3D printing – A Darker View

An ABS 3D Print in the Sun

The screws are rusted, the brass inserts darkend with exposure to salt and rain, the post it is clamped to is likewise suffering from corrosion in the salt air, but the 3D print is just fine.

An ABS 3D print that has spent four years in intense tropical sunlight.

Some plastics used for 3D printing decay fairly rapidly with exposure to sunlight and weather. Certianly PLA, the most common 3D plastic, crumbles to dust in just a year of harsh weathering. ABS or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene on the other hand, seems to perform quite well.

Working at Symbrosia I have created dozens upon dozens of designs, many of which are installed in the extremely harsh environment of our outdoor cultivation area. Here the prints sit in intense tropical Hawaiian sunlight for days on end, subject to both intense UV light and high temperatures. The plastic is also subject to continual exposure to salt water used in our operation, or raining from the sky on days with heavy surf, when the waves are crashing just 100 yards away. It does not get much worse than this.

Rotating Tube Rings

No project is ever completely done, even one “finished” decades ago… My 6″ f/5 RFT is the current incarnation of my first telescope, Primero. Built into an 8″ irrigation pipe this ‘scope is a rich field ‘scope that is just fun to use. And yes, I worked on this telescope again.

A set of new 3D printed tube rings for Primero, the 6" f/5 RFT — A set of new 3D printed tube rings for Primero, the 6″ f/5 RFT

One feature I have always meant to change is the tube rings. Simple aluminum straps that I kept loose enough to allow the ‘scope to be rotated to keep the eyepiece at a convenient angle for viewing. The issue is that in use the tube would constantly slide down through the rings throwing the mount off-balance.

I finally got around to fixing that. A set of 3D printed rings along with a stop mounted to the tube that prevented this sliding, keeping everything centered and balanced. The rings are attached to each other by the two dovetails and a handle forming a cage.

3D Printed Fix… Again

It has become apparent to me that what were modern electronics in my youth are now considered vintage electronics. What does that say about me?

The piece of vintage electronics in question this day is a veteran Tektronix 465 oscilloscope. This particular oscilloscope was purchased decades ago as surplus from Elliot Electronics in Tucson, once my go to place for electronic parts and tools.

The ‘scope is in great shape… Mostly.

A Tool Rack

Building some small telescopes there are tools scattered across the workbench. Hex drivers are the most common tools on the bench to deal with the cap head socket screws I use for everything in my designs.

The hex drivers are supplied with a vinyl pouch. While a pouch may be a good solution for storing the tools, it is not a good solution for using the tools. I have to take out all of the drivers to find the one I want, invariably a small size buried under the bigger tools. The result is a scatter of tools across the bench and constantly trying to remember where I set down the one I need.

Sure, you can buy a nice little stand or rack, but they seem to be either cheaply made or expensive.

With a 3D printer available you see where this is going.

If you like what you see you can download the design at my place on Cults3D.

The design works very nicely, organizing the drivers where I can find them quickly and conveniently. Now to make a couple more racks for the small Wiha drivers I use for fine work and another for a set of larger screw drivers.

Yeah, I can make that.

Looking at the catalog I look at a price that is just too high. A few bits of molded plastic for almost a hundred dollars? You are kidding? Right?

Well? I need this. Actually I need a few of them.

This is when my frugal nature hits hard… I can make that.

Holoholo – A 10.1” f/4.5 Travel Telescope

Living in the islands provides excellent observing for an amateur astronomer such as myself, but there are drawbacks. I do miss the large star parties, getting together with hundreds of other observers to see other telescope setups, to learn, and to share the sky.

The 10" f/4.5 travel scope Holoholo — The 10″ f/4.5 travel scope Holoholo

Thus I have made a habit of traveling to the mainland once in a while to attend one of the larger star parties. This year I will again attend Oregon Star Party. It has been a while, the last time was 2017, the year of the total solar eclipse.

Traveling from the islands to a star party makes it a challenge to bring a large telescope. Last time I borrowed an 11”, not a bad solution, it worked, but it was not my ‘scope. This time I was determined to realize a long considered idea, to build a substantially sized travel telescope. Thus Holoholo was designed and built, a 10.1” f/4.5 travel ‘scope.