Shapeoko+Arduino+Raspberry Pi+Easel

Over at the Easel beta tester's mailing list we started talking about running a shapeoko on odd hardware, and I mentioned that I run mine on Raspberry Pi. The developers (Chris B) chimed in to ask if Easel worked on Raspian. Well, after a bit of back and forth, I came up with this workflow to use Easel on Raspberry Pi.

A quick spoiler: Easel does not yet have a local sender that works on Linux, so we'll be using a separate piece of software for sending the GCode to the Shapeoko.

Fair warning: this post gets slightly technical.

Here's the workflow I came up with:

Make a Set of Progressive Locks

First off, a definition: a set of progressive locks is a set of locks with an increasing number of pins. They are a great way to gain confidence and learn to pick locks. A full set typically consists of five locks with 1 pin, 2 pins, 3 pins, 4 pins, and 5 pins, respectively.  

The 1 pin lock can be opened with just a stern look, but the 5 pin lock will take a bit of effort, and the ones in between... well, you get the idea.

Over this past weekend, we changed the locks in our new house and I was faced with discarding 5 locks. Hmmm... 5 locks... 5 pins in a lock... waitaminute, let's make a set of progressive locks!

Here's how to turn Kwikset locks into progressives:

Ingredients:

• Small flat head screwdriver for prying
• Tweezers
• Needle nose pliers
• A set of lock picks (for testing!)
• A bunch of spare locks that you own

1. Take off the outer ring and discard.

3D Printing Upgraded Chair Feet

Earlier, I designed and printed some replacement feet for my Ikea Gilbert chairs (see that earlier project here).

We recently moved to a new home and we have gorgeous pine wood floors from 1925, and we obviously don't want to scratch them up with chair feet, so I tried putting stick-on felt pads to the chair feet, but they slid off with use, leaving scratches AND sticky messes on our floors.

So, I pulled up my old design files and came up with a chair foot that is:

• slightly larger diameter (~25mm versus ~19mm), to distribute weight over a larger area
• has a lip on the bottom to prevent the felt pads from slipping off
• still compatible with IKEA Gilbert chairs

New feet shown with and without the felt pads

You can download the file and print it yourself I recommend black ABS plastic, 30% infill, and orient the feet with the smaller diameter facing down.

If you don't have a 3D printer handy, I've set up a store for my replacement chair feet over here (I sell them with the appropriately sized felt pads included).

Mini Project: Headphone Modification

I recently acquired a pair of Sony MDR-ZX100 headphones as a door prize at a conference. When I took them home, I decided that I really like their rotating earcup design and I was surprised to discover that their sound is noticeably better than my ancient, beat up Sony MDR-V150 headphones. However, I have two complaints with the ZX100's:

1. The cord. It's too short (1 meter vs 2 meters), feels cheap and plasticky, and has a 90 degree plug. In short, I want my old cord installed on my new headphones.
2. For some unfathomable reason, Sony has added large plastic nubs to the ZX100 headphones on the surface of the drivers. They can easily be felt through the ear pads. In my testing, I found that these nubs create pressure, fatigue, and even pain after wearing them for a while. I need headphones I can wear all day long - these nubs are unacceptable!

My old headphones are falling apart, but the cord is in great shape. Instead of creating my own cord (a project in itself), I'll use my old headphone cord to replace the cruddy cord on the MRD-ZX100's. A little disassembly and soldering does the trick. Just be careful to not switch right and left, or reverse the polarity on the drivers. Since I replaced a Sony cable with another Sony cable, the color scheme and wiring was the same, which made soldering easier.

Disassembling the ZX100 headphones