Making a Copper Leaf and Perspex Lampshade
This is a slightly older project, but since I'm waiting for the new knitting machine design to print, I thought I'd write it up. One of our standard lamps needed a new shade, so I decided to make one!…
Epoxy Resin Casting Attempt #2
I tried the resin again, this time using the vacuum chamber. I mixed it up (using a different glow in the dark colour this time), and cycled it in the vacuum chamber a couple of times. The resin mixtu…
Boiling Water in a Vacuum at Room Temperature
My Vacuum pump and chamber arrived! I went for a Bacoeng 3 CFM Single Stage Oil Filled Rotary Vane Pump (BA-1) and a slightly more expensive tempered-glass-topped 6.8L vacuum chamber. I could have got…
Epoxy Resin Casting Attempt #1
I wanted to try something different so I thought I'd give Epoxy Resin casting a go. I have this cute Greek holiday trinket I inherited from my dad which I felt would make a good test piece: So, to cas…
Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Controller First Test Print
I decided it was time to try out the prototype design! I printed half of the needle movement model to save on time and materials. As a result you need to move the carriage in both directions to see th…
Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Model
I spent some time this evening turning the sketch into a proper Fusion360 3D model, as above. Key features: I've inserted holes for all the M3 bolts I need to use to hold the moving parts together. I'…
Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Controller Design
I've been busy in Fusion 360 this morning. Previously I had mocked up a design for the needle movement controller on my whiteboard: This morning, I've been translating this into a "Sketch" in Fusion 3…
Nikon DSLR to Lomo Biolam Microscope Adapter
The actual project I wanted to do was attach my Nikon D90 SLR to my Lomo Biolam microscope. However, I had to detour into fixing the microscope first, as described here. Once I had that working, the a…
Restoring a 1977 USSR Lomo Biolam Microscope
"In Soviet Russia, Microscopes".. er wait. I inherited this from my dad. It has quite a few condenser attachments as well as a nice set of sample slides. Some research on its serial number (N773137) i…
Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Analysis
I had a look into how the needle is controlled by the carriage in this video (I've removed a few needles to help with the video). Obviously the yarn wouldn't actually pop up on top (it would be caught…