectural elements for Gratz Industries a few years ago, and life has never been the same. I use it on nearly every project these days, and I’m beginning to do nothing but Solidworks modeling for some clients.
When you start making big assemblies, or even medium sized ones (like the stairs I designed for Gratz) the incredible capabilities of the software can become pitfalls – you can really waste quite a bit of time if you are not aware of all the features. So I’ve been working through some of the tutorials over at cadjunkie to try to hone my skills. I’m really impressed with the video content over there – there’s a lot of free tutorials, and their “premium” package is priced quite reasonably ($19/month). Also, since they are Industrial Designers, they cover a lot of the different software packages that ID uses and helps the user determine which software is best in different situations. AND – they are helpful at sorting out cross-platform issues, like cross platform importing/exporting etc which can be tricky & time consuming.
Check out this video of President Obama geeking out with 14-year old Maker star Joey Hudy. With an impromptu request for a demonstration, the President helps Joey shoot a marshmallow across the State Dining Room with the homemade shooter, the ‘Extreme Marshmallow Cannon’ (which Obama helps power up with a bicycle pump).
The event was to showcase student winners of science, technology, engineering & math (STEM) competitions from across the country. Obama announced new policies to recruit and support science, technology, engineering and math teacher programs, including requesting $80 million in his upcoming budget for teacher preparation, with the goal of training one million additional STEM students over the next decade.
Posted: January 26th, 2012 | Author:Marshall Wilson | Filed under:Blog | Comments Off on Rebranding Teachers
I’ve often thought that one of the great tragedies of the teaching profession lies in how teachers are perceived by the general public. So I was excited when I saw these great images at the Hyperakt website. WNYC’s Studio 360 asked them to create new visuals to help show teachers and teaching in a new light and I think they’re wonderful.
We began with a simple premise, that education is the key to human progress, therefore teaching is among the most important professions for humanity. Our new visual vocabulary should capture the excitement and magic of activating the potential that is innate in every student. It should celebrate the process of developing ideas, reflect the collaborative nature of teaching and pay homage to existing visual tools used in teaching.
Our solution is all about connecting the dots. Visual maps, like teachers, help learners brainstorm ideas, reveal relationships, explain processes, tell stories and much more. The visual language of these connected dots can be found in toys, in letter tracing, in classroom brainstorms, on the whiteboards of innovators, in maps, in molecular structures and beyond.
Just came home from NYC Maker Faire at the NY Hall of Science. Some highlights…
MakerBots were in full force – they were everywhere, not just at the MakerBot Industries booth (seen here) but at the booths of many designers.
Bamboo bikes by Bamboo Bike Studio. Only metal parts are forks, rear drops, bottom bracket, seat, and head tubes. All else is bamboo, epoxy, and carbon fiber tape.
Ultimaker (web pic – mine from Faire were too blurry!)
Though Makerbot (MB) obviously had the most presence at the Faire, I was impressed by the Ultimaker, made by a Dutch team. Elegant design (no electronics hanging off the sides) and a nice large bed over 64 sq in. Unfortunately it costs more than the MB (€1200 ) and they have to ship from the Netherlands. Curious to see where this thing goes.
Since purchasing the Bridgeport mill this year, I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about more refined techniques of metalworking and machining. As we all know, YouTube videos are a wonderful resource for learning anything, and metalwork is no exception (I’ve been recently been watching videos by tubelcain (mrpete222)). The author of MachinistBlog has recently put together a new site called MachinistVideos.com which aims to be a pool for all the best in machining videos. I’m planning to spend a good amount of time over there.
Just saw this scope over at Make. Don’t know much about the specifics and so I will definitely wait until someone does some tests with it. But $300 for a full functioned dual-channel scope? Incredible. Check it out here.
After years of searching for a good deal, last month I bought a beautiful used Bridgeport milling machine for the shop. Awesome!
I bought it in Bridgeport, CT from a guy selling a lot of equipment from a mold making shop that closed. Originally interested in a small M-head Bridgeport with a small work surface, I saw this variable speed beauty and couldn’t resist.
I got a great deal with all this, and was able to throw in all kinds of extras! A vise in good shape, a rotary table, a high-quality drill bit chuck, a box of misc. mills and a bunch of collets! Here it is at the warehouse with all the good stuff:
And transporting wasn’t as much a problem as I thought. I drove a Penske truck up to the warehouse in Bridgeport, popped the head off (with much friendly help from the forklift operator) and they loaded the beast onto the truck with a pallet. Strapped that sucker down & good to go:
Off-loading was not TOO bad. It would have been a bit easier if I had (a) borrowed a forklift, or (b) asked for any help whatsoever. But amazingly I did get it off the truck and into my shop with nothing more than a pallet jack. The tricky part was compensating for the fact that the truck was too low for the loading dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I had to back the truck up on ramps I made from some 2 x 10 boards lying around. Then I had to work the pallet slowly toward the back of the truck (since I was working against a bit of a slope). This took some time, moving forward a few inches at a time, and screwing a board to the floor of the truck to keep everything from sliding back again. Anyway, it all worked out. Here it is safely on the loading dock:
Once in the shop, I borrowed a friend’s chain hoist & popped the head back on:
Moved everything in place with the pallet jack, and all was done!
Posted: July 12th, 2011 | Author:Marshall Wilson | Filed under:Blog | Tags:security | Comments Off on Deciphering Stuxnet
Most viruses try to do stuff like steal passwords, credit card numbers, or secret information. Very few try to actually affect our physical world. The Stuxnet virus, on the other hand, was developed for one purpose: to surreptitiously and gradually destroy centrifuges at a specific nuclear facility in Iran. It was deployed via usb sticks, expoited four zero-day weaknesses in Windows, and executed subtle but damaging changes in centrifuge speeds in very specific machines. There’s a great article over at Wired about how computer security analysts (in particular Liam O Murchu at Symantec) analyzed & eventually determined the purpose of this unique malware.
