Know How... 122

NASA takes 3D printing into space, moldable plastic called Instamorph, Quadcopter integration, WiFi help, feedback from our Google Plus community, and long exposure photography. 3D Printing... IN SPAAAAAACE * 2 weeks ago (on November 24th) the ISS crew manufactured the first ever 3D object in space. * The print is the result of the "International Space Station 3D printer" project at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre. The Device * The printer was created by California-based "Made in Space" - They call themselves an "Additive Manufacturing Frim" -- Installed by current ISS commander Barry Wilson (of NASA) on November 17th -- They did their first test print on November 17th and sent images from their first test print to ground. -- The "ISS Space Station 3D Printer" team looked at the data and sent instructions up to the ISS to realign the print head. -- A second test was done on November 20th, and the results were good. So On November 24th, ground controll send commands to the printer to make a replacement part for itself! -- It created the faceplate for the extruder's casing. This isn't just a bunch of geeks playing with a 3D printer... there's real science here. * The "ISS Space Station 3D Printer" team is finding many challenges that will be important to the future of on-demand parts: -- Microgravity changes the way that the extruded material bonds ** They're actually finding that it bonds better in space, than on earth -- Microgravity also changes the way that they need to layer the extruded materials ** Without strong gravity pulling "down" they need to fine-tune the print-head angle to compensate. 34 Ounces of Instamorph (Amazon) $39.99 1. Heat the water to 140-150 degrees (F) 2. Add the required amount of Instamorph pellets 3. Wait until the pellets turn clear and start to "clump" together. (Approximately 2 minutes) 4. Drain the water 5. Form the Instamorph into it's desired shape. (It can be molded/cut like clay) 6. Let it cool to harden (You can use a heat gun for selective re-molding) QuadCopter Integration Steps: 1. Thread the velcro strap (Side to Side) through the slots cut into the bottom of the frame's roll cage. 2. Install the flight controller in the roll cage. Making sure to orient the board so that forward is pointing to the front of the craft. 3. Install the motors onto the frame arms with the included 6mm bolts and washers. Use a thin film of Loctite Blue on the end of the bolts to keep them from vibrating free from the motors mounts. 4. Run the motor bullets to the underside of the frame. 5. Connect the receiver leads to the flight controller -- Channels 1-5 from top to bottom on the left side of the KK. The signal pins are on the INSIDE of the KK. 6. Connect the ESCs to the flight controller -- (Motor #1 = top left, motor #2 = top right, motor #3 = bottom right, motor #4 = bottom left) -- ESCs 1-4 from top to bottom on the right side of the KK. The signal pins are on the INSIDE of the KK. 7. Connect the alarm buzzer to the buzzer pins on the top left of the KK. 8. Thread the ESC motor and power wires through the arms to the bottom of the frame. 9. Connect the motors to their ESCs 10. Connect the ESC power wires to the dirstribution block. 11. Turn on your transmitter. 12. Connect the battery to the power distribution block. 13. Enter "Receiver Tests" on the KK and make sure you are properly receiver all 5 channels of signal. 14. Exit to the "SAFE" screen. 15. Attach a piece of tape to each motor shaft. 16. Arm the KK. (Throttle stick all the way down and to the right.) 17. Throttle up and down and watch the tape to see which way the motors are turning. Motors 1 & 3 should turn clockwise. Motors 2 & 4 should turn counter-clockwise. Make a note of any motors not spinning in the proper direction. 18. If any motors need to be reversed, swap ANY two of the motor-ESC cables for that motor. 19. Calibrate the ESCs. 20. Zip tie all components to the frame. 21. Attach and secure props. (Motors #1&3 CW /// Motors #2&4 CCW) Live Segment: 1. Heatshrink is your friend: Use it to wrap your motor connectors so that there's no chance of a short if they vibrate open. (But don't do this until you have your setup locked-in, as it's a pain to remove the HS tubing.) 2. The stock configuration uses a power distribution block that needs to be located center-of-craft, either on top or the bottom, because of the length of the ESC power wires. -- You can use a set of bullet connectors and silicone wires to make extensions for two of the ESCs, allowing you to push the distribution block to the back of the craft, freeing up space for your battery. 3. You can get buy a "cage" that gives you extra room for camera/FPV gear on your quad. 4. Weight is your enemy. 5. Buy lots of props! You WILL break them. 6. You CAN install a lead from the battery to the FC to give you voltage on-screen. 7. Let's talk about the Center of Gravity! (It's always where the flight controller is) -- The FC can compensate for an offset CG to a certain degree, but doing so will reduce the effective range of thrust from the motors on the side that is heavier. 8. To solder, or not to solder? Bullets? Ronald Kurr: WiFi Help! "On several occasions, FRB has stated that modern mobile devices are smart enough to "jump" between wireless access points that use the same SSID. We also know that only 3 channels in the 2.4 ghz range don't overlap. My question is this: if I set up 3 WAPs in the house using the same SSID, do I set all the WAPs to use the same channel or do I need to have each WAP use its own channel to avoid interference??" Things to Remember: 1. Most AP's today are actually routers with the option to turn off DCHP and NAT. You need to make sure those features are off before you use them as APs. 2. You can only have ONE DHCP server and gateway in the network. 3. Unless your router has an option to use the WAN port as a LAN port, connect to the LAN side when using that router as an AP. 4. 1, 6, 11 --- There ARE no other channels for 2.4 Ghz. (There are, but there aren't... really) 5. 5.8 Ghz is your friend Brad Rowe: I wanna build my Quad! "Hi I'm looking at building a 230 millimetre quadcopter. I'm not sure what kind of motors to use I'd like it to be pretty easy to control but fast and this is my first build by the way. ?" All Quad Builds need the following: - Frame - 4 x motors - 4 x props (2 x CW, 2 x CCW) - 4 x Electronic Speed Controllers - Flight Controller - Receiver You'll also need a Transmitter, battery and charger. (But you can share these with future builds) Here's an Inexpensive 230 Build: Frame 230mm Quadcopter Frame Kit $14.99 Motors 1806 - 2300KV ($10 x 4) $40.00 Props FunFly 5x3 $1.19 ESCs F-12A Fire Red Series "Naked" Edition w SimonK ($7.75 x 4) $31.00 Flight Controller Flip MWC Flight Controller 1.5 $15.00 Receiver FlySky CT6B Receiver $14.15 Total: $116.33 Here's a performance 230 Build: Frame RTF Mini Frame (230mm) $19.99 Motors X2208-2300KV (Advanced) $61.00 Props HQ 6x4.5 Carbon Composite $6.20 ESCs F-20A Fire Red Series SimonK (RapidESC) ($8 x 4) $32.00 Flight Controller Flip32+ $27.00 Receiver FlySky CT6B Receiver $14.15 Total: $160.34 Jonathan Turner: Quadcopter + Long Exposure = TRON! "Using the trainer quad and a micro four thirds camera I was able to make some pretty nice light paintings at the park near my house.?"

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