I have my own scripts in Linux to launch tools and local host servers. These have non POSIX stuff like interactive launching and modifying history to make it easy to access more complex commands. I also have branching logic and readline setup to append in history, mostly so I do not need to remember how to do a C style incremental for loop in bash when I need it.
I suppose one might say etching circuit boards is a form of automation. I have a tote with both toner transfer and photolithography setups along with ferric chloride or hydrochloric acid enchants. I can also make solder masks from soda cans or other thin aluminum sheets using photolithography.
I might know a thing or two about FreeCAD and 3d printing.
My most ambitious semi related hardware project was a cat toy I never finished but was using microwave proximity sensors to trigger on movement, along with a few micro switches, to make an impossible kitty wack-a-mole. The sensors were not adequate for the task. I was using the type that is based on the infrared controller converted to work on radio. The more recent millimeter wave sensors are what I really needed, specifically the gesture trigger type would likely work. Noisy servos are also far too scary for kitties.
I’ve been mulling over ways of making an automated hacksaw.
On a layer below that, I would like to get into what is possible for creating precision from “scratch”. Like 3d print a motorized holder to slowly spin two granite rocks with an abrasive slurry to see how flat I can make a reference. Then try some hand scraping of iron with Prussian blue.
I’m also curious if there is a real relationship in machining between rigidity, speed, and depth of cut. Like perhaps it is possible to 3d print a jig that uses a very small depth of cut with a more complex tool to achieve stuff typically reserved for a milling machine. Like what if a Shaper like motion was combined with a small steel wire spool where the wire tip passes across a series of abrasives and a leather strop to create an edge before the wire tip enters an induction coil to harden the surface, and finally taking a shallow cutting pass. I’m curious about what sources of cheap or recycled materials might work. This idea is also a curiosity about space exploration in the specific area of automated in-situ resource utilization but at a much oversimplified level of just using readily available stuff one might find at a hardware or thrift store. I’m curious about how a self replicating drone like concept could build up its own tooling to precision at an intermediate stage of accessible resources.
I have my own scripts in Linux to launch tools and local host servers. These have non POSIX stuff like interactive launching and modifying history to make it easy to access more complex commands. I also have branching logic and readline setup to append in history, mostly so I do not need to remember how to do a C style incremental for loop in bash when I need it.
I suppose one might say etching circuit boards is a form of automation. I have a tote with both toner transfer and photolithography setups along with ferric chloride or hydrochloric acid enchants. I can also make solder masks from soda cans or other thin aluminum sheets using photolithography.
I might know a thing or two about FreeCAD and 3d printing.
My most ambitious semi related hardware project was a cat toy I never finished but was using microwave proximity sensors to trigger on movement, along with a few micro switches, to make an impossible kitty wack-a-mole. The sensors were not adequate for the task. I was using the type that is based on the infrared controller converted to work on radio. The more recent millimeter wave sensors are what I really needed, specifically the gesture trigger type would likely work. Noisy servos are also far too scary for kitties.
I’ve been mulling over ways of making an automated hacksaw.
On a layer below that, I would like to get into what is possible for creating precision from “scratch”. Like 3d print a motorized holder to slowly spin two granite rocks with an abrasive slurry to see how flat I can make a reference. Then try some hand scraping of iron with Prussian blue.
I’m also curious if there is a real relationship in machining between rigidity, speed, and depth of cut. Like perhaps it is possible to 3d print a jig that uses a very small depth of cut with a more complex tool to achieve stuff typically reserved for a milling machine. Like what if a Shaper like motion was combined with a small steel wire spool where the wire tip passes across a series of abrasives and a leather strop to create an edge before the wire tip enters an induction coil to harden the surface, and finally taking a shallow cutting pass. I’m curious about what sources of cheap or recycled materials might work. This idea is also a curiosity about space exploration in the specific area of automated in-situ resource utilization but at a much oversimplified level of just using readily available stuff one might find at a hardware or thrift store. I’m curious about how a self replicating drone like concept could build up its own tooling to precision at an intermediate stage of accessible resources.