User:Las5661/Blog
Blog 1: Some awesome things found on Thingiverse
Thingiverse is a website used to share files of 3D objects people have designed and printed.
Something Amazing/Beautiful
I'm amazed! For anyone who knows me, they know I am a huge Halo fan. The fact that someone was able to make this out of 3D printed parts leaves me speechless.
Design Here: Halo 4 Helmet Full Size
Something Funny and Strange
I'm not exactly sure what/who Rhino Man is, but this printed bust sure does look strange to me.
Design Here: RhinoMan
Something Useless
It's cool to look at but I can't think of any practical use for it.
Design Here: Six Handles Fancy
Something Useful
This is probably the most interesting tablet stand I've ever seen.
Design Here: Octopus Tablet Stand
Something that surprised me
As a Doctor Who fan, this is awesome to begin with. What surprised me the most about it is that it was printed using a glow in the dark plastic and then wired with blue LEDs inside of it to give it the glowing effect.
Design Here: Tardis
Blog 2: Open Source Ecology Project Discussion
A) General Impression of the OSE Project
In general, the OSE project strikes me as a unique idea that could impact 3rd world and developing countries in a very good way. The amount of contributions made to the project by people other than Marcin was also incredible. Upon considering how this project will hold up in the future, I find it incredibly likely that the large companies making the more expensive commercial products will not be too happy about this venture and may go so far as to try to shut down the project. Companies such as John Deere would not like it if their products began to be beaten out by the cheaper alternative of making your own tractor. Thinking business wise, it would make sense to prevent this project from continuing in the long run, or risk losing customers/business.
After reading about the project in more depth on their website at http://blog.opensourceecology.org/, it seems that the community behind the project has been increasing at a steady rate since its inception. I commend the fact that there is a full-time group of people willing to help the project. These people have taken up positions that include project managers and operations managers. With this amount of support and leaders, I believe the OSE community can continue to increase for at least the next few years.
I decided to research the tractor a bit more and see just how easy it would be to create my own. After reading through a bit of the manual, it doesn't seem like it would be as easy to fabricate my own tractor as I initially thought. Although it would definitely be a challenge to create, with enough time and resources, it could be done. If a part were to break during the creation of the tractor however, someone without experience in fabricating and with no concept of how a tractor works, the tractor might never be able to finished. Considering I do not have an extensive amount of manufacturing experience, I feel that it would be extremely hard for someone without past experience to accomplish this project.
B) New Yorker Article and Marcin's Response
In Emily Eakin's article in the New Yorker at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/12/23/131223fa_fact_eakin, a more doubtful critique of Marcin’s ideology and tendencies is written rather than a report on his and the project's accomplishments. In the article, she does raise a valid point however; she says that, "among the obstacles he has faced is a dearth of skilled acolytes: the people who show up at his farm typically display more enthusiasm for his ideas than expertise with a lathe or a band saw." I for one would fall into this category; while being able to work on this project would be awesome, I wouldn't bring a lot of know how to the table. I believe that it was unnecessary for her to discuss his journaling tendencies or mock his food consumption however.
Marcin responded to this article at http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/New_Yorker_-_Article_Response. In general, it seemed to be a good response to the article critique. At the end of the article, Marcin says, “I am proposing a much more optimistic representation of our work than the social melodrama that the article appears to emphasize.” While I can see why a person in Marcin's position would never focus on the problems ahead of the project team, but at some point, he may not be able to remain blind to the many problems that could prevent the success of his project. Again, I find fault with what Marcin says regarding average people rising to the occasion and creating their own machines. I, being an average person, do not see myself as currently capable of making a machine such as a tractor. Marcin has a Ph.D, as well as years of experience with machines and blueprints; so he is obviously an intelligent guy. If his definition of average means people with excellent design skills, as well as years of background experience with machines, then his statement would be fine. Unfortunately, that is not the standard definition of "average".
C) PSU Club Possibilities
While there is quite a large number of organizations and clubs at Penn State, including THON and the 3D Printing Club to name just 2, I believe an OSE club might garner some interest, but I believe that they would run into problems regarding what I expressed above. Yes, many people would want to help out and build something, but with current experience, limited funds and places to manufacture, and limited time beside school work, I'm skeptical that a project of any size could be finished. If I were to contact a particular Penn State faculty member in order to garner support for such a club however, I would approach Dr. Brennan first. He was my professor for Industrial Robotics and for Vehicle Dynamics, as well as the leader of the autonomous vehicle research team. I would approach him first because he seems like someone who is always willing to push the envelope regarding design, programming, and invention.
