• Fixed Center Circular Linkage

    A little over a year ago as part of my Reinventing the Wheel class I made a simple expanding circular linkage from poster board. I attempted to model it in Fusion 360, but I was still pretty clueless at using joints, and there’s a fairly decent chance my dimensions were wrong anyway. Today I dug up a better diagram of the mechanism, and now my CAD assembly finally works. I also think I finally understand how joint limits are supposed to work (not that they’re rocket surgery, but the interface has left me confused in the past). Fusion doesn’t seem thrilled to work with a circular assembly like this. I wound up scrapping and reconnecting all the joints, and even then it displayed some truly weird behavior, but I finally got it working, so I’m quite pleased with the project. »

  • Illuminated JavaScript

    This past weekend I took part in the 4th annual Stupid Shit That No One Needs & Terrible Ideas Hackathon, which is a one-day event at NYU where participants make projects that have no value whatsoever. Previous highlights include a Cheez Wiz 3D printer and a Non-Ad Blocker Chrome extension that blocks all content except for ads. I prototyped Illuminated Javascript, a plugin for beautifying code in Sublime Text in the tradition of ancient illuminated manuscripts. I hope it helps make everyone’s code seem significantly more cultured and sophisticated. »

  • Doing Nothing With The Trammel Of Archimedes

    Years ago, my uncle gave me a wooden toy, consisting of a main block with two perpendicular channels cut through. There are shuttles confined to the channels, and a lever is connected to both shuttles with fixed pivots. It’s a classic “do-nothing machine,” and it’s sat on my desk for many years. Today I know it’s otherwise known as a trammel of Archimedes, and contrary to the do-nothing name, the end of the lever actually follows an elliptical path, which can be quite useful. I decided to simulate one in Fusion to further practice mechanisms. There is, of course, math behind this, but I actually modeled this from life, using calipers to copy my desk toy. Mission accomplished. »

  • Modeling A Geneva Mechanism

    I’ve been focusing on mastering mechanical motion in CAD, and I’m really fond of watching simulations of intermittent motion mechanisms. In particular, Geneva wheels are exceptionally satisfying to watch. I based this design on this post by J.E. Johnson, who really explains in depth how to read a diagram for a design like this, something I wasn’t altogether sure how to do previously. »

  • The Full Twelve Cylinders

    I’ve been working on improving my CAD expertise, so last week I put together this simulation of a 12 cylinder engine. It’s by far the most complex, challenging thing I’ve accomplished using parametric CAD, and I’m quite pleased with myself. I’ve been working in Fusion 360, which I’m very fond of at this point. »

  • Verlet Physics Fabric

    One more Shiffman challenge. This fabric simulation is created with the ToxicLibs library to create the individual strings. I’m working to expand it by adding collisions with an object in the space, but for now, here’s the fabric and some gravity. »

  • Generative 3D Terrain With Perlin Noise

    Another Shiffman coding challenge. This time I’m generating 3D terrain that’s randomized using Perlin Noise to create a natural variation in the landscape. Code below the jump. »

  • Menger Sponge Fractal

    I’m messing around with generative 3D models in Processing, by which I mean enjoying Dan Shiffman’s YouTube channel. This cube sub-divides on mousePressed(), and it can go deeper than three levels, but that’s not a bright idea on this computer. Code below the jump. »