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Not Bad for Friday The Thirteenth

A contribution by Ingo Schultze-Schnabel

On the evening of that December day in 2019, I held in my hand the first copy of a 3D print of one of my designs.

Finished print still on the 3D printer

I have been working artistically with multipart images and objects since the 90s and was looking for a method to transform a design into a sculptural object from the 3D printer.

Members of Fab Lab Siegen accompanied me in several steps: From the basic information about the Fab Lab and its possibilities, the ways of designing from “my” graphics programme via CAD programmes to the printer control, a lot was new for me. But in the great working atmosphere it was fun to get involved with new things.

Now the new object hangs provisionally on the wall, for “test viewing”, so to speak. I am concerned with the mechanisms by which our perception “sees” something as a whole with the help of partial information. The quality of visual information, redundancy, the “information gap” – such terms run through my head.

3D print hung on the wall

Here in the work you can see how, despite the distances between the stripes, the impression quickly arises in many places that rectangles, seen in perspective, are being depicted there. The gap suddenly becomes information. With David Amend at the end of the day, I got to talk about how the exact same thing is happening with fake news, an area in which he had experience from a computer science perspective. This is how fragments become a narrative and how easily “truth” emerges in our minds. That brings me back to my artistic theme.

If you want to go a little deeper, you can find more material on my blog.

If you want to experience more art in Siegen, please refer to the ChaosFlux from 24-26 April. Mehr Infos: https://chaosflux.de/de/about/

By Marios Mouratidis, ago

The Creation of a Bow Handle

A contribution by Philipp Dasbach

The Problem

In archery, the repeatability of the entire shooting process is
crucial for a good result. I myself have owned an Olympic recurve bow with sights (aiming device) and stabilization system (weights for balancing, for smoother aiming) for several years.

Characteristic of this type of bow are the curved or backward bent ends of the bow, from where the English term “recurve” comes.
Unlike other shooting sports, where, for example, is shot over the rear sight and front sight, the sight of the recurve bow has only the front sight. Thus, the body posture and the stopping point of the bow (anchor point) form the second reference point of the recurve bow to define the direction in which the arrow flies. That is, even if the front sight always points to the gold (center of the target), but the bow is slightly different in your hand than it was when you shot it before, the arrow will hit somewhere else.

Therefore, many archers customize the grip of their bow with grip tape or modeling clay to craft a grip that is perfect and stable in their own hand. Since I was not satisfied with the grip of my bow, I decided to design my own grip, which also looks professional due to 3D printing.

The Recurve Bow

Attempts to apply known knowledge

Before I designed the grip according to my ideas, I first wanted to copy the original grip of my bow, so that I could make the adjustments that seemed reasonable from this basis.

Due to my mechanical engineering studies at the University of Siegen, I am familiar with the use of CAD software and have confidently approached the design. However, two things caused me an unexpected amount of problems.

First, it took me a long time to design the many interlocking fillets of the handle. These fillets are very difficult to reproduce with software solutions from the mechanical engineering sector, since they usually have defined geometries. This took me some time, but also forced me to learn new features and capabilities of CAD software.

The second issue that cost me a few tries in 3D printing is the measurability of the hard-to-define geometries.
Since the handle has only a very narrow, straight edge, it was very difficult to measure the position of the hole, bevels and radii. However, it is important for the attachment of the grip piece to the sheet that the geometry of the grip piece corresponds exactly to the geometry of the receptacle provided for it on the sheet. Since I could only roughly estimate many dimensions, I had to approach the correct geometry step by step through trial and error.

During this trial and error, I was able to learn a lot about 3D printing from the staff and makers in the Fab Lab. Above all, they helped me find the ideal slicer settings for my part and the right material. In addition, the Fab Lab works with different CAD programs, all of which have their strengths for different problems.

Prototyping

After four attempts I had copied the original grip of my bow sufficiently well and started with attempts to adapt the grip geometry to my hand. In the process, I tried a total of five different versions.

First, I made changes that seemed logical to myself to stabilize certain areas of the hand to prevent it from slipping back and forth. On the other hand, I combined this with geometries of grips from different manufacturers to arrive at my individual and optimal grip.

Currently, I have mounted a version of the grip on my bow, in which I have rounded some disturbing edges of the original grip and minimize the back-and-forth slipping by changing the angle of the contact surface.

Arch with mounted handle on bracket

Satisfied, but surely there’s more?!

I definitely achieved my goal of getting a better grip than the old one. Whether I have already found the ideal solution, I do not know, because there are still some geometries that I could try.

In the meantime, I uploaded the latest version of the grip to Thingiverse and hope to run into an archer who also uses my grip. Overall, I have to say that through the exchange in the Fab Lab I got ideas and tips that I would never have come up with on my own.

Handle piece, mounted on bow

Copyright Pictures: Philipp Dasbach

By Marios Mouratidis, ago

Cytrill – Game Controller Made in Siegen

Hackspace Siegen has developed a single-board computer for gaming, education, and experimentation that allows over 32 people to play together on one screen at the same time – a collaborative project for which our Fab Lab, among others, was used. From hardware to games, everything at Cytrill is open source.

It took about a whole year until the members of HaSi could hold the first finished controller in their hands. The idea was there, but a lot of thought went into the implementation: what should the game controller look like in the end? Which design is best for the use? In the end, a small, colorful single-board computer was created, which is similar in appearance to well-known controllers. Apart from the many buttons, the minimalistic, differently colored grips, which are plugged into the sides of the board, are striking. These grips were printed from PLA with the Luzlbot in our Fab Lab.

In the future, however, a second variant will also be created, in which two transparent Plexiglas plates are used instead of the grip panels, so that the complete circuit board remains visible. This variant is to be produced as a prototype in our lab using laser cutting.

Meanwhile, there are already several games for the controller: “Wallhack” (similar to Achtung the Curve), “RaceCtrl” (a car race), “Crystal Mett” (a game in which you have to collect crystal pigs in teams) and “SpaceCtrl” (a spaceship game). All games were created in the open source game engine Godot and so there is a GD script that controls the LEDs on the controllers that show the status or the current game color. The board itself is based on an ESP8266 radio module and has four small joysticks on each side. The controllers have a USB interface, but this is only used for loading and programming. Wifi is used to connect to games and applications, and power is supplied via a battery. The plates are decorated with an octopus and gold details.

Cytrill and individual games could already be tested in public, for example (as seen above) on the Day of Technology or the Siegen Art and Culture Week Art!Si, and gave pleasure to both young and old. The small colorful controllers attracted attention and as soon as they were tried out, some could hardly detach themselves from them. People who didn’t know each other before played against and with each other with visibly a lot of fun, much to the delight of the developers.

In the future, Cytrill will be used in workshops at our Fab Lab, but also for university teaching. The invention shows that the hacker and maker culture has already arrived in Siegerland and that it enables jointly developed, innovative projects.

Cytrill on detail:

By Marios Mouratidis, ago

Zeit.Raum – Making Siegen come alive

The interdisciplinary research project ZEIT.RAUM Siegen is being carried out in close cooperation with citizens and aims to make the city of Siegen experience and understand its space and history in a collaborative way using innovative technology. ZEIT.RAUM is designed to facilitate collaboration and exchange between all interested parties – from academics and students to schoolchildren and amateur historians – about the city’s history, present and future. This opens up new forms of knowledge generation and transfer.

The project consists of two interlinked components: A touchable table-sized city model for interaction, produced using various digital fabrication processes and exhibited in the Siegerland Museum. Built-in sensors enable an interactive experience of the city and its history, which also stimulates individual memories. The second central element of the project is the Stadtwiki, a collaborative digital platform on Siegen’s city history, which is being developed by and for citizens. In addition to collecting information, it also serves as a forum to discuss the meaning of the data collected. Places of remembrance are identified, processed and reflected upon. All components of the project should be designed in such a way that they are easily accessible, understandable and easy to use for all interested parties.

One of the first test prints for the interactive city model

The role of the Fab Lab

We at Fab Lab are also involved in the project on several levels, especially in the creation of the interactive city model. The existing virtual 3D model of the city of Siegen, which was created by Prof. Jarosch, serves as the data basis for this. The topography is milled out of a large plate in the Lab. Which material is best suited for this is currently being tested. The true-to-the-original buildings of the city installed on it, on the other hand, are printed with the 3D printers in the Fab Lab. The sensor technology that will later be installed in the city model, which should be as user-friendly as possible, is also being developed in our lab. Several students are also involved in the project, working on individual components of the project within the framework of qualification theses.

Paper prototype for the interaction concept of the city model

Current developments

Currently, students are working on the design of the interaction concept and have, among other things, created a paper prototype of the city model. Likewise, the first prototypes for the city model have already been successfully printed and the sensor technology extensively tested. The model is printed with conductive filament so that the sensors can later be built directly into the city model. As part of this initial technical work, a developer board (see cover picture) was also created on which the following were installed: Arduino-Leonardo, Raspberry Pi 2, CAP1188-Breakout, 3D-printed touch sensor and 3D-printed matrix.

Test of the sensor technology to be installed in the city model

During one of our last project meetings, a first model of the Nikolaikirche – probably the best known landmark of the city of Siegen – was already printed. It took our Ultimaker a whole three hours to make the 1:9000 scale model.
Here you can see the result:

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Other project partners

In addition to the Fab Lab, the University of Siegen also involves the Chair of Didactics of History headed by Prof. Dr. Bärbel Kuhn, the Chair of Practical Geodesy and Geoinformation headed by Prof. Dr. Monika Jarosch and the Chair of Computer Supported Group Work headed by Prof. Dr. Volkmar Pipek. The realisation was made possible by the support of the university and the Friends and Patrons of the Siegerlandmuseum, who see the project as an investment in the future of the Siegerlandmuseum. The Siegerland Museum is to be strengthened by ZEIT.RAUM in its role for cooperative and inclusive historical work in and with the region.

We will of course keep you informed about further developments of the project in and around the Lab.

By Marios Mouratidis, ago