Blog
My blog articles talk about various topics of interest in the field of design, new technologies, and industry specific business.
Please see my 3D printing page to for the link to my ongoing blog on the use of the ‘Wanhao Duplicator 4’ 3D printer.
Another project working with Alan Williams Metal Artist. a Rose arch of Kew Gardens. Designed to align with the curve of the...
read moreYou going to send in the wolf?
I’ve been working on a personal project designing a werewolf type character for a friends board game. Using blender I am creating the main character, rigging and drawing items to be added included clothing, swords, shields and realistic clothing using cloth physics. Internal geometry is added to allow the limbs are set to allow it to be adjusted. Items can be added to be held in hands, and the model can be adjusted and readied for 3D Printing table top gaming pieces. I am happy with to close up details of the hands and face in...
read moreBat Detector Holder – First Working Prototype.
Being a protect I have been worked on between other paid work, the Bat Detector holder has taken some time to reach the first functional prototype stage. The device will now be put in to the hands of my friend to test in field. The use case required was to solve a specific issue for ecologists working in field. i.e. one of simple not having three hands. A Bat Detector is an expensive piece of equipment which an ecologist uses when surveying bat populations; reading the data on the screen and recording it into a clipboard. But with the...
read moreOh have you not heard? It was my understanding that everyone had heard…
Lets get to the point here. No one want birds crapping on their wing mirrors. It is clearly the case the the bird, is indeed, not the word. Yes I could get a car cover, but what the fun in that? Not when I can fabricate something a bit more interesting. The idea of the design is very simple. I want to keep the bird off using something I can easily add and remove from the wing mirrors without leaving a mark. It seems clear that some shop bought anti-bird spikes and suction cups could be the answer. The 3D printed element is the connector...
read moreProduct Design in Development with the ‘Bat Detector Holder’
I am always working with clients on one design or another. The clients intellectual property and confidentiality is of key importance when designing and developing any new product. This does mean however that I cannot share very much with you all about the things I am working on. So when I work on designing of one of my own innovations, I have the freedom to tell the world about it. Here is one current example… Inspired by a good friends needs as an Ecologist; while out in the field surveying bat populations, she has to hold onto a...
read more3D Printed Spring Snaps for Prototyping.
A client has hired me to work on a new product that requires a snap on removable underside for access to batteries. It goes without saying I cannot give out any details about the product, but I have been working on a simple spring snap for one of the requirements. This has been a nice simple attempt to design something with a flexing mechanical part that can be 3d printed, and is strong and durable for purpose and repeated use. I am pretty happy to find it had worked first time off. This was also using the most recent Makerware software with...
read morePrototyping with Sean Webber – The ‘Mindset’
Do you remember the film Field of Dreams and the line – “Build it and they will come.”? Well my good spirited housemate said this soon after I had finished putting together my home workshop. Its particularly great when a truly novel and inspiring new design comes ones way…. I was recently contacted by Sean Webber, a Neuroscientist and Product Designer who has conceived the ‘Mindset’ – A ‘Portable, battery powered, brain stimulation headset. The unique design provides exceptional versatility to...
read moreOur direct experience of PV (solar) subsidy cuts
I have been working with others on the planning to development of a PV solar farm in Hampshire, so I speak in regards to the government’s direct attack on the solar industry as a whole over the last 5 years in office, and also the recent attack on small scale ground mounted solar subsidies last week. Although my coming suggestions may still be relevant to other areas of the green energy sector. The government had previously removed the ROC’s (renewable energy certificates) for any development over 5mw so giving the industry a strong...
read moreThe Graphene Handbook – Review
Set to be for the 21st century a revolution in material technology comparable to the innovation of plastics in the 20th century, you may have not yet heard about Graphene. If you have not already then it’s inevitably you will. Graphene is the super material that holds the promises of doing everything under the sun. Graphene is totally water resistant, the best known electrical conduct on the planet, highly flexible, antibacterial, extremely lightweight and incredibly tough to the point of being not far off indestructible. The most fascinating...
read moreStarlight – Retrofit Solar Panels for Streetlights. Part 1
Planning and developing a project such as the Trimmers Solar Farm in is an epic undertaking. Yet it does have an advantage. A Solar Farm is a tested concept. It has been done many times before and so the idea is proven. A project like our Retrofit solar Panels for Streetlights (named ‘Starlight’) is a different matter. Finding investors to back the project, even after the demonstration of ground breaking innovation, back up by swish video presentations is not enough. It’s a matter of confidence. Someone may get excited and intrigued about...
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