All articles in Blender

Building a 2 way tiltable webcam stand

Hi again.

This time I thought I’d write up a little device I have put together with Arduino and printed parts so that I can point a webcam in two directions. (That’s the first use I thought of, after getting the idea of trying something with two 180° servos). To achieve this, I bought two potentiometers (adjustable resistors) and set up two servos to rotate the stand.

Here’s a little video of it in operation:

Continue reading Building a 2 way tiltable webcam stand

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Your first Blender game in 15 minutes

Just last week, I took three students with me to attend the 10th International IT Seminar for Students in Madrid, Spain. Our initial plan had called for two teachers, four students, and a demo of Arduino robotics, but due to financial constraints, we had to redesign at the last moment. This led me to take a team well versed in Blender and Unity instead. Usually, the faculty members give a lecture first in the morning and then the students lead the other students in workshops. But since we were only four, I pitched in and did a workshop on creating your first Blender game, a labyrinth for a ball with physics governing the movement, in 15 minutes. And this is how you do it.

Let’s say you want to have a labyrinth field, which you can tilt with the arrow keys, and with holes the ball can fall through, which signifies a fail. All you need is a plane, a sphere, and a second plane below the labyrinth so you can easily detect the ball falling off the labyrinth. And you need the Blender Game Engine, to make it all work, but fortunately, it is included in Blender for the same price, e.g. for free. You design the pieces in the default view, but when you’re done, you go into the Game Logic view, and this allows you to attach the sensors, controllers, and actuators to the pieces so you can make it move. Continue reading Your first Blender game in 15 minutes

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The 8mm film scanner (Telecine) project, part 5 – Programming

Last time, in Part 4, I described how the Arduino is wired with the two servos, two switches, and the hacked … More The 8mm film scanner (Telecine) project, part 5 – Programming

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The 8mm film scanner (Telecine) project, part 3 – Printed parts

Now it’s time to see the parts that I had to print to make this thing work. The list is … More The 8mm film scanner (Telecine) project, part 3 – Printed parts

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Printing the scanner frame, part 2

So far so good – we have the scanner base and the vertical arcs.

The turntable consists of 12 pieces of a circle, 30 degrees each, and with a 3mm thickness overall and a 6mm edge and center.

Turntable, 2 slices
Turntable, 2 slices

Continue reading Printing the scanner frame, part 2

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Teaser for next project: Arduino-driven 8mm film scanner

I’ve been rather busy of late, so I haven’t had time to deliver the second part on the 3D scanner … More Teaser for next project: Arduino-driven 8mm film scanner

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3D Scanning with Autodesk’s 123D Catch

I’ve been a little busy lately, what with the new curriculum at Haaga-Helia being introduced and whatnot, but I’ve also managed to do something I have wondered about for a while already. I found a piece of software, Autodesk’s 123D Catch, and it seems to work really well with my pet project, the 3D printed 3D scanner system. Now that the printing department of the 3D Lab works well, with the 3 Minifactories and one CoLiDo Printrite, it’s time to take the next step.

Continue reading 3D Scanning with Autodesk’s 123D Catch

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Using Blender’s video editor

Hi all,

it’s been some time since I last posted – Spring is always a busy time. I’ve been printing little gadgets and other stuff, some of which you can find on my account at Thingiverse.

But now it occurred to me to create little tutorial on basic video editing using Blender. Most people don’t know that Blender comes with a very handy and complete video editor, with which you can edit both sound and silent videos. I’ll start with a silent one, which I made using my late father’s 1962 vintage Bolex D8L camera featuring 4 minutes of live action per roll of film – planning ahead of shooting is a must. The clip is below, it is an excerpt of the full 4 minute film that I wanted to share with the pilot and my friends on Facebook.

Continue reading Using Blender’s video editor

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