The stethoscope: Ultrascope teaching stethoscope with orange tubing and a goldfish chest piece (not shown here) I just linked to their website, but as far as I can tell, they no longer offer the goldfish design or even make teaching scopes anymore. It's a very aesthetically-pleasing instrument but I'm not wild about the sound, and all the extra tubing rubbing against things doesn't help matters. Comment here if you have recommendations for really good teaching stethoscopes in other brands.
The book: Dear Medusa, a YA novel in verse by Olivia Cole. I was drawn in by the synopsis--the story of a sixteen-year-old victim of sexual abuse by a charismatic teacher no one in the school would ever suspect is a predator. But this one exceeded my expectations. If I'm honest, I have a habit of forgetting novels in verse shortly after reading them, but the protagonist, Alicia, and her friend Deja stayed with me. Their voices are clear in my mind, especially Alicia's dry humor and Deja's enthusiasm and fearlessness. It's a pretty accurate depiction of high school--you can tell when a YA writer either didn't attend high school or doesn't remember it. Also, asexual rep! Was excited to read that.
Hi Matt, just stumbled upon the Ultrascope project.. and have seen your progress to date. Well done! Just wondering if my CNC machine with a Cutting Area (XXL): 33"(X) x 33"(Y) x 3"(Z) is big enough to mill out the non - printed parts such as the split ring etc. Basically can I use my home CNC as opposed to a laser cutter? Thanks in advance!
Hi @michaelnewham,
Yes, your CNC should be big enough to mill everything. Andy Hoover milled his big pieces as well.
I think the biggest part is the split ring and it’s 500 mm (about 20″) at the widest. My guess is that you’ve milled parts that were intended to be cut on a laser before. If you haven't (or for others reading this sometime in the future), please make sure you account for the bit diameter, offset, and the kerf of the cut. The cut file was designed with a laser kerf of almost 0. For best results, I’d recommend adapting the file so you can use a larger, stiffer milling bit to do most of the cutting and then come back with a small, delicate bit to mill the holes.
Let me know if you need help with the milling files. I’ll see if Andy will post them for the public.
Please let me know if you have any other questions, or if you want to talk privately: [email protected]
I have been watching the Ultrascope project since its inception. I signed up for the beta several times over the years with never a response. I have two mirror sets a 10" and a 14" both f4.5 that I would like to use for an Ultrascope. I know in the past they were talking about the Odyssey up to 18" It looks like the project stalled shortly after takeoff with the software and electronics. This is sad. What is your thoughts on this. Do you think this concept would work for a 14"
Hi @esterikme,
Thanks for the interest, and sorry about the lack of communications. I heard this from a few others that have signed up but never got any emails from OSA.
The design can be modified to fit any mirror size or focal length. I’m currently adapting the Explorer’s design for an 8″ mirror.
The Odyssey is the planned next step, but the team wants to get as many kinks out of the way before moving on to the bigger versions of the Ultrascope.
There has been very little progress with the Ultrascope for some time now. A few other builders have completed their telescopes, but the software and some of the electronics are holding things back. I know that the OSA team is still working on things because I get to see the modifications and changes to the project as they are made (even the not-so-public ones).
The overall concept will work for larger mirrors, but it might not be for a while.
Feel free to email me as well if you want to get into the weeds…
So some of you might know that I do almost all my printing on my 3-year-old MakerBot Replicator 2X. It’s been a real workhorse and continues to serve me well (knock on wood). However, one of its shortcomings (reads: constraints) for the Ultrascope Explorer build is the machine’s build volume. I know, I know... the 2X is still bigger than many others out there. Because of the limitations I’ve had some of the parts printed for me by my local 3D Printing supply shop. I try to avoid this when I can because of the time it can sometimes take.
When I started building my first Ultrascope a few years ago, the design was a bit smaller because the original plan called for a 4 inch (100 mm) primary mirror. Even though some of the pieces wouldn’t fit (under normal circumstances), creative arrangement aloud me to still get them made.
I realize that most hobbyists aren’t using supersized printers with volume to spare. Thankfully the cost to size ratio is changing in our favor as the industry matures. That said, it doesn’t help us today.
Let’s look at Hexagon 5 as an example of a part that too big to fit in the build volume of most printers.
I took a look at the part in Onshape and figured that I could likely cut it into three pieces while still maintaining the strength needed. I made the new pieces 15 mm taller to accommodate the new overlapping joints.
I’m running a test batch starting tonight (18/Apr/17) to see if the bits will work together the way I’d hope.
I’d love to hear your feedback and/or suggestions to make to project and design better.
Update: 19/Apr/17
The first print of what I’m calling Hex 5-A came out great.
Now I just need to print Hex 5-B and 5-C and do a test fit.
Update: 20/Apr/17
After attaching some OpenBeam, it’s clear (to me, not so clear in the picture) that some minor changes need to be made.
Update: 12/May/17
I had to print Hex 5-B a few time before I got a complete part. I had five failed/ ghost prints before switching filament (which gave me a perfect part on the first try). I realized I was using the last of an ABS spool that was more than two-years old. The rest of it is now in the trash so I don’t make that mistake again. New Best Practice: Take a silver Sharpie and date your filament spools.
I cleaned it up and added it to Hex 5-A. It fit great, but the nuts and cap screws gave me a bit of trouble when I tried to line them up in the makerbeam. My guess is user error since I didn’t have any problems once things were tight.
Update: 15/May/17
I finished printing the test pieces yesterday and I’m happy to report that they fit quite well. I never printed hex 5-C, just 5-A, and 5-B twice. If you want to print these for yourself, you can get the .STL files on my MODs section of Wevolver.
More to come
Project by The Open Space Agency
Designed using OnShape
Hosted on Wevolver
Modification Files are housed on Wevolver
Other project pictures on INSTAGRAM
Frequent mini-updates on Twitter
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) - A Stronger Way to Rapid Prototype
So a few weeks ago I was introduced to another way of 3D printing. It’s called Direct Metal Laser Sintering or DMLS. Unlike a normal FMD printer, a DMLS printer puts down a very thin layer of metal dust, then uses a laser to weld some of that dust to the layer below. Over and over, layer by layer until the print is finished.
Qualified Rapid Products is a local company here in Salt Lake with this type of tech. Owner Rob Smith gave me the tour last Friday and agreed to print one of the pieces for my Ultrascope. I asked him to make a new secondary spider mount out of aluminum. It turned out AWESOME.
Old ABS spider mount:
New aluminum spider mount:
If the process wasn’t so expensive, I’d love to do a bunch more parts. Maybe later down the line.
Swapping the original 3D printed spider mount for one that was made out of aluminium. Made by Qualified Rapid Products. It was made via direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). Super cool.
