> I have not yet printed and tested this exact model!
Sadly that sums up the 3D printable scene perfectly. So many times I’v seen someone creating X for Y but they don’t have Y to test it but “it should work”.
jy14898 · 3h ago
Fair enough, but this isn't that case. They have Y (it's in the first photo) and tested a previous version of the model. The changes are predictable (rotating letters and slight scaling) so I don't think it's unreasonable to be confident and not waste plastic.
mbreese · 1h ago
Amazingly, I think you’re right, but not for (negative) the reasons you state.
I see the 3D printing scene a remix culture where you’re supposed to try new things. If you want something to work exactly for your situation, you might have to do a little work yourself.
In this case, here we have an idea of making new typeballs for IBM typewriters. Here is one post where someone is playing with the idea. At the top of the page, there is a link to a GitHub page for you to adapt it as you see fit.
But then there’s also a link to a new page: https://selectricrescue.org/ where someone makes many more varieties, also with code for you to try yourself.
I see 3d printing much like the world of early open source coding. Sometimes you get a completed project that works out of the box. But often, you’ll have to tinker and adapt it to your exact hardware. Once a new 3d model is shown to be viable, it can be mixed and matched to make something new!
fainpul · 4h ago
Yeah, feels a bit like "I'm sharing this code I've written here. I haven't tried to compile it yet, but it should work."
microtherion · 2h ago
That approach does work for LLMs, though.
cluckindan · 7h ago
It’s not far fetched though. With careful design, prints often do work on the first try.
SideburnsOfDoom · 11m ago
The article says "I tested a previous revision", so this isn't the first go around.
bigiain · 5h ago
Sure. And it's given away for free, so complaining feels wrong.
But is it _too_ much to ask that they print their tweaked version 2 and test it before publishing it?
:sigh:
zevon · 2h ago
Why don’t you print and test it and contribute to the documentation? Too much to ask as well? ;)
BobbyTables2 · 1h ago
Works for shipping commercial software!
(Slightly /s)
voxadam · 7h ago
Bill Hammack (engineerguy) has an excellent video on the IBM Selectric titled IBM Selectric Typewriter & its digital to analogue converter.[1]
One of the Teletypes I used to work on had an eccentric-driven Wiffletree to position the typebox. This was necessary because of it's high speed[0] to decode the ASCII character set (it wasn't a Baudot machine). The selector cam at the end of the machine would do the serial-to-parallel conversion, then clutches would rotate the eccentrics powering the wiffletree to select the character.
If you look at the ASCII chart [1] you can select a character via binary tree - the Wiffletree being a mechanical equivalent.
Sadly that sums up the 3D printable scene perfectly. So many times I’v seen someone creating X for Y but they don’t have Y to test it but “it should work”.
I see the 3D printing scene a remix culture where you’re supposed to try new things. If you want something to work exactly for your situation, you might have to do a little work yourself.
In this case, here we have an idea of making new typeballs for IBM typewriters. Here is one post where someone is playing with the idea. At the top of the page, there is a link to a GitHub page for you to adapt it as you see fit.
But then there’s also a link to a new page: https://selectricrescue.org/ where someone makes many more varieties, also with code for you to try yourself.
I see 3d printing much like the world of early open source coding. Sometimes you get a completed project that works out of the box. But often, you’ll have to tinker and adapt it to your exact hardware. Once a new 3d model is shown to be viable, it can be mixed and matched to make something new!
But is it _too_ much to ask that they print their tweaked version 2 and test it before publishing it?
:sigh:
(Slightly /s)
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRCNenhcvpw
If you look at the ASCII chart [1] you can select a character via binary tree - the Wiffletree being a mechanical equivalent.
[0] For a Teletype
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII#/media/File:USASCII_code...
As I understand, the recent IBM Plex Mono face has been requested too.
I can’t imagine using any of these (even when typewriters were king), but I love that they exist.
COMIC SAAAAAAAANS!
Had just recently looked up IBM Selectric typeballs and the possibility of 3D print custom ones but did not expect so many active projects around it.
Pretty nice time for nostalgic tinkerers to be alive ...
https://topher1kenobe.com/phlog/graphics/bunnypunch.png