On a related topic, I am considering the option of moving this forum to https://nodebb.org/. I would use the hosted version since I do not have the time to maintain forum software and servers, even if hosted on a cloud provider. However, this would increase my monthly costs by a factor of 4 – which starts to be real money. In addition, I would have to pay nodebb thousands of dollars to move the existing content.
To support these costs, I would need to add advertising to the site.
If you’re reason for migrating is to spend less time on website maintenance, then it seems to me there really is only 1 option. I would otherwise say the forum is working well enough that it could be left alone. But, that’s because I have no idea how much of your time it takes. Obviously, no 1 really likes having ads on sites they use but, if they’re done well, they don’t really affect use of the site unreasonably.
I remember advertising done it Harrowsmith magazine in the 70s before the big boys bought it up and killed it except in name only. It was a magazine about homesteading and the powers that be didn’t want to fan the flames of self-reliance.
They did all their ads with the old fashioned graphic style they used to use before photography took over. I read all the commercials as much as any of the articles. The only magazine I subscribed to and saved.
I quit watching TV in 1980 because of ridiculous insulting commercials and sit-com laugh machines.
I did watch a great British rerun of a TV Award show for the funniest commercials. It was very entertaining.
Interestingly, sit-coms no longer use laugh machines. They use live audiences. In fact, many of them reshoot scenes several times with different dialogue and actions. The 1 that gets the most laughs normally is the 1 that makes the final cut.
It seems that Elmer’s glue dissolved and softened in the bath so I ha very sketchy results. I then had a complete catastrophe with acrylic paint as a binder. I think I was impatient and did not let the paint dry long enough to cure. The acrylic paint is now evenly dispersed all over and through my beautiful blue electrolyte. Of course it had to be black paint.
It looks like the fish tank of doom.
I shall see if filtering can save the solution but very much doubt it. Now I have to make more copper sulfate. I must order some copper wire stripping my old electrical wires is no fun.
Looks like that would be a good way to improve the forum experience on smartphones and tablets and maybe make it more friendly/accessible to a wider audience; however, it seems like 3D printing still pretty much means computer use. Is there a strong trend towards 3D printing without having a computer in the picture? Part of me could picture such a world where 3D printing is liberated from the complexities of owning a computer. But at the same time I can’t picture myself being a maker without using my favorite tool–the computer. I just can’t imagine doing parametric CAD design on a touch interface. But sketching & free-form drawing has successfully transitioned to touch interfaces.
But if the primary driver is reducing your workload or offloading the hosting, I would be fine moving to a new forum provider with ads if needed. I value the historical forum content here. I have googled using the site flag many times, e.g. “octoprint site:forum.makewithtech.com” which restricts the google search to this site. But thousands of dollars seems daunting.
Of course, I’m totally comfortable with leaving well enough alone too.
I am getting frustrated. I have one of these https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07FDBW1PT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I wanted to use to test the conductivity of plastic painted objects or even lines on paper. My meter seems to be working for other things but when I test continuity numbers just keep flying uo and down.
It properly reads OL for open line before I touch the probes or test a circuit but will never settle down at all. Am I doing something stupid again?
Forgive my ignorance but measuring resistance means there must be a current to measure while the continuity test sends a known current from one probe to the other and tells you how conductive it is, is it not?
The meter you linked to is like most multimeters–it doesn’t have a conductivity or conductance mode per se. It has a continuity mode that is mostly about giving an audible beep if the circuit you testing is closed. I don’t know anything about electroplating, but if you need to know how conductive your painted plastic is using a multimeter I think the best option is to measure the resistance of the line. The lower the resistance, the higher the conductance. Conductivity would then be the conductance per length of the line.
@mochalatte, having run a circuit board plant in the late 70’s I do know something about electoplating. Like arc welding, it is typically done with very low voltages and high amperage. The power supply units we used to plate circuit boards were the size of filing cabinets (to handle the current) and had pretty large triacs inside, attached to a 3" x 20" x 3/8" solid copper bar for grounding.
I am just monkeying around for the moment with a very low amperage device to make a few tests and get my feet wet again. I have been thinking that I need to be able to control amperage and voltage so I am willing to buy a plating machine which I’m sure are cheaper than the last time I bought one in California in the early 80s. I need to see what kind of results I can get before I decide to dive deeper into the abyss.
No need to run a current through the line. My suggestion is to simply measure the resistance of the painted line. Conductance will be 1/R, and conductivity will be Conductance/Length of the line. I’m pretty sure that is the best way to use your multimeter to get a handle on how well your conductive paint is working. I wouldn’t try to use the meter’s continuity mode to try to do it.
But if @Ender5r has a better suggestion, I’m sure he will chip in here.
Glad to see you are getting the juices going with your electroplating project. It will be interesting to see the results!
Keeping you country in mind, I went onto amazon.ca and found a couple of potential options: [LIST=1]
a nickel spray paint: [U]https://www.amazon.ca/MG-Chemicals-Conductive-Coating-Improved/dp/B01N3AWGNX/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=conductive+spray+paint&qid=1635875465&sr=8-9[/U]
.
if you would rather brush paint: [U]https://www.amazon.ca/MG-Chemicals-843WB-15ML-Shield-CopperConductive/dp/B071R4BGM6/ref=pd_day0fbt_2/136-3711208-3694143?pd_rd_w=Ab0N8&pf_rd_p=acc65436-fc4e-45ed-98e6-1cea96557795&pf_rd_r=N7T7M0P9WJPGYWFNTQTM&pd_rd_r=dfe2bf94-025b-47c7-87ab-55a34c42b806&pd_rd_wg=vRFoM&pd_rd_i=B071R4BGM6&psc=1[/U]
[/LIST]
I wonder how long it will last. I think I can make a home made one. It seems that it would be very expensive. I got a cheap electrolyte so I’d like to start in the caveman era of electroplating and work my way up to where I can tell if I’m wasting my time or not. I must make a sensational end result. That is my goal.
I’m so glad you have such a knowledge of the process and are so generous with your knowledge.
Thank you for all your aid too Mochalatte. It is very much appreciated.
I could end up plating award statuettes or something insane like that. It would take a lot of paint.
Well, in the cave man days of electroplating it wasn’t possible to make plastic conductive.
In the circuit board plant we had a line of PP tubs with a number of cleaning chemicals. Near the end of the line (about 4th tub from the end) there was a bath containing palladium in solution. The circuit boards were immersed in the solution for a number of minutes (I don’t recall exactly how many) which caused a very thin layer of palladium to be deposited all over the boards, including onto the fiberglass inside the drilled holes. After a couple of rinse baths, the boards entered a copper sulfate based electroless plating bath. The copper in the bath reacted with the palladium, cause a really thin layer of copper to be deposited. The boards were then rinsed again, clamped into electroplating racks, and dropped onto copper rods above a copper plating tank, the boards hanging down into the bath. Power was applied to the copper rods and a more robust layer of copper was plated onto the boards.
The big trick is you’ve got to make the plastic electically conductive. Some sort of coating is required. To me, spray would seem to be ideal. And, since you’re plating using a water based electrolyte, the coating should be waterproof (which Elmer’s glue, or any PVA glue, is not). Now, if you have the equipment to spray paint, then you could buy liquid conductive paint at less cost.
Is there an alcohol alternative. I live in a one bedroom railroad car apartment and winter is coming on. Spray painting is not a good alternative for me under these conditions.
