Toward 3D printed Circuit Boards

[LesterCHall]

Mjolinor, the stranger the better - to a point. I like your approach. Here is my progress so far:
robotProto1wiring1.jpg
I got that far, to my first wire "Tee" when I realized that the wire Tees need special attention. It may just be a pad plus a wiring method and definitely some solder at each Tee. I will put on my giant zappy electrified thinking cap tonight and play around with some possible solutions here. I can't believe that a little cramped wiring is a deal breaker here. Maybe the wire is too thick, maybe i should get out the magnet wire... we shall see.

Les

[old man emu]

Lester,
Great work, but could you put on your glasses when you take the photos? They are out of focus. Maybe you could use your camera's Macro setting.

Keep going.

Old Man Emu

[LesterCHall]

hehe, glasses eh? I think I am holding the phone too close to the object, i'll back away a bit. Had to take a break for sleep and mental rest, will get back on it when batteries are recharged, first thing!

Les

[LesterCHall]

rant on - Having a bad day so cannot make progress. It's my 48th birthday and I'm wishing a lot of things were different than they turned out to be. I never got what I what I wanted out of life and even got beat up so bad so many times for so long that I really don't want anything anymore anyway. All the education, the teaching, the research, the work - it all added up to a big fat zero for me. So much for the American Dream... it's a myth. - rant off

[Feign]

I feel your pain Lester, though it was just recently my 33rd (Nature gave me the present of some kind of horrible flu that has lasted two weeks so far). I think around 2009 I pretty much stopped wanting things out of life. Life isn't some kind of sentient entity that you can ask for things, after all. Make whatever you can make, laugh whenever you can laugh, dream everything you can dream, but plan based on what's real.

It might only seem like it has added up to nothing because it has fallen short of what you had expected. If you look again without expectations, you might find a lot that you had overlooked.

[LesterCHall]

Thank you feign, I am feeling better today. I think by tomorrow I can get back on the project. It's wonderful the kind of people that I meet through special interest forums like this - people who really care and don't mind a rant if it's honest and expressed from the heart. I'm moving from a cold empty prison-like apartment to an assisted living home where I will be able to socialize, make friends, and even teach hobbies like 3D printing and programming and weaving chainmaille and all the other fun stuff I do or have done. Plus there will be physical therapy and dietary attention for health. I'm going to give it my best shot, my all, and really make an effort to maximize the benefit of this opportunity. Then maybe the holidays and birthdays won't be quite so horrible and i might even enjoy them.

Les
p.s. I think i'll get back on this project tomorrow starting with a way to handle the wire tees. Thanks for the patience, readers - a little TMI for you hahah!

[old man emu]

Lester,

No matter how bad things seem, or how miserable your life seems, just remember that you've been given the gift of a life, and that is a wonderful thing. Who cares if everything you have touched has turned to crap. At least you had the opportunity to make crap, and tomorrow will give you the chance to make more. Even just sitting on the sidelines and watching the world go by, is an exciting pastime. Humans are such interesting things. You are only 48. I'm 62 and don't have the material things like a fancy house, cars, airplanes etc that some people use as measures of the profit of their education and career.

But I do have a roof over my head; and I don't owe anyone any money. I have a loyal wife; two good kids and a wonderful grandson. I wake up every morning realising that shit might happen, but I can always clean up shit and move on.

Don't let the Black Dog get you. Don't keep things bottled up inside. Express your concerns to a willing ear. An most importantly, rejoice in the gift of Life you have received.

Old Man Emu

[LesterCHall]

Thanks for the insight, old man emu. I'll get back to this circuit board project soon, however I have been distracted by another project. I'm making a forearm-mounted rocket launcher out of 3d printed parts - fun! I tell people I'm 48 going on 11 and this is my second childhood, so given a choice between boring circuit boards and awesome personal rocket launchers, well, it's an easy choice. I was actually giggling to myself out loud all last night about this. Here are two photos, one of some rocket shaped storage containers from Thingiverse after which I will model my rockets, and the other is an assembly drawing of the launcher arm attachment hardware. Too cool!

3Prints.jpgRocket Launcer Assembly.jpg

[LesterCHall]

The rocket project has led to some interest at the local makerspace for a rocket competition, who's 3d printed rocket can go highest, farthest, etc. It has led to some crazy ideas including the self-igniting throwable rocket and the guys at the space even built a rocket stability tester. Zero progress on the circuit boards, sorry to say. I have moved into an assisted living facility where I enjoy interacting with the residents who I meet. I am going to teach 3D printing there.

Les

[LesterCHall]

p.s. I'm finding the human interaction to be very healthy.

Les