I 3D printed an ABENICS mechanism. I don't have much of a mechanical engineering background so it was very cool to learn how to do this.
https://blog.ty-porter.dev/3d%20printing/mechanical%20engine...
Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
531–540 of 694 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#532I sewed a pair of KKK hoods and placed them atop the bronze heads of a local Confederate monument. Less than a year later that statue and a few more like it were removed due to the “safety concern” created by myself and a ton of other activists. I like to the “the coolest physical thing I’ve made” is helping make those goddamned statues disappear.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#533My farm. In the past ten years, I have built the following things here (to name a few that I can remember): 1. three small creek-fed ponds (bonus: one has an island), 2. numerous outbuildings for various kinds of livestock, 3. a pair of portable outhouses, 4. several miles of perimeter and cross fencing, 5. two large greenhouses (20x50 and 30x90), 6. a built-in oak storage bench for the farmhouse entryway, 7. a porta…
You're playing Stardew Valley IRL. Fantastic.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#534Earlier quoted context omitted.
I get what you're saying, but even HVAC guys are civilians :)
Huge pet peeve of mine, this militaristic way of thinking. Even police are civilians -- every one is, except for actual soldiers. Cops love to refer to everyone else as "civilians" but they're just hired security with extra perks.
You seem ill-informed in your pet peeve. Miriam Webster defines civilian as "not military not police."
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#535My farm. In the past ten years, I have built the following things here (to name a few that I can remember): 1. three small creek-fed ponds (bonus: one has an island), 2. numerous outbuildings for various kinds of livestock, 3. a pair of portable outhouses, 4. several miles of perimeter and cross fencing, 5. two large greenhouses (20x50 and 30x90), 6. a built-in oak storage bench for the farmhouse entryway, 7. a porta…
Are you milling with an alaskan mill or are you using a horizontal band saw? I'd really love to have space and money just keep a wood-mizer around. Do you have a kiln as well?
It's a bandsaw mill, but I occasionally need to use an Alaskan style mill to square up logs that are too big.
I have small foundry capable of casting aluminum, and I have plans to find a spot to build a proper cupola furnace that enables casting iron.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#536I built an 8' wide spherical display out of an advertising balloon, a hemispherical security mirror, and a conference room projector.
Then I wrote a 3D engine that could render to it and took the whole thing to Burning Man. Worked pretty well, though contrast was crappy.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#537Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you milling with an alaskan mill or are you using a horizontal band saw? I'd really love to have space and money just keep a wood-mizer around. Do you have a kiln as well?
It's a bandsaw mill, but I occasionally need to use an Alaskan style mill to square up logs that are too big. I have small foundry capable of casting aluminum, and I have plans to find a spot to build a proper cupola furnace that enables casting iron.
Sorry, I meant a kiln for the wood :)
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#538Some fancy PCBs rulers for a senior design class: http://evan.widloski.com/projects/uiuc_ruler/index.html
Though I guess technically the PCB fan made them.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#539My farm. In the past ten years, I have built the following things here (to name a few that I can remember): 1. three small creek-fed ponds (bonus: one has an island), 2. numerous outbuildings for various kinds of livestock, 3. a pair of portable outhouses, 4. several miles of perimeter and cross fencing, 5. two large greenhouses (20x50 and 30x90), 6. a built-in oak storage bench for the farmhouse entryway, 7. a porta…
What approximate physical location are you in? This is my dream, but right now I’m wasting away in SF. I’ve been looking for properties with a stream but they seem pretty far between.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#540Coolest of all time is probably the touchscreen that you can use in an MRI[1]. But my current favorite is a low-impedance guitar pickup[2].
[1]: https://patents.google.com/patent/US10820839B2/en
[2]: https://alexshroyer.com/posts/2023-01-01-Low-Impedance-Picku...