We released 0.2.0 only 11 days ago, but Bob and I are having fun, so the updates keep coming. As part of the new continuous integration, I have to make releases in github, so the release notes are going to be stored here from now on:
But feel free to post comments or questions here, since the release notes don’t have any interraction.
Big thanks again to Bob.
We can always add a Sandify section if you would prefer.
How freaking cool is this?! I can’t thank you guys enough. From that first hand coded pattern to the second hand coded word, now it is all automatic. Absolute dream come true. I have to get finishing up the giant dinner table now!
I have a feeling 0.2.2 is coming in the next 2 weeks or less. I am enjoying working with Bob on this enough that I am staying on top of it, and he is just flying through stuff.
I keep trying to find a place for these updates. I will definitely put the release notes in github from now on, since that triggers the script to deploy the new version. But I still need a place to poke any users, and have conversations (that aren’t issues). I currently post a tweet (but you probably don’t want to follow me 99% of what I tweet about is not sandify). I also post in reddit.com/r/sisyphusindustries/.
Log story long, I think a sandify section would be cool. 
I will have to play with this some more on my Rolling Plotter, maybe get a bigger pan of sand to draw in. How about a Pen Up/Pen Down option? Probably not much demand for that though.
Welcome to your category. Let me know if there are any permissions you need, if you want to pin a post (I think you can do that but if not). Feel free to use it as you please.
You know what would be a groovy feature for this sort of thing? Custom connectors. Instead of that one line from inner to outer circle, put in vines with leaves or flowers between each name. Or Roman columns. Or lightning bolts…
I really want to have these patterns be used with pens, but I am afraid of the complexity that comes with a penup/pendown. I have drawn these patterns with a pen. I accommodated that by just adding the gcodes for raising and lowering the pen to the start/stop gcode dialogs.
You could combine multiple patterns together, and do pen up/down in between. But I don’t see the future features of shapes that would do a pen up/down between shapes, for example.
There is a neat tool linked in the issues of sandify that does some neat plotting with the ability to raise the pen. I do not think the output is gcode though, it is svg, iirc.
That would be awesome. I am accepting pull requests if you’d like to join the team :). The bar for PRs is “better” not “right”. And even if it is not better, it is easier to start with something that at least works that starting from scratch.
Here is how I would do it: REPLACE the undertable x-y NEO with a DC PWM-driven electromagnet, and REPLACE the the nice shiny sand-table plain steel ball with a shiny new NEO ball magnet of similar size. To change pens, just adjust the PWM pulses through the e-magnet enough to ‘levitate’ the ball above the sand, then ‘carry’ it to new location, re-adjust the PWM pulses to drop it where you want the next phase of your unique sandpit display to start, and resume the scheduled program.
One might also add in a pseudo Z_Axis which would simply, using a solenoid or servo motor, flip-flop a horizontally or vertically mounted balanced ‘beam’ with a Thick steel plate on one end and a PWM driven e-magnet on the other. I personally favor the cheaper bruteforce ‘levitation’ method. 
Who knew that a pandemic would have such a good outcome for Sandify!
Ther’s always a silver lining.
