Many of us have noted a tremendous price increase in many computer components for some mysterious reason. Whatever this cause is will be debated among the various modern philosophers and Diogeneses, but regardless of cause we all still have to live in this world and make do. That turns us towards getting maximum value from the things we already have rather than trying to go out and buy more computer components right now, like [svofski] using his vast swath of existing microSD cards to build an SD card library.

The library is based around a tiny robotic arm that can physically grip the cards and move them in and out of a reader. The first iteration of the arm involved rotating the two pincers, but this turned out to be overly complicated and [svofski] eventually settled on a design resembling a rack and pinion that slides the two pincers together instead. With the gripper sorted out, it’s placed in system called T-bot arrangement, similar to coreXY kinematics, that lets it pick and place among 12 microSD card slots.

Many of the parts in this build were directly from or inspired by 3D printers, making it relatively simple with so many parts available. [svofski] didn’t build it for a specific use case, though; mostly it was constructed out of fascination for robotic tape changers which perform a similar function. But for anyone who actually needs to duplicate a large number of SD cards, or other types of removable media, this could prove to be a fairly handy robot.

When it comes to 3D printing in the FDM world, you can go a long way just relying on standard settings that ship with your 3D printer and/or slicer. If you want to push the limits, though, it pays to better understand the hardware and materials you’re working with to know what you can get away with. To that end, [Robert Samples] put together the MeltCalc database to help. 

The purpose of MeltCalc is simple—it collates data on hot ends and materials regarding factors like maximum flow rate, print speeds, and heater requirements. If you’re wondering whether a given hot end can flow a given filament at a given rate, for example, this tool is a great place to start. It features 64 different hot ends and 36 polymers typically used in the 3D printing world, and can spit out maximum flow rates and print speed estimations even accounting for fancy tech like Core Heating Technology (CHT) nozzles. It’s all based on thermodynamic modelling which [Robert] put together based on his experience as a chemist who works with polymers. His aim was to provide a tool with realistic flow rates for hot ends, so that end users don’t have to just rely on often-optimistic marketing numbers.

For those eager to dive deeper into the code and modelling, the project source is available on Github. We’ve featured all kinds of other useful hacks in this space lately, too, like our recent look at how to achieve wave overhangs. If you’ve got your own nifty 3D printing tools in the works, don’t hesitate to notify the tipsline.