Empty Filament Spool & Scrap Wood Wagon

Wagon design render

It is almost consistently warm enough in Chicago to continue with the solar oven trials. Thinking about last year’s trials, I realized that the solar oven peformed best during the first day on the ground in the park. It makes sense to return to the park this year. A means of transporting the oven to the park is needed. Since I had four empty filament spools and remembering Chuck’s Spool racer, my thoughts went toward making a wagon. I have a hand truck that converts to a 4-wheel platform cart, but it’s not something I would want to push to a park. A wagon could be the best transport for the oven, I thought and set about searching for methods of making a wagon. I found a video on the Popular Mechanics YouTube channel that provided the best information for the type of wagon I intended to make.

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Desktop Printer 3D Printable Chair With Cushion – Chair Design Series, Part 6, Iteration 1

The first iteration of an entire chair is complete! Chair dimensions are 16″ L x 13″ D x 36″ H. All chair parts were printed on desktop printers CR10 mini and MK3s+; bed sizes – 12″ x 9″ and 11″ x 8″. The filaments used to print the chair were 3dPrintlife Pro PLA, PLA/PHA, and Dura Nylon. What follows are photos and a few notes.

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Asking Yourself the Patent Question

Photo credit: Michael Neubert

As active owners of desktop 3d printers, we inevitably arrive at a point where we ask ourselves about pursuing a patent for something we have invented. Inventiveness is one of the intangibles emanating from frequent use of a desktop 3d printer. Inventions may be insignificant at the beginning; still, the potential for significant ones constantly looms in the background. The more we learn about our machines, designing prints, and 3d printing in general, the closer we get to creations we think are wholly unique. We find ourselves asking, “Should I get a patent for this?” To answer this question, we must determine if our invention qualifies for a patent and if it has commercial potential.

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Mahogany Striped Hamper

3D printing gives you the ability to create what you desire and imagine. When I was unable to find a hamper that suited my needs after searching in stores and online for over a year, I designed one. The design went through a few iterations before I settled on making one using Mahogany edge bands and plywood that was leftover from a business venture. This was the second hamper I have made with 3D printed elements. The first was a hamper stool that served its purpose but did not have enough storage space for my current needs.

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Chair Design Series, Part 4

It has been a little over 2 years and the chair design I was close to printing has not been printed. I was having difficulty trying to figure out how to prevent the chair from collapsing in the middle. My goal was to have an entirely 3d printed chair that could be printed on a desktop 3d printer. Some details remain; however, I believe printing can begin this Summer.

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