shop, Electronics Forrest Lucas shop, Electronics Forrest Lucas

FDM Timelapse Controller

I wanted to document my FDM prints with a timelapse, so I hacked a GoPro controller with a microswitch to take a picture on every layer. After every layer, custom GCode moves the head to the trigger point at the edge of the X axis.

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Design, Prototyping Forrest Lucas Design, Prototyping Forrest Lucas

4runner Bumper - Design

bumper render v1.PNG

I was looking for high-clearance bumpers for my 2004 4Runner, and found really cool, really expensive options. They look fantastic, but it’s a lot for a bit of metal. So I wanted to see just how hard it is to design my own.

It’s hard.

I took the bumper off the car, did my best at measurement, made a cardboard template, then re-built the bumper in cad. If it actually fits, I’ll be pretty happy. I wanted to test if this thing could actually handle the winch loads that I’d be asking out of it. The 4Runner is about 4,000 lbs, and it started to deform at over 8,000lbs. I’d like to have more than a double safety factor, but for now, I’ll take what I can get.

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Electronics, Mischief Forrest Lucas Electronics, Mischief Forrest Lucas

2BC Ornament Contest

For the holiday party at Two Bit Corporate this year, we were all tasked to make an anonymous ornament that must fit in a 5x5x5 cube. I decided to make a mini arcade cabinet running Die Hard. I used full-size arcade components, raspberry pi, and tft touchscreen. Not bad for a 3 day after work project. I won 3rd place.

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Technique Forrest Lucas Technique Forrest Lucas

Laser Cutter + Acid Etching

I tried the technique to paint, laser etch off, and acid etch brass to create dimensional designs that can’t be replicated using traditional methods. As a first attempt, I designed a retro machine tag. CNC’d the brass blank, painted, and lasered the design, then acid etched and repainted the badge. Here’s the results.

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Siggraph Forrest Lucas Siggraph Forrest Lucas

Siggraph 2019 is wrapped.

Siggraph 2019 was pretty fun! Lots of work was poured into the Studio, and I’m looking forward to next year.

In 2020, I’ll be the Studio Chair, managing a great venue for attendees to get their hands on the techniques and tools that creators showcased throughout the conference.

I also got a little fancy.

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Fabrication, shop Forrest Lucas Fabrication, shop Forrest Lucas

DIY Vaccuformer

We needed a vaccuformer for a Two Bit project, so I built one.

Hand-wound heater wire, bent steel frame, and a pid temp control system.

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Electronics, Design Forrest Lucas Electronics, Design Forrest Lucas

The Electric Longboard Lives.

At long last, my custom-built electric longboard is completed. Of course, I’m only willing to call this version 1, but I’m pretty Impressed with the results.

Custom welded batteries, hand made case, milled motor/ wheel mounts, the works. I had a lot of fun solving every problem that comes from doing it yourself. It’s not perfect, but I got almost exactly what I wanted.

And it looks cool.

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shop Forrest Lucas shop Forrest Lucas

Bridge Light

Well, I needed some light in my new workshop. But I only have my 3d printer. So I did it that hard way.

I’d just CNC it next time, but at least it looks cool.

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Technique Forrest Lucas Technique Forrest Lucas

SLA Cold Casting

With the high-detail of SLA printers, I wanted to cast from it. But, why just cast another piece of plastic when you could cast it in metal? Well, I can’t exactly light up a foundry inside, so I tried the Cold Casting method. I mixed 50% brass powder with 50% resin, and this is what I got. Add a little shoe polish, and burnish with a spoon, and you get a pretty convincing result.

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Mischief Forrest Lucas Mischief Forrest Lucas

Bullet Time at the Big Top

We got a gopro bullet time rig at the office. Threw a little editing and music at it, and v’oila.

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Odds and ends of what I’ve been up to.