@Pepijn@mastodon.online avatar Pepijn , to random

After having a conversation about making small wood and paperboard model kits I'm wondering:

Does anyone sell a small affordable lasercutter / engraver that's just enough to do one or two mm thick MDF / board?

Adding some hashtags that seem appropriate:

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@doragasu@mastodon.sdf.org avatar doragasu , to random

A simple stackable Gridfinity holder for the Elikliv EM4K-AF Microscope Remote. https://www.printables.com/model/1584672-stackable-elikliv-em4k-af-microscope-remote-gridfi

Photograph of the empty Gridfinity holder.

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@PabloveSky@mastodon.com.pl avatar PabloveSky , to random Polish

10 raz próbuję skończyć złożenie stojaka na kierownice, do PS4 w freecad 1.0, ale ciągle dzieją się dziwne rzeczy w "assembly". Czas na 1.02
Projekt wymagał kilku poprawek, ale weszły. Na oko oceniam, że będzie wszystko współgrało. Dołożenie podpórki może okaże się zbędne, a ostatnie części i tak tworzyłem na "odwal się".
To był aktywny weekend.

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@FreeCAD@fosstodon.org avatar FreeCAD , to random

It's once again! Do show us what you are working on with !

@FreeCAD@fosstodon.org avatar FreeCAD , to random

It's ! What have you been making with recently?

M4x ,
@M4x@chaos.social avatar

@FreeCAD I've mounted some euro peg boards in my workshop. Since I.wasn't able to reach the mounting holes at the corner (drainpipe) , I've designed a bracket in and printed it.

Close up of a 3D-printed bracket (gray PETG) holding a gray euro peg board.

mhier , to 3DPrinting in Anyone had any luck running Fusion 360 on Linux?
@mhier@norden.social avatar

IMALlama it's called there running-away-and-hiding

@concretedog@mastodon.social avatar concretedog , to random

Hurrah! issue 3 is out now! There's a focus on for this issue with tutorials on the wonderful @FreeCAD , the mighty @kicad , the fabulous @inkscape and also getting your project certified by the brilliant @oshwassociation . As ever it's pay as you feel, links are on this post https://concretedog.blogspot.com/2025/10/source-issue-3-out-now-open-hardware.html

Please Boost! and have a great weekend. X

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@adam@mastodon.joandadam.uk avatar adam , to random

I spent some time yesterday modelling a candle-holder for a birthday cake, then 3d printing 10 of them (for a 40th birthday). The cake isn't for a gardener, so those unfamiliar with the Two Ronnies may be puzzled...

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@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar rayko , to random

Gonna try my luck with FreeCAD one more time, and try designing something I want to construct. I do like the idea of constraints for designing a thing (a tools drawer in my case), but it's totally backwards to what I'm used to do in Blender.

It'll either cause my brain to bleed, or produce something that doesn't explode by looking at it too hard lol Goal is to produce a blueprint out of it, which is one of the purposes of FreeCAD.

I can still do it in Blender with some precision if I fail.

rayko OP ,
@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar

This is new. Had an older version of FreeCAD and noticed it's now a 1.x so I grabed it. Messing around with the workbenches tried this, out of curiosity.

Pretty cool!

Still hurts my brain, but it's a start. Kinda figuring out a workflow here, but I'm totally not looking forward to design the screws I'm gonna use D: Maybe I can find a standarized set to rely on, like KiCAD footprint parts.

Little video of FreeCAD window I was working with, that shows the exploded view tool it has. My object is just a box with an open front. As I use the exploded view tool, by dragging a gizmo, all walls of the box sepparate radially from the center.

rayko OP ,
@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar

Using the Assembly workbench in FreeCAD. Added some more pieces. It does look like a rack but it isn't xD Though I like the rack look. Also, don't judge my wheels :p they are just placeholders.

If you are going to do assemblies in this program, do not group objects within the assembly, it seems to break stuff and joints. Probably a bug in how the tree works.

This is FreeCad 1.0.2 by the way. A bit of a mixed bag so far, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

rayko OP ,
@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar

Deleted a part and it imploded D:

Future construction omen? I don't know, but I do know I will have to start this again from scratch, as I also re organize this awkward tree of objects.

The wonders of doing stuff without knowing.

rayko OP ,
@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar

Now it looks like a decent thing. And it's obvious what I'm trying to build here too :p

Plan is to take real measures out of this and build it in MDF. I do need to add some inside things first, but I kinda need the parts on my hand to model them for hole placements, so I guess it's time for some shopping lol

For now, FreeCAD is telling me that the total height of this thing is what I was expecting and should fit where I intend to put it, so that's good.

rayko OP ,
@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar

Getting there, crafted like 10 pages with specs like these, and I don't know if it will be enough lol

This is quite some work to do, consdiering a few times crashed on me.

I think I will be able to place an order soon for all the board pieces, it's a lot of wood for what it is xD

Quite excited to reach fabrication and see how well (or poorly) I did.

Another technical drawing from FreeCAD, describing a single drawer with general measures. There are 4 orthographic views this time showing front, top, left side, and one more view at an angle. The drawer is quite shallow on purpose.

rayko OP ,
@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar

As I continue to discover for this little project, I think I have one tip to give about TechDraw.

I was quite frustrated at my pages being rebuilt and messed up. This happened because I was placing a view from an entire assembly and wanted only to show a few sub-parts of it, toggling visibility in the tree. That's wrong apparently.

Instead, select teh individual sub-parts to make the view.

This doesn't work with sub-assemblies though. But can duplicate and use visibility on them.

rayko OP ,
@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar

LOL Made some changes to make my drawer handles a little prittier and my entire file basically imploded beyond repair. Had to make everything almost from scratch again.

Assemblies in (the out-of-the-box workbench), is quite new AFAIK. And apparently it doesn't support too many levels of nested assemblies.

Can only have one sub assembly that is not made of other assemblies, otherwise it turns into fireworks.

Also need to double check 'Rigid' property is true on sub assemblies.

rayko OP ,
@rayko@raykoworld.com avatar

Aaand! Done! From model to reality.

This has put a much needed smile on my face. Went way better than I expected. Glad to confirm I can still make something decent, and I can say I did something useful this entire year.

Missed an opportunity to engrave something with my laser engraver though. Next time probably. I think I will build another one since I have another space to put a second one. Really useful already, now my workspace is better organized.

@FreeCAD@fosstodon.org avatar FreeCAD , to random

It's ! Show what you are working on using and happy weekend everyone!

tinx ,
@tinx@jit.social avatar
@koz@chaos.social avatar koz , to random

Recently, I got my hands on a free Ender 5 Pro, whose Z axis was so bent it looked like a forklift drove over it. Because of that, I can finally do an build!

This thread will be an extended sojourn into this project, where I will aim to use random workshop junk whenever possible. I won't make this a hard rule, but I'll try and avoid buying new if I can.

First things first, gotta strip down the frame! So much useless junk there.

@3dprinting

1/n

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koz OP ,
@koz@chaos.social avatar
koz OP ,
@koz@chaos.social avatar

@3dprinting This is the plate for the Endorphin Stage 1. All but one of these parts ended up needing tweaks by me, mostly to add chamfers, remove captive nuts in favour of heatset inserts, and in the case of the idler mount, to fix some serious weakness issues.

I also managed to find bugs in both the AMF and STEP exporters in in the process. I truly am a bug magnet.

18/n

@lps@mograph.social avatar lps , to random

Hi All, I could use some advice.

I'm looking for a free or inexpensive solution to do some scanning or photogrammetry to be able to build one of a kind parts for a car.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance, and please boost for reach.

*edit, I should have mentioned, I prefer an android app, or even desktop that uses DLSR photos ... but iphone is always something I can look into.

@concretedog@mastodon.social avatar concretedog , to random

KLAXXON! issue 2 is now available for download! In case you don't know what I am on about SOURCE is my attempt at an "pay what you feel" magazine. In this issue we look at , , and

There's a little more info and a direct to pdf link on my blog as well as links to Issue 1 which was a deep dive on Computational FLuid Dynamics with .

https://concretedog.blogspot.com/2025/07/source-issue-2-out-now.html

Please Boost!

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@sako@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar sako , to random

switch 2 version of the holder thing

image/png
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@gbrnt@masto.hackers.town avatar gbrnt , to random

So you know how the free software movement was started by getting frustrated with bad closed-source printer drivers?

Printers themselves are notoriously temperamental, with a hefty helping of planned obsolescence and crappy business models.

I (probably) can't fix "temperamental" but why shouldn't there be printers that you can build yourself? It blows my mind that we have this for 3D but not 2D.

Let's make this happen.

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gbrnt OP ,
@gbrnt@masto.hackers.town avatar

peeps how would you do this? I have a FreeCAD 1.0.1 assembly which is a motor hub part with 3 holes for pins and 3 holes for magnets. I've assembled 1 pin and 1 magnet into the part. How do I do the other 2 as a polar pattern without having to just manually add the parts and joints?

Draft PolarArray doesn't seem to rotate them on the current working plane so it's just rotating them around the wrong axis!

Back of motor hub with 3 holes arranged 120° apart and a magnet in one
Front of the motor hub with the working plane visible as the front face of the motor hub YZ plane) but Draft PolarArray has rotated the pin around the Z axis instead for some reason?