Author: admin
Learning VTK
I'm trying to learn how to render and animate things using VTK. This is the result of a python-script which outputs a series of PNG-frames. These are then converted to jpegs by this command:
mogrify -format jpg -quality 97 *.png
mogrify -format jpg -quality 97 *.png
and converted to a DIVX movie like this:
mencoder mf://*.jpg -mf fps=25:type=jpg -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4 -ac copy -o output.avi -ffourcc DX50
This should lead to the revival of my old Drop-Cutter code in the near future. This time it's going to be in C++, with Python bindings, and hopefully use OpenMP. Stay tuned.
One More Feedback Paper
FPGA-based real-time position-clamp control in optical tweezers, The Sequel: doi:10.1063/1.3257693 (first part here)
Milling Steel
And here some pocketing in aluminium:
New WordPress, new Theme
With the latest wordpress upgrade I decided to switch themes. This one is blacker and wider than the previous one, to make more room for wide pictures and videos.
More Polish Laerke pictures
which Lenovo?
Trying to decide on a new laptop. It's going to be black. The X200s would be small (too small?), the X301 is nice but has no good docking solution, so today I'm leaning towards the T400s. Tomorrow I might change my mind again. The T400s has the most cpu-power, still a manageable size, but sadly less pixels on the screen than my current T60.
Anyone have good or bad experiences with the Samsung 128 Gb SSD drives?
Links - November 5, 2009
- An analysis of the functional capability of an in-house developed miniature 4-axis machine tool -
- Design and development of a precision machine tool using counter motion mechanisms -
- An open-source, extensible system for laboratory timing and control -
- Movie Narrative Charts -
- Internet Speeds and Costs Around the World, Shown Visually [Infographics] -
- Skyline Nearly Complete -
- Optimal measurement strategies for effective suppression of drift errors -
- The Most Influential People In Open Source -
- IC1318 Complex and Sadr -
- Happy Halloween from the Lab -
- Video: Danny Macaskill’s Bike-Ninja Skills Used to Sell Cars -
- Around-the-objective total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy -
- Measurement of axial and transverse trapping stiffness of optical tweezers in air using a radially polarized beam -
- Long-term stabilization of a heterodyne metrology interferometer down to a noise level of 20 pm over an hour -
- High speed machining tool path generation for pockets using level sets -
- 4 New Google Docs Features Rock Document Management! -
A Polish Laerke
Grzegorz from Poland sent me these pictures of his home-built Laerke IOM.
Anodizing aluminium
We thought all those aluminium bits the cnc-mill spits out needed to look all nice and pretty. So a test with some DIY-anodizing today. Following one of the many guides out on the interwebs (here and here) we mixed ourselves some 20 % sulphuric acid, inserted an aluminium plate which works as the cathode, and suspended the part to be anodized from an aluminum wire.
This was tested on these rings which hold the finder-scope on my telescope.
After about 30 min of anodizing with the current around 2 A the part was rinsed in water and then put into hot water containing black color used for coloring clothes. The part was then boiled in this solution for another 20 min. The guides tell me the oxide layer formed in anodizing is first very porous and will absorb the color, and while boiling the pores close leaving a less brittle oxide-layer and sealing the color within.
This wasn't too scary and the initial results look promising. More to follow later probably...