The end result is a mold to use for casting translucent silicone into for use in my beatseqr project, as a replacement for the hand-cut-and-sanded acrylic buttons that I’m currently using. You never know how an experiment will really go until it’s over, and now that this experiment is over, I’ve learned a lot and will make a bunch of adjustments:

1. change the silicone product from tap plastics platinum cure translucent (way too wobbly for this application) to smooth-on sorta clear 40. I saw this product at the Maker Faire this past weekend and really liked the firm quality of the cured product. I think it will be a really good candidate. Smooth-on dragon skin 30 was my second-best candidate.
2. cut a new button mold using the techniques I’ve learned by doing this one.
3. adjust the height of the button to be not as tall as this test.
4. adjust the flashing surrounding the buttons to be not nearly as tall. I had it set to be 0.1″ tall, and that’s probably 0.08″ too much. all I need is for it to basically be thick enough to keep all of the buttons together, and that’s it.
5. think about how to diffuse the LED light going into the button… this new silicone is water-clear… so … I’ll need a way to adjust that quality so it looks good. maybe just a sheet of paper under the silicone flashing… we’ll see how that goes.

So… progress continues. I’ll post the result of the next prototype when it’s done.

Here’s the timelapse of the build:

Here’s the first run:

And here’s the first real job I ran with it:

Woohoo! Very happy!

I have a small show called “through the prism of San Jose” in the windows of Works/San Jose while it is preparing for an upcoming members show. Check it out!

Check out higher res photos and more of my artwork on flickr.

Technorati Tags: stevecooley, works, Works/San José, workssanjose

And then I’m into all kinds of new new new new stuff thanks to my training at Techshop. Here’s some acrylic test pieces. I’m over the moon on the cut quality on these. I have some fairly big ideas that I’m going to try out on this front.

Here are some larger hardboard abstracts that I’ll be sealing and painting. I’m so excited to be able to get this level of precision into my build quality. Once I paint them, I think that will be a nice combination of machine precision and human imprecision :

And then we’re working on a mobile for our coming addition to our family. Here’s the first pass at the cast of characters. I output these at 100% of the design spec, but we both agree that I can redo these and bump up the size. A lot. Although, I’m totally shocked at the fidelity to the design that the combination of the laser cutter working on the 1/4″ hardboard can reproduce. I probably just got lucky with where I put the holes and how much space I added around them.

check out the detail:

Note the circles at the white arrows. No problem at all. Every one of the holes I put into the pieces produced a clean 1/4″ thick hardboard peg. I love this machine. It’s freakin’ awesome.

Technorati Tags: art, epilog, fine art, techshop

Computer controlled CNC machine @ SEARS:

A few makers sent this in… SEARS now carries a a computer controlled CNC machine for under $1,799 (USD)

“Compact, computer-controlled, 3-dimensional woodworking machine with an easy-to-use interface. It allows a novice to make a complete project without a shop full of tools.The unique configuration allows it to perform many other woodworking functions, including ripping, cross cutting, mitering, contouring, jointing and routing. The CompuCarve can work in most soft materials, including wood, plastics (polycarbonate or cast acrylic) and certain types of high density foam. Set includes CompuCarve machine, (1) 1/16 in. carbide carving bit, (1) 1/8 in. carbide cutting bit, CarveWright Memory Card, starter software package, (2) 1/4 in. bit adaptors, vacuum bag adaptor, bit removal tool, hex wrench, owner’s manual and Quick Start Guide.” – Link.

Perfect for the home Fab-Lab…

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Technorati Tags: cnc

Us and Them: a tribute to growing up and finding someone to love. I intentionally spaced the objects as I did to suggest personal space boundaries and a couple’s rejection of the herd. In spite of the split from the group, they are remaining connected by the common rails of humanity.