Friday, November 29, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Maker Movement...post to my course in Design 101
If you are not familiar with The Maker Movement (Do it Yourself - DIY), TechShops, Maker Faires, Make Magazine, and related topics, do yourself a favor and check it out. This is NOT limited to using 3D printers, or hobby collectives. It is a big, international movement, and your town would benefit by having a community make shop, equipped with all kinds of tools, accomplished instructors and coaches, and a "hook" into local schools, community centers, service clubs, youth groups, senior groups, etc.
Monthly or annual fees provide access to a number of tools that the home shop may find too expensive (laser cutters, 3D printers, etc. [Here is a list at a typical TechShop: http://www.techshop.ws/tools_and_equipment.html ] The nearest shop to me is @96km away, so I'm waiting for something to sprout here.
BTW, learning materials and methods is an enormous part of learning design and engineering. I recall a full semester course at The San Francisco Art Institute in Materials and Methods...including making our own gesso/egg tempera paint and painting with it.
Sometimes, it's quicker, easier and cheaper to hire an expert for a few hours to teach you something special. It is an alternative to taking a college class, and you can get at the thing you want to know about that much faster. For example...learning how to make a mold and use it to cast something in resin...or, as I did, learning how to heat and shape metal with a homemade furnace made with charcoal, an old brake drum and the forced air from a small vacuum cleaner.
Wikihow wikihow.com is another good resource. For example, this post on metal tempering and hardening. The illustrations are clear and simple...something to strive for in any kind of documentation, of course.
Do you know how to tie useful knots? Animated knots shows you how. I use the bowline frequently:http://www.animatedknots.com/bowline/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com Animated how-tos are my preference over videos of more complicated directions.
Today's quiz/research question for my friends: What is Sugru? What could YOU do with a packet? I've used it for several little repairs and "gadgets".
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
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