User:Drewgolterman/Blogs
Contents
Blog 1: Thingiverse
A. Something amazing/beautiful
For an object that is amazing/beautiful, I chose to share this print of the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The statue itself is very beautiful, and I thought that it was amazing how it could be replicated so precisely. The Thingiverse user who created this, downeym, described how he used the following link (Link) to print the statue with minimal support material. And the following is a link to the Thingiverse article itself (Link).
For something that is funny and strange, I decided to share this figurine of Bender, from the TV show Futurama, which I found on Thingiverse. I have been a fan of the TV show for a while and I find Bender's character to be hilarious. Here is a link to the article for this print (Link).
When I was searching for something that was useless, I decided to type in "useless" to see what I would find, and I indeed found something extremely useless. This picture to the left is a one-sided die. And it is meant so that you can load it with a weight. For what purpose? I do not know. The link to this Thingiverse page is here.
I thought that this print of an Ipod 5 case would be extremely useful for me because I have been looking for a case that fits my own, but most of the Ipod cases sold are for previous generations. I thought that I could print this one for myself once I learn to download stl's and use the printers more effectively. The link to the Thingiverse article for this is here.
This surprised me because I could not imagine why someone would think to make a play on words of "Buddha" and "Winnie the Pooh." But apparently somebody did, and they then decided to create "Winnie the Poodha." This is one of the stupidest ones that I found on Thingiverse but it also made me laugh, which is why I included it for the last picture to share. Here's the link for this one.
Here's the link for this one. http: //www.thingiverse.com/thing:115029
Blog 2: Open Source Ecology Project Discussion
A: I think that the open source ecology project has an enormous potential. As Marcin stated in the video that was provided, people often become trapped in the “consumer” mentality of only looking at options that are presented to them rather than seeking their own solutions. By practicing an open source system of information with hardware, people can start being more productive by learning how to find their own solutions rather than being forced into seeking a select few “consumer” options, which may be against their interest in cost and feasibility. Also, the open source community has a large potential for developing communities that need cheap, feasible options for growing their economy.
However, after reviewing some of the project directions that are available, such as the CEB press (http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/CEB_Press) and the LifeTrac (http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/LifeTrac) I had some doubts about the feasibility of these projects for unskilled people. Although the designs that OSE offers are very simplified, they still might be overwhelming for someone who has never had any experience in mechanical construction. Given enough time to research the design, find the appropriate parts and reach out to experienced individuals, I think that these projects could be completed, but I have had doubts about their “one day goal.” The “one day goal” is their goal to create new designs that have the ability to be assembled in only a day. When they run the test of time that it takes to assemble these machines, I think they are overlooking how much more effort it may be for someone who is inexperienced with machinery and the possible bias that they have in being the designers of these machines. Since they are the most familiar with their own design, they are bound to assemble it quicker than anybody else can. The program’s most recent efforts, as shown in this video (http://vimeo.com/81154935), have included creating “work shops” for people to attend in order to learn how to build these essential machines. If Open Source Ecology wants to truly make an impact, I think that these workshops are the key way to teach other people how to assemble the open source machines. By having access to experienced machinists and builders, those who attend these workshops will not only be able walk away with their own machines, but they will also be able to learn essential skills from the leaders of these workshops. I think that in order to be successful in their mission, the open source community would not only have to provide access to the designs for these machines, but they would also have to provide access to people who are experienced in working with the machine components.
B: The New Yorker article, which can be found here, seems to focus on painting a quirky and eccentric picture of Marcin rather than actually weighing the pros and cons of his work. And as far as I can read from the article, the writer put very little effort into exploring the potential benefits of open source communities, such as the sharing of knowledge and ecological progress in developing countries, and focused more on Marcin’s unique background, views and projects. The writer also tends to assert the more pessimistic qualities of OSE’s efforts rather than inquiring about their potential. For example, she states that Marcin has faced “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.” But rather than mention that Marcin is attempting to combat this problem with his “workshops,” which are meant to educate these unskilled people, she simply mentions this fact as a way of seemingly discrediting Marcin’s efforts. Although the author has a point to address critical issues, such as how to train unskilled people, she scarcely addresses the potential benefits of OSE’s projects.
Marcin’s response to this article can be found here. After reading the response, I think that it was an appropriate way to address several “misconceptions” that were presented in the New Yorker article. Marcin states that the goals of his project are idealistic, but nevertheless they are necessary to address common worldly issues such as material scarcity. He also addresses the writer’s tendency to give him the air of being a “luddite” or leader of a “commune,” which would both carry negative connotation in the eyes of readers because they are associated with outlandish characteristics. However, Marcin continues to uphold the “one day goal” again, which I still happen to think is unrealistic for anyone other than the designers themselves. I continue to think that he underestimates the amount of work that will be involved for unskilled people. In my opinion, I think that he should have addressed this concern more directly in his response to show that he is considering the implications of teaching people the necessary skills to build OSE’s designs.
C: I have never had any professor that would be involved with agriculture, however I think that my previous ME 480 professor, Yash Tambawala, may have an interest in the mechanical design part of the project. The class that he taught was “Mechanical Analysis of Linkages.” I think that he would have had an interest in the researching these open source designs because they are directly related to some of the examples that we have studied in class. Also, if we had the opportunity to build one of them, it would be a great way of exercising the skills that we learned in class. However, I think that he may be leaving the Penn State MNE department this semester.
Aside from Professor Tambawala, I would also consider some of the Mechanical Engineering professors that are involved with linkages and mechanical design, because these topics relate directly to the open source designs that Marcin has shared. Also, the fact that they can be assembled with readily available materials (for the MNE Department) such as steel tubing, cables and hydraulics demonstrates that they would be a great project for a college-level environment.
Blog 3: Kansas teen uses 3-D printer to make hand for boy
When Mason Wilde was looking to create a hand for Matthew, he slightly adjusted the design that was originally created by Ivan Owen and Richard Van. These two men met online and were working to create mechanical fingers for Van, after he had lost part of his hand in an accident with a table saw. During their progress, a woman from South Africa contacted them and asked them to attempt to create a mechanical hand for her son, who was born without fingers on his right hand. They first created this hand out of metal parts that they had machined. After testing the design, they then chose to make a more refined 3D-printed version, after being donated a 3D-printer by Makerbot. After creating a more sound design, they uploaded the design with instructions to Thingiverse. The first 3D-printed version was uploaded in January of 2013.
If someone wished to create their own prosthetic hand, they could start by modifying the design that was uploaded here.
Here are some related news articles that discuss the "Robohand."
-American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Blog 4: Blog 3 Reflection
When reviewing the blogs of my classmates, I found that many of them had the same concerns that I had about the feasibility of unskilled people creating their designs. Many of the articles reiterated that a lot of the designs will still require additional training for those who attempt to complete them. However, many of them were also able to see the potential benefits of having an open source system of designs, and they still generally liked the idea despite its unrealistic goal to make its designs able to be built in a single day.
