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3d printer, day 2
I’m Jason Firth. I apologize in advance for the photos. No idea why they came out so bad. Last time, I talked a bit about setting up my new 3d printer, an FLSUN Delta Kossel. The first day consisted of fighting with the firmware that was set up without any limits, and with some seriously wonky…
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3d printing
My FLSUN kossel 3d printer first impression I’m Jason Firth. This year I wanted to go on a bit of an adventure, so I got a couple of toys. One is the Oculus Rift VR system, the other is the FLSUN delta kossel 3d printer with a heated bed. I purchased both from Amazon Canada…
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Unacceptable.
I’m Jason Firth. I’m not normally the sort to comment on current news stories (apparently I’m making a habit of it, though). I would rather my blog not become overtly political, and personally I think the idea of ‘picking sides’ in partisan nonsense is a great way to lose friends and make enemies. However, when…
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Do not pass go, do not collect $200
I’m Jason Firth. I don’t make it a habit of commenting on local news stories, but this one really got under my skin: A car dealership demanded additional money from a customer after the sale concluded, and when the purchaser refused to comply, they remotely disabled the vehicle. A consumer rights organization spoke to consumer rights…
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Blue skies, green Fields
I’m Jason firth. One commonality I notice when people ask me to help solve a problem is that quite often they explicitly limit solutions to “what sort of control systems can we install?” Type queries. I immediately force myself to ignore the question as presented, because of the limits it puts on the creativity we…
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The next road
I’m Jason Firth. It’s been a long while since I updated, because I’ve been transitioning into a new role: planning and supervising the instrument shop, and supervising the gas fitters. The transition from front line worker to front line supervision has meant a whole new set of challenges, and a whole new viewpoint. As a…
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All you need to know about PID controller
I’m Jason Firth. I recently commissioned this article explaining the function of a PID controller by freelance writer Sophia O’Connor. It’s one of a few pieces I’ve commissioned recently. It’s partially a test to see how well commissioning freelancers can work, and partially a public service to get some stuff written about some basic concepts.…
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What does success look like?
I’m Jason Firth. I recently wrapped up a fairly major project, which I spoke of earlier: Implementing a large software package for 2 sites. The story of this project can be seen as a tale of two cities, or of two different groups with fundamentally different requirements, and importantly fundamentally different ideas of what success…
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Therac-25, a study in the potential risks of software bugs
I’m Jason Firth. It’s unfortunately common to find that people don’t appreciate the risks involved with software, as if the fact that the controls are managed by bits and bytes changes the lethal consequences of failure. A counterpoint to this is the Therac-25, a radiation therapy machine produced by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited —…
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New Software Release: Schneider Unity Pro 9 — I mean 10 — I mean 11!
I’m Jason Firth. You will recall that last year I posted about the release of Unity Pro v8.1. Well, I got an email from a vendor this week about the opportunity to learn about the new version of Unity Pro — Version 10! (Wait, did I miss something? What happened to 9?) I have absolutely…