This is the final part in a series of three, describing the hardware behind the puzzle gadget I designed for Curtis’ birthday puzzle game.
Category: MakerBot
Designing the Chubby Tricorder
Part 2 in a series. The story so far: a secret surprise puzzle game, a gadget that had to “contain” a piece of paper upon opening, the decision to make that gadget electronic with screen and keypad and to make that paper printed on demand by a thermal printer. Would it work???
The Chubby Tricorder Project: designing a digital puzzle box
Recently, I had the pleasure of building a puzzle-hunt gadget. The circumstances surrounding this particular device and hunt were extremely unique. The puzzle hunt was for an audience of one — a surprise birthday party for my friend Curtis.
Choose your own measuring cup
About a year ago I designed and printed a 1/4 cup measuring cup. You see, I needed a good way to measure cat food. I only needed the one size, so buying a whole set of measuring cups seemed like a waste. With a MakerBot in the other room, I figured it was best to make just the one size of measuring cup.
A monogrammed cube for you
Inspired by the book “Gödel, Escher, Bach,” I designed a 3D-printable monogram cube that you can customize with your own initials.
The design and manufacture of a cat toy
Yesterday I taked about fixing a cat toy. Today, I should briefly mention the one I designed a couple of weekends ago. I’ve had the idea kicking around in my head for quite a few months to design a treat-dispensing cat toy. Surprisingly, there is not one already on Thingiverse. I sketched out a quick … Continue reading The design and manufacture of a cat toy
In coming decades you’ll be able to 3D print a reliable gun
In coming decades you’ll be able to 3D print a reliable gun. No license. No background check. This is the Star Trek replicator future that we will find ourselves in, ready or not.
Washing my hands with help from a MakerBot
At work, we have motion-activated sinks. This is great in theory, but the ones we have seem to be pre-set with a very specific focal length. The following picture marks the spout, the sensor, and the approximate range of locations where movement is detected. It works perfectly. *IF* you contort your wrists and turn your … Continue reading Washing my hands with help from a MakerBot
The evolution of a catapult
If you scroll back a month, you will find my article entitled The Universal Catapult for Seej. It talks about a small toy catapult I designed and printed for a tabletop war game. You would not know it because there is no mention of other versions, but it is entirely focused on the 3rd revision … Continue reading The evolution of a catapult
Is that a WOPR in your pocket?
As a kid, I may have watched War Games a few too many times. In all my re-watchings, though, I do not believe I consciously noticed the incidental scene at about 1h:11m in which the camera pans around the WOPR computer. During a recent rewatching at a friend’s house, I noted that scene where the … Continue reading Is that a WOPR in your pocket?