@trevorflowers@machines.social
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trevorflowers

@trevorflowers@machines.social

I make tiny art machines.
Tiny dogs run my life and I'm OK with it.
#machining #electronics #miniatures
#neurospicy #anxiety
#seattle #retrocomputing
#cadcam #3Dprinting #CNC #lathe #mill

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trevorflowers, to random
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As I caught myself considering whether to manufacture 1:3 scale tubular cam locks for smol computer panels I decided that my 12yo self would be confused but happy about how this phase of my life unfolded.

I told my friend the other day that I feel a bit post-singularity in the sense that ~three years ago I left a straight-forward career and at the same time the world went sideways so I have ~no ability to predict what will happen even next year.

Surprisingly, I'm mostly OK with it. 🤷

trevorflowers,
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

@mcdanlj Yes, though for the 1:3 scale PDP-11/70 panel it just needs to look like a lock and key and act like a switch. Preventing access isn't a requirement since attackers can simply unscrew the top or bottom panel of the rack. :-)

trevorflowers, to retrocomputing
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

My new tactic with insomnia is to use those involuntary conscious hours as bonus time for CAD. Last night I started laying out a 1:3 scale front panel of a PDP-11/70 for the Desktop Computer Lab rack: https://codeberg.org/trevorflowers/desktop-computer-lab/
When I was sleepy again I started a test print and went to bed so as soon as I've broken fast I'll go see how it turned out.

trevorflowers,
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Here's the rough print of a 1:3 scale PDP-11/70 front panel taped in place on the DCL rack. I'm now convinced that this is a good scale and that using off-the-shelf Eurorack rails rotated 90° is a good hack.
The next step is to build a cabinet around the rails and then build the rest of the PDP-11 to hold a SBC so I can play with shared resources like power and network.

A photo of a shelf holding books and a 1:3 scale computer rack with a roughly PDP-11 shaped front panel taped in place.

trevorflowers,
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If you're reading this and you have photos of 70s era computer racks that are empty or mostly empty then I'd love to see them so I can correctly make 1:3 scale Desktop Computer Lab racks.
If you know of someone who has some of those racks then please share this post with them.

trevorflowers, to kicad
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Just one of these schematics is correct. Can you see why?

A screenshot of a circuit schematic with all labels correctly in place.

trevorflowers, to random
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I do love a weathered terminal with a Fresnel lens.
https://hackaday.io/project/196223-post-apocalyptic-terminal

trevorflowers,
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Do you know of any artists making and selling fantasy terminals like this? I think I could be pretty happy making full size terminals but the only people I know doing similar things are working in ads and/or film which is too stressful for me.

trevorflowers,
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@luis_in_brief Yes, I personally lean more toward alternative timeline solarpunk futuristic than toward grungy or cyberpunk-ish distopian. So, worn but not dirty or pessimistic. That said, if it's a commission it can be whatever.
Flip-boards are the best partly because of the lovely noises they make when changing the glyphs.

trevorflowers, to random
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405nm light printers are amazing EOM

A close-up photo of six printed pegs with the letters QWERTY embossed on them. They are roughly 6mm tall, so tiny!

trevorflowers, to random
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Groggy morning thought: A GPS receiver remade and weathered to look like a piece of equipment carried by a famously lost traveler like Amelia Earhart or Peng Jiamu.

trevorflowers, to random
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There are people like me who make small stuff and then there's this joker, out there showing us How It's Done.
I fell out when he made the dash parts.
https://youtu.be/tlfTFadX2k8

trevorflowers, to random
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

I kind of love how people post that FreeCAD is unlearnable and unusable and then on the same page of my timeline are posts about amazing projects made with FreeCAD.
I'm not pointing fingers or drawing any conclusions other than it's a funny situation.
Use whatever software works for you.

phranck, to random German
@phranck@chaos.social avatar

May @Codeberg can tell me, why my repo isn't visible even it is a public repo?

https://codeberg.org/phranck/Amazon-Alternativen

trevorflowers,
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

@phranck @Codeberg I can see it from here.

mcdanlj, to random
@mcdanlj@social.makerforums.info avatar

I've finally built for myself, with the TNP mitigation enabled. Now every time I see something cool in the @FreeCAD WIP Wednesday posts I can play with it without waiting for a new weekly build. ☺

trevorflowers,
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

@mcdanlj I've meant to do the same but it hasn't popped to the top of my queue. Was it tricky to create the dev env?

trevorflowers, to random
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I want to see a few trustworthy reviews before I have an opinion but if this wire EDM kit works as advertised then it could be ideal for my tiny workshop.

https://youtu.be/lVW18j41Ew4
https://rackrobo.io/

trevorflowers, to random
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

If I ever pierce my ears for ornamental reasons then I am 100% making and wearing earrings with miniature floppies, zip disks, tape reels, punch cards, and any other digital media that strikes my fancy.

trevorflowers, to random
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Current status: Watching Eurorack tutorials and fighting the urge to pick up a new hobby. For science! 😸

trevorflowers, to Watches
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Oh, dang. Behrens made a sick lightweight and curvy wristwatch. Even if it was free I couldn't wear it but as a machine-minded person I love the stuffing out of the engineering, manufacturing, and aesthetics.
#horology #machinist
https://youtu.be/GOqzjrPnWao

trevorflowers, to random
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

This is a thoughtful piece about the balancing act of making physical things. How long should they work? What do recycling, repair, and durability bring to the equation? Whether you're making one-offs or runs of 110k, I think this is worth your time.
#manufacturing #machining
https://www.core77.com/posts/132088/Fantastic-Industrial-Design-Student-Work-How-Long-Should-Objects-Last

trevorflowers, to random
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

The Konmari tidying method breaks the initial discard into phases by categories: clothes, books, papers, misc, and sentimental items. I wonder what the categories are for a home workshop because it can't all be misc.

trevorflowers,
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

So, how do people with anhedonia decide whether an item sparks joy?
🤷
Asking for a friend.

wezm, to apple
@wezm@mastodon.decentralised.social avatar

New M4 iPads have more cores and are likely higher performing than my Ryzen 7 5800U based laptop and yet still can be used for development. Even a simple task like editing, building, and deploying my SSG (Zola) based website can't be done without the help of a remote machine running a real operating system. When will Apple focus on the iPad operating system instead of the hardware? #Apple #iPad

trevorflowers,
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@decryption @wezm I have mixed feelings about that idea. I agree that they're targeting the no-skill user but I also suspect that they've shipped the OS and first party apps they feel are sufficient so they're not messing with what they consider a success, instead relying on thinner/faster/prettier hw to drive sales.

trevorflowers, to random
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You know that thing where you order something online without understanding its size? Well, my new mill vice came in. 😉

trevorflowers, to random
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I've fallen down the rabbit hole of clock movements and it's good fun! My favorite advancement so far is the modern spring drive that merges satisfying mechanical features with a clever bit of silicon and quartz to keep more accurate time without a chemical battery.
https://youtu.be/jVoRoK1u3Dg

trevorflowers,
@trevorflowers@machines.social avatar

I don't wear a wristwatch for reasons of sensory processing and demand anxiety but I'm tinkering with a wristwrap design that might work. It's fabric and solid state electronics, though, so sadly no neat springs and wheels.
#horology

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