RepRap with Aluminum Extrusions == WIN
Last Night We started the build of another one of these box-modded MendelMax printers. With extra hands we got the whole frame, the feet, all the motors, and a large number of brackets mounted and aligned in just a few hours. Even Morfin was surprised how quickly it all came together.
This design has already led to the design of the first printable upgrade: Compact Y-Rod holders. As you can see, this part was derived from MendelMax 1.0, 1.5, and some awesome rod clamps by Jonas Kuehling.
Now the build volume actually surpasses a MendelMax, sitting at 265x247x220 mm. And see how flat those 0.4mm printed layers are? That’s because this aluminum bot is super rigid, giving fast and accurate prints. Sweet!
If you can come up with a good name for this bot, I’d definitely appreciate it. Post in the comments if you feel inspired.
Modified MendelMax RepRap Build starting Wednesday
Did you take Peejay’s Intro to Programming with Arduino class? You may have learned that Arduino’s are great for controlling 3D printers such as a RepRap.
Well, hot on the heels of our last RepRap MendelMax Build, I’ve been able to redesign the MendelMax to be a rigid rectangle… the upshot is the build volume is increased (especially in Z) without the footprint increasing. The build volume of this baby is 265x233x190 mm (or ~10″x9″x7.5″). The build assembly goes much faster, too.
Come on by Hive76 starting this Wednesday night to see or help put together another one. If you’ve been wondering about our upcoming 3D Printer Build and Operation Workshop with NextFab Studio, this is a great way to see what the fuss is all about.
Here’s a video of this box design Modified MendelMax printer on it’s first print. It’s been chugging along for a solid few days now, no problems so far. It’s printing so well, it’s time to build another one. Come join us!
Intro to Programming with Arduino
OMG, we’re having a class!
You may have heard of the Arduino microcontroller before, but if not, we’re here to tell you all about it! This class will be geared towards those that have no experience with programming, microcontrollers, electronics, or even hackerspaces! Rest assured that those with some deeper digging questions will have knowledgeable members of Hive76 on hand to answer them.
With the purchase of a ticket, you will get 12 hours of instruction spread over 4 class sessions (that’s 4 three-hour sessions) and an Arduino “starter kit” of parts. You have the option of bringing your own Arduino ($55), if you have one, or choosing the package that comes with the Arduino ($75).
Sessions start on June 3rd and continue each Sunday, through June 24th. Class times are 1PM-4PM. Students must bring a laptop with a USB port (Windows, Linux, OS X), and a willingness to have fun.
Tickets can be purchased here. To clarify, students only need to purchase one ticket to attend all four classes.
Seating is limited to only 10 students! Tickets are expected to go VERY fast!
Sunday Wargame Wrapup
Well the dust has settled, and one winner has emerged. Out of all 5 players, only Steve Mandelbaum owned the box, and in under 2 hours. Players had to first identify the target server by scanning for available hosts and then using nmap to enumerate services. Then players had a choice between brute forcing the ssh service, or grabbing the passwd and shadow files from the anonymous FTP service, the latter resulting in a faster crack. After that, players needed to find the administrator of the system and use sudo to read the full passwd and shadow files. Finally, the root user could be cracked and full access would be granted.
We all had a good time, and I can’t wait for the next challenge!
S4 is meeting for the first time on June 10th at 6 PM, where we’ll be taking a look at a simple penetration test scenario.
Hope to see you there!
Pentesting Wargame On Sunday
Sunday, May 20th at 6 PM we’re hosting a pentesting wargame. Players will learn how to use common security tools such as Medusa, and John the Ripper, and identify server misconfigurations and administrative carelessness.
Come and join in on the fun! Bring a laptop!
Announcing New Security Group
We’re starting a new group at Hive 76 called “Scheduled Sunday Security Sessions” (an homage to PJ Santoro’s Monthly Monday Microcontroller Madness). S4 will focus on computer and electronic security. We’ll have demos and presentations on security related topics, as well as group penetration testing challenges each month.
The first meeting will be on June 10th, at 6 PM.
See you there!
Stanford U Machine Learning Study Group
Standford University is at it again with another round of free (as in beer) courses! This time they’re joined by the likes of Princeton, Penn, and the University of Michigan!
Why should you care? Well, Hive76 is forming a study group to help individuals tackle this incredible and challenging opportunity to be found within Standford’s Machine Learning course, of course! Our first meeting will be held tomorrow night during Open House Hours (7-11 PM)! If you are interested in taking this course, please take the time to register with Stanford at the link provided here.
As a place to get started, Mike S. of the Noisebridge hackerspace in San Francisco, has compiled an excellent list of resources for the study group that they have going on the left coast. Do consider joining their ML-specific mailing list!
Folks considering this course should be familiar with programming concepts and linear algebra, for sure! Recommended linear algebra lectures can be found here, and for your open source alternative to MATLAB, check out GNU’s Octave.
See you tomorrow!
Philly Tech Week Signature Gala
We had an awesome time at the Philly Tech Week Signature Gala last week. While certainly any event with free booze is going to be a hit with us, it was surely all of the amazing people we got to meet. We had quite a few things on display and people were very interested in talking with us about our projects, how we got started, and even the very nature of hacking, DIY, and hackerspaces (To quote Adam Savage, “I reject your reality and substitute my own”).
Manning the table we had Jim Fisher, Chris Terrell, Dave Morfin, Chris Thompson, and me. Here is a video showing off our table and some of the things we had there.
Philly Tech Week – We’re Booked Solid
Monday – MMMM Microcontroller Madness
Tuesday – DIY Music Night
Wednesday – Open House
Thursday – Game Night Featuring Tetris Arm Wrestling Tournament
Friday – PTW Gala demonstration (offsite)
Events at Hive76 Monday through Thursday start at 7pm and
ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Friday Gala Ticketing information available here.