Army of Evil Robots » Uncategorized

Building a Metalcasting Furnace

Derek Anderson — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:45:59 +0000

Yet another busy afternoon; I mixed up some perlite/refractory and started building out a furnace for aluminum casting. Things are going pretty well so far. The 4:1 perlite to refractory mix seems to work OK, although I am sticking closer to 3:1 right now. My refractory cement already has some aggregate in it, so it’s a bit intolerant of the big chunks of perlite. I wish I could add some soap to the mix to make the perlite wet out better.

I also picked up a propane adaptor for a barbecue which just happens to match the size of a cheapass propane torch. This means I can use my cheap propane nozzle to heat the assembly. Turns out that there are standards for these kinds of things. Who knew!

Next up, drilling holes for handles in my cast iron skillet/crucible, then burnout for both the furnace and my 3d printed investment, then finally a test casting in Aluminum. Gonna be a busy week.

Beermaking again!

Derek Anderson — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:39:12 +0000

Finally started to brew again after a hiatus of several years (due to time constraints, not by choice).

This time around I am brewing a 7-ish percent IPA, using ESB and Caravienne malts, and a ludicrous amount of hops. I hope the 1.120 starting gravity will balance out the massive IBU.

Citadel Upgrades

Derek Anderson — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:41:49 +0000

Just switched to a more “standard” heated bed, and a JHead to replace my long suffering makergear extruder.

I cannot believe it has been nearly two years since I built this printer!

Maker Faire tomorrow!

Helen Highwater — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 04:15:38 +0000

Finished setting up for Maker Faire tomorrow. So tie tie!

We cut the tigerwood for the clock last night, here’s a photo of the three pieces together:

Beer Mug

Helen Highwater — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 02:20:16 +0000

Went to Greendale Pottery and Beef yesterday to pick up a quarter of a cow. You heard me. A quarter of a freakin’ cow.

What? It’s Barbecue season?

Anyway, as I’m sure you’ve gathered from the name, she also makes amazing pottery. Check out our new pottery beer mugs. Looks like a beer poured into a clear glass and running down the edges but it’s just the glaze colour.

ps. Maker Faire on Saturday! Don’t forget to buy tickets!

Derek’s 3D printer at Vancouver Maker Faire!

Helen Highwater — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:31:14 +0000

This years Maker Faire prep has been a lot less stressful than last years. It’s at the PNE this year and I’m SO looking forward to a bag of hot mini doughnuts. We’ll be heading into Vancouver tomorrow with all our stuff including Derek’s 3D printer:

STRONG Bed Adhesion with PVA/Weldbond

Derek Anderson — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 01:24:35 +0000

I have been having some issues with insufficient bed adhesion, especially when using some less than stellar PLA, so started experimenting with a variety of bed treatments. ABS paint, bluetape and Kapton all worked pretty well, but the new, all time champion is now PVA/Weldbond glue in an ultra-thin layer, only a few molecules thick, which gets the strongest (perhaps too strong) bond I have ever managed. This thin layer completely eliminates any corner lift, and prevents the tape from being pulled off of the bed as well. As a bonus, the heated bed doesn’t have to run as hot.

2nd Clock project

Helen Highwater — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:32:51 +0000

Here’s a brand new clock we’re in the middle of making. The top shows the design, below that are a few snapshots of the first two layers cut. The base layer is a 2 inch thick slab of walnut, next is the maple, the top layer will be tigerwood. That’s the orange top part in the drawing. We will be cutting the tigerwood this afternoon. We’ll bring is along to Maker Faire in whatever stage of completion it happens to be. This one is much bigger than our first clock, measuring about 2ft wide….working our way up to a grandfather clock.

Mirror, mirror…

Helen Highwater — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:06:01 +0000

Here’s another project we’ve just completed. The mirror frame is maple, cut on the CNC. Decorated with the blue dyed 2 part resin. Planning the next mirror now which will be a full length one. Hopefully I’ll post the design soon.

Time for a beer!

Helen Highwater — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:09:34 +0000

Well the pub sign is finally done! We’ll be bringing it to Maker Faire this year but it’s final home will be above our kegerator beside the bar.

We cut the sign on our big CNC from scraps of HDU (High Density Urethane) kindly given to us by Dan Sawatsky of Imagination Corporation. Dan is pretty much the world’s greatest sign maker and a huge inspiration.

Phew! I think it’s time for a beer.