Bernard Walter

Tag: 3D Printing

  • January 17, 2025

    I’m inching closer to getting a self-water planter with lights working. Tonight, I managed to get the wiring together, after buying wire cutters and a soldering “helping hand.” I also ordered PETG filament because I read that PLA isn’t head resistant enough for a lamp.

    Over the last few days, I’ve been receiving several Amazon deliveries a day. It wasn’t intentional, but I’ve been buying things on Amazon so they’ve been getting delivered. The deliveries should’ve been more spread apart but delays and reorders lined up to create a steady flow of packages on our porch.

    One of my goals for this year was to buy less, to use what I already have. It seems that I’m always trying something new, however, so I don’t usually have what I need. Part of the problem is that I’m reluctant to make a solution for a problem when I can buy one.

    I could probably buy a self-water planter with LED lights instead of making one. In fact, I already have one. What I’m going after, more than anything, I think, is the challenge of it. Maybe the novelty is attractive, too.

  • January 15, 2025

    The 3D printed parts for the plant lamp fit together really well. I impressed myself. So, I designed the seed starter cups and sent them to print. While the test was printing, I decided to give soldering a go.

    My dad must’ve shown me how to solder at least a dozen times. He used to fix electronics. Me, I didn’t. I might have tried to solder some wires together three times before, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Today, really was, my first good go at it. At least, I kind of need to get it right to make these lamps.

    I figured it couldn’t be too hard. I closed the door to my office, so the cats wouldn’t disturb me, cleared away some papers on the desk, set down a piece of wood, so as not to burn through my desk, and tried to solder wires to LED lights.

    I had to call my dad to clarify whether it needed to be a series or parallel circuit. He told me that it needs to be parallel. I said the internet said it should be a series circuit. He told me to give it a go. I called him back to say he was right.

    There was an issue with the design, preventing me from running the wires nicely. I did a quick redesign for the LED brackets, added some vent holes, and sent it off to print again. Hopefully, I’ve gotten a little bit closer to getting it right. We’ll find out tomorrow when I try my hand at it again.

    On a different note, why did Amazon say they would deliver my order on Sunday by 10 pm, then by Friday, and then today it was marked as delivered but it wasn’t?

  • January 14, 2025

    For whatever reason, I want to 3D print planters. I imagine the idea is an extension of an idea I had for a cross-curricular project for my class in which they’d research, design, and build a vertical garden. It should be an interesting project but it’s going to take a fair bit of work to plan and implement properly.

    Since conjuring up the idea for my class back in November sometime, I’ve been wanting to design, print, and sell planters, especially self-watering ones, for myself. I started working out ideas during the winter break, setting a goal to have one good idea ready to go by the end of January. I think I’m getting close.

    Today, I felt ready to print out the idea I’ve been working on. It’s not entirely ready – the cups for the plants aren’t designed – but I want to work with something material. I’m hoping that all the pieces will fit together.

    One of the interesting challenges that I didn’t anticipate was designing the parts to optimize the printing. I also need to print it such that I can wire in the lights. One thing I forgot to include is a water level indicator.

    I’m looking forward to seeing how this turns out and what challenges will present themselves next.

  • January 13, 2025

    I am constantly amazed at what people are able to design and create when it comes to 3D printing.

    Back in December, I got myself a Bambu A1 3D printer to upgrade from my Creality Ender 3 Neo, which was just giving me trouble. The Bambu A1 is a huge step up, impressing me in every way a 3D printer can. The quality of the output it produces is at a professional level.

    One of the files it ships with is a print-in-place articulating panda. That toy is so much fun. I printed a pen holder to ship my pens in. Today, I printed a crayon-shaped crayon container. It’s incredible. The precision of the threads blows me away.

    What impresses me most is that someone conjured up that idea and designed it. That is the brilliance of the human mind. I’ve been messing around with making a self-watering planter, something that I recently saw a three-year-old video on. I’m kind of getting it right. I’m not sure that I have a mind, or eye, for design, but boy do I want to figure it out.

  • February 24, 2024

    I’ve been trying to 3D print pieces that’ll fit together. I thought it’d be so much easier than it’s proving to be. I’m not sure what I’m getting right and what I need to fix.

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  • October 3, 2023

    I gave my students “toilet tokens” today. Last night, I printed off some miniature toilets on my 3D printer and each of my students in one of my classes one. I’ve had enough of them leaving class every single day.

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