Star Wars and the associated branding is rife throughout the media and advertising outlets as the latest chapter in the epic space saga is released.
Star Wars and the associated branding is rife throughout the media and advertising outlets as the latest chapter in the epic space saga is released.
The premiere of a new Star Wars movie (and perhaps a new generation of fans) will be here in just a few months. While the intergalactic story has always held a special place with me, I was one of the many fans that felt let down by George Lucas’ butchering of the first three episodes of the saga. Since my childhood (when the CGI-ridden prequels were in full swing), I have hoped for the return of animatronics and puppeteers to Star Wars, and add a sense of gritty realism back into the story.
Paul Szudzik is a former IBM programmer who builds 1/96 scale model ships, frequents a camera club, and creates art out of metal and wood. To support his varying hobbies, Paul enlists the help of a Tormach PCNC 1100 CNC mill throughout his varying hobbies.
Video game company co-founder and Tormach PCNC 1100 owner Jesse Hayes of Rohnert Park, California just put the finishing touches on a project a year in the making—an all-aluminum re-build of R2-D2. Documented on his R2-D2 build blog and with the help of AstroMech.net, an R2-D2 builders club, Hayes answered a few questions about his CNC background and experience as well as a few other projects he’s currently working on.
For Star Wars über fans, Tested.com released a video late last week showing Adam Savage and Norm Chan doing a build of Han Solo's DL-44 blaster.
Dave Chalker of North Massapequa, New York has over 30 years of machining experience and has spent half that time working for a machine tool builder as an Applications Engineer. Dave formed Dark Energy Creations a year and a half ago to focus on general and specialized machine work, 3D solid modeling, CAD/CAM, and 3D printing. But Dave says the main focus at Dark Energy Creations is custom machining. “I do machining on all other kinds of stuff, ranging from motorcycle brackets to prototypes for medical devices,” he said. “One of my ‘cooler’ projects was to make a hobby model kit, but instead of molded plastic it was all metal. The customer would have to fit, finish and assemble the different components.”
