Hello from the Faroe Islands

[Nudel]

Hi there fellow window cleaners, just wanted to pop by and say hello.

Since we live in the age of the Internet this post is littered with pictures to peak your interest for what I am about to blabber on about.

Here we are cleaning (what many consider to be) the oldest, still inhabited, wooden house in the world. This was before we started using WFP, but more on that later.

View attachment 8216

And here is a regular, average, everyday view of the road we take to work. This was late winter early spring if I remember correctly.

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Hope you enjoyed those, here's my brief introduction:

My taught trade is computer network setup and maintenance and I have been in IT on two high schools, as well as been a teacher in basic analogue electronics and networking.

Cleaned windows for three years in Norway in the mid-2000s, mostly traditional with pole work and some ladders.

Me and my wife moved to the Faroe Islands last year and started cleaning windows again, with our own little company starting up this spring.

We figured out early on that a WFP system was the way to go due to the inaccessibility on many residential houses, as well as strong winds. Also, I really never enjoyed ladders much.

A friend helped me strip a old non functional WFP unit for working parts and we built a bare bones system with a battery, pump and a 50m reel. Here it is in the back of our Toyota Avensis. It's removable as I use the car privately as well. I've upgraded it with a remote control and PWM speed controller off ebay as you can see on the right side. (Pardon the flowery carpet, I have a boot tray on order).

View attachment 8218

I have just received the parts to build my own system, and is in the process of designing a more permanent mount for it in the car.

Now, If you look at the picture above you might be able to see the remote control sit in an orange holder. I designed that myself and printed it on my 3D printer.

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In the screenshot above you also see the anti-snag-cone as well as some clips for the push fittings. They work very well!

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I have also printed a dual roof rack holder for unger poles which have served us well for three months going.

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And here is my DIY RO membrane setup (the brackets for the membrane is also printed). The water in the Faroe Islands is very pure - TDS reads 040-050 from tap - so it lends itself very well to DI as well. (Which I also have but do not use yet).View attachment 8220

My 3D printer is a home built RepRap (a Mendel90 sturdy), and I have been involved in the project since about 2005. I am very fond of free and open source software and hardware, and this is much of the reason I have chosen to build my own WFP system. I love the DIY parts of this forum and have lurked there for a while, it is a great place for inspiration, you are really a knowledgeable bunch!

I would like to share my designs so others can benefit from them if they'd like, and I could go on about why and how, but to keep it short I'd just like to ask you:

Do you think our noble trade would benefit from some sort of open source window cleaning tools project? (And no, OSWC might not be the best abbreviation?).

I'm thinking:

• Small to medium sized custom parts like I have shown above.
  
• Parts to repair broken tools.
  
• Make your own pole.
  
• Build your own brush.
  
• Organised overview of parts needed to build your own WFP / RO system.
  
• I've had a huge amount of ideas in my head, but it seems empty at the moment.
  

Not saying the tools we buy are too expensive (though some probably are), or that a 3D printed/open source alternative is better. But it's more about the ability to customise, repair, and get out of a pinch if somethings breaks. Shipping to the Faroe Islands can be super expensive, so for some of us cost is also a factor of course.

Looking forward to hear your thoughts, and apologies for spelling errors, engilsh is not my first language.

Regards,

Peter aka Nudel (which means noodle in norwegian, just to get that out of the way)

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Welcome Noodle :thumbsup:

Awsome introduction. I am sure you will be inundated with questions here as we have many 'inventors' in the mob.

Love the 'anti snag' cones. Feel free to send me some for Christmas! /emoticons/smile.png)

 

[Nudel]

Welcome Noodle :thumbsup:
Awsome introduction. I am sure you will be inundated with questions here as we have many 'inventors' in the mob.

Love the 'anti snag' cones. Feel free to send me some for Christmas! /emoticons/smile.png)

Thank you! ☺ Since you're the first to ask, pm me your address and I'll send you a couple, I'd love to get some field tests and opinions on them!

 

[BigFoot]

You must have a tidy set of warm gloves working up there! Welcome to the forum. Last night I watched a documentary all about 3D printing on Netflix. Love the idea of an open source group, all I needed was an excuse to get a 3D printer!

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[Nudel]

You must have a tidy set of warm gloves working up there! Welcome to the forum. Last night I watched a documentary all about 3D printing on Netflix. Love the idea of an open source group, all I needed was an excuse to get a 3D printer!

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Thanks ☺ A 3D printer is an awesome tool, though you need to sink some time into it to learn to use it, it's worth it in the end.

I use gloves most of the year, though right now the weather has been super nice so I can even work in a t shirt some days(!). Luckily there are ample supply of a vast range of warm gloves up here, thanks to the fishing industry.

 

[kevinc250]

welcome noodle,i really liked your ideas,you remind me very much of a fellow window cleaner and a friend(sadly not with us now)who thought out of the box,sadly most of his ideas were taken up by suppliers for them to financially gain and no credit was ever given to him,when i first started wfp around ten years ago there were many who diy'd everything because the solutions weren't available,from remotes to auto shut of valves,super light brushes,they were all made by a man in a shed.

while i love your idea of an openly shared diy idea,i would urge caution as your ideas could well be used by suppliers-they all scan the groups on fb and forums-just my opinion

 

[Tuffers]

Welcome Noodle :thumbsup:. Keep those ideas under your hat like Kevin said, you never know who might nick your ideas.

 

[David K]

Welcome mr. Nudel ! ( gettin kinda hungry just by that name /emoticons/biggrin.png:rofl cool introduction and very neat setup . Nice pics too ! Are you a Danish cleaner ?

 

[Fönster putsning Bergdahl]

Nice to have you here Mr. Noodle

And ty for your post ir was intersting.

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[Nudel]

Thank you all for the warm welcome! /emoticons/smile.png

welcome noodle,i really liked your ideas,you remind me very much of a fellow window cleaner and a friend(sadly not with us now)who thought out of the box,sadly most of his ideas were taken up by suppliers for them to financially gain and no credit was ever given to him,when i first started wfp around ten years ago there were many who diy'd everything because the solutions weren't available,from remotes to auto shut of valves,super light brushes,they were all made by a man in a shed.while i love your idea of an openly shared diy idea,i would urge caution as your ideas could well be used by suppliers-they all scan the groups on fb and forums-just my opinion

Thank you, that is valid points for sure. What I miss is some documentation of what those guys in said sheds did, what they learned, so I can build what they built without reinventing the wheel all the time.

If a supplier copies something that is open source and mass produces it, that is totally okay. It's how 3D printers became more mainstream. Selecting a proper creative commons licence with attribution could help out and it will at least show which suppliers blatantly copy without attribution which again will hurt their reputation.

I haven't researched this yet, but does anyone know how the suppliers handle copying? Are there patent sharks out there? Are there lawsuits going on, or are people civilised?

The designs I make could fit or be replacement parts for well know brands, which is in a legal gray area in some parts of the world.

Welcome Noodle :thumbsup:. Keep those ideas under your hat like Kevin said, you never know who might nick your ideas.

Thanks, I understand you and appreciate the warning, but what should I do with those designs and ideas then? I don't think I'm interested or in the position to build up a supplier chain, so that would mean I just kept my designs for myself. Why not let others at least have the option to benefit from some of it? If you can't print it yourself, have it printed through 3D hubs or your local hackerspace or school.

I'm not looking to invent and patent something that will make me rich. I'm looking to design tools that will make my job easier, cheaper and/or more fun, without the bureaucracy of supply chains.

This is not something I can set aside a lot of time to work with, I do have windows that need to be clean. But I can share what I make, use a proper copyright license on it, and hope it can benefit us all?

Welcome mr. Nudel ! ( gettin kinda hungry just by that name /emoticons/biggrin.png:rofl cool introduction and very neat setup . Nice pics too ! Are you a Danish cleaner ?

Thank you. /emoticons/smile.png Glad you like the setup, it's kind of hacked together, but at least I know what each part does. /emoticons/tongue.png

I'm born and raised in norway, but my parents are danish, so I speak both languages (as well as a little faroese). I honestly don't know if I should call myself a danish or norwegian cleaner, mostly the latter I feel.

Nice to have you here Mr. NoodleAnd ty for your post ir was intersting.

Thank you, sir.

 

[Njones]

Have you had much success printing with TPU flexible filament? I've got a Prussa style 3D printer & have been able to make almost everything I wanted (mostly quadcopter parts!) - but no matter what I do it seems that TPU prints are messy - - and I think there is sooooo much potential for flexible parts or parts where the hand grip section has a small bit of give in it...

 

[David K]

/emoticons/smile.png

Thank you all for the warm welcome! /emoticons/smile.png

Thank you, that is valid points for sure. What I miss is some documentation of what those guys in said sheds did, what they learned, so I can build what they built without reinventing the wheel all the time.

If a supplier copies something that is open source and mass produces it, that is totally okay. It's how 3D printers became more mainstream. Selecting a proper creative commons licence with attribution could help out and it will at least show which suppliers blatantly copy without attribution which again will hurt their reputation.

I haven't researched this yet, but does anyone know how the suppliers handle copying? Are there patent sharks out there? Are there lawsuits going on, or are people civilised?

The designs I make could fit or be replacement parts for well know brands, which is in a legal gray area in some parts of the world.

Thanks, I understand you and appreciate the warning, but what should I do with those designs and ideas then? I don't think I'm interested or in the position to build up a supplier chain, so that would mean I just kept my designs for myself. Why not let others at least have the option to benefit from some of it? If you can't print it yourself, have it printed through 3D hubs or your local hackerspace or school.

I'm not looking to invent and patent something that will make me rich. I'm looking to design tools that will make my job easier, cheaper and/or more fun, without the bureaucracy of supply chains.

This is not something I can set aside a lot of time to work with, I do have windows that need to be clean. But I can share what I make, use a proper copyright license on it, and hope it can benefit us all?

Thank you. /emoticons/smile.png Glad you like the setup, it's kind of hacked together, but at least I know what each part does. /emoticons/tongue.png

I'm born and raised in norway, but my parents are danish, so I speak both languages (as well as a little faroese). I honestly don't know if I should call myself a danish or norwegian cleaner, mostly the latter I feel.

Thank you, sir.

Okay så siger jeg velkommen kære næsten landsmand ! /emoticons/smile.png ( just a danish greeting to a fellow almost dane ! /emoticons/biggrin.png)

 

[moledj]

Hi

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[Nudel]

/emoticons/smile.pngOkay så siger jeg velkommen kære næsten landsmand ! /emoticons/smile.png ( just a danish greeting to a fellow almost dane ! /emoticons/biggrin.png)

Davs, tak for det. /emoticons/smile.png

I sense the bulk of users here are from the UK, but are there some from Scandinavia as well?

 

[steve garwood]

There's a few from Scotland, same thing ain't it? /emoticons/wink.png

 

[David K]

I believe so ! There is 2 other danes in here Like myself , havent heard from Them in a while.. Anyway we all do the same thing and the guys in here is great to talk to and get advice from . /emoticons/wink.png

 

[Nudel]

Have you had much success printing with TPU flexible filament? I've got a Prussa style 3D printer & have been able to make almost everything I wanted (mostly quadcopter parts!) - but no matter what I do it seems that TPU prints are messy - - and I think there is sooooo much potential for flexible parts or parts where the hand grip section has a small bit of give in it...

Great to have another prusa user here ☺ I have built a few prusa i2s over the years.

I haven't tried flexible filament yet, but the need for it comes up regularly. It's rather expensive though also my traditional Wade's extruder lends itself better to play and abs. I'm thinking about printing molds and casting in silicone rubber though, especially for larger parts that could keep the costs down.

From what I've gathered flexible filaments need a short path from the drive gear and needs to be printed very slow, in the 20 or less range.

 

[Njones]

I think you're right - my current setup is is a Prusa i3 (I bought a kit off ebay!) with bowden extruder, something my printer didn't start with, but the extruder change makes a very lightweight hotend & X-Carriage which gives great quality prints in PLA... TPU though tends to get very stringy on parts where there is a lot of retraction.

I'm going to experiment with the retraction settings before I give up on it entirely - but I've been so busy recently I haven't had much of a chance.

I honestly think that using an FDM printer to produce parts for sale is a bad idea though - its just too slow! Prototype it that way, and then make moulds,... but selling printed pieces would never make money.

 

[Solarpanelcleanington]

Hi Nudel!

Ole.

 

[Tuffers]

His English is better than most UK posters on here :thumbsup:

 

[mark m]

Welcome to the forum , I am one of the first of the members of the forum and that is the best introduction I have seen ,I am really looking forward to your post from now on