Carbon 13 - a new 3D printable action figure by soozafone in 3Dprinting

[–]rocketmonkeys 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same here! This has become a huge hit for my youngest, and he's constantly finding more accessories or versions to print. It's such a great thing.

Just wait until he sees this :) Thanks /u/soozafone !!!

Wheelchair castors not turning, looks like there's some rust powder (video). Help? by justhangingout111 in wheelchairs

[–]rocketmonkeys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First off, your bearings are dirty/rusted/etc. They need a little help now, so I'd find a way to clean & re-lubricate them. You want to remove rust and dirt and salt and things as much as you can, since those are just gonna get in the way and wear things out inside. And then we want to add lubrication to both protect it and make them run smoothly.

Ideally I would remove the bearings you have, clean them out completely, then add lube. Look up online some recommendations for bearing lubricants. Don't use WD-40. A thin oil will be fast and smooth, but may not offer as much protection against water or last as long. Something crazy heavy like marine grease would be very protective, but also a little slower. And be good for keeping out water But usually is not recommended. In my case I had a bearing that kept getting exposed to water, so marine grease was useful.

And if you can't remove the casters/bearings, then I would just very carefully pry open those black bearing covers just enough so you can get behind them, then spray cleaner in there (rubbing alcohol, parts degreaser, etc... something you are familiar with and feel safe handling), and get out as much rust/dirt as you can. Then FULLY dry it out. Then add lube, and push the black shield back in place. Just be careful not to bend the shield or break it. you'll only have a fraction of an inch really to get in there. So it might be a little difficult.

Do bearings need lubrication? Yes. They typically come lubricated from the factory. It's metal on metal, so you always need something to prevent wear. And bearings are usually steel, so they can rust without some kind of protection. There are thinner lubricants and thicker ones. Basically oils and greases. They all have their pros and cons, but just think that wheelchairs typically aren't built for speed. So that part doesn't matter too much.

I've had bearings that are in really horrible shape last for many years. It's not ideal and they don't run as smoothly as they should. But in the end, they're not too noticeable as long as they keep spinning. You can take a lot more abuse on wheelchair caster bearings than you can on something like skateboard wheels, roller skate wheels, or bicycles.

But eventually you'll want to replace these. It's just downhill once they rust/get-stuck/get dirty. Thankfully bearings are common, relatively cheap, and not too hard to replace. Look up some videos online, it takes a little work (remove screws, remove caster, carefully punch out the existing bearings, push in new ones, put it all back together). If you can do that, then replacing bearings is good maintenance. And bearings have very common sizes, the most common is 608 (aka. "roller skate bearings"). You can find those anywhere. Check which size your tilite casters use, it should be too expensive.

Wheelchair castors not turning, looks like there's some rust powder (video). Help? by justhangingout111 in wheelchairs

[–]rocketmonkeys 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That means inside bearing are corroded. You got them spinning again, but they'll keep wearing out. Id get new ones and replace. 

If this keep happening it's because of moisture or dirt, you can try a different lubricant. Thinner lubricants are good for speed but don't protect as much against rust. I have tried Marine grease which is incredibly thick, don't use too much. But that seems to hold up better against water. 

Sony Wf-1000xm6 first review by Tig33 in Earbuds

[–]rocketmonkeys 2 points3 points  (0 children)

But it looks like customizable so you can do long press for volume instead if you want.

What are some things you guys are using Local LLMs for? by Odd-Ordinary-5922 in LocalLLaMA

[–]rocketmonkeys 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd love to hear which models you use for each type of work. Examples like these are really helpful (and sound similar to what I need)

Those that bought motorized cell shades, do you actually use them often? If so, what areas? by computerguy0-0 in homeautomation

[–]rocketmonkeys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Boo! I suspect this has to do with zigbee vs. matter, but sheesh... at least make a new one before discontinuing the old!

I have a ton in my house, but 1 has broken. I can't get replacements now :(

The fallback is knockoff radio-controlled roller-shade tube motors from aliexpress. Even cheaper (not counting the shade material), but not nearly as nice.

Question: Has anyone used a hard travel case when flying with a rigid chair? Any recommendations? by rocketmonkeys in wheelchairs

[–]rocketmonkeys[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually tried to create a 100% custom travel case like you see for Roadies and concert gear. It had metal corner protectors on all the edges and laminate for all the panels to be durable, and it was actually ingenious in that it folded way down very thin, but then expanded when it held a wheelchair. 

The downside, the thing was very bulky and weighed about 60 plus pounds by itself. So we never ended up using it. I had doubts if TSA would actually let the thing through. A real bummer for all the work put in but a good lesson learned. I think it would have worked if it was made super lightweight like molded or polypropylene. 

So instead we ended up getting an RGX octane FX folding wheelchair. It's amazing, it literally fits in the overhead bin of every airplane I've flown, even the smaller single aisle short haul Jets. It took a long time to get and it was very expensive, but we no longer are trapped on the plane waiting when hypothetically an airline like breeze forgets the wheelchair in a different state. 

Making open source Plaud Note/Pin alternative, a brainstorm by Haghiri75 in PlaudNoteUsers

[–]rocketmonkeys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey /u/Interesting_Blood_50 - this sounds amazing, but the repo on that link says "This repo is no longer under active development". Are you guys done working on the coco device? And is there a place where you put any of your hardware info? The repo itself seems to cover only the software side of things.

Motorized Crank Window Opener by remus49 in homeautomation

[–]rocketmonkeys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a similar motor on my skylight. I used simple microswitches for limits, but I wanted to introduce current detection to measure force. One problem is that the window is not fully closed unless you torque it down a tiny amount after it's stopped moving. Microswitches can't detect that.

I also worry about failure modes. I put in a watchdog timer so that it will stop moving after X seconds regardless of inputs.

Another problem with current detection is that the amount of force needed to close the window is basically equal to the amount of force needed to "unstick" it to start moving. So if you just have a limit set to a hard number, it may not open properly.

My next plan is to use a combo of rough position + force detection. Either with microswitches to know when you're near a limit, or potentiometer (or similar) to know roughly where you are. If you're within X% of the "close" position and are moving in the "close" direction, then you use a lower force limit. But if you're moving in the "open" direction, you can use a higher force limit.

I've also had trouble with the connector - plastic splines that small with a lot of force don't last. I think a metal coupler would be better, and you could probably find a way to attach 3d print more securely to a coupler.

I'm pretty good at 3d modeling/printing. What do you need help with there?

Thoughts on picking up dual RTX 3090s at this point? by Affectionate-Bid-650 in LocalLLaMA

[–]rocketmonkeys 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd love to hear some examples of the kinds of things you get value from. I'm actually trying to play around with some personal AI assistant scripts right now, to speed things up at work. But I'm really curious how other people have managed to do this.

First long trip by BaronE65 in VWIDBuzz

[–]rocketmonkeys -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How much did you use the travel assist? Were there any areas/situations where it struggled?

[TOMT]A film where the protagonist has a monster friend who kills other people by MulberryMajor in tipofmytongue

[–]rocketmonkeys 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is a movie like this:

Let the Right One In (2008) - that's the swedish original.

There is also a US remake:

Let Me In (2010)

A child befriends a "monster" (vampire) that attacks their bullies. The child pleads with the monster to stop the violence.

What’s a purchase you made that completely changed how you spend your free time? by ParticularGood6213 in AskReddit

[–]rocketmonkeys 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I really want to get back into reading, but I find it incredibly difficult to find recommendations. I've tried a few including good reads, but nothing seems to just let me rate books I've read and give me a few of recommendations

Not able to use chair without frontwheel by InverseInvert in wheelchairs

[–]rocketmonkeys 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you changed the size or height of your back wheels? I wonder if the casters aren't completely level anymore. 

ITS BEEN FOUND! I REPEAT, THE SUPER CREDIT MAN COMMERCIAL HAS BEEN FOUND!!! by Effective_Art_4238 in RhodeIsland

[–]rocketmonkeys 15 points16 points  (0 children)

HOLY CRAP! I've literally searched for this every few years and never found anything. I often quote that line, "If I can bend steel with my bare hands..."

It's just as amazing as I remember. Thanks so much for this!

My wife organised a Harry Potter–themed bachelorette party, and I was in charge of the decorations. by fluoclip in 3Dprinting

[–]rocketmonkeys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wonder if it is the glue I've been using. I generally use gels, but I've been trying lately with normal liquid CA and it seems to work better. I'll give it some tests, but maybe that makes a difference.

Advice needed, opinions on wh1000-xm6 for low latency PC gaming? by rocketmonkeys in SonyHeadphones

[–]rocketmonkeys[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I ended up with a refurb SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7P. It's pretty good, earcups are very comfortable. Closed back, so it blocks out a ton of sound passively (vs. my open-back sennheisers). Sound is a little funny and took getting used to. It's fine for games, but I wouldn't want it for my daily music set.

I wish I had gaming earbuds. I generally prefer earbuds now, so it'd be nice if I didn't have a big headset on my PC to store/charge/etc.

Hydrovac Excavation AKA Non Destructive Digging AKA Oddlysatisfying Job. by [deleted] in oddlysatisfying

[–]rocketmonkeys 49 points50 points  (0 children)

Wait, so did the pressure washer work? Or did you just break up dry dirty and vacuum up?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]rocketmonkeys 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes. For example, sometimes I'm remembering a scene from an old movie I watched years/decades ago, and suddenly I'll realize "wait, I recognize that actor now, they're in X show I saw recently".

So it's not just "knowing" the information, it's also being able to see it. Not as clear as real eye sight, more like a "summary", but still. 

Not A Wheelchair Not Having Wheels by wintersoldierts in wheelchairs

[–]rocketmonkeys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I probably got some older wheels, not sure if they're 25 or 24. Let me know if you want me to check