Doctor Who Christmas Special 2010 Trailer

Since the revival1 of Doctor Who they’ve had a Christmas Special each year, but it airs at least a day later here in the States.  Last year I totally missed the Christmas Special and had to wait several more months before BBC America re-aired it.  This year BBC and BBC America will be airing the Christmas Special on December 25!  Huzzah!

In case you enjoy this show too, above is the trailer for the upcoming special.  :)

  1. Regeneration? [↩]

Ideas for improvements on the Open Source Disc Shooter

Here are some of the ideas I’ve been kicking around:

  • A magazine1 that you clip in the front of the shooter.  When you clip it in it should depress a spring, or more likely, tension a rubber band.  When you press the button clipping the magazine in, it could actually eject the empty magazine.  That would be sweet.
  • Lower profile.  In looking at insides of the Tracer Guns, it looks like the only reason for the bulky barrels over a long thin slot is so the toy looks more like an actual gun.  I’d rather have an optimal design that uses minimal plastic than something that looks like a gun.
  • A variety of discs for maximum aerodynamics.  In the designs uploaded to Thingiverse I included 18 variations on a disc.  Perhaps some will fly or spin better than others.
  • Rubber band powered mechanism.  Rubber bands are easier to find, cut to size, and replace than metal springs.  It could also lead to a more compact design.

I’m sure other ideas will come to me.  I just wanted to jot them all down before I forget them.

Now that I have my chess set complete, it would be pretty cool to have a working OSDS prototype before Botacon.

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  1. Hey, Dave, happy??? [↩]

It was called a “Tracer Gun”

Tracer Gun from collect-antiques.net
Tracer Gun from collect-antiques.net

Despite my best efforts I could not locate an image on the interwebs for the kind of disc shooter I remember playing with as a kid.   Finally after much googling, I found a picture and the actual name of the type of toy.   Apparently they were known as “Tracer Guns” and were produced circa the 1960’s through 1990’s.  (Image of a Tracer Gun at right from collect-antiques.net).  Whenever I searched for these online I only found references to larger disc guns that shot larger foam discs from cylinder mounted on top.

A variation I had not seen as a kid, but desperately wanted, was disc shooter that had a removable and re-loadable clip.  In the pictures to the right you’ll see a grove about halfway down the barrel, just above a protuberance.  That protuberance would house about 20-25 discs depending upon the gun you had.  In order to load/reload the gun you would have to slip each disc under the firing pin one at a time.

Once I discovered the name of this type of toy, Wikipedia filled in the rest.  They had some pictures of a tracer gun which had been taken apart to expose the insides.  The best part is the gun depicted has a clip loading mechanism!

Having taken apart the non-clip version as a kid, I recall it having a similar metal spring as a source of power. 1  I believe the rubber band on the trigger is merely to keep it in place.  The protuberance on the non-clip version and the clip on the clip version of the toys both contain springs for advancing the next disc into place.

To be clear, I am not looking to duplicate, copy, or replicate this toy.  I don’t want that toy.  Rather, I would love to print a toy of my own, or a collaborative, design that will shoot harmless plastic discs.

Tracer Gun, clip removed - from Wikipedia
Tracer Gun, clip removed – from Wikipedia
Tracer Gun, exposed - from Wikipedia
Tracer Gun, exposed – from Wikipedia
  1. They were quite breakable, unfortunately. [↩]

Help with the Disc Shooter?

The other day I sketched up a concept of a disc shooter – the style that used to be available in grocery store aisles at about my eye level.  Strangely enough I noticed over time they moved them lower and lower on the shelves until they stopped carrying them entirely.

In any case, I’d really like to print out an open source version of a disc shooter.  I was figuring that since we’re such good friends and all, you’d be willing to help out.  I’ve already gotten the ball rolling and posted my work designing the various components.

I realize this is a frivolous use of your time, but wouldn’t it be cool to be all “pew pew!” and then I’d be all “pew pew pew!” 1

  1. I want to print mine in clear PLA so I can see the bits inside working and the discs in fluorescent red so they’re easier to find. [↩]

Time? What time do you think we have?

The hours grow short until Botacon Zero.

I am determined to have a fully printed chess set before Botacon so that I can play12 at least one game.  I’ve been tracking my heat/speed/etc settings in PLA but it is a time consuming process.  It just holds its heat so long that small lower layers stay molten and gooey too long.  The only reasonable option that I can foresee is dialing in my settings for PLA so that it prints at slightly cooler temperatures and far more slowly than I am printing right now.  However, between work, blogging, holidays, and other sundry obligations I don’t think I’m going to have time to fully dial in my MakerBot for printing small parts in PLA.

I spent most of my free time this weekend cranking out parts.  I printed up two more key fobs, all the non-pawn pieces for the second half of the chess set, and a really large number of experiments/tests/proofs of concept/nascent ideas.

PLA, and I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, has been a lot of fun.  I get to run a robot making things, mostly toys or toy components, that smells like cotton candy, without warping.  The downside, as I’ve mentioned above, is that it doesn’t work nearly as well for small parts.  Last night I printed the tallest objects I’ve ever attempted – a 10cm cylinder and another 10cm model. 3

This is the long way of saying…  I’m bringing a printed chess set to Botacon.  The clear PLA side may be droopy and melty looking, but by god you’ll see it there.  I’ve actually got way more than enough melty looking pawns to call this set done. 4  I’ll probably just come back and print the clear pieces again once I get PLA dialed in. 5

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  1. And, by play, I mean lose graciously. [↩]
  2. And, by graciously, I mean to say that upon not winning I will smash every piece to bits and yell something along the lines of “I MADE YOU!!!  WHY WILL YOU NOT DO MY BIDDING AND STRIKE HIM DOWN!?!” [↩]
  3. I’ll upload it shortly. [↩]
  4. So, maybe I am? [↩]
  5. If that happens [↩]

Parkflyer landing gear

The other weekend my wife and I met another couple.  Quite naturally the guys started talking about work and hobbies.  It turns out that Jon owns AirscapeRC.com a website for customizing radio controlled “Parkflyer” airplanes.  He manufactures and sources parts for inclusion in landing gear kits and tail wheel kits which he sells through his website.