Ukelele
This is a tenor ukelele built from plans by D. Henry Wickham.Built from raw materials, not from a kit.
Various jigs were designed, with proper attention to reference surfaces to insure proper fitup.
Click to Download SketchUp model
Hammered Dulcimer
Built based on a rough design described in A Dulcimer Builder's Do-It-Yourself Guidebook for the Hobbyist Woodworker by Randy Davis.This book is rather incomplete, with inaccurate drawings and templates, but gives a general idea how to build the instrument.
To complete the instrument, I reworked many aspects of the design in SketchUp.
The construction of the instrument required the design and troubleshooting of a number of fixtures to insure the correct dimensions and precision of the final product.
Click to Download Sketchup model
3D Printed Peristaltic Pump
I conceived the design for use as a chlorine feeder for a hot tub, requiring between 20 and 100 milliliters of bleach per day.The final product pumps at approximately 30ml per minute.
Commercially available pumps are available for about $100, however, these use low quality, non-replaceable parts, and generally fail in six months to a year.
To enable the use of heavy duty tubing and long duty life, a high torque 12V motor with gear box and sealed bearings were used.
The pump assembly was modeled in Sketchup, exported to STL, post processed in Slic3r and printed in ABS using a Maker Farm 3D printer.
The Maker Farm printer is a low cost kit (approximately $750), which requires considerable tuning and troubleshooting to get good quality prints. After assembly, I completed the tuning by printing various test objects, adjusting nozzle temperature, nozzle size, axis endstops, belt tensions and speeds.
Click to download SketchUp model (Standard) (Exploded)
Birdhouse -- SketchUp Layout Example
Here's a simple finch birdhouse I built this spring, based on a design from http://spoiledbirds.com/finch-bird-house-plans.html.I still had a trial for SketchUp Pro, so I worked up a Layout drawing and shared it with the original author.
Click to download SketchUp models (Model) (Layout)