Projects

Although my studies keep me busy, I always seems to find time to make things.  To me Making is meditative, way to unwind.  Here is a sampling of some of the things I have built.

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3D printer

The NOVAi3 is a customized 3D printer based heavily on the Prusa I3 Medal assembled specifically for the NOVAlab 3D printer build groups.  I built my printer as part of build group #7 in early 2015.  A nice feature of building my own 3D printer is the capability of customization and upgrades.

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My First 3D print.

 

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Props

Some of my favorite things to build are props from my favorite video games, TV shows, and movies. I have a thing for sci-fi. The main parts of my builds are usually 3D printed in PLA and assembled in pieces.  I then use bondo to fill in any cracks, followed LOTS of sanding before paint.  A few of my projects are currently unfinished as I have yet to learn the technical skills necessary for the next step(s), ei. I haven’t figured out how to make visors yet.

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Helmets

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Stormtrooper episode VII

The Stormtrooper episode VII helmet is first the helmet I ever made.  Looks OK in the pictures= but has major issues up close.  I learned a lot from this build and my next helmets turned out much better.

Files

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Stormtrooper

I built this helmet specifically to try all the new things I had figured out after the first stormtrooper helmet.  I am very pleased with how this helmet turned out and I now display it proudly in my living room.

Files

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Halo, Master Chief

This project was in pieces for a long time that I finally got around to assembly and painting. I still plan to add a few more things it such as a visor and LEDs on the side.

Files

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Prop Guns

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Halo Pistol

This was my first multi-piece project and my first “major” make on my then-new 3D printer.  My biggest lession from this build: was that I don’t need to use that much infill. this prop is WAY stronger than it needs to be.  I also learned that less is more when it comes to painting.

Files 

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Han Solo’s DL-44 Blaster

This was a fun milti-piece project I built over the course of a few weeks.  I really liked how the paint job, especially the handle. I used 3-5 different washes of browns and blacks making it really look like wood, even upclose.

Files

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Rey’s NN-14 Blaster

This was the prop I designed and printed while learning how 3D model in Fustion 360. Other than the croocked barrel, I’m very pleased with how this prop came out.  

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Portal Gun

I spent a whole summer working on this portal gun.  The 3D model was done by Kirby Downey and can be found here.  With Kirby’s model, I heavily modified the insides of the 3D printable parts in order to accommodate the electronics.  I used an Arduino Mega, amplifier/speaker, and LEDs to give this gun realistic lights and sounds.  I took lots of pictures and will one day write an instructables when I have the time.

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Plasma Pistol

This was a quick build I did in a weekend which turned out OK. I was motivated to quickly make this to go with my M6G (Master Chief’s pistol).

Files

 

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Mr Freeze’s Ice Pistol

Mr. Freeze’s ice picstol was just a quick and dirty build I did for a friend.  I designed and built this prop in little more than a day. If I were to every do something similar I would use more traditional propmaking techniques rather than a 3D printer to build something this simiple.

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Other

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Light Saber

This was a really cool lightsaber by Valcrow (link) I saw being discussed on Tested.  I really like how Valcrow takes into account the limitations of a FDM style 3D printers into his designs.  It is made of 16 pieces with each pieces so that each individual part can be printed in the optimal orientation.  Having seperate pieces also made painting extremely easy.

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Nuka Cola Bottles

The Nuka Cola bottles were my first attempt at molding and casting resin.  The idea was to give my friend a six-pack of Nuka Cola bottles for Christmas and since 3D printing is terribly slow, I thought this would be fun technique to try. I tried a bunch of ways to color my resin but ended up learing all the ways NOT to add color to resin.  In the end I simply painted these and called it a day. Because of all my failures, my friend ended up only getting a two-pack of Nuka Cola bottles, but he still loved them.

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Star Wars Death Heads

I find these fun little 3D files every once in awhile while surfing the internet. These have been great little prints that I have used to test a variety of new techniques on. Darth Vader was the first time I attempted to use the XTC smoothing resin by SmoothOn while the Stormtrooper was my first attempt at air brushing.  I plan to keep improving my air brushing technique on the Mandilorian when I get around to painting it.

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R2D2

Like every other Star Wars nerd out there, I dream of oneday having my own R2D2.  This is a long term project that I break out every now and again (usually during the summer) to work on. I decided to start with the head so and currently have a basic shell printed and assembled. I will use try to keep this updated and use wordpress as a bit of a build log for documenting my progress.

The doom is 3D printed and can be found here while for the lights I’m using Teeces.  A huge shot out to the Astromech forums for their help.

WORK IN PROGRESS!!!

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Models

After a long week, I often find myself looking for an easy, “One-Day Build”.  These are great little projects that can usually be completed in a day or weekend and are great a moral boost, providing a quick sense of acomplishment.  These projects are generally model kits or small electronic.  Below are a few of my favorites.

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Standbeest

I fell in love with Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests the moment I heard about them.  They are huge mechanical machines that use and store wind power in order to walk up and down the beaches of Denmark.

Standard                                                                Rhinoceros

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R2-D2 and R5-D4

This astomechs were from a model kit by I had heard about by Bandai. I am extremely impressed with the quality of this model which has hundreds of pieces that all snap fit together perfectly. In addition, other than a few decal stickers, there was no detailing or painting involved in this kit unless I had decided to add some wear-and-tear to the models

Amazon

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Tiny Chimpanzee

This was a frustrating little build with extremely small pieces of cardstock paper that need to be glued together.  Looks great once completed but I was definitely cursing up a storm trying to put this thing together.

EverythingTiny.com

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Electronics

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Iron Man Arc Reactor

Felt the need to build an Iron Man Arc Reactor after watching the movie.  The Arc Reactor is mostly 3D printed parts but also includes copper write and LEDs.  This project was a great reminder that 3D printed parts look best when supplemented with other materials.

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Tiny Arcade

I bought this Tiny Arcade kit at the 1015 NYC World Maker Faire as a souvenir.  It’s a really easy build but very entertaining and a great conversation starter.  Currently only have the default games still on it: Tiny Shooter, Astroids, Fappy Birds.

TinyCircuits.com

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Robot Hand

I build this robotic hand a few years ago using the files and directions provided by inMoov. It has been a break robot to have around as it can easily be adapted for a number of different control interfaces.  I have controlled this hand with everything from a regular computer to capacitive touch sensors to even EMG sensors (see “DIY electrophysiology” for plans for a simplified EMG controlled finger).

 

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RoboBug and LED Cube

Both of these builds were quick “One-Day builds” that I did after work one week.  Unfortunately neither was very strong and I accidently crushed both of them.

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RetroPi

This was my first attempt at using a raspberri pi.  With so many online tutorials on how to set this up that didn’t require much actually programing, I don’t feel as I learned as much as I could have with this. I have found that many of the ROMS I downloaded for this are full of bugs. Maybe someday when I’m a stronger coder I can fix these bugs but for now I just enjoy the few Bug free ROMs I’ve found.

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Useless Machine

Quick build kit I picked up at the 2016 NYC World Maker Faire that has been endless amounts of fun.

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Analog Voltmeter Clock

Ran into the Awkward Engineering guys at the 2017 NYC World Maker Faire and had to have one of their voltmeter (ampmeter?) clocks.  Turns out they are headquartered right down the street from my house in Somerville

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DIY Electrophysiology

Cheap electronics, microcontrollers, and opensource projects has really allowed amateur scientists and hobbyists to build cheap laboratory equipment for their home labs. Since my undergraduate research project where I built a non-invasive biopotential monitor (see research), I have continued to build and collect an assortment of Arduino compatible biopotential monitors.

A quick list of some of my favorite Arduino Electrophysology Boards

• Electroencephalograph (EEG)
  •  OpenBCI
    • Unfortunately I couldn’t get their opensourced EEG headset to work for me. I think the major issue was related to electrode contact with the skin. I can get a lot clearner signal using more traditional methods of placing electrodes.

• Electromyography (EMG)
  •  Olimex
    • Great Arduino shield that allows for a lot of freedom when analyze EMG signal.
  • Myoware
    • A great beginner EMG device that is much smaller and easier to work with than the Olimex.  However, I have found that this results less freedom when trying to analyze signals.  (this may not apply to newer versions)
• Electrocardiogram (EKG)
  • Sparkfun
    • Honestly never really got around to play with this guy.  Bought it for like $10 and thought I was going to use it with a heard demo where people would wear it and a halloween heart would pulse (blink) along with their heartbeat.  Ran out of time before the event I was doing to make it.  Maybe I’ll try and make this demo again in the future.

After playing around a bit with the EMG Arduino shields I had, I decided to host a workshop at NOVALabs where people could learn about electrophysiology while building a small finger robotic finger controlled by EMG signals.  Here is a link to the workshop material. I hope to host this workshop again at some point in the future but unfortunately I haven’t had the time or a sponsor to help me assemble 15-20 kits.

 

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Cochlea Light Organ

This has been my most involved project to date.  I have spent almost the entire year of 2017 developing this cochlea, having gone through at least 5 variations.  The goal of this project has been to develop an opensource, light up cochlea (inner ear) that responds appropriately to sounds and movements for educators, audiologies, and anyone interested in this project.  I have found that it has been a great hit at the public outreach events I have displayed it at.  The whole thing is built around a Teensy 3.2 running a fast fourier transform (FFT) and processes rotational information with a gyroscope.  You can find all the necessary files and instructions here.

(instructables not yet available)

To supplement this project and give a sense of scale I had a handful of life sized cochleas printed on a Form2 and imbedded in resin.

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Other

Duct Tape Tux

I don’t know why I was inspired to make myself a duct tape tux for prom but I did even though my date (not in duct tape) wasn’t exactly thrilled about it.  It was a big hit with almost everyone else though.  One thing I have to say about duct tape clothes is, DUCT TAPE DOESN’T BREATH!  I was absolutely dying by the end of the night.  So glad I had thought ahead and put an extra pair of paints in my car for after the dance.  No I did not get any college scholarships for this.

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Cochlea Cupcake Stand

Was asked to make a cupcake stand for the Speech and Hearing, Bioscience and Technology Program’s 25th anniversary.  We thought it would be funny to make a stand in the shape of a cochlea.  Turned out to be a big hit.  Delicious cupcakes provided by Jan Iyer.