USF Slide Rule

thingiverse

This is a slide rule we designed, comprising two parts: the outer holder and the inner slider. It's blank initially, necessitating a label for completion. Our design drew inspiration from the Scientific American paper slide rule, scaled to accommodate its printing on standard 8.5x11" paper-sized labels that could be cut out. The original SA rule can be accessed at https://www.scientificamerican.com/media/pdf/Slide_rule.pdf, but this version lacks a "cursor" in its current form. After printing the slide rule, we discovered that cheaper materials cause it to warp somewhat, and the inner slider piece fits too tightly within the outer holder, making sliding difficult. To rectify these issues, we adjusted the sizes of the pieces, but ultimately found that sanding the inner slider was necessary to achieve smooth movement between the two parts.