The Artisanal Organ: A Hand-Crafted Marvel of Laser Cutting and C Programming

As I turn this handle, the mechanical components of my latest creation spring to life. It's an organ, hand-crafted with precision and care, using laser cutting techniques to bring its intricate design to life. The device is adorned with pipes, gears, and other mechanical parts, all carefully cut and assembled to create a functional instrument.

I designed and built the organ from scratch, using my own skills and knowledge to create every component. I started by modifying some existing designs I had found online, but eventually decided to start from scratch and draw everything myself. This was a laborious process, as I had no pre-existing computer files for reference. However, I used InkScape, a free and open-source program, to help me with the drawing.

Once I had completed the design, I used the Knotting Nottingham laser cutter to bring it to life. The device is only 1.2 meters wide, so I have to carefully plan my cuts to avoid any gaps or joins that would require me to use a scalpel to re-cut. This process took several months to complete, as I had to spend a lot of time preparing the files and making adjustments as needed.

One of the most impressive features of the organ is its ability to play music. To do this, I wrote a program in C that converts MIDI files into SVGs, which can then be loaded into the laser cutter software and cut out. This process allows me to create complex designs and patterns, and even add sound effects to my creations.

The organ itself is a marvel of engineering, with intricate gears and mechanisms that work together to produce music. The device starts off in a static state, with the bellows compressed and stored in a reservoir. As I turn the handle, the bellows expand and contract, creating compressed air that builds up pressure in the system.

At the top of the organ, there is a mechanism called the clutch, which engages when the handle is turned. This mechanism also drives a paper roll along with the handle, allowing me to record my creations for later playback. I have managed to create several rolls of music so far, including the "Birdie Song," the "Chicken Dance," and "Enter the Gladiators." Each roll takes around three months to complete, and requires a significant amount of materials - approximately 60 pounds in total.

The organ is just one part of a larger project that I have been working on. In recent years, I have built an entire phone on a badge, deployed my own GSM network across the site, and developed a Linux system that boots up in just seven seconds. The "Hex Engine" - as it has come to be known - is the core of this system, and plays a crucial role in controlling all of the devices and systems that I have created.

As I continue to work on my projects, I am constantly amazed by the potential of technology and human ingenuity. From the intricate designs of the organ to the complex systems of the phone and network, every creation is a testament to the power of innovation and creativity.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: eni'll show you what it does and then then i'll explain how it works if that's all right so i'll just turn this handle and see what happens i got some parts of the design off the off the internet um but then i've modified a bit and everything was um hand drawn i didn't have all the computer files for it so i had to redraw all of that um so i could then laser cut it i used inkscapes it's a free open source program um and then i use the knotting nottingham laser cutter to uh cut it so every everything has been laser cuts um all the all the pipes even the actual music that it's playing has been a laser cut i suppose i cheated i use my software skills for to to do that i actually wrote a program that converts midi files into svgs then i can load the svg into the laser cutter software and cut it out so svg is like a vector graphics that's that's right the laser cutter is only 1.2 meters wide so i can only cut 1.2 meter strips so every so often like right there i've got a join that i have to celebrate it together and then i have to actually use a scalpel to re-cut the holes where the joint is this took me about three months to make now a lot of that i was actually doing doing all the drawings for it and preparing all the files to laser cut and also at the time was writing some software to make the rolls well that's all written in in c but to do that i had to understand how midi files work how the midi files are encoded it took a little bit of understanding but i gained enough knowledge to be able to do that so midi files have a note on note off and a velocity um velocity is like a piano how hard you press the key um but on an organ you don't have velocity so we can ignore that bit so i just in the midi final to find the note on then further down the files and note off get those match them up and the note on it off gives you the lens of the actual note that's played so it starts off in the bottom of the organ in the bottom of the organs these bellows down here so as i turn the handle those bellows go up and down they create uh compressed air the compress there is then stored in this reservoir here in fact if i turn the handle again you see that how that's building up that builds up air pressure now you hear that that's the um what's called a spill valve opening there that that peg pressures a valve inside the reservoir so the reservoir doesn't get over pressurized and then at the top of the organ if i engage the clutch which is this mechanism here when that's engaged the handle also drives the paper along as well how many songs you got oh i've got about four rolls now songs so that's another role um this has got the birdie song and um the chicken dance and enter the gladiators which is the thing when you think about clowns that's what's normally playing in in materials about 60 pounds in materials i guess in time say about about three months and obviously making more roles using ongoing project i've just done it for the fun of it a gsm mobile phone we've built an entire phone on our badge this year we've deployed a our own gsm network across the site six running 100 megahertz with a real cut down linux system that boots in seven seconds uh and that's called the hex engine and that is the core of the controlsi'll show you what it does and then then i'll explain how it works if that's all right so i'll just turn this handle and see what happens i got some parts of the design off the off the internet um but then i've modified a bit and everything was um hand drawn i didn't have all the computer files for it so i had to redraw all of that um so i could then laser cut it i used inkscapes it's a free open source program um and then i use the knotting nottingham laser cutter to uh cut it so every everything has been laser cuts um all the all the pipes even the actual music that it's playing has been a laser cut i suppose i cheated i use my software skills for to to do that i actually wrote a program that converts midi files into svgs then i can load the svg into the laser cutter software and cut it out so svg is like a vector graphics that's that's right the laser cutter is only 1.2 meters wide so i can only cut 1.2 meter strips so every so often like right there i've got a join that i have to celebrate it together and then i have to actually use a scalpel to re-cut the holes where the joint is this took me about three months to make now a lot of that i was actually doing doing all the drawings for it and preparing all the files to laser cut and also at the time was writing some software to make the rolls well that's all written in in c but to do that i had to understand how midi files work how the midi files are encoded it took a little bit of understanding but i gained enough knowledge to be able to do that so midi files have a note on note off and a velocity um velocity is like a piano how hard you press the key um but on an organ you don't have velocity so we can ignore that bit so i just in the midi final to find the note on then further down the files and note off get those match them up and the note on it off gives you the lens of the actual note that's played so it starts off in the bottom of the organ in the bottom of the organs these bellows down here so as i turn the handle those bellows go up and down they create uh compressed air the compress there is then stored in this reservoir here in fact if i turn the handle again you see that how that's building up that builds up air pressure now you hear that that's the um what's called a spill valve opening there that that peg pressures a valve inside the reservoir so the reservoir doesn't get over pressurized and then at the top of the organ if i engage the clutch which is this mechanism here when that's engaged the handle also drives the paper along as well how many songs you got oh i've got about four rolls now songs so that's another role um this has got the birdie song and um the chicken dance and enter the gladiators which is the thing when you think about clowns that's what's normally playing in in materials about 60 pounds in materials i guess in time say about about three months and obviously making more roles using ongoing project i've just done it for the fun of it a gsm mobile phone we've built an entire phone on our badge this year we've deployed a our own gsm network across the site six running 100 megahertz with a real cut down linux system that boots in seven seconds uh and that's called the hex engine and that is the core of the controls\n"