Author: Zoe Skyforest

3645 Articles

New Study Tells Us Where To Hide When The Nukes Are Coming

January 19, 2023 by 70 Comments

Geopolitics is a funny thing. Decades can go by with little concern, only for old grudges to suddenly boil to the surface and get the sabers a-rattlin’. When those sabers happen to be nuclear weapons, it can be enough to have you mulling the value of a bomb shelter in your own backyard.

Yes, every time the world takes a turn for the worse, we start contemplating what we’d do in the event of a nuclear attack. It’s already common knowledge that stout reinforced concrete buildings offer more protection than other flimsier structures. However, a new study has used computer modelling to highlight the best places to hide within such a building to maximise your chances of survival.

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3D Printed Berlin Uhr Is An Attractive Germanic Clock

January 18, 2023 by 22 Comments

As much as Big Ben steals the spotlight when it comes to big public clocks, the Berlin Uhr is a much beloved digital communal timepiece. [RuudK5] developed their own 3D printed replica of this 1980s German icon.

The revision we see today is the [RuddK5]’s third attempt at replicating the Berlin Uhr. The clock features a design with four linear elements with a round light on top. The top light is responsible for blinking the seconds. The lowest line has four lights, each indicating one minute, while the next line has eleven lights, marking out five-minute intervals. Above that, the top two lines represent one hour and five hour blocks respectively. It’s a display unlike most other clocks out there, but when you learn it, it’s easy enough to use.

[RuddK5]’s replica relies on addressable LED strips to serve as the individual lighting elements. The strips are placed inside a 3D printed housing that is a scale replica of the real thing. Running the show is an ESP32 microcontroller, which is charged with getting accurate time updates from an NTP server.

Great design really does shine through, and this clock looks just as appealing at the small scale as it does lofted on a pole over the city of Berlin. If you prefer to read out the time in a simpler fashion though, we’ve featured plenty of clocks like that, as well!

3D Printing Giant LEGO-Like Blocks To Build Big Toys

January 18, 2023 by 21 Comments

[Ivan Miranda] is all about big 3D prints. He’s now set about printing giant blocks in the vein of LEGO Technic to build himself a full-sized rideable go kart. The project is still in progress, but [Ivan] has made great progress with his design.

The benefit of 3D printing giant blocks like this is that they open up the possibilities for rapid prototyping of big projects. It’s already easy to snap together a little LEGO tank, boat, or car at the small scale. Bigger blocks would make that possible for larger builds, too. Plus, once you’ve got plenty of blocks, there’s no need to wait for the 3D printer to churn out parts. You can just play with your toolbox of existing components.

[Ivan]’s design has faced some teething problems along the way. He struggled to solve various coupling problems for joining the blocks in various orientations, and made iterative changes to solve the issue. Eventually, he realized if he just eliminated an offset between the top and side holes of his beam design, everything would neatly work out. Plus, he learned that he could print a tiny scale version of his big blocks in order to test out designs without using as much plastic.

We love the idea of having a garage full of adult-sized LEGO-style blocks for big projects. The only caveat is that you really need a giant printer like [Ivan’s] to make them. Continue reading “3D Printing Giant LEGO-Like Blocks To Build Big Toys” →

Grass Gauge Tells You When The Lawnmower’s Catcher Is Full

January 18, 2023 by 20 Comments

If you’re not mowing your lawn regularly, you’re probably familiar with the hassle of overfilling your catcher. Grass clippings end up scattered everywhere, and you end up with a messy yard after all your hard work. [Dominic Bender] designed a mower fill gauge to eliminate this problem which shows you when your catcher is getting full.

The concept behind the gauge’s operation is simple. Catcher-based mowers rely on airflow from the spinning blades to carry grass into the catcher. That airflow is, in this case, also used to push up a flap mounted in the top of the catcher. As the catcher fills with grass, that airflow no longer reaches the flap, which sinks down, indicating the catcher is getting full. The basic design is a simple 3D printed flap and housing that uses a short piece of filament as a hinge. There’s also a small mesh guard to stop the flap getting clogged by the incoming grass clippings.

If you’re the forgetful sort, or your enthusiastic children aren’t always emptying the catcher when they should, this gauge might be a useful tool for you. Alternatively, consider robotizing your mowing in the vein of other builds we’ve seen, including one by yours truly. If you’ve got your own nifty gardening hacks, be sure to drop us a line!

Concrete Coffee Table Can Take A Beating

January 13, 2023 by 30 Comments

A good coffee table should have a hard-wearing surface and some serious heft to it. This build from [designcoyxe] hits both those criteria with its concrete-based design.

To create the table surface, the first step was to create a form. Melamine was used for the job, thanks to its smooth surface. A rectangular form was readily fabbed up, sealed internally and waxed, and then the concrete was poured. For added strength, the form was only half-filled, and a mesh was added for reinforcement. The rest of the concrete was then poured in to complete the tabletop. The table legs themselves were crafted out of maple, formerly used as a butcher’s block. The light wood makes a great contrast to the dark grey concrete. Plus, the stout, thick, wooden legs are a great combination with the strength of the tabletop itself.

It’s hard to overstate how good concrete is as a coffee table material. It’s difficult to damage and difficult to stain. Plus, if you really need to drive a point home, you can be certain slamming down your mug will get everyone’s attention (just be wary of injury). We’ve seen some other great concrete furniture before, too.

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Sensor Glove Translates Sign Language

January 13, 2023 by 17 Comments

Sign language is a language that uses the position and motion of the hands in place of sounds made by the vocal tract. If one could readily capture those hand positions and movements, one could theoretically digitize and translate that language. [ayooluwa98] built a set of sensor gloves to do just that.

The brains of the operation is an Arduino Nano. It’s hooked up to a series of flex sensors woven into the gloves, along with an accelerometer. The flex sensors detect the bending of the fingers and the gestures being made, while the accelerometer captures the movements of the hand. The Arduino then interprets these sensor signals in order to match the user’s movements up with a pre-stored list of valid signs. It can then transmit out the detected language via a Bluetooth module, where it is passed to an Android phone for translation via text-to-speech software.

The idea of capturing sign language via hand tracking is a compelling one; we’ve seen similar projects before, too. Meanwhile, if you’re working on your own accessibility projects, be sure to drop us a line!

Making The One Ring By Electroplating Gold On A 3D Print

January 12, 2023 by 11 Comments

Electroplating is a great way to add strength or shine to a 3D print. However, we don’t see too many people trying it with gold. [HEN3DRIK] isn’t afraid to experiment, though, and pulled off some amazing, high-quality jewelry-grade plating!

The design for the project was the so-called Ring of Power from Lord of the Rings. The print was created on a resin printer at a high quality level, washed thoroughly to remove any remaining resin, and then cured. The print was then post-processed with sandpaper to make it as smooth as possible. Conductive paint was then applied, ready to take on the plating layers. [HEN3DRIK] first started by plating copper to build up a tough base layer, then nickel to prevent mixing between the copper and gold. The gold is then finally plated on top. Plating the copper is done with the ring constantly rotating to get as even a coat as possible. In contrast, the gold plating is done with a brush to avoid wasting the highly-expensive plating solution.

The final result is a gleaming gold ring that probably feels strangely light in the hand. The technique is time consuming, thanks to the need to plate multiple layers, but the results are to die for. We’ve seen [HEN3DRIK]’s fine work before, too. Video after the break.

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