Tri State Area
Makerspace at the Fulton School
snake stick
I have made a snake catching stick using a steel rod and some wooden door knobs. First i started bending the steel using heat. then i used a metal pin roller to get the hook shape. Once that cooled down i drilled two door knobs together and used wood glue to make sure the handle was sturdy. Lastly i used some shrink wire wrap to make the end of the stick to have some grip.
Pins or buttons, whichever you wish
We got a pin maker in maker space not so long ago and I learned to use it almost immediately. I’ve loved using it and have made some pretty funny pins, but these are probably one of my favorites. Doc helped me create a template for the pins, so I used that and then made the design with pencil and sharpie.
I’ll definitely do this more next year and next time I might use a different coloring way than random sharpie I found on the floor.
Have a good summer break!
4th quarter makerspace project: butter knife
This quarter in makerspace, I made a butter knife, actually, I am still making it. This knife is entirely made of walnut that Doc cut down to size using the table saw, and then I chiseled the rest of the shape out. After the shape was cut out I started using the small belt sander to shape it even more. I plan to continue this project next year.
XRP Robot
This quarter for makerspace and programing project I put together and studied code for the XRP robot. This project helped me get an idea of how Java is formatted and gave me practice driving for my outside of school robotics team. I have many hopes and goals for this robot, for example I hope to get it turning instead of just going back and forth. The hardest part of this project was getting it to run, I ran into some issues updating the firmware and deploying the code. But after that I figured that out I could do it successfully multiple times. This was the first time I got to really study WPILib visual studios code and I think it will come in handy in my future programing projects. Overall I learned a lot from this project and I plan to do a lot more with it.
November Ajax The Antweight Robot Part 2 (research and design)
So i have been busy researching the rules and trying to find loopholes to incorporate into my design. I have decided to make a small forward bar made of titanium, the main design saves space and weight and it will be made from either TPU(flexible plastic) or PLA(A very good plastic).
Snake Bookmark
glow in the dark skeleton
Harley Smith painted a skeleton in the makerspace and i decided to paint it glow in the dark.
The paint we got is transparent so you can’t see anything with the light on. The paint is very thin so I need to do multiple layers but it still glows.
Enclosure for Prusa1
Enclosures create a controlled environment around a 3D printer, stabilizing the ambient temperature and protecting prints from drafts of cold air. This is very useful when printing with high-temperature filaments like ABS, ASA, and Polycarbonates, which are extremely finicky. These filaments tend to contract significantly as they cool, leading to warping and layer separation/delamination.
An enclosure maintains higher ambient temperatures around 3D printed objects, reducing the temperature difference between freshly extruded layers and the print bed. This dramatically reduces warping and improves layer adhesion, making complex prints with these materials possible. Enclosures also help keep the build area and printer clean and dust-free, which is a pretty big problem in the Makerspace.
To combat this issue, I decided to modify the existing shelf/platform that Prusa1 sits on. This proved to be a bigger challenge than I initially thought, as the wood had warped the platform from a square into a parallelogram by about 1/4 of an inch. I found this out the hard way after realising none of my measurements lined up despite all being correct.
I started by screwing one 2×2 and two 1×2 pieces of wood into the walls of the existing platform to create a frame that would support the side panels. I used the Kreg jig to drill pocket holes into each board in order to keep the screws hidden. I then used a sheet of MDF from the laser as the right-side wall, with a cutout and duct for the printer’s power supply to keep it from overheating inside the chamber. I screwed this piece in using some clamp-style brackets that I printed in PETG.
I also installed a second webcam taken from an old Polar3D printer in the top right corner of the chamber to provide a second angle for print monitoring via Octoprint. You can watch the live view from this camera at http://20.1.0.17:8081/ or via Octoprint while on any TFS WiFi network.
After that, I began working on the top panel, since it was too big to fit in the laser I had to make it in two pieces, which required lots of measuring and sketching to compensate for the slanted-ness in the structure. I made sure to use more of the cheap MDF for the laser to figure out the initial shape before cutting it out on the more expensive acrylic. I included a central cutout for a magnetic filament guide that has 5 holes in it, allowing for filament to pass through into the enclosure and enabling future MMU compatibility.
The final part was the door. I had originally wanted it to be a two-part articulating design as it would be more out of the way when open, and since we don’t do much ABS printing, that’s the state the enclosure would be in most of the time. Of course, this proved to be more challenging than I first thought. The weight of the door caused it to sag quite a bit on the hinges and made it quite flimsy and delicate and so I decided to switch to an upwards-opening design. This design is significantly more robust, but it gets in the way of the spool rack, which can make accessing the filaments a bit more inconvenient. It also can’t open a perfect 180°, meaning it has to be held open with a string instead of a latch or magnetic system, since it can’t sit flush with the rest of the structure. The hinges are a 3D printed design by wd73_ on Thingiverse and are attached to the door with M3 bolts from a box of spare Prusa parts.
Wooden spoon
I carved a wooden spoon for my first makerspace project. It’s a little rough but I don’t think it’s terrible for my first time. I learned how much pressure to put with the tools, which way to cut, what types of wood is best for what, etc. I think next time I’m going to precut the wood with the laser cutter and then carve in the details. 
3d printed Goku
For my Makerspace project, I created a Goku figurine. Goku is a fictional character from the book and show Dragon Ball Z, which I really enjoy. That’s why I chose to make him for my project.
Here’s how I made it: I first visited printables.com to find a model I liked. Once I found one, I downloaded it and uploaded it to the 3D printing program. I adjusted the size to my preference and started the printing process, which took about 8-10 hours. Peter helped with all the setup, and his assistance was very much appreciated.
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