• CalcProgrammer1@lemmy.ml
    4·
    2 years ago

    Designed a model railroad car that holds a Raspberry Pi Zero and camera module for first person view in real time from a model train. My dad and I have been working on this concept for a while and my latest idea was to put a micro servo on it to steer the camera. We 3D printed a mount with swivel for the camera that holds a servo and bent some stiff wire to make linkages.

    My most recent improvement to the design was learning how to use Blender enough to model a 3-part power supply box to house a series of electrical modules to convert the track power into a stable 5V for the Pi and condensed it into a small box that fits on the car alongside the Pi and camera system. The box contains a rectifier, switching regulator module, lithium battery charger module, and battery.

    I also modified a model railroad truck (wheel assembly) model I found on Thingiverse to add DIY power pickups, bent a bare copper wire into a makeshift spring that contacts the wheels and a place for the wires to attach that feed the power box.

      • CalcProgrammer1@lemmy.ml
        3·
        2 years ago

        I made a post a few weeks back for our original design:

        https://mastodon.social/@CalcProgrammer1/110456485998532640

        I haven’t posted anything about my new design though, as I made my own flatbed car model while that one was a model I found on Thingiverse. The power circuitry was also on a separate car in that test which is why I made my power box design. The model railroad layout is at my parents’ house so I have a short loop of test track I’ve been using to test my new design at my house which is absolutely not as interesting.

  • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
    4·
    2 years ago

    Its been a busy week! Prior to finishing this Super Mario Bros light, I had to print and modify a BLTouch mount to replace my Artillery Sidewinder probe that went bad for the second time. Then I swapped out the warped glass bed for an aluminum bed with a PEI magnet sheet. Finally, I printed a mount for my Pi Cam after having it Scotch taped to my desk next to the printer for the last year or so.

    Just have to finish up the power wiring on the light:

    • ug01x@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 years ago

      This is phenomenal. You’ll have to share it in a darker space so we can see the glow better.

      • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
        2·
        2 years ago

        Just got it finished and hung on the wall. The camera lens doesn’t do the thing justice. I’ve tried adjusting the white balance so the yellow isn’t so washed out but you still can’t see all the silhouettes shining through in the photo. Model can be found on Cults (paid) if anyone is interested in doing their own.

  • SickIcarus@lemmy.ml
    4·
    2 years ago

    Just finished a roadrunner, currently printing an Academy Award for the wife, to be followed up with a Wile E Coyote to go with the roadrunner.

    • labxframe@mander.xyz
      1·
      2 years ago

      This looks awesome! I haven’t really seen 3D printed figurines with so many different colours/parts.

      • SickIcarus@lemmy.ml
        2·
        2 years ago

        Thanks! These types of models are easy - the modeler has split the model into seperate parts/objects designed to be printed in different colors. So all you have to do is print all the parts that are color X, change the spool and print all the parts that are color Y, so on and so forth, then glue them together.

  • snota@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    2 years ago

    I’ve not used a 3D printer for years because I don’t have room for one. If I had one I’d probably be printing vases for my plants. I’m new here from Reddit and I browsed regularly to keep me inspired for when I finally get a printer.

    • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
      3·
      2 years ago

      Even after buying one you might find that you still haven’t used it for months on end. It can be extremely frustrating but rewarding when things work.

      Once you fully design and print something from scratch you’ll be riding that high for weeks because you’ve created something from nothing but a bunch of bytes and plastic string.

      Some of the newly released printers are insanely feature rich and worth looking into. The Ender 3 is still a great budget option too if you don’t mind some tinkering and winding up with the printer of Thesius after all the mods/changes you’ll wind up making to it.

  • Kritoke@lemmy.oneEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Cat Deterrent model I designed since one cat dive bombs from door edge semi frequently. At some point will probably release the 3d models for it. Designed it in Alibre Design Pro.

  • lodronsi@beehaw.org
    2·
    2 years ago

    A freak accident put a piece of filament into my hotend cooling fan. Like a hickey stick to a bike wheel. Things went poorly. So until I find the time to replace it, I’m printing nothing.

    However if I was operational, I’d be printing a mix of dungeon tiles for a dnd one-shot this summer and Barbie-scale accessories for my kid.

    • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
      2·
      2 years ago

      This is really easy to do since the filament comes out stringy and the fan sucks anything nearby into it. Ive started conciously pulling out stringing filament from the side opposite the fan since doing the exact same thing to mine previously. I suggest buying a multipack of fan replacements as they’re cheap crappy fans anyways.

      • lodronsi@beehaw.org
        1·
        2 years ago

        Good advice. Mine came from a broken filament at the extruder. When I backed it out, the new end swung around and into the spinning fan. Not my favourite moment.

  • Solarbird :flag_cascadia:@mastodon.murkworks.net
    1·
    2 years ago

    @mibzman Mostly temperature towers, honestly. I’ve been playing with PHA, so I printed temperature towers for two new colours of that, and also I subscribe to the protopasta “endless filament” programme (at 150g/month, supersized samples really but I like it) and those showed up so needed one for each of them.

    I _really_ like the bottle colours they sent out this month, particularly the blue. Just gorgeous.

  • mibzman@lemmy.mlOP
    1·
    2 years ago

    I just printed a cable holder for my old macbook charger, one of the foldable hooks broke off. I love fixing broken stuff with my printer!

    I’m also experimenting with printing dnd minis with a 0.2 mm nozzle. It mostly works but not quite as good as I would like it to.

      • mibzman@lemmy.mlOP
        1·
        2 years ago

        I’ve been doing 0.08mm layers with a 0.20, I think I just need to be a bit more aggressive with supports. The part has a lot of thin overhangs, which have been blobbing really bad.

        • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
          1·
          2 years ago

          Have you played around with the Support Z distance, Support Top Distance, Support Interface? By default (at least with Cura), supports sit a layer or two below where they’re supposed to contact the print so you get shitty overhangs 100% of the time. The tradeoff is that you can easily remove them from the print. You might also try out Tree supports if you haven’t already. They’re a breeze to remove even with zero offset.