This is really awesome. Funny enough there was a post and on going discussion on HN recently regarding the social pressure on women to have a traditional diamond ring. I refrained from commenting, very unlike me, but I wanted to make the point at the time that if a women presented her friends with a small brown stone, but the back story was how her partner mined the diamond and shaped it himself, no store bought diamond or social norms could compare.
Cool piece of work! How about making the ring glow in a particular color when the guy is in proximity? Imagine how awesome it'd be for the girl to get up and say "well, my boyfriend is here..."
And on another note I figured that this is exactly how machines creep into our lives - emotional pitch. Live example!
Reading the article, it appears that the ring only lights up when near the device worn on the man's forearm, but I'm not sure at what distance the illumination occurs.
Haha I used to work with Ben (the OP) a few years ago and saw this on his FB over the weekend. He is an awesome and hilarious guy on top of being an amazing hacker (especially in hardware). It was a pleasure working with him for the few months before he left the company.
Awesome ring! At some point someone will make flex circuits for this type of application. And it certainly puts the old one-button rings from Dallas Semiconductor to shame :-)
Most of the button wasn't circuitry and the one wire chips were packaged in various formats depended on the use. There were some nifty amazing prototypes that never made it to the public. (I can neither confirm nor deny previous employment at DS or TI.) :P
So the problem of attaching the stones was never really solved? that section seemed to be leading up to a moment of genius and a thrilling conclusion, but it looked like it was just epoxy in the end.
By him, not really. Professionally the term to google for is stonesetting techniques. Its a pity titanium is an unholy pain to solder, otherwise he'd have been a perfect candidate for bezel mounting (basically think of how glass pieces are held in stained glass windows, wrap the edges with foil, more or less, and solder the foil).
He has the same Polish made 5C collet chuck on his lathe as I have on mine in the basement.
Impressive--but likely uncomfortable to wear because of the thickness and square edges. Perhaps a comfort fit finish on the interior, with rounded corners, and a third less thick.
As a person who made his own titanium wedding ring, I have to laugh a bit. It appears this ring is chamfered on only one side. That makes it a bit of a chinese finger trap, easy to put on, uncomfortable to remove. A good metaphor.
Don't tell my wife, but cutting a round chamfer on the back side of a ring is really hard. I built a custom chock and ground a tool to do just that.
Assuming the diamonds are all recessed, cutting a backside chamfer shouldn't be impossible. Just chock, indicate, and re-chock, repeat, until you get it aligned.
This is a brilliant piece of art.
The only thing I would add is that titanium is a PITA, but while I have no experience, apparently most of the problems go away when you have coolant. I have seen production cutting tools at GE Aircraft and they rough cut like it is butter.
It seems that feeding and cuting speeds are quite different from aluminium or steel. Also if it overheats it's like if you heat treat it, it becomes almost impossible to cut. That's why you must use coolant if you want to have some good results.
It depends on alloy. Commercial grade pure titanium and grade 5 alloy (probably 90% of Ti stock out there) are easy to machine. Harder than aluminium, sure, but not anywhere close to hardened steel.
Titanium can be heat treated to an extent it doesn't gain that much. Also you really need a furnace for that kind of temperatures.
You need coolant if you use high cutting speeds, it also helps to remove swarf. It's still possible to machine titanium dry with appropriately formed cutter and get a fine surface.
Yes, the grandparent is probably misattributing annealing of the cutting tool to hardening of the Titanium. Titanium has a very high melting point and very low heat conductivity (for a metal). Using a hardened steel tool to cut Titanium too fast without sufficient cooling will heat up the tool hot enough to anneal the tool. It appears the Titanium has become harder, but in fact the steel tool has become less hard.
Note, I'm talking about cutting rates that you'll achieve by hand or by conventional CNC machine tools. At very high cutting rates, the chip (discarded metal) carries away significant amounts of heat, and in some cases increasing cutting rate actually reduces tool temperature and prolongs tool life. This was an active area of research in the late 1990s.
Any recommendations for getting a titanium ring enlarged? I can't imagine you could stretch the damn thing. Maybe I would need to find a shop to bore out the hole some more?
I have a wedding ring without chamfering, I like the snug fit and the trick to getting it off is in relaxing your muscles and turning it as you pull it off. I paid special attention to this aspect as we were fitting rings since I heard this argument before. It seems like most 'modern' (i.e., square, boxy) design do not have a chamfer, and I didn't have problems getting any of them off (well aside from the too small ones, of course).
If you're familiar with stainless, Ti isn't that different. Go slow, listen to what your tools are telling you. Carbide tooling doesn't hurt, but isn't inherently requisite. Titanium is a wonderful jewelry material (biocompatible, low density, durable, polishes fairly well). It's only "downside" is that it's not expensive. Well-made Ti stuff draws the same attention as higher-Z materials.
I've made a number of Ti rings, but haven't set stones, as the You'll save a lot of time by starting with Ti tubing rather than turning the hole into chips. Depending on the size you need, relevant tubing isn't always available. Anodization is really fun.
I'd check into the biocompatibility of permalloy. Nickel allergies are real and can be acquired, sometimes from rings. Might rust/discolor fingers over the long term too.Laminating a Ti strip to the permalloy might help to attenuate the situation?
Chamfering the inside of a ring isn't hard to do with careful sanding on the lathe. Doing it wrong will amputate your finger or worse -- seek qualified instruction.
The article doesn't make mention of accommodating water/drainage. What happens if a little water gets beneath the stones after a hand-washing?
> You'll save a lot of time by starting with Ti tubing rather than turning the hole into chips.
If we speak of finger rings it's not that much extra work, normally you can drill in with 12mm HSS bit even on a bench lathe. Solid stock also allows you to make eccentric rings.
The alloy he used is essentially identical to that used for dental implants (Ti6Al4V ELI, where the ELI means very low purity limits on iron, C & O interstitials). Interesting that you bring up the coolant -- using tungsten carbide water cooled burs (bog standard dental stuff), this titanium alloy cuts very easily. By contrast, chrome cobalt (the stuff we make partial denture frameworks from), is harder than hell.
Small diamonds aren't all that expensive, especially if you get them with flaws (which are usually invisible anyway), and off colors (which can't be seen if the stone is mounted).
Little ones (about the size on this ring) can be had for $5-$20.
Awesome idea! I was thinking of doing something similar using an energy scavenging IC with the coil and only pulsing the LED for brief flashes when enough charge is stored.
Awesome! ;) Access your cloud with your NFC OAuth ring. Maybe it could need a little bit more security in case you loose it (a DNA checker... just kidding).
It's really interesting to see all the metal work stuff that went into making this ring.
I love seeing the failures of mounting the stones. Seeing a product from start to finish is good, but seeing the problems encountered during the process is a better opportunity for me to learn.
A gentle note of warning: if you ever have a problem with your finger please take off your titanium ring before your finger starts to swell. It's tricky for clinicians to cut off titanium rings. Gold and silver are much softer and much easier to cut off.
I really enjoy reading hardware write ups, because it's such a completely different set of skills and seems fascinating. Plus look at how awesome the finished product is, it's a clever combination of components and I'm not surprised his fiance said to just make it more polished.
80 comments
[ 3.9 ms ] story [ 140 ms ] threadleopoldolopez 4 hours ago
NANO COMPUTER IN LATIN AMERICA FOOD.
SEND IT TO ALL HACKERS.
HANDLING HUMAN WITH SATELLITES
COLAPS THEORY FOR ACCUMULATION BITS 0 BITS PER SECOND.
SATELLITE CONTROL CENTERS FOR HANDLING OF VENEZUELAN CITIZEN.
EXPEDINTS THEFT NOT KNOW FOR CRIMES MADE WITH SATELLITE - SATELLITE IN HARASSMENT ELETRONICO VENEZUELA.
SATELLITE FOR DAMAGE radiation GENTICOS, DETERIROS BIOBOLOGICOS, CRIMES BY HANDLING.
CHECKED THE FORUM IN THE FORUMS BUTTON.
http://www.liberenlosya.com/foros/?mingleforumaction=viewtop...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weNOvF9iMhw
ELECTRONIC HARASSMENT CASE OF SPAIN, KINGS AND RECEIVING MONEY STEALING CRIMES AND GENOCIDE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MneBehy7atI
leopoldolopez 4 hours ago
NANO COMPUTER IN LATIN AMERICA FOOD.
SEND IT TO ALL HACKERS.
HANDLING HUMAN WITH SATELLITES
COLAPS THEORY FOR ACCUMULATION BITS 0 BITS PER SECOND.
SATELLITE CONTROL CENTERS FOR HANDLING OF VENEZUELAN CITIZEN.
EXPEDINTES THEFT NOT KNOW FOR CRIMES MADE WITH SATELLITE - SATELLITE IN HARASSMENT ELETRONICO VENEZUAL.
SATELLITE FOR DAMAGE radiation GENTICOS, DETERIROS BIOBOLOGICOS, CRIMES BY HANDLING.
CHECKED THE FORUM IN THE FORUMS BUTTON.
http://www.liberenlosya.com/foros/?mingleforumaction=viewtop...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weNOvF9iMhw
ELECTRONIC HARASSMENT CASE OF SPAIN, KINGS AND RECEIVING MONEY STEALING CRIMES AND GENOCIDE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MneBehy7atI
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFifLT1WLe0&list=PLBF9475...
"The Program", explained (The Takedown Program) Subtitled
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYy62kbNNNQ
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VERY IMPORTANT DECISIONS WITH TAKING Construct FARADAY BOX.
Electronic Harassment: Voices in My Mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmE4oTXYmf4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weNOvF9iMhw
ORGANIZED HARASSMENT ESTALKERANETAS USA EUROPE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e0JEPkmyJQ&list=PL17CE4A...
cahnel history
Vatican Organized Crime and the Mafia in Sicily (History Channel Documentary)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMfNtwXupoE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weNOvF9iMhw
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlkJTWENwkI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weNOvF9iMhw
And on another note I figured that this is exactly how machines creep into our lives - emotional pitch. Live example!
Triggering a color when the partner is close within a few feet after a period of absence would mean 'he is here'.
I believe you meant "fiancé"!
This is truly an impressive bit of work, and I hope the author and his beloved share a happy and healthy life together for the rest of their days.
He has the same Polish made 5C collet chuck on his lathe as I have on mine in the basement.
You have a keeper here. I made a (low-tech) engagement ring for my late wife, years ago. She would never have dreamed of replacing it.
Definitely the Homer Simpson D'oh moment. Could you have shaved the inside to make the adjustments?
Don't tell my wife, but cutting a round chamfer on the back side of a ring is really hard. I built a custom chock and ground a tool to do just that.
Assuming the diamonds are all recessed, cutting a backside chamfer shouldn't be impossible. Just chock, indicate, and re-chock, repeat, until you get it aligned.
This is a brilliant piece of art.
The only thing I would add is that titanium is a PITA, but while I have no experience, apparently most of the problems go away when you have coolant. I have seen production cutting tools at GE Aircraft and they rough cut like it is butter.
Titanium can be heat treated to an extent it doesn't gain that much. Also you really need a furnace for that kind of temperatures.
You need coolant if you use high cutting speeds, it also helps to remove swarf. It's still possible to machine titanium dry with appropriately formed cutter and get a fine surface.
(Source: I also turned two titanium rings)
Note, I'm talking about cutting rates that you'll achieve by hand or by conventional CNC machine tools. At very high cutting rates, the chip (discarded metal) carries away significant amounts of heat, and in some cases increasing cutting rate actually reduces tool temperature and prolongs tool life. This was an active area of research in the late 1990s.
The point about heavy cuts is interesting, although I'd be very uncomfortable without coolant - thin titanium swarf readily ignites in the air.
I would think that slot could be used for slight sizing adjustments.
I've made a number of Ti rings, but haven't set stones, as the You'll save a lot of time by starting with Ti tubing rather than turning the hole into chips. Depending on the size you need, relevant tubing isn't always available. Anodization is really fun.
I'd check into the biocompatibility of permalloy. Nickel allergies are real and can be acquired, sometimes from rings. Might rust/discolor fingers over the long term too.Laminating a Ti strip to the permalloy might help to attenuate the situation?
Chamfering the inside of a ring isn't hard to do with careful sanding on the lathe. Doing it wrong will amputate your finger or worse -- seek qualified instruction.
The article doesn't make mention of accommodating water/drainage. What happens if a little water gets beneath the stones after a hand-washing?
What a cool and inspired piece of work!
http://tistix.com/cart3/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=...
If we speak of finger rings it's not that much extra work, normally you can drill in with 12mm HSS bit even on a bench lathe. Solid stock also allows you to make eccentric rings.
"The failure mechanism is that it CRUSHES the stone to dust"
Presumably these weren't diamonds then...? Those would be expensive mistakes.
Little ones (about the size on this ring) can be had for $5-$20.
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/javaring-wearable-computer/
I would imagine much smarter (and nicer looking) devices must be available, or at least possible, these days.
http://www.weddingringworkshop.co.uk/cms.php?pageid=2
which is highly recommended, but sadly we didn't have the option to add an inductively powered LED lighting element to them :-)
It's really interesting to see all the metal work stuff that went into making this ring.
I love seeing the failures of mounting the stones. Seeing a product from start to finish is good, but seeing the problems encountered during the process is a better opportunity for me to learn.
A gentle note of warning: if you ever have a problem with your finger please take off your titanium ring before your finger starts to swell. It's tricky for clinicians to cut off titanium rings. Gold and silver are much softer and much easier to cut off.