UPDATE: New Etsy Items

My Etsy store has grown a bit :D

3D Printed Muji Gel-Ink Pen Holder

I have been wanting reusable pens for quite some time and a few of weeks ago managed to get some decent fine tip gel pens from Muji. To keep these organised I designed a compact vertical case that the pens "clip" into like so:

Also here are some fancy renders from SolidWorks Visualize. These were rendered in 2018 SP5 using "glass fiber" as the material to mimic the clear PETG look:

3D Printed Christmas Tree

This model was on my backlog for ages, and now it has finally materialised:

PROJECT: Half-Life 2 AR2, Update #4 - Receiver & Barrel Test

LINK TO PREVIOUS POST

Exciting news, I have combined the receiver & barrel assemblies to get a better idea of how things will be functioning together :D

Currently the whole thing is controlled by 3 Arduino Nano's. This may sounds a bit overkill but doing so allows me to run time sensitive modules in parallel, which is a must for the animation sequences

Also, since the previous update the firing/cycling rate has increased to ~5Hz thanks to a stiffer spring. I can push it further but I would need to increase the PWM duty cycle, which would make the coil run hotter (think higher average current). This is something I am a bit cautions about as the body is printed in PLA which has a low glass transition temperature (~65°C)

I guess if I don't manage to reach 9Hz then we can call this the AR1.5 prototype ;^)

Couple of closing notes:

1. I plan to print the final model in PETG which has a higher glass transition temperature (~80°C), so will have the option to push more current through the coil
2. I want to try using a couple of sensors to get the firing pin position, this way I won't be purely reliant on PWM as I could simply switch the coil off once the firing pin has reached the end