Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Scott | This snake was created using a three dimensional printer that was assembled by Staff...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – So, what did you do with your downtime during deployment?
Some service members might say they watched movies or read books to pass the time. Others may say they used that time to take some online classes or rededicated themselves to physical fitness.
The more proficient time managers will probably say they did all of those things, but it’s doubtful any of them will say they did the same thing as Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Rucinski, an essential personnel services noncommissioned officer with the 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command.
The Southern Illinois University architecture student recently completed the construction of his very own open-source, three-dimensional printer. He ordered it online, and the six weeks it took to get it delivered was twice as long as it took him to build it.
The assembly of this testimony to the advancement of technology mainly took place in Rucinski’s central housing unit, but there was some soldering involved. Luckily, he was able to find a soldering gun at the Iraqi Free Zone.
Once completed, its rectangular shape, with openings that make up half of each side, help this 16-inch-tall structure resemble a miniature arcade claw machine. It is a little more difficult to explain in layman terms how a 3-D printer works, as opposed to how it looks, but Rucinski tried.
“It heats up the plastic that comes in a big spool, melts it and shoots through… an exceedingly small hole,” said Rucinski. “That draws a tiny line of [plastic], and it just welds itself because it’s super hot. It’s like a hot spider web.”
He went on to say the plastic is deposited onto a platform that moves front-to-back and side-to-side, and the plastic is dispensed from the printer head that moves up and down.
Printing to a 3-D printer takes input from a computer just as using a regular printer would, but it takes more than just a click of the mouse to get the job done. Rucinski has used a generative modeling script called Grasshopper to model objects in a 3-D drafting program called Rhinoceros 4.0.
“Basically you have little visual boxes, and you link them with little virtual wires and it makes a programming language; that’s the script,” said Rucinski.
To date, Rucinski has printed a replica whistle, a snake, a skull and what seems to be a piece of abstract art, but the playful nature of these fabrications belies their true function. While fun to make, these are just test runs to get a better understanding of how the printer works before he begins his actual project.
“I developed a program to [manufacture] connectors to build a geodesic dome out of pipes or any sort of hollow cylindrical item,” said Rucinski. “I got interested in 3-D printing because it was a way that you could prototype that.”
Rucinski laughed a little at the bewildered look that followed the mention of geodesic domes, and it prompted a Disney-themed explanation.
“It’s a dome that’s only made out of triangles, like Epcot Center has that big geodesic dome in the center of it,” said Rucinski.
At first glance, it’s difficult to see why he would want to make pieces to build domes. However, behind Rucinski’s Army issued spectacles, his eyes are focused on the future, and this foresight is the reason for his current ingenuity.
“My goal is to start off making the prototype connectors for the domes, and one day I want to make cheap and easy to build housing,” said Rucinski.
Once the connectors are complete, Rucinski plans on using them to create a small geodesic dome using drinking straws, but he said he would enjoy the experience even if it didn’t work out that way.
“I really enjoy being creative,” said Rucinski. “To me, that’s God’s gift to us that sets us apart from all the other animals on earth.”
Rucinski has felt this way since he was a small child in Twin Harbors, Minn.
“I’ve been into creating things since I was very young,” said Rucinski. “I always had an interest in drawing, and my father raised me as a carpenter from an early age.”
He credited this combination of nature and nurturing as the reason behind the choice of his college major.
“It was a marriage of creating drawings plus carpentry, so it just equals architect,” said Rucinski with a smile.
Though childhood interests and guidance gave him direction with school, Rucinski said he was happy he waited until his late twenties to start college because he felt he was more serious about it.
“I didn’t feel obligated to hang out with the kids and do the kid things,” said Rucinski.
It is this matured passion that is visible when Rucinski is discussing his geodesic endeavors and the economical impact he hopes they will have.
“It’s an opportunity to come up with something very economical and friendly and beneficial,” said Rucinski. “My biggest desire is to see how low I can drive the price down.”
Rucinski is using his creativity to work toward fulfilling his goal of providing economically friendly housing.
What are you doing with your downtime?
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2011 02:40 |
| Story ID: | 72753 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Outside the box, by SFC Stephen Scott, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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