Gadgetman!

Today was... mostly not all that fun... Planned to take my car today, so I got up a abit later than usual, and even had a leisurely breakfast. Yay! Got in the car and headed dow towards the main road while sipping tea. Yay! Saw the bus pass the intersection just before I got there. No matter... More traffic the other way... My car stalls... happens sometimes... No matter... Traffic clears! Time to stop saving petrol! Turns key... Huh? And again... And again... Not even a click from the starter solenoid... Not fun. Got it pushed into the parking lot of the local gas station that just so happens to be at the intersection. Tries the ignition ac couple of time more, just in case... No case... By then it's only 25 minutes until the next bus... Ended up getting to work almost exactly and hour after I planned to arrive. Normally not an issue as I have flexible working hours, but... I had promised to visit a location to swap out the old network switch today at a certain clock. Hasty messages sent everywhere, then grabbing switch, diagnostics tools, screwdrivers, hot-melt glue and a hammer... That switch is going to fit in that box... one way or another... Had to stop and refuel the work car... anothr delay... my fault this time since it was I who used it last... Halfway to the site.... BAM! Rock to the windshield. The car is leased, and I effing hate talking to the lease company... Maybe I can get someone else to do it on monday? Next onto a site where a WiFi access point wasn't working. 'Not enough power' we thought. Even if it had worked when we had a isco switch there. Hooked up a 48V PSU to test... Startd up all right... but went straight to fault when we switched on anything using WiFi. Plugged in the Fluke and tested the cable. 3 out of 4 pairs were 40,2 meters. The last was 37meters. 'Bad termination'... Not in the wall socket in the corridor... I have no idea what the cable monkeys did in the rack because it was terminated in a panel that should be possible to pull forward to access the cables. Nope, not moving. One user 'why not hook it up to a connection in an office'... There's no hole in the wall I pointed out... He came back with a battery drill with a 1" masonry bit... No, he didn't let me use it... Durn! And no, it wasn't your usual battery-powered drill, either. It was massive. No fair that users should have better toys than me... How do you get an BMW owner to help push start a junky old car? Ask him if he's as tough as his car hints at... My car died again when I was about to drive it into the garage, but... It only weighs a ton, so I managed to push it the last few meters by myself. I'm so ready for the weekend now...

The guys behind the FormWare Slicer is now working on 'true 3D antialiasing'. Antialiasing is over and underexposing some points to smooth the edge. This is usually done slice by slice. (the rounding only happens horisontally) What they're doing now is also smoothing vertically. They hope to have the first test slice in a few weeks. Who knows, it might even make it possible to get a decent print out of a Photon Zero...

I think he should stop using those 'black market, direct from China import' cans he's using if he's worried about the Ozone layer. Rattle cans sold in Europe or USA haven't been busing CFCs for ages. He's including ths 'Pinkest Pink' which is in powder form... I wonder how many will try to just mix it with water? and Black 2.0? when he has 3.0 already? Note that he hasn't been known to use Royal Mail or other 'cheap' shipping options before, so... This sprayer can end up costing as much as a cheap airbrush/compressor package at your local Walltarget superstore. Sorry Stuart, but this time I'm not backing.

I can't think of any use for it in miniature painting, but it's still cool... Today I got a 'Darter Pen'(KS project) Imagine a keychain pen... that works, and aren't any longer than an AA battery, and just thick enough to hold... That when you unscrew it, reveals 4 sewing needles and spools of thread. Stock photo.

Forget it. Resin is too thick for a paper filter.

Coffee filters are good for filtering IPA or denatured alcohol after you've washed off a couple of minis. (You really want a funnel with some sort of ridges on the inside, tough, to use the entire surface of the filter. The filter holder from a broken coffee maker is probably a good start... )

Looks like just another i3 clone to me. They're using a Bowden extruder to minimize the weight of the print head, which does help in clearing a few errors caused by the flimsy frame, but... That also makes it unable to print with any of the flexible materials out there. Strangely enough, it's NOT listed on Elegoo's homepage.

Drop in a ball baring or something, then try the P3 paints again...

My first Resin printer(KUDO3D Bean) takes that to the extreme... The vat isn't bolted down like on the Photon, or even the Mini 4K. Instead, it has two tabs at the back that are held down by finger screws. And these tabs, together with small metal brackets allows the vat to be slowly lifted up to about 20 degrees angle in order to make for a smoother release. No 'pop' sound, but instead theres the 'dunk' when the vat drops down again... Unfortunately, the vat is made of plastic, and will deform over time. They have a 'power vat' made of aluminium, but that's an extra, costing $129... I'm hoping to get a Photon vat to work as a replacement... They're releasing a new 'Bean plus', with a new vat, but still plastic... One thing they did get right is the build plate which is mounted somewhat similarly to the Mini 4K, but it's spring loaded... Makes it super easy to level. On the Plus, they're going with a 'ball joint' mess similarly to what the Photon is using. But given that they're pricing themselves out of the consumer market, I doubt many will be buying them.

Just spotted Betty and Wilma from the Flintstones, as never seen before... over on cults3d...

For the Photon there are third party rails and brackets available to stiffen up the z-axis, and that supposedly makes a marked difference in quality. Maybe someone will make something like it for the Mini 4K?

@Rainbow Sculptor You may want to remove your mmf link before a moderator sees it. It's not allowed.

Journey to the west, one of the 4 great works of Chinese litterature. Sun WuKong is the Chinese name for the Monkey King, the hero of the story. In 1927, part of it was filmatised as Pan Si Dong(Cave of the Silken Spider), a movie that was long thought lost forever, until a complete copy was found in the Norwegian National Library in Mo i Rana in 2013. The follow up Xu Pan Si Dong has not been found there, though, so it must be assumed lost. I'm in for the early bird. The $30 pledge with a rebate coupon for a Sonic Mighty doesn't really tempt me. The mighty may be a 4K model, but it also has a 9" screen, so X/Y resolution is still52um. My next Resin printer will have both larger volume and better resolution.

I believe @TaleSpinner have a Phrozen Mini 4K, and picked it for the improved resolution. Get a bunch of disposable paper/mesh filters used in spray painting. They're nice for filtering resin back into thebottle. Loads of disposable gloves, of course...

White Werewolf Tavern just pased 750 backers, and have decided to add a 'throwback' miniature to each month's package.