Tag: supplies/equipment

Sensor-Controlled Relay Power Strip

by geexadminin Glass Resource Exchange Archive

This is an Instructable to walk you through how to make a sensor-controlled relay power strip using an IR sensor.

Diagram outlining various parts of a sensor-controlled power relay attached to a plasma unit. On the right is an example of a plasma sculpture that is illuminated by the process.

“I am an instructor who teaches Plasma Design in the Scientific Glass Technologies program at Salem Community College. One of the challenges has been finding a reliable and affordable transformer to run small plasma displays. Unfortunately, there are not many products on the market, so I decided to make a device which can be used with any transformer to initiate and control the length of time a bulb is turned on. It works great for student displays, especially with Tech22’s L7020 transformer.

I use this device in my own plasma work, and find it handy to use in exhibitions. The device is designed to minimize the risk of injury or the glass being damaged, uses less power, and extends the life of the transformer. By waving their hand in front of the sensor, viewers can initiate the illumination of a plasma bulb without touching the device itself, retaining the interactive quality that is unique to plasma displays. The timer can be set to customize the output for many different situation, including animating the plasma display.

Although this device was designed for use with plasma displays, the output can be any device that plugs into a standard plug on the power strip. It could be used for many other purposes, including art installations.”

Technical Features
  • Limits the amount of time transformer is on, keeping plasma display from overheating and extending the life of the transformer
  • Optimizes use of plasma in exhibition or installation, so that plasma display is only activated by the presence of the viewer and remains off the rest of the time, making for minimal maintenance by the gallery staff, and adding an extra layer of safety, and conserving energy.
  • Optimizes off-the-shelf transformers (such as Tech22’s L7020) to light high-pressure plasma designs for short durations of time without overheating.
  • Provides ability to animate multiple plasma displays by changing the code on the microcontroller.
  • Introduces students to electronics, using sensors and microcontrollers, and coding, by building this device.
Acknowledgements

This Instructable was designed for use in the Plasma Design course at Salem Community College as part of the Scientific Glass Technology program and was supported in part by a Teaching Artist Cohort Grant from the Center For Craft in 2023. Many thanks to those who supported, tested, and facilitated the development of this project.

Creative Commons Attribution

In the spirit of giving back to the community, This Instructable is protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 © 2024 by Amy Lemaire) International license, through which it is my intent to keep this information accessible and free for educators. 

This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only. If others modify or adapt the material, they must license the modified material under identical terms.

LINK TO RESOURCE

Resource submitted by Amy Lemaire

Sonic Level for Glassblowing (Punty Level)

by geexadminin Glass Resource Exchange Archive

Want a tool for beginners struggling to keep pipes/punties level? Ken Flanagan developed the punty level as a glassblowing teaching aid for Professor Helen Lee at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A student is holding a glassblowing punty with a pink level sensor attached near the back of the pipe.

This tool emits a tone based on the degree of deviation from the level plane. It is loud enough to hear over the ambient noise in the hot shop. It attaches to a pipe/punty with a 3D-printed clamp that can accept a large range of different pipe/punty diameters. The hinges are printed in place, meaning that there is no assembly once the print is complete (other than the electronics).

To minimize awkwardness for the gaffer, the punty level is quite small and can easily be mounted on the far end of the pipe/punty. It is secured with a rubber band.

For ease of replication, there is a GitHub page for the project (including instructions in the wiki) and a Thingiverse part for the 3D-printed clamp.

LINK TO RESOURCE

Resource submitted by Ken Flanagan

Pricing Structure Worksheet

by geexadminin Glass Resource Exchange Archive

An easy-to-use spreadsheet for artists and designers producing sellable objects, created by artist and maker Heather Kraft. This worksheet provides a breakdown of cost of labor, fees, materials, markup, retail, wholesale, and asking price.

“This worksheet is a truth-teller, so it can be difficult to face. Work is expensive to make. Many artists and designers undervalue their work, according to what the market will pay for. Based on your results, you might decide the work isn’t worth the limited revenue stream. Be honest with yourself — and be kind to yourself.”

To use, visit the resource link below and make a copy or download the Google Sheets document.

LINK TO RESOURCE (GOOGLE SHEETS)

Resource submitted by Emily Leach

KSU Glass Resource Site

by geexadminin Glass Resource Exchange Archive

Kent State University Glass’ Resource Site, featuring helpful intro guides for glassblowing, mold-making, kiln-casting, and more.

“The most useful individual pages are: https://ksuglass.wordpress.com/technical-materials/ and https://ksuglass.wordpress.com/2016/02/08/glass-rescources/. The first is a (non-comprehensive) list of useful technical documents for basic glassmaking. The second is a list of links to material/info suppliers that students might find useful.”

Screenshot of Kent State University Glass Program's Glass Resource Site, featuring an image of a large blown vessel being worked on

LINK TO RESOURCE

Resource submitted by Davin Ebanks

Portable Polariscope

by geexadminin Glass Resource Exchange Archive

“This is a design for a portable polariscope. A polariscope is a useful tool for viewing stress in transparent materials such as glass or plastic. Using either linear or circular polarization, stress in glass is visible through the polariscope viewfinder.  It is a useful teaching tool for understanding the properties of glass or plastics, and a necessity in the glassblowing studio to aid in the fabrication, quality control and troubleshooting of glass work.”

Image of an illuminated portable polariscope. The 3D printed object features a portable flashlight that reflects onto two screens in parallel with each other.

LINK TO RESOURCE

Resource submitted by Amy Lemaire

Tools and Equipment for Setting Up a Flameworking Studio

by geexadminin Glass Resource Exchange Archive

These lists are meant to encourage institutions to set up flameworking equipment and support co-learners in autodidactic explorations of flameworking. The intention is to provide suggestions for basic flameworking equipment and provide resources for purchasing supplies in different regions of the country, and not to endorse any particular supplier. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather a starting point for building a flameworking studio or workstation.

LINK TO RESOURCE

Resource submitted by Amy Lemaire and Madeline Rile Smith