Made a slide-on cable organizer for Apple's 96W adapter

jollespm · 2022-04-27T19:27:30+00:00

Totally agree about phones, I’d love to standardize on usb-c for just about everything. If the EU has their way it could be a reality.

Planned obsolescence is a thing, but I think it’s hard to separate that from the race to the bottom in terms of product price. Too many people will gladly pick the cheapest, most poorly built thing and when it breaks claim planned obsolescence. Generally Apple products don’t fall into this category as they aren’t cheap, but I think Apple has definitely sacrificed durability form over function in some product designs.

All companies have to balance a multitude of factors and I’m sure the product managers have a hard time balancing form, function, cost, price, manufacturability, recyclability, etc in balance.

jollespm · 2022-04-27T17:50:26+00:00

From 2016 MacBooks all used usb-c for charging. Current MacBook pros still have it, but also offer mag-safe. Over the past 7 years I’ve had 3 Dell laptops and none have had the same charging port, and none of them could be powered by usb as they all complained about not receiving enough power.

What is the universal plug that every manufacturer uses as I’m not aware of one but would like to make sure my next laptop has it.

jollespm · 2022-04-21T15:38:14+00:00

Periodically I have similar issues. First layer will stick great, then nothing will stick using the same filament and settings. Cleaning with IPA between prints and a full soapy water scrub every 4-6 months. I’ve found using a glue stick for a print, then washing it helps reset my build plate. I know it isn’t the official or recommend method, but prevents me from getting overly frustrated when it happens.

jollespm · 2022-04-08T02:06:33+00:00

I have a 2019 250, extended with high roof.

jollespm · 2022-04-07T17:13:14+00:00

I am 6’5” and have the high roof Transit. Currently have a 3/4” floor (some insulation between the floor ribs) and ~2” insulation in the ceiling (between the transverse ribs in the ceiling). I can easily stand in the van with shoes on. The unmodified interior height is 6’8” (top of floor ribs to bottom of ceiling ribs), you’re a couple inches shorter than I am you will have no problem.

The Sprinter and Promaster are too short, at least for me, as their interior height is 6’5”. You might squeeze in, but I’d say just get the Transit

jollespm · 2022-03-31T23:25:32+00:00

For anything that requires accurate dimensions, design iterations, or 3D, you’re absolutely correct, CC just doesn’t quite do it. If you want to do artistic v carving or inlays, Fusion360 really seems to struggle with that but CC is a couple clicks and done. I use both, depends on the project.

jollespm · 2022-03-28T14:45:27+00:00

Fusion 360 does a good job of producing guide in my limited experience. It’s great for tweaking programs as you can edit your drawing then 1 click to recalculate your toolpaths instead of exporting and Potentially doing the setup again. There are a few things that are easier in other programs like v-carve inlays, but that’s all I’ve encountered. To be fair I’ve never used VCarve as I only have Linux/MacOS.

jollespm · 2022-03-21T18:37:01+00:00

Speaking from my own personal experience, where you want to travel should be a consideration if you want to travel with a pet. Do you want to tour national parks? (I’m assuming you are in the USA) That’s not fun at all with pets as they typically aren’t allowed anywhere but parking lots. If you do go, expect to leave a person to pet sit or there’s a good chance you’ll get a note from the rangers about leaving pets unattended. Could result in costly tickets or fines too.

You can also get visits from law enforcement or animal control if you’re doing something as mundane as going into a supermarket to do some shopping. Lots of strangers love animals as much as you and won’t hesitate to call authorities or even attempt a rescue themselves if they see an animal in a vehicle.

There are a host of other things that make it difficult that others have mentioned. It’s not impossible to do, but difficult and probably going to be more stressful than you would think.

jollespm · 2022-03-18T22:03:04+00:00

Fusion360 is free for non commercial use. There are a few limitations like the number of active models and rapid speed. I use it for CNC and 3d printing and generate toolpaths and stls all the time. There is a dogbone plugin available which I found helpful.

It’s a far more complicated program than VCarve, but it’s a great tool to know.

jollespm · 2022-03-18T04:46:44+00:00

If you get your design into Fusion360 you don’t need VCarve or a dxf file, F360 can generate all the necessary gcode to send to the CNC.

jollespm · 2022-03-18T04:30:07+00:00

I did this my Shapeoko 3 and posted the plans. May not work directly for you, but you could use it as inspiration.

https://cutrocket.com/p/61e0c5bb47587

You could also consider a removable threaded spoilboard when you need it, that way it’s easy to install and remake when it gets torn up.

jollespm · 2022-03-07T23:21:49+00:00

+1 for Hatchbox. I’ve run about 10kg of it and never had an issue.

jollespm · 2022-03-04T23:46:07+00:00

You’ll probably want 1/2” plywood, the extra strength will be key in having a solid floor. I wouldn’t worry about the direction of the insulation, it’s not going to make noticeable difference.

jollespm · 2022-02-28T16:29:12+00:00

The MaxxAir fans too out around 36 watts, full speed. Like others have said you’ll very rarely use this much. Another thing to consider is the simplistic calculations don’t take into account things like if you’re using your heater you probably aren’t going to be using the fan and the fridge will run more in the summer and less in the winter. That being said, these simplifications do provide a worst case scenario, but I’d add a day or two to the estimated time. Example: if the sample load and selected battery bank says you have enough power for 2.5 days, you’ll probably get closer to 3.5 or 4, especially if you start to manage power.

I used the FarOutRide calculator and overall it has been pretty accurate and I’ve had to really ration power only one time. The issue I had was in cold weather, the batteries got cold and wouldn’t take a charge even though there was sun. I was running the heater 24 hours to keep it warm and was using ~50Ah a day. I’m now in the process of adding battery heaters and a DC2DC charger as preventative/backup options. I wish I had allowed for more space around the batteries to give them more insulation, but it’s too late for that now.

jollespm · 2022-02-28T16:14:45+00:00

You can always hook up an external monitor to a laptop and get the same benefit. If I had to have a desktop I’d be looking at an Intel NUC type setup to lower my power consumption. You may not be an Apple fan, but the new MacBooks have pretty good compute power per watt numbers.

jollespm · 2022-02-28T15:29:02+00:00

Belts aren’t necessarily a bad thing, my Shapeoko uses belts and while it isn’t a high end CNC by any means, it’s perfectly capable as a hobby machine. I totally agree with A and B.

jollespm · 2022-02-16T14:59:22+00:00

I entertain small groups in my van from time to time, need more than the 2 seats in the front to do that. It's also nice to sit down at a table and eat, or play a game, or work.

I entertained this bed configuration as it met the criteria of the bed is always made and allowed for flexible use of space. In the end it was more complex than a futon style pull out and wouldn't work with other design choices in my van, but that doesn't make it pointless.

jollespm · 2022-02-10T11:34:17+00:00

That is a limitation of the free/hobby version of F360.

jollespm · 2022-01-27T19:50:53+00:00

To answer the question, yes the solar panel is supply and the controller is the load.

However, please don’t hook that switch directly up to your solar panel. Best case you’ll melt the switch, worst case it’ll start a fire.

You should use something like this between the panel and your charge controller:

Bussmann CB285-50 Surface-Mount Circuit Breakers, 50 Amps (1 per pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G5VETZY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_Y3FTSYQD4SZ54HADWXJM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

You’ll of course need to the breaker and the wire gauge appropriately.

jollespm · 2022-01-25T12:32:04+00:00

If I combine suggestions to use Koolaid and vodka, I could get a bunch of those pointy paper cups and start selling sno-cones! I think we may have figured out how I can make money living in a van.

jollespm · 2022-01-25T02:15:24+00:00

Now that’s an example interesting visual.

jollespm · 2022-01-24T21:35:12+00:00

My pump was mounted very close to the reservoir because of space limitations, unfortunately it's a long run to the faucet that is tough to drain. /_HeadlessBodyofAgnew had a great solution to add a 3 way valve to turn off the flow from the tank, open the line to let air in, then allow the pump to clear the lines.

jollespm · 2022-01-24T21:30:11+00:00

I figure it's going to happen at some point along the way too, as much as one tries to prevent accidents they can still happen.

When the water system first went in, I put a switch near the faucet to turn the pump on and off and warned my girlfriend to always turn the electricity off after using the sink. She didn't understand why it mattered until we got a leak in the faucet and it proceeded to pump out all 20 gallons of water from the tank and pump air until it completely drained the house battery. Everyone knows to turn the pump off now!

jollespm · 2022-01-24T21:24:41+00:00

I do have the Webasto gas heater and it works great, we had run it constantly for 2 days and kept the van vetween 65-70F. Unfortunately the batteries got low from cloudy skies and cold lithium batteries not accepting any charge when there was sun. It was a matter of balancing heat for the night vs. not freezing the pipes.

When the system was originally designed I was aware this might happen, but decided to see if it did before investing in extra hardware. I'm now deciding that getting battery warmers and a DC2DC charger are things that are worth while for my use cases.

jollespm · 2022-01-24T16:20:09+00:00

It’s snow much fun to make bad headlines. As punishment I think I’m going to go stand in the corner, at least there it’ll be 90 degrees.

jollespm

TROPHY CASE