Asynchronous operations are commonplace in modern software. In C# (C-Sharp), opening a file can be asynchronous with the code asking the operating system to open the file and the operating system responding with “ok, I’ll do that. You can go do something while you wait.” This type of…
Continue readingI was recently able to play Ark Nova 2.25 times. Two of the games were real games with 4 players and then 2 players. The other quarter of a game was my solo learning game where I played each of 2 players myself. Ark Nova is a zoo-themed…
Continue readingSee log entry #1 here. I have made a bit more progress. I added cranks to the gear shafts so that when the gears turn, the cranks turn. The large squarish arms on the big gear were made oversize so I could get the hole in the right…
Continue readingI create videos using an MPEG encoder for Windows. It’s very hard to find a video encoder that can be used by software like the Linkage program – too many video programs just embed their encoder or require you to buy that software to use their encoder. Since…
Continue readingI’m about ready to turn the Beta Linkage program into the official production version. The only problem is that I still want to do more work on it. It feels incomplete if it can’t move a cam to make it meet a follower. In other words, the follower…
Continue readingThanks to a user, I fixed a few bugs in the spline/cam simulation code. Splines that are not fastened to a link or connector are now treated as part of the “ground” and can be used as cam-like shapes without producing simulation errors. Speaking of connectors; a cam…
Continue readingI was just looking at http://www.snappyxo.com and their site mentioned that they had the first planar linkage design software. I sent a contact form letting them know of their mistake and I got a really nice reply from the CEO that he knows they are not the first…
Continue readingSee log entry #2 here. I am making progress on the straight-line ball lifting mechanism. I’ve already cut and welded the frame rails and the motor mount is already been drilled and is ready for use. The frame rails are built from 1/8″ mild steel “bars” that I…
Continue readingThis post turned out to be wrong. The email subscribers stuff is not working at all. There is a problem with my WordPress installation and publishing always fails the first time I do it for a new post. A second try at publishing works fine. It may be…
Continue readingI had a running error, or something like that, in the Linkage program. I had targeted 30 frames per second for animations and I used a 33 millisecond target time for each frame. If a frame took less than 33 milliseconds to compute and draw, I would add…
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