Live data from Hacker News

Simple screw counter

mitxela.com

41–50 of 75 posts

Re: Simple screw counter

#41
When we count pills, we use a simple device that has a flat part and a channel to count into. A hockey-stick-like spatula moves pills into the channel. The excess is poured back into the bottle the opposite way and the channel is then emptied into the bottle.

I count in multiples of 3 so I don't lose my place. The last number is unique for every 30.

https://share.google/VshUpiSioUh6rLg4q (Image link)

Re: Simple screw counter

#42
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does this work without dispensing onto the scale one by one? Just shaking them out of a hopper?

You're weighing the bag. Dispense a load in and divide the total weight by the unit weight and you know how many you've put in. Easier with heavy objects, and needs the variation on weight to be low for the number of items you're dispensing.

Sure, but how do the parts get into the bag?

Re: Simple screw counter

#43
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean I'll be honest, it's still a car crash of a program, but at least it's now a usable car crash. I've found the following workflow to be pretty good, using the part design workbench: - create a part - create a body - create a sketch - pad/pocket/revolve/etc - repeat with additional sketches to taste I've also been using the proxy object thing, I forget the name, the button is a green blob, to "import" geometry f…

> I mean I'll be honest, it's still a car crash of a program I'm glad you said that so I feel a little less mean... I gave it another try but it still feels pretty dire. FPS is bad on a macbook pro with a 120Hz screen on simple models and sketches. I explicitly selected "touchpad" as the navigation scheme, but I still can't figure out how to rotate, and even figuring out panning took me longer than almost every other…

You definitely need to use a mouse with a middle button/scroll wheel, IME. With this, there are presets which work just like other CAD programs e.g. Solidworks. Without it, it’s very difficult to use, but that’s not unique to FreeCAD.

The base UI is quite bad but there are ways to improve it - either through settings and better organisation [0] or via plugins.

I’d suggest to watch a couple of tutorials specifically on 1.1 ([1] was my entry point) as every CAD program had quirks and frustrations at first. I’d say that for hobby-level creations, 1.1 now has ~80% of the usability of Solidworks, once you figure out how.

I’m not sure what’s going on with the performance on your system; I’ve used various 1.1 versions on a Windows laptop and a MacBook Pro and they’re both sufficiently performant. (I usually use a development or RC build from GitHub [2])

[0] https://youtu.be/LKq7hgbu7ks

[1] https://youtu.be/VEfNRST_3x8

[2] https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD/releases

Re: Simple screw counter

#44
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean I'll be honest, it's still a car crash of a program, but at least it's now a usable car crash. I've found the following workflow to be pretty good, using the part design workbench: - create a part - create a body - create a sketch - pad/pocket/revolve/etc - repeat with additional sketches to taste I've also been using the proxy object thing, I forget the name, the button is a green blob, to "import" geometry f…

> I mean I'll be honest, it's still a car crash of a program I'm glad you said that so I feel a little less mean... I gave it another try but it still feels pretty dire. FPS is bad on a macbook pro with a 120Hz screen on simple models and sketches. I explicitly selected "touchpad" as the navigation scheme, but I still can't figure out how to rotate, and even figuring out panning took me longer than almost every other…

In touchpad mode, you can rotate by moving your cursor while holding option.

Re: Simple screw counter

#46

When we count pills, we use a simple device that has a flat part and a channel to count into. A hockey-stick-like spatula moves pills into the channel. The excess is poured back into the bottle the opposite way and the channel is then emptied into the bottle. I count in multiples of 3 so I don't lose my place. The last number is unique for every 30. https://share.google/VshUpiSioUh6rLg4q (Image link)

Can you explain the counting a bit more?

I interpreted it as: For every three pills I put into the channel, I add +1 to my internal count.

"The last number is unique for every 30" means... if you have a mental count of 13, you have 39 pills channeled? I didn't quite follow...

Re: Simple screw counter

#47
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean I'll be honest, it's still a car crash of a program, but at least it's now a usable car crash. I've found the following workflow to be pretty good, using the part design workbench: - create a part - create a body - create a sketch - pad/pocket/revolve/etc - repeat with additional sketches to taste I've also been using the proxy object thing, I forget the name, the button is a green blob, to "import" geometry f…

> I mean I'll be honest, it's still a car crash of a program I'm glad you said that so I feel a little less mean... I gave it another try but it still feels pretty dire. FPS is bad on a macbook pro with a 120Hz screen on simple models and sketches. I explicitly selected "touchpad" as the navigation scheme, but I still can't figure out how to rotate, and even figuring out panning took me longer than almost every other…

The trouble with Solvespace is that using it quickly turns into randomly nudging points in hope to avoid kernel failures. Lately I have been using Dune 3D which uses much more reliable kernel.

Re: Simple screw counter

#48
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it's by weight when you need exactly 20k tiny screws in a box. But when you need six that won't save you any time.

Then just use a small cup to scoop out some screws.

He needs 6 screws at a time, and the goal is to save time compared to counting manually. I'd guess that 7 would probably be fine occasionally -- maybe even 8 from time to time if the process is fast enough. I'd further guess that 9 screws is a non-starter (screws are inexpensive, but 9 represents 50% waste, which is quite a lot).

The lower limit is hard-set at 6 because the kits that he's producing and selling require exactly 6 of these screws for end-user assembly.

A small cup that would reliably scoop out at least 6 screws and no more than 7 or 8 screws sounds like a simple and elegant concept.

What does this cup look like? Is it faster to use this cup than counting by hand is? (Is it faster than the reproducible screw counter that he's already built?)

Post reply on HN