Even though the weather is really getting nice, the 3D printer has not had much of a rest!

In fact, the other day Jay used it to print out a miniature of the sewing table that I’ve asked him to build for my sewing room. I didn’t take a picture of it because it looks just like a regular table.

In my last Dresses for Missions post I showed you the spool & bobbin holders that Jay made for me. These are SOOOO nice! I had to do a marathon sewing session this past week and these really worked perfectly. Luckily he has made me a couple more because I’m quickly filling them up!

Jay also decided that we needed to clearly mark who is allowed to use our bathroom, just in case there was any confusion…

Yes. He actually put the ‘No Cats Pooping In Here’ sign on the bathroom door. Don’t worry. The cats’ potty box is located in the basement, so this sign is actually accurate.

Of course, I think that it’s too tall for the cats to actually see. lol

The big project, besides printing off the quad that he designed, was to create a robotic arm.

Why? Because he can, I suppose.

The really sad thing is he already had all of the hardware, servos, wire extensions and receiver. All he needed to do was print out the parts.

This was V.1. I called him ‘Armando’.

Jay has printed out more parts, done some revisions, and refers to it as Version 2.

Does it work?

If I wasn’t so cheap I would pay for the extra function of being able to post my own video. I don’t want to post it on YouTube because I refuse to create an account with them (it’s a long story). So you’ll just have to deal with the still shots that I took while Jay was using it.

On V.2 he changed the jaws a little bit. He explained to me what he did, but that was a while ago and I have forgotten. I think that it had something to do with the teeth that move along the gear-looking doohickey that causes both of the jaws to move at the same time.

The second one he also secured to a board so that he doesn’t have to clamp it down all of the time. He also did something differently to the base so that it sits a little better.

He originally bound the arm to his DX18 that he uses for flying his RC air craft. Currently Jay is teaching himself how to code an Arduino board so that he can eventually program the arm to move in a certain pattern when a key on the computer keyboard is pressed.

I work with electronics at my job (on paper) and I don’t even really understand all of it. I definitely would not want to be trying to learn how to program a board! I guess that my mind just doesn’t work in that way. It would rather try to decide just which lace would look better with the fabric that I’m going to use for the next sundress that I make.

I have no idea where all of this is going to lead. Especially since I just gave Jay permission to order the CNC router he’s been drooling over for a few months. In July it will be a year since Jay smoked his last cigarette and I felt that he deserved a reward for that kind of a milestone. So many people don’t reach it. So we’ll have to see what comes out of his workshop once he receives the new toy!