So this could be the first of a couple of awkward entries as I try to pivot with my writing. I started this blog to talk about 3D printing and making and about a month after I started getting into it, priorities shifted, and instead of blogging, I did things that were generally less fun, and followed them up with self-guilt about not blogging. While things definitely got busier, the other factor was the amount of time my posts were taking for me to put together. I'm an analytical guy and I care about accurate communication. I get really talky when it comes to details. That's handy at times, but hasn't been helpful for keeping up an active site. And honestly, I don't know how people who come to my site feel about the length of my posts. 

I've got a backlog of things to write about, so I'm going to try a new approach for a while: I'm going to try to write less, so that I can write more. If I have technical content, I will try to break it in smaller pieces/multiple articles. And on less technical topics, maybe I won't dig as deep so I can keep it light. 

And of course, the reason I'm doing any of this is for people who might be interested in what I've done or what I have to say. So if you're those people, and you want any elaboration on anything I post, by all means reach out to me and let me know. 

Sort of on that note, even though I haven't posted much this year, my brain has been in project mode most of the time. In no particular order, here is an incomplete list of things I planned to blog about. Most are projects that I did. (I'm not sure what order I'll take these in, or that I'll ever do them all, but if anyone specifies one they want more details on, that'll go to the top of my list.) 

  • Making a simple DIY Printer enclosure for about $30
     
  • Making a MIDI UART to USB converter with an old Raspberry Pi and a USB MIDI cable
     
  • Using a PC to edit out the fish eye effect of super cheap action cameras, and the pros/cons of using a cheap action camera for timelapse photography
     
  • Replacing the default mainboard in a CR-10S with a BigTreeTech SKR E3 V3.0 mainboard (an inexpensive way to virtually eliminate the noise from the stepper motors)
     
  • Designing a new motherboard cover for the Creality Ender 3, and replacing the mainboard fan with a large one to eliminate its fan noise. 
     
  • My tips on printer maintenance routines
     
  • Creating a custom LED base that uses strip LEDs
     
  • Troubleshooting 3D print issues logically

 

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