Inspired by one of my favorite YouTubers, Inheritance Machining (https://youtu.be/98aMwQFgN4o), this is a design that I started playing with in SolidWorks. I wanted easy access to my debit card on top with a thumb slot and corner retaining springs, with a .010" thick divider beneath it. Below that is a drawer for folded up bills, likely 3D printed to make it quick to change the height when carrying an extra card. The sides are scalloped for finger grip and to lighten the weight. Two side leaf springs create a detent on the corners of the cards and the drawer. I still need to finalize these details, but here is the design at the moment <- Definitely more work to do before I cut chips.

Now that Lauren has headed off to Northeastern, we have been rearranging the bedrooms in our home. The wall mount that I had purchased for the downstairs bedroom only works on vertical walls, and I now needed to mount the 55" TV from a 12-12 pitch (45°) roof rafters. I took a look online to see what kinds of mounts were available, but the only one that came close to what I was interested in was $250 and motorized. While that would have been cool, it was also very thick, moving the TV out from the ceiling by a few inches.

I wound up designing a simple swinging and latching mount with a 4 welded joints and a spring loaded paddle latch. This allows the TV & Frame to be tilted up parallel to the ceiling, and it is only 1" thick. I also wanted it to me nearly completely hidden behind the TV, so I made it as minimal as possible.

To release the TV, all you have to do is squeeze the paddle along the bottom center of the TV, and it will pivot to a near vertical position, just the right angle to comfortably view from the bed on the opposite side of the room.

The mounts are 32" apart, and the latch is in the center, meaning that all the hardware is lag bolted into the rafters and very solid.

We have been anxiously awaiting the time when we would have an alternative to Concast. Our end of our street does not have the option to get fiber optic access. However, I have been following Starlink very closely, and just reserved a dish and service to start later this year. I CAN"T WAIT to get rid of our $160/month internet & cable bill.

UPDATE 2-8-2022:

Our new Starlink dish has arrived! I can't wait to get home to get it set up and test it out!

Update 5-15-2022:

I tested out the dish by mounting the standard X shaped foot to a piece of plywood that I then bolted to the top of our tallest step ladder, which I positioned on our deck, then clamped the step ladder to the railing. It provided a good signal, but with a few momentary interruptions due to the trees. I learned from this temporary positioning and realized that I could position the dish on a pole parallel to the utility pipe already attached to our house. I designed up some strong machined aluminum clamps and purchased a Starlink pole mounting adapter. I was not pleased with the appearance (large bell shape) of the adapter when it arrived, so I designed and machined my own that would tightly fit the extension pipe I had on hand. I also made two new heavier duty clamps to secure the utility pipe to the house, as the tension from the cables had shifted it toward the street. It is MUCH more secure now. The clamps allow me to easily raise/lower the dish to make sure it has a clear view of the sky over the ridge of our house.

I'm pleased with the new location of the dish. I didn't have to drill any holes into the wall or roof, the cable will enter the house in the same corner as the utilities, and it was easy to install. Should be done with Concast this month!

I was having an issue with coworkers using up my Ketchup - half my bottle disappeared in a couple weeks, so I had to do something about it in a fun way. When enjoying the last of my Ketchup at lunch, I searched google for "Bottle Locks" and found this excellent design:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Beer-Bottle-Lock/

This design inspired me to create and 3D print the Ketchup Keeper shown to the left. If you would like to 3D print your own, here's the link:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3569498

You never know where one of your 3D designs will end up!

Here is one of the rockets Sean and I designed and uploaded to Thingiverse in 2011.

It was downloaded and printed by David Tapley, the owner of 3d-alchemy.co.uk, in the UK, and is now in a museum in London!

Download and 3D print your own: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:13616

After seeing all the amazing things that have been done with e-nable 3D printed hands, I truly wish I had done more with the hand I had made in my freshman year in college in the fall of 1992 for an intro to bio-engineering class at WNEC, taught by Dr. James Masi (my all time favorite professor). I built this in one weekend in my father's basement shop using a table saw, drill press, belt sander, a dremel tool, and some jigs to position the parts. I had a firm deadline on Monday... :-)

One other thing that may be of interest, is the positioning of the pivots in the finger joints. They are intentionally biased toward the outside of the hand, allowing for more mechanical advantage and a stronger grip with less stress on the components. Also, I was concerned with screws loosening up over time, so I instead designed the fingers to use roll pins that are pressed into the "male" middle section of the finger parts while the "female" outer sections of the mating part has slightly larger holes to allow the joints to pivot. These pins also have the added advantage that they are lighter than solid metal screws, yet plenty strong enough. They are also available in stainless steel to prevent corrosion. One problem may be the potentially sharp edges wearing away at the plastic, however, there are other "Spirol" coiled spring pins that are far smoother on the outside but function the same way if not better. Like this:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#roll-pins/=svw4c4

Also, the stacking compound angled sections of the palm area may be an alternate way to construct the palm, having internal channels to hide the actuating cables and elastic cords.

One thing I was never happy with was the way the "double joint preventers" (the bits that prevent the fingers from flexing backward) stuck out at the knuckles when the fingers were flexed.

Originally, I had a large servo motor mounted in the forearm area that would wind up the cables, causing the fingers to close. I never did get around to having 5 dedicated motors, one for each finger.

For scale reference, the gray PVC plastic fingers are Ø0.75" (3/4") diameter, and it is 1:1 scale to my own large hand.

Hopefully this will inspire some ideas, and I would be happy to answer any questions in regard to this hand.