Made a new Trivet design, inspired from some Pinterest boards I had visited months ago…
Laser cut from 3mm Bamboo, then glued together to make 9mm thick, then sanded to 2000 grit to give nice feel and sheen.
The fit could be better, I did not take into account the Laser Kerf in the design and also I might have botched the laser settings in terms of focus and therefore beam thickness.
Compared to the “3 Branches” version, this one would be more expensive to produce as more cuts and trickier fit. The “design look” is nice but probably does not warrant the extra effort to produce compared to the 3 branches one. Still, I like it.
I should sign it.
Made a complete project with my XCarve. It all started with a friend who was trying to repair a second-hand child bicycle trainer.
The handlebar was broken and glue was never going to work.
The part is not very complicated but needed some smooth curves and a recess for the connection to the steering mechanism.
I created the fusion 360 3D model, then created a CAM setup, then posted all this to several G-Code files on my home network, [one for the pocket and the holes, one for the contour] then went to the garage and ran the G-Code on my X-Carve with a 10mm router bit at 16.000RPM, 3mm cut depth, 600mm/min feed.
It all worked perfectly ! for once…No broken bits, No burning or parts, No flying wood parts in the garage…
My friends were very happy and the fit is simply perfect.
My first true design of something for the Xcarve. There has been a few mistakes along the way and still have not managed to get a final product from the machine yet…
I am close.
The router bits, feeds and speeds are something that you must acquire and work to make test cuts etc…until you get a clean cut that does not destroy the router bit or the machine.
I have had a few crashes and also made some part of the wrong size.
I am getting close.
I could have made this simple stool using traditional techniques in a lot less time but I want to be able to get to a complete project where I know, I could simply put a large sheet of wood and press “Go” on the computer and it would cut all the parts needed to make this simple stool.
I designed it in Fusion 360, then created all the tool paths for the X-Carve in the Cam environment.
I am now using a Dewalt router, which is better than the previous Bosch Colt for which I destroyed the collet. I re-built the X-Axis as well to give it more rigidity when I installed the new X-Controller.
Wood is 18mm thick
Router bit : 10mm
Cut depth :3mm
Router Speed : 16000 rpm (dial setting 1)
Feed : 600mm/min (500mm/min works as well with less heat generated in the router bit)
Plunge : 150mm/min
No lead-ins or lead-outs.
The electrics have been playing funny for a few months. The RCD is tripping the whole house when I use my Laser…I have been trying to understand what is the source of the problem exactly but simply cannot source a consistent behaviour of fault.
It trips “mostly” when I am in my garage using my Laser…
So the whole family thinks it is the Laser which is faulty.
I am not sure, … actually, I am “often” in the garage. I am often using the laser. It has tripped even when I was not using the Laser or even being in the garage…
I think the Laser takes the RCD over its maximum and makes it trip.
I think the water pump of the pond is a more likely source of the problem as well as the electrics of the plugs for the pond.
So I have decided to replace the whole system. Replace the pump and new outside electric box, I am using a smart electric box with relays and a computer tracker which keeps an eye on the pump for its electric consumption and can sound an alarm in case the pump gets to work too hard.
It was a pain to do…
One day I will connect it all using a Raspberry Pi to track consumption and monitor temperatures etc…I have a Pi already setup in the conservatory “taking pictures” daily and sending them to my email.
Got my Farmbot a couple of weeks ago [here], I must wait until the garden is all re-done to be able to build it into the glass house I am planning to install in the back of the garden.
It is exciting to be part of a very early project…the enthusiasm of the creators of this project and the overall sense of community is brilliant.
Will post more when I have managed to find the time to build it!
Here a few pictures of this very well put together kit.
It is controlled by a Raspberry Pi using open source design and software
I have made some “Jambon a l’eau”, with the new meat slicer it is easy to make very thin slices which make a very nice aperitif for “after work” recovery.
I buy a gammon which I cook in a big pan with unsalted water, an onion, a few cloves, a carrot, a celery, a couple of leaves from the laurel tree of the garden.
I cook 1 hour per kilo of meat. I have tested the temperature of the centre of the gammon and it reaches roughly 55 degrees celsius.
[Update]
I have now made 3 or 4 hams. I have found that the cooking must be very gentle with the water just barely boiling. Wait 1 hour per kilo of meat.
I am now trying a “final roast” method. When I put the ham in the oven for 30 minutes on 230 degres celsius with either maple syrup or other spices to coat the outside of the ham.
Will report here if it worked…
For Archive : How to make “Cured” Ham:
Just savings quickly some details to make cured ham for a different type of recipe.
Need 3 days of curing in salt for every kilo of meat
To make saucisson you need at least 2 to 3 % of salt per weight of meat.
I knew the best brand for a meat slicer was Berkel, but their machines are simply too expensive for a home user, until very recently when they introduced the Homeline. It is still very expensive so it took me a long time before I committed to the purchase…
Just received my machine this week and had to wait for the weekend to be able to try it out.
First impressions are that this machine is incredibly well designed. Feels very solid and the blade, motor, traveller are all extremely well balanced and simply function as expected.
It has a very professional feel, but the look is nice.
The downside, the machine is still huge for a home kitchen and very heavy (required to make get the rigidity necessary for thin straight cuts).
However making thin slices of saucisson or thin slices of cheese make everything taste a little different and special, a big success with the family…
Today for some reason, I had a very strong desire for American Biscuits…no idea why, but I certainly could not resist the urge to make some! Very simple if you have the right ingredients.
Ingredients :
How to Make:
The kids certainly like it and Manu would break a diet for some warm biscuits
I love slow cooking food but it is too long to wait !…Here comes the fast slow cooker, essentially a pressure cooker mixed with a slow cooker or the opposite… 🙂
Perfect to make ribs….or bolognese sauce…
Made a container for the fish food. It is simply a recycling of a coffee beans container which I have sand blasted then created a small cap in Bamboo and then laser cut.
I made this lamp during a weekend, getting used to the Fusion 360 software. I am now converted from the Inventor “old” days. I find that a lot of improvements that I would want to have in Inventor is now directly available in Fusion360. I also like the CAM environment which is helpful for the CNC machines I have.
So far, I have used it mostly to build things that I cut with the Laser. I export the sketches using the export as DXF file and then import into Adobe Illustrator CC, then export as
“old illustrator” format (V8) that the laser is capable of understanding. So far so good.
I have created a few shortcut scripts in the Illustrator environment to create quickly a file that is compatible with my Laser. For example converting text into paths and reducing the thickness of the lines to 0.01mm.
The project was “created in the morning”, “finished” on the evening of the same day. It is made of 3mm ply and 3mm Bamboo. It uses an LIFX lamp bulb and a small sheet of light diffuser. I love the capabilities that these new fabrication tools bring.
On this project, I used a Fusion360 app add-in, which helps to create quickly Voronoi patterns on a sketch.
Just discovered a new world of fun toys. They are called fidgets, essentially things that you play with when you feel very fidgety. They are toys that you can take with you everywhere and can use to put your mind onto something different.
I am discovering the whole world of spinners and decided to make a few with some acrylic and the laser cutter.
I had some spare bearings from the long board build and removed the metallic seals to reveal the ball bearings.
They are ok spinners but so far I have been only able to spin for 15 to 20 seconds tops.
I have ordered a few ceramic bearings to see if they really make a difference on spinners.
I made a few designs and had to iterate on the sizes of the arms (so it fits my hands but also the kids hands) and the size of the hole for the bearings (19.8mm) to achieve a snug press fit but not too tight so that I avoid breaking the acrylic as I push down the bearings (which are supposed to be 22mm). The spinners are made of 2 identical parts of 3mm thick acrylic. (I also made a bamboo version). The bearings are 7mm thick so they stick out very slightly on both sides.
I had to clean a lot the bearings because they were filled with grease, which is great to keep the water out but not so great to make them spin forever. I used some GT85, Isopropyl alcohol, the degreaser, a toothbrush and the ultrasound machine….alcohol is the simplest way to achieve quick clean-up.
My Dad is preparing for the 2017 edition of a golf tournament he organises in France every year.
As Mum and Dad were over for a few days, we had the opportunity to “show-off” the capabilities of the:
Digital Fabrication Laboratory…
Got a led panel light to put into the garage, I had one last area that I was not happy with the lighting. I decided to give a go with the LED panels. I used LedHut.co.uk and took a 1200X300 panel. Cheap enough and comes with a transformer.
The light is nice, a bit “too blue” for me but it is not too “cold” and it goes ok with the other fluorescent lighting that was already there.
The panel is very thin and did not have a satisfactory way to attach it to the ceiling of my garage. I did not want a set of hanging wires which is the default way to install these. I decided to delay installation until I could design a clamping mechanism which would allow me to grab the panel and the H-beam going across the garage.
I designed in inventor, then laser cut multiple pieces of 3mm thick wood, then glued everything together. I drilled through the glued parts to be able to have some sort of clamping method around the H-beam.
I am happy with the result, although I would not replace all my lights with these panels.
