Return Bin

Today I designed and printed the return bin that will go inside the matrix drawer. I created separate parts to make painting easier. These are the type of small details that I enjoy working on...

Quick and Fun

Today I completed the assembly of the two painted parts and this small project is complete. I applied three coats of Tamiya Metallic Blue (X-13) and Tamiya Flat White (XF-2) for the round and Model Master Jet Exhaust (4676) for the shell. For the shell primer, I applied Tamiya Flat Aluminum (XF-16) and for the markings located under the shell I used a black Staedtler pigment liner (0.05 mm).  I debated on whether I should add some ballast inside to make sure it does not topple but it appears to be heavy enough to not require any. Overall for my first project involving my 3D printer I am very satisfied with the results!

Print Complete

When I got up this morning I was anxious to check out the print job and it turned out very well. Due to the print height limitation I have of 15 cm, I was forced to slice in two parts the shell section (where the shell goes narrow at the top) and super glued it together. The fit between the bullet and shell casing required some light sanding but fit nicely together. I am shocked by the idea that the A-10 fires at a rate of 65 of these per second! What an insane rate of fire for such a large caliber! Next up is to go to the hobby shop and find some paint that will match the real thing.

PGU-15 Target Practice Projectile

I was browsing the web site thingiverse when I stumbled upon a 1:1 scale recreation of the ammo used by the A-10 Warthog. This is something I always wanted to get my hands on but in Canada probably impossible to acquire.

With the recent purchase of a 3D printer, this changed everything so I've decided to test out this model. While the collection includes several types of ammo fired from the A-10, I decided to print/paint the target practice version due to the bright blue color that appealed to me. Will let the printer run overnight as it requires about 6 hours to print!

Drawer & Chassis Test

Today I have enough printed drawers to test them in the chassis of the MedStation to get a feel if everything will fit properly or not. First thing I noticed was a small gap at the top and realized that there is a spacer between the first two drawers from the top that I need to create, never noticed it before to be honest. Also realized that the top of the chassis needs to be removed to allow space for the electronics, nothing an x-acto can't handle.

Mini Drawer

Mini Drawers on a MedStation Anesthesia Device.

Just need to sand them now...

While I would have really like to have working mini drawers it was not practical at 1/10 scale. But I realized that I may need the space from drawer 1 to store the electronics that might be too big for the eDrawer.

Mini drawers can be configured in multiple sizes and positions, I decided to take a classic six singles, three doubles, and two triple width mini drawers.

After a couple of revisions, I was satisfied with the results and all that is left to do is a bit of sanding to smooth them out.

Bottom Faceplate

Tonight I wanted to complete a simple part so I decided to work on the bottom faceplate located under the last drawer. It was actually quite simple as I just took the 3D model of the faceplate and added two evenly spaced slices. Initially, I printed three separate parts but realized that if there was a small backplate holding it all together they would stay aligned and it would look much better as well as easier to install.

Paint

I was planning on borrowing a piece of plastic from a real MedStation and attempt to mix paint to match the color as best as possible. Fortunately, I discovered by accident that there existed MedStation touchup paint that was water-based and had a colleague order for me. I was able to obtain three bottles of "Dark Mauve" paint and a bottle of "Light Mauve" needed for the mini drawers and keyboard. One thing is for sure, you can't beat having original paint on a scale model!

Displaying a Bitmap

Being able to draw on the screen is great but I really want an image of an actual MedStation menu to be displayed. Behind the LCD display is a microSD card reader and after another evening I was able to read the data and display the bitmap (240x180). Eventually, there will be multiple images but this proof of concept is enough for me to continue moving forward.

A Working Monitor

When I proposed to management that I could have an actual display working on the scale model I knew it was possible but had never attempted it. It took me two evenings to figure it out with a lot of online help but finally managed to get something to display on the tiny screen. I told myself worst-case scenario I could always make a decal of the screen but a real one would be so much better. I was so relieved once I was able to get a demo screen to work powered by an Arduino Nano.