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• The case for chat AI

  Jeremy • a day ago • 0 comments

  We've all been there. We want to learn a new technology for a specific application (for example, how to build a tubular linear motor) and have a million questions. We jump to google, read stack exchange, pop around forums, and get 100 little answers. Then, we have to wrap our head around all of them and try to create a cohesive picture. This can be a fun process but also challenging if the technology we're learning is outside our wheelhouse. 

  So, let me make the case for chat AI tools.

  For this project,  I came in understanding the basic principles of motors, but that's where my knowledge and experience ended; and I had a million questions. I started with Google and found the start of many answers, which also gave me more questions. The deeper I went, the more uncertain I was becoming at my task. So, I switched gears and took my questions to Anthropic's Claude AI.

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• How it started

  Jeremy • 2 days ago • 0 comments

  This project came about at SuperCon (2024). While listening to presentations, my brain drifted off, thinking about actuators without gears and how to get away from the traditional loud noise of servo motors. I daydreamed about various gearless actuators that would be fun to play with. 

  For a hot minute I went down a rabbit hole looking at HAZEL actuators, which are really interesting. The research on them also provides instructions for how you can build them at home. However, the sticking point for me was that these actuators must be powered by well over 1,000 volts.

  Ultimately, I landed on tubular linear motors, which you get if you unroll a stepper motor in a straight line. In the tubular variety, the magnets are placed in a tube that run inside electromagnetic coils.

  The only problem was, I found limited step-by-step information on how to build one at home. Searching turned up a lot of videos of people showing off their motors (like this one), but no information about how they created them.

  The Plan

  I decided to start my journey using this research as my guide. In this configuration, the magnets are positioned inside the tube with like-poles facing each other. This helps to concentrate their magnetic fields and, in theory, improves the motor's power output.

  I've never built a motor before, or created a stepper motor driver from scratch. I understand the basic principles, but I know there are a lot of fine details that make them work and run smoothly. In short, I've got a lot to learn.

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