3D Printer - Bootstrapping the extruder

Last time, I mentioned that the extruder filament drive assembly was itself 3D printed on the converted CNC machine. How is this done without purchasing an off-the-shelf extruder filament drive assembly? In short, I used the CNC machine in its pre-converted state to create the first version of the filament drive.

3D Printer - The Temperature Controller

Before I say anything about converting my gantry CNC milling machine to do 3D printing, I figured I'd cover the controller I designed and built for the extruder and heated bed. Unlike most purpose built 3D printers, like one built from user-sourced parts, a kit, or even a pre-built unit, a CNC milling machine doesn't provide for controlling the temperature of the extruder nozzle and the heated build bed. This project describe that part of the conversion process.

The Chronograph - Part 2

In the last post I showed the electronics behind the ballistic chronograph sensor array, or using chronograph terminology, the "screens". The frame for the screens was built from 1"x.5" extruded aluminum U-channel, .5"x.5" aluminum angle, and 3/16" steel rods for the uprights. Various bits of hardware and some .25"x1" steel spacers from my parts bin, drilled out on one end to 3/16" and tapped to 6-32 on the other. The cross pieces at the top which house the sensors are actually plastic U-Channel surface wiring conduit snap covers.

Now I'll cover initial stand-alone controller I built. This part of the project evolved as I was building it. It started with a trip to the (sort of) local surplus electronics store, HSC Electronic Supply.

The Chronograph - Part 1

As mentioned in this post and teased in this one, one of the things I was going to write about was the construction of a ballistic chronograph. The intent of this post is to outline it's construction and my approach to building it. It's intended use and all the information surround that is beyond the scope of this post.

Teaser

Just a little teaser. Here's a video of a presentation I did with David I demonstrating the Ballistic Chronograph I built a couple of years ago. This is actually revision 2. The same screens were used with a new custom controller that linked via Bluetooth to a Delphi Android application.

As you can see from the video, Nerf guns aren't particularly powerful.

Projects...

Now that I've moved my blog to a more personal setting, I'm much more comfortable with talking about more than things related to my position at Embarcadero/Idera. While the dust settles around Idera's acquisition of Embarcadero, I'm going to focus on some things I do outside of RAD Studio and Delphi.

While some may know this as I've not really kept it secret, I started my professional career as a electronics/computing hardware engineer. I built and designed access control and magnetic stripe equipment. These devices were based on the 6800/6803 embedded 8-bit micro-controllers. Even while working on Turbo Pascal/Delphi/RAD Studio, I've continued to enjoy firing up the soldering iron, grabbing a handful of components and made stuff.