by John Leeman | Nov 11, 2022
In this week’s geocast John and Shannon talk about geologic dikes and how they form. These features are injections of rock into pre-existing strata, classifying them as intrusive. There are two main classes: sedimentary and igneous. While igneous dikes are more... 
by John Leeman | Nov 8, 2022
As geoscientists, one of the hardest things we deal with is how highly dimensional our data are. We deal with systems that are three-dimensional, evolve with time, and have many parameters. Atmospheric science is especially burdened by some of the legacy formats that... 
by John Leeman | Nov 2, 2022
I have been using 3D printers for nearly a decade now. To be honest, I started out in 3D printing as a way to make things when I had no machining capability and not a lot of money to outsource that machining until I knew the design was perfect. In fact, I even wrote a... 
by John Leeman | Aug 25, 2022
Summer is quickly becoming our favorite season here at the shop. Why? Because we get to welcome a new crew of students in for our summer workshop class! 2022 was the second year of our GEARS (Generalist Electromechanics for Applied Researchers) Workshop. Just like I... 
by John Leeman | Jul 12, 2022
Come see us at the 2022 Earth Educators’ Rendezvous in Minneapolis Minnesota! We’ll be on-site Monday-Thursday July 11-14 showing off educational demonstrations, custom equipment, and more! We’ve got lots of exciting new products launched right... 
by John Leeman | Feb 15, 2022
Open source hardware and software has become a huge industry and movement. The idea that we can all make better widgets by sharing flies in the face of conventional industrial secrecy, patents, NDAs, and lawsuits. While there is still a place for “trade secrets”... 
by John Leeman | Dec 17, 2021
Well, 2021 has been a lot of firsts for everything – many of them not so great – but it was an exciting first year for the GEARS (Generalist Electromechanics for Applied Researchers) Workshop! This workshop has been a long time in the making, and we plan... 
by John Leeman | Sep 14, 2021
What’s the first thing you check when something doesn’t work? Power! The classic “is it plugged in” question, though hated by everyone, can pretty often solve the problem in seconds. What about equipment with batteries? Well you can change them, but some equipment has... 
by John Leeman | Feb 16, 2021
3D printing is a great technology – in fact, when I talk with children, they don’t realize that not everything is 3D printed, in fact, little in the average person’s life is. Subtractive manufacturing and injection molding are still the dominant players in mass... 
by John Leeman | Mar 6, 2019
Technology often lasts longer than it’s designers imagined, generally long enough that at least one design decision made in an early stage eventually rises up and threatens the ecosystem. The GPS system is about to encounter such an event – the counter rollover... 
by John Leeman | Sep 14, 2018
We love 80/20 T-slot rail. It’s a quick way to make frames and supports for instruments, experimental gear, and even some strong storage fixtures. One of the common issues when making a frame with 80/20 is that it needs to be installed on an un-level concrete floor,... 
by John Leeman | Aug 28, 2018
Recently we’ve been hit by several hail storms in the Colorado front range – after digging around for a ruler after one storm, John pulled out his Digikey PCB Ruler and posted some hail photos on Facebook and Twitter. Folks really reacted to the photos,...