Well I finally had the chance to upload the latest version of the Sun Position plugin. Life has been hectic lately, but, for the moment at least, things have eased up.

The current version of this plugin is now 1.2. To check to see if you need to upgrade, simply go to "Draw" on the menu bar and look at the version number on the "Sun Position" menu.

This update is brought to you in large part by archiguy, so big thanks (from me especially) to him. He did a lot to make it easier to use the plugin, mostly by fixing the things which I should have done in the first place if only I had known how to do them. :) For example, the plugin now automatically saves user preferences.

The biggest and most obvious changes to the plugin are the following.

1. The settings are now automatically saved.

2. The Sun's altitude and azimuth for the day can be saved to a html file for easy viewing.

3. The north angle in Sketchup can be customized. An option for viewing the north angle has also been added.

Continue to this page to read more and to download the plugin. (12/11/09)

Misc. Toy Swords for CNC

Here is a miscellaneous collection of toy swords which are designed to be cut out with a CNC machine. The collection is something that kids might have fun with or might also be useful for school plays. (11/25/09)

Hero's Steam Engine

Since I just finished uploading this physics "Making 3D / Anaglyph Videos with a CNC Machine" I figured that I might as well put this one up on the site too. Suffice it to say that it has been a slow couple of weeks as far as updates to the site go. Things will hopefully speed up again soon. (10/31/09)

Making 3D / Anaglyph Videos with a CNC Machine

As a physics project/presentation from a past semester, my two lab partners and I decided to try and make a 3D movie. We quickly ran into a problem though. The three of us were unable to obtain the two identical camcorders which are typically needed to record a 3D movie.

We were able to work around this by using my CNC machine, which enabled us to record both sides of the 3D movie using just one video camera. Since a CNC machine will follow a programmed path exactly, all we had to do is program two slightly different paths... continue  (10/27/09)

Solar Cooker Made with a CNC Machine

Here is a solar cooker which I designed in Sketchup and cut out with my CNC machine. It is meant to be used side by side with my heliostats as a simple means of collecting energy from them. Follow the link above for more info on it. (10/04/09)

Making a Kingdom Hearts Keyblade with a CNC Machine

Here is a keyblade which I made with my CNC machine. This was done as a Christmas present for my sister who is overly obsessed with the game (and could probably use some sort of medication). I actually did this awhile ago, and you might have already seen it in the youtube video of my CNC machine. I've been waiting for my sister to paint it before uploading it, but it has been almost a year now and she still hasn't had the chance to do it.

I decided to just go ahead and upload what has been done so far because it still looks pretty cool even though it is unfinished.

Also, for those who aren't in the know, a keyblade is basically a sword which is used in the Kingdom Hearts video game. (10/04/09)

James Balog: Time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss

Uh oh (9/20/09)

Mark's Heliostat Project

The other day, I received an email from an individual named Mark who has an interest in heliostats just like me. As you can see from the pictures, he has managed to build one seriously awesome heliostat. He says that he has had it up and running for about a year now without having to make any recalibrations. There are several more projects on his site besides just this one, so don't forget to check them out too. (9/17/09)

Free Heliostat Plans

Here is a set of plans for building a heliostat. They are based off of my most current design which seems to be working well.

I'm not sure exactly how it is that I let them get to be seven pages long, but, in any case, they should be a pretty good starting point if you want to build your own heliostat. (9/8/09)

Heliostat Array Prototype

The heliostat array has been finished for a while now, but I've only just now had the chance to put up the page on it. It's still not a perfect design, but it's more than good enough to give me the chance to do some experiments with it. I hope to be able to test some of my heliostat ideas with it. (9/05/09)

Free Illustrator Projects

It has been a busy week for me which means that it has been a slow week for the site. Here's a page which I have been meaning to put up but am only just now getting around to doing it. That 15 minutes it took to finish what I started just seemed like too much of a hurdle. :)

Anyway, here is a few Adobe Illustrator projects which I did for a graphic art class I took awhile back.

Nothing too terribly fancy, but, seeing as how I have this website here, I figured that I might as well put them up. It's not like it's going to run out of room anytime soon. :) In any case, there is no telling what people are looking for when they get on the web, so I say just upload everything you possibly can and let the almighty Google gods sort it all out.

It's rather random compared to what I usually post, but I figured that, as long as I have these Illustrator files, why not share them. (9/01/09)

Sun Tracker Program's Source Code

For anyone who is interested, here is the source code for the Sun Tracker program. I'm making this available under one condition. You're not allowed to pick on my coding. :)  (8/22/09)

Heliostat Prototype #3

I've already shown this heliostat before, but I never got around to giving it its own page. Anyway, here is my third heliostat prototype. Believe it or not, this one actually worked! Finally! Woo Hoo! I've since taken it down because I needed the parts for my heliostat array project, so I'm not going to go into too much detail. It is still interesting to look at though. (8/22/09)

Heliostat Prototype #2

Here is my second decent sized heliostat. I never actually got this one to work right, but I sure as heck gave it my best effort.

I did learn a lot from it though, so it wasn't a complete waste. (8/22/09)

Heliostat Electronics / Making it Move

This page will cover the electronics you need to buy/scrounge/steal to make your heliostat move. There is already a lot of information on the net about controlling stepper motors with computers, so this will just be a quick overview to help you get an idea of what you need. (8/17/09)

CNC Electric Guitar Body Attempt

I have had this CNC guitar body project sitting on my computer for several months now just waiting for me to get around to uploading it to the site. So here it is finally, my practice attempt at making a guitar body with a CNC machine. (8/14/09)

How to Make a Pulley Making Jig with a CNC

The other day, I needed to make several plastic pulleys for my heliostat project. These pulleys were made by first cutting a circle out of plastic with a hole saw. The plastic circle is then attached to a power drill and spun while a threaded rod is used to cut a groove in the side of it.

Previously, I have done this just by holding the threaded rod against the spinning plastic with my bare hands; however, it is hard to keep the groove centered when doing it like this. To make it easier to cut the groove, I designed a simple jig in Sketchup and then cut it out with my CNC. (8/12/09)