I used fondant cutters to make this ceramic butterfly. I’m hoping that it will work as a chopstick rest but I haven’t tried that yet.
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Inspired by a two-legged walking robot on YouTube, I have finished the mechanical assembly of the lower half of one leg - basically, the foot, ankle, lower leg and the knee. Powered by two linear actuators with rotational sensors built into the joints; my next tasks are wiring up the electronics and programming an Arduino to create motion.
Designed in AutoDesk Inventor (Fusion would have worked but I had an Inventor license) and constructed primarily of 3D Printed ABS parts, aluminum extrusion, off-the-shelf hardware and a few machined stainless steel parts.
Phil
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Decided to try making a hinged box on the laser, because I wanted to see if it would work.
Thanks to @talkers for showing us https://festi.info/boxes.py/ at the box making class.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this one. It was more a prototype for me to see how well it functions. I’m sure I will incorporate a hinged box in some project in the future.
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Huge thank you to @meanbaby for sharing some of her mica clay. These went through the regular bisque firing and I’m very happy with them. I’m looking forward to the special mica firing that is coming up. 
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The Steamroll Printing event started out with a theme, “May Day”. For me, May 1 is inextricably tied to the 8 Hour Workday protests of 1886. This triptych is inspired by a woodcut. However, I wanted an image that was more modern and female. Rosie the Riveter was a natural starting point when thinking of women in the workforce, so I stuck with a 1940s vibe. I wanted to put emphasis on the last panel to remind me of work/life balance. Was thrilled when Ingrid @FrenchFrog and Sayed @sawdeck recognized the May 1 workers rights theme!
EDIT: Crossover between laser and printmaking. Took the “Laser Block Engraving” that the Printmaking SIG offers every other month - only that block is 2-inches x 3-inches, not a crazy 2-feet x 3-feet, and you print it from the comfort of the Interactive Room! Astrud talked her students into taking our skills to eleven and before we knew it we were engraving mega blocks. Next “small” class is May 31st. https://calendar.dallasmakerspace.org/events/view/5205
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That looks great!
What did you use for the hinge pin?
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I’m curious as well.
For what it’s worth, I’ve had good luck with extruded nylon rod. It’s a little over-sized. Getting it in place requires tapering the end and some muscle but, after working the hinge a little, the final result is nice.
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So there is room from improvement there. I doubled over some paperclip wire and cut it to length; It’s functional but a little loose.
I might look into getting some proper hinge pins. I am also open to suggestions.
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Is there some place specific I could get such a rod, or should I just exercise my google-fu?
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I use U.S. plastic for such things. Several times I have tried to find a different online vendor because of two things the owner has done. But, they just do a really great job so I keep ending up with them. Shipping is too expensive / no U.S. mail option.
But, I believe I have a lot of 1/8" rod. More than I will use in my lifetime. I suggest you get a fistful to try before buying anything. If you are interested just let me know.
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Consider me interested. Is that 1/8" diameter?
I got about $500 worth of acrylic rods today in the mail.
1/16th to 3/8th from Canal Plastics & should be bringing it by storage later.
More expensive but I’ve found no better place yet for colors.
Virgin Silicon Wafers arrived in the mail today, in future we may be making our own diodes as a Science class!
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Don’t feel bad. They didn’t do a great job of press ahead of time. None of the printmaking programs I know of were notified
First attempt at the laser. I made a sign for my sister in law’s trucking company on 1/4" baltic birch plywood and glued it to a 1/2" piece of the same size. I made some (a lot of) mistakes and test pieces, but I learned a ton. I’m going to try engraving photos to 1/4" baltic birch plywood next. (I also made the knife in the top right. I’ll post better pics later.)
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There’s another one tentatively slated for October, from what I’ve heard. Might want to confirm with Paul and Astrud.
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That’s an Interesting hinge!
Turned out great! Can’t wait to see it in person.
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