Didn’t mean to forget you…

I also use FileZilla.  What a great program!

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February 2, 2010 | MakerBlock | No Comments »

Open Everything

The ideal is obviously using a totally open source environment to develop things with a RepRap/MakerBot.  For the most part I use open source software – FireFox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice, Pigin, PHP, MySQL, WordPress.

However, I’m still tied to certain closed source proprietary software.  I still use Windows and haven’t made the leap of faith to Linux/Ubuntu.  I really like the ease of use and intuitive nature of Google’s Sketchup.  But, I can’t help feel like a little bit of a sham – still clinging to Windows and Sketchup because they’re easy and familiar.  All the while cranking out wonderful plastic goodness with my open source hardware ‘bot.

I have a feeling I could get used to Linux/Ubuntu if I gave them a shot, but the alternatives to Sketchup I’ve seen and tried are nearly unintelligible.  Does this mean I try to run Wine or break down and spend the time to learn something else?

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Retractable Tape Measure: Reloaded

Putting together my original spring loaded retractable tape measure taught me a few things.  I’ve made a few changes/revisions to this thing.

  1. The spindle in the center of the exterior part was too thin and susceptible to snapping.  I realized that I could thicken the base of the spindle to give it more strength.
  2. The spindle in the center of the exterior part didn’t seem quite long enough to hold the center spring holder part in place.  I’ve stretched the spindle to be slightly taller – by about 2mm or so.  I’m hoping this will leave a groove in the spindle where the interior spring holder will naturally move towards and allow the entire thing to spin more freely.
  3. The interior spring holder would have been much more useful if it were attached to a large disk to help keep the wound tape in place.  This disk has been added in this latest version.
  4. The interior spring holder has two sets of notches.  One can be used to attach the measuring tape.  The second can be used to attach one end of the metal spring.  Unfortunately, one set of the notches was too narrow and required more cleaning than should be necessary.  I’ve widened this one notch for easier printing.

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