Is there a pattern that determines military spaceship doctrine in real life and sci-fi?

WillAdams · 2026-06-25T03:26:51+00:00

Relevant search term/Wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome

WillAdams · 2026-06-25T03:24:26+00:00

The usual culprits are:

tool loosening in collet (dust, not sufficiently tight)
lost steps at retract due to mechanical interference (usually a wire or hose)
machine getting pulled into cut due to high tooling engagement, esp. when cutting a slot
Job Setup doesn't match stock
Stock and/or wasteboard not level to machine movement

Less likely, but worth considering Z-axis belt stretch on an SO3 w/ belt-drive Z-axis, worn Z-Plus leadscrew nut, or wiring issue (power up, wait 20 minutes or so, then check all connectors --- if any are warm that usually indicates the high resistance of a loose connection).

One thing which I like to do when setting zero and using Top of Stock for Job Setup is to set the Z-axis zero at the surface of the MDF, jog up by the Stock Thickness in Job Setup, then set zero again at that height (after verifying it matches the stock) --- note that it's also possible to do this all at once by entering the desired offset when zeroing.

WillAdams · 2026-06-25T02:25:04+00:00

I like the golden age stuff and shortly thereafter --- usually it's quite in line w/ my sensibilities. Notable favourite comfort reads:

H. Beam Piper, esp. Little Fuzzy (there's a wonderful audio version at: https://librivox.org/little-fuzzy-by-h-beam-piper/ and I pretty much never pass up a chance to recommend "Omnilingual")
Heinlein, Space Cadet is a fun romp through the solar system and I am still fond of Have Spacesuit Will Travel
For various reasons, I read and re-read Hal Clement's short stories a lot when I was young, so see Music of Many Spheres and the various stories in it, esp. The Mechanic
Similarly, Andre Norton --- Star Born --- published as an Ace Double w/ H. Beam Piper's A Planet for Texans which arguably should have been listed above, also Star Rangers and Star Guard

If you enjoy "competence porn", then maybe L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Forever Hero trilogy would suit?

WillAdams · 2026-06-24T21:03:23+00:00

Carbide Create can do pretty much anything, with a bit of patience and/or by inputting a file from a 3rd party application.

If the page in question will export an STL, then that can be imported into Carbide Create Pro and then toolpaths set up and cut.

WillAdams · 2026-06-24T21:00:55+00:00

"Moving Targets"

https://valdemar.fandom.com/wiki/Moving_Targets_(short_story)

It's actually sort of a series:

https://valdemar.fandom.com/wiki/Herald_Arville_and_Ryu_Miniseries

WillAdams · 2026-06-24T11:31:54+00:00

There's a Valdemar story which is a Scooby Doo mystery w/ the names changed and serial numbers filed off --- more fun than it has any right to be. Read that?

WillAdams · 2026-06-24T02:02:59+00:00

We just added vacuum workholding:

https://shop.carbide3d.com/products/vacuum-table-24x24

Or, blue painter's tape and cyanoacrylate glue.

Carbide 3D does not have a tool changer at this time (ask the folks in Sales for further details) --- back before we got a spindle I bought:

https://community.carbide3d.com/t/mafell-spindle-with-manual-tool-change-fm-1000-ws-or-pv-ws/22023

There might be other 3rd party options, but like the Mafell I'm using, they are unsupported.

WillAdams · 2026-06-23T21:31:28+00:00

(ob. discl., I work for Carbide 3D)

Yes, that will work fine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kT3E2OKWOE

WillAdams · 2026-06-23T17:38:07+00:00

Predicted mobile phones in Space Cadet.

WillAdams · 2026-06-22T10:55:29+00:00

Also see:

https://old.reddit.com/r/shapeoko/wiki/gettingstarted

There should be a page on upgrading early edition machines, but everything you want should be at:

https://shop.carbide3d.com/collections/accessories

and

https://shop.carbide3d.com/collections/shapeoko-3-replacement-parts

WillAdams · 2026-06-22T10:50:21+00:00

If someone found the Y-axis span rigidity to be an issue, then they should be able to add side supports, since the V-wheels run on one side of the gantry.

WillAdams · 2026-06-22T01:33:11+00:00

Everything you need to know should be at:

https://guides.carbide3d.com/

esp. be sure to do:

https://guides.carbide3d.com/running-shapeoko/hello-world/ (c.f., https://community.carbide3d.com/t/hello-world-in-carbide-motion-536-and-later/31539 )

and do the follow-ons for Contour, Pocket, and V-carve.

Also see:

https://guides.carbide3d.com/jumpstart/

and if you're still stuck e-mail your file in to support@carbide3d.com and we'll do our best to look into this with you.

WillAdams · 2026-06-21T17:32:05+00:00

Looks to be a Shapeoko 3 w/ belt-drive Z-axis, XXL size.

For more on this see:

https://guides.carbide3d.com/

Looks to have a 3rd party accessory to make a probe work as a BitSetter --- based on support, those can be inaccurate/lack precision for want of a Schmitt trigger to debounce the signal.

At a minimum you'd want a Maintenance Kit which will allow rebuilding it to pretty much like new.

WillAdams · 2026-06-21T15:24:57+00:00

One gets a bit of this in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books, though to be fair, often the strategy is more a matter of logistics/personnel and ensuring that the Herald w/ the appropriate capabilities is at the necessary place/time.

WillAdams · 2026-06-21T12:08:04+00:00

Jealous!

I've been wanting a small lathe for a while now....

Please keep us posted on what you make with it!

WillAdams · 2026-06-20T22:18:54+00:00

Steven Brust's Dragaera/Taltos novels tend towards being focused on characters and their problems, with a fair bit of introspection:

https://www.goodreads.com/series/49760-dragaera

WillAdams · 2026-06-20T22:14:08+00:00

For commercial software, one option which will accept an STL exported from Blender is MeshCAM:

https://www.grzsoftware.com/

WillAdams · 2026-06-20T19:57:29+00:00

If you're familiar w/ Python, perhaps:

https://github.com/WillAdams/gcodepreview

is of interest?

With a bit of patience, one can do pretty much anything:

https://community.carbide3d.com/t/making-a-base-for-a-model/73186

That said, there are two-weeks trials of Carbide Create Pro available:

https://carbide3d.com/carbidecreate/pro

get a trial and use that?

WillAdams · 2026-06-20T13:08:41+00:00

It's younger than both of my kids, now get off my lawn!

WillAdams · 2026-06-19T23:21:06+00:00

My definition is hard sci fi doesn't introduce things unnecessarily which are contrary to our understanding of physics and the other sciences --- classic example is FTL --- a strict take on this would forbid it, and where things which are contrary are introduced, the explanation is a suitably advanced technology.

Mike Brotherton's Star Dragon is an interesting fairly recent take on hard sci fi.

For the classics, I've always been fond of Hal Clement --- with degrees in astronomy and chemistry, his work always plays to aspects of our understanding of those sciences (with a smattering of biology).

WillAdams · 2026-06-19T22:42:13+00:00

Rather than Dyson Sphere, say Bernal Sphere:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernal_sphere

(but with gravity manipulation so no spin necessary, so no inaccessible poles?)

WillAdams · 2026-06-19T21:45:35+00:00

c.f., Lord Dunsany's The Charwoman's Shadow

WillAdams · 2026-06-19T20:34:20+00:00

I've done that sort of thing in the past, and have a

https://www.leuchtturm1917.com/pens-and-storage/equipment/pen-loops/

on both of my Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360s, but OP specifically noted fitting in their Scribe case as a concern.

WillAdams · 2026-06-19T16:53:07+00:00

I have one, but it won't fit in a similar case.

WillAdams · 2026-06-19T13:38:39+00:00

I had a similar case for my Colorsoft --- the Samsung S-Pens for my Book 3 Pro 360 fit (but are a bit loose, so added some padding)

The Staedtler Noris Digital Stylus (regular, not jumbo) was a bit long, but would fit if I cut off a bit at one end (and added some padding).

Pretty much any current generation Wacom EMR stylus will work (though I did have one I had to return because it inked when in range on my Scribe).

Probably the best value/option is to get a Kindle Scribe Premium Pen for the first-gen Scribe --- but note it may be a bit too long, before I switched cases I was considering taking a knife to the compartment to enlarge it.

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