8th Grade Champions - Discovery Panthers

 

 

The team praying after receiving the championship trophy.



 The Champs

 

Coach J making the final cut of the net after the game

 

Brandon cutting down the net after the game.

CNC machining

Here are some pictures of what I have been working on lately.  I have been needing an enclosure for the time lapse controller that I make.  I can buy some generic enclosures and customize them with the CNC machine. First, I worked on the tops. I needed to make a jig to accurately hold each piece in position so the machine would cut each one exactly the same. I set up to do five at a time. Later I may make a jig that will hold more.

 

 

 

Put five enclosure tops in and clamp with a couple of strips of plywood...

 

 
Machining the holes for the buttons and the LCD...

 5 done in about 8 minutes...

 

This is a small panel that goes in the end of the enclosure. I am machining 3 different shaped holes in each one. This jig holds 18 parts and it took about 15 minutes to machine them.

  Next is an engraved panel that will go on the top of the enclosure. This is 1/16th inch thick engraving plastic which has a thin layer of brushed metal on it. The tiny engraving bit cuts through the metal layer exposing the black plastic underneath.

 I cut a total of  48 of these. It takes about 20 minutes to cut six. These have an adhesive backing that makes it easy to attach the to the enclosure top.

 

 

Here is the assembled controller.. The first picture shows the end panel with the on/off switch, power jack and camera control port.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Lights in Hopelands Gardens

Last night Brandon and I went to see the Christmas Lights in Hopelands Gardens in Aiken.  Here are just a few of the displays.  Christmas in Hopelands was first started in 1992.  They started with 20,000 lights and a 25 foot Christmas Tree. Now there are over 100,000 lights and more than 30 displays along 1.5 miles of lighted pathways.