Chris Huck :freecad: :ubuntu:

Mechanical Engineer, Cyclist, 3D modeling of all kinds, 3D printing, Linux, programmer. Believer in making things better for everyone

Making: FreeCAD, Inkscape, Prusa, 3D Printing, CNC, OSS, Python, Arduino, RasPi, OctoPrint
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisHuck
Github: https://github.com/chrishuck

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chrishuck_at_fosstodon.org@momostr.pink

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Last Notes

2025-05-03 01:30:00 UTC

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See, you had to print the castle parts so your kid could have empty spools to play with!

2025-04-18 21:06:17 UTC

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This is the case of a person that always proclaims to want to “engineer himself out of a project” but always sets things up to make something dependent on him. In this case, he’s good at Excel and can write macros with VBA. He’s been doing it for years because databases weren’t as common and he refuses to learn new things or work with actual programmers because he hates IT people. In short, he’s just an awful person.

2025-04-18 14:05:46 UTC

There are just some people that seem to refuse to acknowledge the existence of relational databases and think they can duplicate all of the functionality in Excel spreadsheets with macros… 🤦‍♂️

2025-04-15 22:05:55 UTC

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Why is it that so many “promotional” images of Linux focus so much on Terminal windows full of text?? Like, average users aren’t on the command line all day. Then, everyone wonders why more people don’t use Linux…. 🤔
I avoid using the command line unless absolutely necessary, regardless of OS, even though I know how.

2025-04-15 02:03:08 UTC

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Very nice, Kyle!

2025-04-01 02:05:37 UTC

Man, 20 minutes of troubleshooting to find that one line of code where a variable you were previously using no longer applies and kept crashing the entire application….
At least I found it.
#programming

2025-03-30 03:34:37 UTC

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This isn’t a bad thing. Just think of a time in be future when you want a change, and you’ll have a plethora of options waiting to choose from because your past self found something cool.

2025-03-21 23:26:25 UTC

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It almost seems like a double slider crank mechanism could do it?

2025-03-19 01:40:54 UTC

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Ugh 😑

2025-03-16 18:11:16 UTC

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Now I see why you didn’t care about the base layers…

2025-03-16 00:25:52 UTC

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I’d reckon. It’s often amazing how the slightest border for a bottom layer can stiffen walls without adding a lot of material.

2025-03-15 23:12:55 UTC

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I’m assuming the outer walls don’t need the stiffening that the bottom layers provide?

2025-03-13 13:36:56 UTC

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For the record, I am a fan of stylistically low-poly models

2025-03-13 13:32:45 UTC

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Fortunately, it’s just a graphical artifact. When it happens, I usually just turn up the quality setting from the default until it looks right. We’re not talking complex geometry here, usually just cylinders.
I never really thought about it on the printing side because I’ve been using STEP files for so long in slicers and also running my G-code through ArcWelder to produce true circular moves. It could definitely be a problem otherwise!

2025-03-13 11:14:11 UTC

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Agreed. In a related way, there’s an “image quality” setting in SolidWorks that controls how smooth arcs are displayed. Most of the time, this doesn’t matter because the objects we’re working with are relatively small. When I have to model a large tank or similar, you can really start to see the facets. If there are two concentric cylinders close together, it will look like they interfere because facets will overlap. Messes with your head at first.

2025-03-13 01:47:04 UTC

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Do you really want a faceted “cylinder” to save a little bit of time? I just think you’d look at the finished print and immediately think “Boy, that was quick, but I wish it was smoother.” 🤔

2025-03-06 02:06:55 UTC

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Yeah. Back when the tariffs were first introduced (and then immediately paused), we had two large groups of our Canadian employees come to our facility here in Ohio to talk about how we could help them. I told the one engineering manager, who I really respect, that I was sorry they had to be here given the situation. He said he was also wondering if it would be awkward. Everyone got along fine, but that was also before the stupid really got cranked up.

2025-03-05 19:53:59 UTC

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I have 3 projects going right now for my coworkers that are based out of Edmonton. I know our company works around the oil industry, and that might affect some people’s viewpoint in Canada, but I don’t want them to not want to work with us because of this stupid bullshit. I would much rather work with them than most of our U.S. branches because they are nice people that are also on the ball about getting projects done.

2025-03-05 03:05:24 UTC

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Brilliant!

2025-02-23 16:54:47 UTC

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That’s crazy! I’m surprised the nozzle didn’t dig into the bed during leveling.

2025-02-21 02:10:46 UTC

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There are other apps like Apple’s Motion that are probably better than Blender for animating logos. I’ve even heard people say that Apple Keynote is one of the best tools for making lower thirds. I’m not sure what’s available on the Linux side, but it might be worth looking into tools you might not have originally thought of. I never thought of using a presentation app for lower thirds, but it made sense once I heard it.

2025-02-20 23:21:31 UTC

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Definitely true. In fairness, it really is a beast of a program that will allow you to do so many things… but, I’ve found that it takes consistent use to stay proficient. I use traditional CAD much more frequently, and when I have to do things in Blender, I have to refresh myself where things are and how to use them.

2025-02-20 14:15:19 UTC

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You probably won’t if you think you can learn it in an evening. I’ve been using Blender for years, and for everything I know how to do in Blender, there are probably 2 things I don’t. It’s a lot easier to use than it used to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

2025-02-19 23:46:43 UTC

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Thanks, Kyle. Certainly not the best circumstances to acquire a vehicle.

2025-02-19 23:33:16 UTC

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I will be taking ownership of my grandparents’ vehicle as part of their estate distribution. It’s a Lincoln Nautilus, which makes you think “Made in USA”, but when I looked up the VIN, I found out it was made in Ontario. It made me happy.

2025-02-18 14:31:13 UTC

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I’d do some test prints and see what happens

2025-02-18 13:32:25 UTC

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I looked at this first and considered Osifont, but I had recently seen an article about B612 being used in aircraft instrument panels and figured it would be good for readability and thus, printability. Plus, it looked nice!
https://www.printables.com/model/71231-font-swatches-tested-ranked

2025-02-18 13:26:49 UTC

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Thank you! And, cool!

2025-02-18 13:16:12 UTC

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Thanks! My text height is 5mm. I used the B612 font because it seemed like it would be good for readability and printing. I did a test print to make sure before committing to production. The text is 2 layers (0.4mm) and I simply used a black sharpie to color it. I tried switching filament and it didn’t go well.

2025-02-17 21:14:15 UTC

A friend of mine has a bunch of bicycle bearing press tools that he wanted organized in one of his toolbox drawers so they weren’t all loose and difficult to dig through when he needed one. Thanks to me, he’s aware of #gridfinity, and he asked me if I could make holders for all of them. I used the Gridfinity and Part Design workbenches in #FreeCAD to model them up. I was going to deliver them today, but unfortunately, their household is down with the flu.
#3dPrinting
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2025-01-29 19:31:40 UTC

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This is the right attitude. Use what distro works for you. While it’s ok to be nerdy and technically adept, you have to back up every once in a while and think about what non-nerds really need. If the Linux community wants regular people to use Linux, they need to stop screaming at them about how they’re such noobs for not running Arch.

2025-01-22 20:48:38 UTC

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I’ve used Marketplace once, and it worked out fine, but there’s something about it that feels skeezy to me. I have no problem with eBay, and I’ve bought/sold lots of things there since 2000. I catch myself zombie scrolling on IG because it will just keep feeding you stuff. When it comes to Mastodon, I go until I get caught up on my feed and then walk away. It’s filled with things I really care about anyway.

2025-01-22 19:58:50 UTC

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I’m in the process of gathering all of the information I want to save (mostly pictures) from FB and IG so that I can delete those accounts. I haven’t posted anything on FB for 5.5 years. So, it’s not a big loss. Sadly, some of my family are in the MAGA camp, and I don’t have time for that negativity. I barely open the app except when I get the weird notifications, just to make sure it’s what I think it is.

2025-01-21 02:32:22 UTC

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This is a great assessment that I never even considered, Kyle.
In fairness, part of why I posed the question in the first place is because I wanted to see what people would think it means if they didn’t grow up in rural southeast Ohio.

2025-01-20 23:59:37 UTC

If I mentioned “Door Cheese” in conversation with you, would you know what I mean?

2025-01-19 14:48:50 UTC

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I’m also going to print it upside down to minimize supports, unlike last time, because I didn’t have a smooth PEI sheet to print on back then, and I wanted the top to be smooth.

2025-01-19 14:33:16 UTC

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Totally. I feel like I’m changing a ton of variables. So, is it really an apples-to-apples comparison? At the very least, it will be interesting to see the differences.

2025-01-19 03:19:17 UTC

In 2016, I 3D printed a replacement steering wheel for a toy tractor that I played with as a kid. We’re talking about a plastic toy that has survived for a little over 45 years. My nieces and nephews now play with it. The printed steering wheel broke recently, and now I have to make a new one. Looking at the original g-code file, it took 9h20min on my original 3D printer. I’m curious how much faster it will print on a modern printer? This edition will also be PETG instead of PLA. #3dprinting
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2025-01-08 14:24:57 UTC

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An Elegoo Mars 4

2025-01-08 14:09:36 UTC

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Thanks for the tips. I think the transparent film on the basin is not clear enough. I’m going to try and clean it again tonight with IPA.
We’ve been trying to simply print the demo model on the USB stick, and it seems like the default exposure time in the file doesn’t match what’s in the recommended settings for the resin that was provided… which seems like a bad customer experience right out of the box. I didn’t know I could change those settings on the fly until it was too late.

2025-01-08 13:56:38 UTC

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I learned this morning that pausing the print should make it pull the plate out of the vat so you can check for any failures sooner, rather than having to wait until the end.
I think the main problem is the FEP is too cloudy and really beat up for some reason. I don’t know what he did to it, considering that it’s new, but I think he’s going to have to replace that and try again.

2025-01-08 03:23:11 UTC

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This resin is really opaque and it takes a while before the build plate comes up and out of the tank. I’m not staying up to see. So, I guess I’ll know in the morning 🤷‍♂️

2025-01-08 02:03:07 UTC

I’ve never used a #resin 3D printer until today. Because I’m the “#3dprinting guy” at work, a coworker asked me to help him figure out why the Elegoo Mars 4 printer he bought for his son isn’t able to produce a successful print. I told him I’d at least try. He’s not the type to read directions or do anything carefully…
I have never really had a desire to own a resin printer, but I can definitely say that not being able to see what the hell is going on is infuriating and not winning me over.

2024-12-26 02:17:51 UTC

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I saw them this year and it was a great show! Thanks for posting this Bandcamp link. I’ll definitely be purchasing it!

2024-12-21 01:44:48 UTC

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I never got any #Lego sets as a kid. However, I received #Construx and an #Erector set. In both cases, I built all of the things in the instructions, which is how I learned how the pieces interact. However, I later learned that some of the pieces in the Erector set fit with the Construx… So, from then on, I combined the two into lots of my own creations. I often wish I still had some of both to recreate the cool stuff I made as a kid.

2024-12-16 17:22:13 UTC

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My observation is that people who break their Linux installations all the time seem to be “power” users that can’t seem to leave shit alone. My Ubuntu installation has been rock solid because I tend to just “use” my computer.
I’m forced to use Windows at work, and a lot of my issues there tend to be own goals due to corporate IT policies. They don’t want you to actually use your computer.

2024-12-15 21:05:03 UTC

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I have long been a fan of rubber-powered free-flight airplanes, but every model I’ve built has been in balsa and tissue. I’ve been wanting to experiment with some LW-PLA for some builds, but I haven’t yet. I have the filament, but I know exactly what you mean about there not being enough time!

2024-12-15 20:45:34 UTC

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Even people that have been doing this for decades go through the same process sometimes. Design is iterative. Too many people think of it as all-or-none. It may look like they effortlessly get it right the first time, but there are countless mistakes they’ve made before and know to avoid. Even with my decades of experience, I’ve recreated models from scratch to make them easier to edit in the future even though the design was “good”. Keep going!

2024-12-07 01:31:25 UTC

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I’ve given up on carry on luggage. Even the $30 baggage fee is a cheap travel stress reliever because you never have to worry about there being space when you board. I never want to be *that guy* that’s holding up boarding because of running out of space. Given that most of my travel is for work, they pay the fee, and I am not stressed. But, I still do it for personal travel too.

2024-11-29 20:49:59 UTC

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I use a hardened steel nozzle. So, it’s cranking along just fine. I haven’t changed my nozzle in years, and I’ve probably run 20 kilograms of white PETG through that nozzle in the last year alone.
Every time I print in white, I think about you talking about the abrasiveness of white filaments a few years ago.

2024-11-29 19:59:34 UTC

I’ve been doing a bunch of #3dPrinting this week, and most of it has been in white PETG. This is because I have a lot of spools of that filament that are almost empty, and I’d like to use them up instead of acquiring more. Many are on their last layer. Because of this, I made an iOS shortcut where I enter how many grams of filament are needed for a print, the spool hub diameter, and it will tell me how many wraps of filament are needed so I can tell if I have to babysit spool changes. 😎

2024-11-23 16:36:13 UTC

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I mean, it can be. I’ve had a mix of success and failure with it. Usually, it was plugged nozzles with carbon buildup. I think it was more operator error than material problems.
The brown color you chose is a pretty good replica of the original.

2024-11-23 16:12:10 UTC

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And, if you use wood-impregnated filament, it would be even harder to discern them from the real thing. The bridging almost looks like wood grain as it is. I loved Lincoln Logs as a kid. The roof supports seem like an easy 3D print too.

2024-11-23 16:07:58 UTC

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Before designing this, I looked around for a preexisting model to just print, and I didn’t find anything I really liked. That’s why tools like #FreeCAD are so great. You’re not limited to what others have already designed.
I have uploaded this to Printables if you’d like to make one for yourself. The FreeCAD file (along with lots of other formats) is also included if you want to modify it or even just to see how I made it.
https://www.printables.com/model/1084165-photo-holder
#3dPrinting

2024-11-23 16:07:57 UTC

I ran out of time yesterday to post this on actual #FreeCADFriday, but I had been needing a simple little holder for my desk to hold a photo of my grandmother baling hay. She passed away a couple years ago, but there was nothing she couldn’t do. She usually mowed, teaded, and raked the hay, and my grandpa baled. Us grandkids helped unload those wagons into the barn. This photo had to have been taken in the late 1980s.
My first #FreeCAD 1.0 model, and easy #3dPrinting.
1/2
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2024-11-21 18:46:38 UTC

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You just inspired me to update mine to something more recent. 🙂

2024-11-16 02:31:57 UTC

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You know, it never dawned on me until reading this that being handed a syllabus that outlined the next 3 months of work is so generous given how little planning there can be in your average job. The projects I work on week to week can vary so wildly as much as I try to plan. As much as it makes me sound like an old man, telling your students “If you think this is bad, wait until you get to the *real world*.” is very appropriate.

2024-10-31 18:01:59 UTC

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Do you mean they don’t approach it as them being able to control the computer through code/CLI but are merely at the mercy of whatever the software they use limits them to?

2024-10-31 17:47:04 UTC

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Do you think it has anything to do with decades of trying to make computing easier for people that aren’t “computer-people”? That is, if you’ve never had to think about what is going on behind the scenes, why should it come as any surprise that many of your students don’t have the understanding that we did at their age because it was all we knew?
I’m not saying they shouldn’t care or want to know these things as CS majors. I’d wager many haven’t had to in their lives.

2024-10-20 02:16:08 UTC

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Not exactly the most ergonomic seating.

2024-10-13 15:36:49 UTC

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Came down here for a friend’s wedding reception. They technically had their wedding in Canada because her in-laws have a cabin there and are dual citizens. They invited us out to their ranch to celebrate today. I can say it will probably be the warmest Thanksgiving I’ve ever experienced!

2024-10-13 15:11:57 UTC

Going to Canadian Thanksgiving at a ranch in Texas is not something I expected to be doing this year.

2024-09-29 13:52:38 UTC

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Thanks!

2024-09-29 13:42:45 UTC

Race day!
#cyclocross
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2024-09-15 22:15:37 UTC

Excited to be going to see The Reverend Horton Heat tonight in Cleveland. In the almost 30 years of listening to them, I’ve never seen them live.
Everyone needs to have a #psychobilly freakout now and then. 🤘
#music

2024-09-06 00:41:16 UTC

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Nah. This is just outside of Canal Fulton. I’ve ridden in Rocky River, but it’s been a minute. Lots of good riding in Northeast Ohio!
(Side note: my sister went to Baldwin Wallace. So, I’ve been to Berea plenty)

2024-09-06 00:32:51 UTC

I’m pretty lucky to have such beautiful places to ride. (This was from last night’s ride)
#BikeTooter #cycling
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2024-08-28 10:19:43 UTC

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Fair point

2024-08-28 02:09:51 UTC

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SSDs are cheap. I don’t remember the last time I bought a spinning drive. The only reason we had that drive at work is because IT didn’t realize the server existed until recently and it hadn’t been maintained for over two years. At least there were backups….

2024-08-28 01:36:41 UTC

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Literally had a spinning drive fail at work over the weekend. Just a few days after a replacement server arrived… but not after said server was in production… 🤦‍♂️

2024-08-28 00:19:58 UTC

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Is Huntington in your area? I’ve been happy with them for the last 15 years.

2024-08-27 10:42:25 UTC

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Awesome!

2024-08-21 11:52:22 UTC

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Well, this is definitely a case where you don’t want to be the data point that sets a new precedent… Hopefully this will be the day!

2024-08-18 12:13:00 UTC

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There’s a nature center just outside the tiny town of Wilmot, Ohio that installed solar panels over their parking lots in 2012. Not only does it provide a shady place to park, but it powers their visitor’s center. You used to be able to see how much power it’s generating on their website.
I’m sure plenty of people would be happier about returning to a car that isn’t sweltering in summer, or having to run through rain/snow?

2024-08-17 13:00:04 UTC

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They’ve been doing it for years. It’s very well attended and never gets out of control.

2024-08-17 12:53:00 UTC

The great #Akron music event called PorchRockr is happening today in my neighborhood. There are so many bands playing across 32 stages that are literally people’s front porches.
It’s a great time!
https://www.highlandsquareakron.org

2024-08-11 00:40:51 UTC

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If it ain’t one thing it seems like ten.

2024-08-09 00:03:08 UTC

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Your’s looks really good. Looking forward to iOS 18.
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2024-06-01 20:05:44 UTC

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That’s a great resource to have. I was able to have one of the local vendors I use at work laser cut some aluminum parts for me. They were cheaper than Xometry and PCBWay.

2024-06-01 19:55:35 UTC

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Even if you never do any machining yourself, there may be a time you need something machined for a project. Understanding design-for-manufacturing considerations for machining will help you help someone else. I’ve done enough machining for work that I know what’s possible. I wish I had machining equipment in my shop, but that’s a long-term financial project.