Extending a 3D printer
My 3D printer work focuses on improving print quality and making the machine easier to use. I’ve tried mechanical upgrades, different materials and enclosure ideas, and explored ways to automate parts of the process.
Small changes can affect the result, so I’m interested in how the machine, its controls and its settings work together.
Small controllers, practical problems
My controller projects connect software to sensors, switches and moving parts. One example is a prototype controller for a pool-table mechanism.
The practical questions include how a mechanism moves, when it should stop and how the controls should respond when something goes wrong.
I enjoy having to understand both the code and the physical sequence it controls.
Giving physical tags a useful history
NFC Scanner is an iPhone prototype for scanning physical tags and keeping a record of what I’ve scanned. I can give tags useful labels and look back through the scan history, making a tag easier to recognise the next time I encounter it.
Exploring presence and movement
The prototype connects a radar sensor to software so it can report presence and movement. I’m exploring what those observations can tell me about a room and how they could inform a useful everyday device.
Making heating controls easier to use
I’m exploring a touchscreen controller for heating, with the aim of making everyday adjustments simple to understand. The design work brings together what the screen needs to show and how someone would use it to control the heating.
Making an interface into an object
A synthesiser-enclosure project brings screens, knobs, sliders and connectors into a physical layout intended for 3D printing.
The interesting questions are tangible: where a hand goes, how much room a connector needs, how a screen sits in its opening and whether the parts can fit together sensibly.
It is another way to work on an interface, with the enclosure as part of the design from the beginning.