Just like the garage computer explosion of the 70’s through the 80’s, which brought us such things as Apple, pong, Bill Gate’s hair, and the proliferation of personal computers, the maker movement is the new garage hardware explosion. Today, 135 million adults in the United States alone are involved in the maker movement.
Enthusiasts who want to build the products they want, from shortwave radios to personal computers, and to tweak products they’ve bought to make them even better, have long been a part of the electronics industry. By all measures, garage-style innovation remains alive and well today, as “makers” as they are called continue to turn out contemporary gadgets, including 3D printers, drones, and embedded electronics devices.
Making is about individual Do-It-Yourselfers being able to design and create with tools that were, as of a decade or two ago, only available to large, cash-rich corporations: CAD tools, CNC mills, 3D printers, low-quantity PCB manufacturing, open hardware such as Arduinos and similar inexpensive development boards – all items that have made it easier and relatively cheap to make whatever we imagine. For individuals, maker tools can change how someone views their home or their hobbies. The world is ours to make. Humans are genetically wired to be makers. The maker movement is simply the result of making powerful building and communication tools accessible to the masses. There are plenty of projects from makers that show good engineering: Take this Arduino board with tremendous potential, developed by a young maker, as example.
The maker movement is a catalyst to democratize entrepreneurship as these do-it-yourself electronics are proving to be hot sellers: In the past year, unit sales for 3D printing related products; Arduino units, parts and supplies; Raspberry Pi boards; drones and quadcopters; and robotics goods are all on a growth curve in terms of eBay sales. There are many Kickstarter maker projects going on. The Pebble E-Paper Watch raises $10 million. The LIFX smartphone-controlled LED bulb raises $1.3 million. What do these products have in common? They both secured funding through Kickstarter, a crowd-funding website that is changing the game for entrepreneurs. Both products were created by makers who seek to commercialize their inventions. These “startup makers” iterate on prototypes with high-end tools at professional makerspaces.
For companies to remain competitive, they need to embrace the maker movement or leave themselves open for disruption. Researchers found that 96 percent of business leaders believe new technologies have forever changed the rules of business by democratizing information and rewiring customer expectations. - You’ve got to figure out agile innovation. Maybe history is repeating itself as the types of products being sold reminded us of the computer tinkering that used to be happening in the 1970s to 1990s – similar in terms of demographics, tending to be young people, and low budget. Now the do-it-yourself category is deeply intertwined with the electronics industry. Open hardware is in the center in maker movement – we need open hardware designs! How can you publish your designs and still do business with it? Open source ecosystem markets behave differently and therefore require a very different playbook than traditional tech company: the differentiation is not in the technology you build; it is in the process and expertise that you slowly amass over an extended period of time.
By democratizing the product development process, helping these developments get to market, and transforming the way we educate the next generation of innovators, we will usher in the next industrial revolution. The world is ours to make. Earlier the PC created a new generation of software developers who could innovate in the digital world without the limitations of the physical world (virtually no marginal cost, software has become the great equalizer for innovation. Now advances in 3D printing and low-cost microcontrollers as well as the ubiquity of advanced sensors are enabling makers to bridge software with the physical world. Furthermore, the proliferation of wireless connectivity and cloud computing is helping makers contribute to the Internet of Things (IoT). We’re even beginning to see maker designs and devices entering those markets once thought to be off-limits, like medical.
Image source: The world is ours to make: The impact of the maker movement – EDN Magazine
In fact, many parents have engaged in the maker movement with their kids because they know that the education system is not adequately preparing their children for the 21st century. There is a strong movement to spread this DIY idea widely. The Maker Faire, which launched in the Bay Area in California in 2006, underlined the popularity of the movement by drawing a record 215,000 people combined in the Bay Area and New York events in 2014. There’s Maker Media, MakerCon, MakerShed, Make: magazine and 131 Maker Faire events that take place throughout the world. Now the founders of all these Makers want a way to connect what they refer to as the “maker movement” online. So Maker Media created a social network called MakerSpace, a Facebook-like social network that connects participants of Maker Faire in one online community. The new site will allow participants of the event to display their work online. There are many other similar sites that allow yout to present yout work fron Hackaday to your own blog. Today, 135 million adults in the United States alone are involved in the maker movement—although makers can be found everywhere in the world.
7,250 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zen and the Art of Arduino
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/16/zen-and-the-art-of-arduino/
A zen garden should be a source of relaxation and escape from the everyday. The whole point should be to escape from–among other things–your electronics. Unless you are [MakrToolbox]. Then you’ll make a beautiful zen garden end table that allows you to make patterns in the sand using a ball bearing and an Arduino.
Technically, the device is almost an upside down 3D printer with no Z axis. The mechanism moves a magnet which controls the steel ball and draws patterns in the sand.
We couldn’t help but think of this as a really nice grown-up Etch-a-Sketch. [MakrToolbox] originally used a 3D printer control board to get everything moving but later decided to take a different approach.
Zen Garden CNC End Table
https://www.hackster.io/MakrToolbox/zen-garden-cnc-end-table-b673f4
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printing Custom LED Bar Graphs
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/16/3d-printing-custom-led-bar-graphs/
[BikerGlen] wanted to spice up his zombie containment unit (see video below) so he designed and 3D printed some very cool looking bar graphs. Apparently, you can get curved bar graph LEDs, but only if you buy a fairly large quantity. Hand soldering discrete LEDs at the perfect angle would be frustrating, but with a 3D printed jig, it was a piece of cake.
The devices use a MAX6954 LED driver, so it needs very few parts and takes commands via SPI. The chips were not cheap, but the small size and high integration sold [Glen] on it.
Creating Custom 3D Printed LED Bar Graphs
http://bikerglen.com/blog/custom-3d-printed-led-bar-graphs/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Long Tail of DIY Electronics
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/15/the-long-tail-of-diy-electronics/
These are the Golden Years of electronics hacking. The home DIY hacker can get their hands on virtually any part that he or she could desire, and for not much money. Two economic factors underlie this Garden of Electronic Eden that we’re living in. Economies of scale make the parts cheap: when a factory turns out the same MEMS accelerometer chip for hundreds of millions of cell phones, their setup and other fixed costs are spread across all of these chips, and a $40 million factory ends up only costing $0.50 per unit sold.
But the unsung hero of the present DIY paradise is how so many different parts are available, and from so many different suppliers, many of them on the other side of the globe. “The Internet” you say, as if that explains it. Well, that’s not wrong, but it’s deeper than that. The reason that we have so much to choose from is that the marginal cost of variety has fallen, and with that many niche products and firms have become profitable where before they weren’t.
So let’s take a few minutes to sing the praises of the most important, and sometimes overlooked, facet of the DIY economy over the last twenty years: the falling marginal cost of variety.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Balancing Robot Needs Innovative Controller and Motor
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/18/balancing-robot-needs-innovative-controller-and-motor/
A self-balancing robot is a great way to get introduced to control theory and robotics in general. The ability for a robot to sense its position and its current set of circumstances and then to make a proportional response to accomplish its goal is key to all robotics. While hobby robots might use cheap servos or brushed motors, for any more advanced balancing robot you might want to reach for a brushless DC motor and a new fully open-source controller.
SmoothControl
https://hackaday.io/project/21704-smoothcontrol
An open source HW & SW motor controller for fine-grained control of brushless DC motors for robotics.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Robotsota, Fighting Geese, and Machine Speak at World Create Day
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/18/world-create-day-3/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Maker’s Vise
https://hackaday.io/project/21947-makers-vise
We are designing a vise specifically for the maker community!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Entry: HeartyPatch
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/18/hackaday-prize-entry-heartypatch/
[Ashwin K Whitchurch] and [Venkatesh Bhat] Have not missed a beat entering this year’s Hackaday Prize with their possibly lifesaving gadget HeartyPatch. The project is a portable single wire ECG machine in a small footprint sporting Bluetooth Low Energy so you can use your phone or another device as an output display.
Projects like this are what the Hackaday Prize is all about, Changing the world for the better. Medical devices cost an arm and a leg so it’s always great to see medical hardware brought to the Open Source and Open Hardware scene.
HeartyPatch: A single-lead ECG-HR patch with ESP32
https://hackaday.io/project/21046-heartypatch-a-single-lead-ecg-hr-patch-with-esp32
HeartyPatch is a fully open-source, IoT connected, BLE enabled heart-rate variability & ECG patch with great accuracy
ECG monitors are plenty, so how is this one different? We’re glad you asked, read on to find out more. HeartyPatch is a completely open-source wireless single-lead ECG “patch” which can calculate heart-rate, R-R intervals and most importantly, Heart-rate variability (HRV). Connect this data to the web of things through WiFi/Bluetooth, or also connect to an app on your phone, and you’ve got your very own, smart, cloud-connected HRV monitor.
HRV is the trend at which the heart-rate, or more specifically, the time between two peaks on your ECG, changes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Doubling The Capacity of Power Tool Batteries
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/19/doubling-the-capacity-of-power-tool-batteries/
YouTube User [Vuaeco] has come up with a novel idea, combining power tool battery packs to double the capacity.
Starting off with two slimline 2.0Ah compact battery packs, [Vuaeco] wanted a larger 4.0Ah rebuilt drill battery pack.
18V Li-Ion drill battery pack rebuild
Quick project to rebuild an 18V Li-Ion drill battery pack
https://hackaday.io/project/21052-18v-li-ion-drill-battery-pack-rebuild
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Entry: Customizable Linear Actuators
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/19/hackaday-prize-entry-customizable-linear-actuators/
The current state of robotics, 3D printers, and CNC machines means any shade tree roboticist has the means to make anything move. Do you want a robotic arm? There are a dozen designs already available. Need an inverted powered pendulum? There are a hundred senior projects on that every semester. There is, however, one type of actuator that is vastly underutilized. Linear actuators aren’t ‘maker’ friendly, and building a customized linear actuator is an exercise in pain.
For their Hackaday Prize entry, the folks at Deezmaker are changing the state of linear actuators. They’ve created ‘Maker Muscle’, a linear actuator that’s fully customizable to nearly any length, power, speed, motor, or any other spec you could think of.
Open Actuator System: Maker Muscle
Customizable linear actuators made easy….and cheaper.
https://hackaday.io/project/20886-open-actuator-system-maker-muscle
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Simple, DIY GPS Tracker
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/19/a-simple-diy-gps-tracker/
Today, there are dozens of off-the-shelf solutions for a GPS tracking device. Most of them use GSM, some of them use satellites, and all of them are astonishingly inexpensive. If you want to track a car, dog, or your luggage, you’ve never had more options.
[Emilio] wanted to track his own car, and the original solution for this was a smartphone. This smartphone was also a good choice, as it’s a programmable GPS device connected to a cell network, but there had to be a simpler solution. It came in the form of an eight euro GPS module and a three euro GSM module (Google Translatrix right here). The rest of the hardware is an ATMega48V [Emilio] had sitting around and a 2500 mAh lithium cell. It’s a cellular tracker make out of eleven euro’s worth of hardware and some junk in a drawer.
Not even ten years ago, a simple, DIY GPS tracker would have cost a small fortune. Now that we have cheap GPS modules, GSM modules, and more magical electronics from the East, builds like this are easy and cheap. What a magical time to be alive.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Custom Hydraulic Cylinders from Off-the-Shelf Components
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/20/custom-hydraulic-cylinders-from-off-the-shelf-components/
When your project needs power, you might need to turn to hydraulics. There is a lot of mystery about fluid power, but there is also a huge supply chain devoted to getting you the parts you need to power your project. Off-the-shelf components may not fit your application though, in which case it might be handy to know how to build your own custom hydraulic cylinders.
While it’s true that custom cylinder builds are pretty common, it’s still interesting to see the process [MakeItExtreme] used. Starting with an off-the-shelf piston and gland, this double-acting cylinder build is a pretty straightforward exercise in machining.
Making hydraulic cylinder
http://www.makeitextreme.com/en/newsroom/entry/VIDEOS/hydraulic
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dis-Integrated 6502 Running Programs; Acting Like Computer
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/20/dis-integrated-6502-running-programs-acting-like-computer/
Eric Schlaepfer] tends to turn up to Maker Faire with projects you simply don’t want to miss. This year is no different. Twelve months ago we delighted in seeing his 6502 processor built from an enormous reel of discrete MOSFETs. At the time it was freshly built and running random code to happily blink the LEDs reflecting activity in the registers. This year he’s given that blinking meaning and is running real programs on his Monster 6502 processor.
http://hackaday.com/2016/05/24/how-the-dis-integrated-6502-came-to-be/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A MIDI Harmonica
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/21/a-midi-harmonica/
MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface, has been the standard for computer control of musical instruments since the 1980s. It is most often associated with electronic instruments such as synthesisers, drum machines, or samplers, but there is nothing to stop it being applied to almost any instrument when combined with the appropriate hardware.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Entry: A PC-XT Clone Powered By AVR
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/21/hackaday-prize-entry-a-pc-xt-clone-powered-by-avr/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY USB Power Bank
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/21/diy-usb-power-bank/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Powerbank-DIY-12000-16000-MAh-21-Amp-3D-printed/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Tiniest Mechanical Keyboard Ever
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/20/the-tiniest-mechanical-keyboard-ever/
Owning a mechanical keyboard makes you a better person. It puts you above everyone else. Of course, owning a mechanical keyboard does come with some downsides. Carrying a mechanical keyboard around all the time to tell everyone else you’re better than them is usually impractical, but [cahbtexhuk] has come up with a solution. It’s a miniature Bluetooth mechanical keyboard that’s also a keychain.
http://imgur.com/a/OkwEb
Tomi Engdahl says:
Maker Faire Bay Area 2017: Live Updates and More
http://makezine.com/2017/05/19/maker-faire-bay-area-2017/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Go Big or Go Home: A Tablecloth Touchpad
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/23/go-big-or-go-home-a-tablecloth-touchpad/
Phone screens keep getting bigger. Computer screens keep getting bigger. Why not a large trackpad to use as a mouse? [MaddyMaxey] had that thought and with a few components and some sewing skills created a trackpad in a tablecloth.
The electronics in this project are right off the shelf. A Flora board for the brains and 4 capacitive touch boards. If you haven’t seen the Flora, it is a circular-shaped Arduino made for sewing into things.
Textile Trackpad
http://www.instructables.com/id/Textile-Trackpad/
To make the trackpad textile, you’ll need the following things:
Bare conductive ink,
Flora microcontroller
Embroidery TPU
4 Adafruit 12 Cap Touch breakout boards
10mm conductive fabric tape (3 rolls)
Nail Polish, or liquid electrical tape
iron on interfacing (soft)
A Cover textile
Heat Gun
Soldering station
USB mini connector
Gauge 30 silicone thread
Tomi Engdahl says:
A 4$, 4ICs, Z80 homemade computer on breadboard
https://hackaday.io/project/19000-a-4-4ics-z80-homemade-computer-on-breadboard
Tomi Engdahl says:
Practical Enclosure Design, Optimized for 3D Printing
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/24/practical-enclosure-design-optimized-for-3d-printing/
[3D Hubs] have shared a handy guide on designing practical and 3D printing-friendly enclosures. The guide walks through the design of a two shell, two button remote control enclosure. It allows for a PCB mounted inside, exposes a USB port, and is optimized for 3D printing without painting itself into a corner in the process. [3D Hubs] uses Fusion 360 (free to hobbyists and startups) in their examples, but the design principles are easily implemented with any tool.
One of the tips is to design parts with wall thicknesses that are a multiple of the printer’s nozzle diameter. For example, a 2.4 mm wall thickness may sound a bit arbitrary at first, but it divides easily by the typical FDM nozzle diameter of 0.4 mm which makes slicing results more consistent and reliable.
CAD Modeling #1 – Enclosures
https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/cad-modeling-1-enclosures
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Build Beautiful Enclosures from FR4 — aka PCBs
http://hackaday.com/2015/06/03/how-to-build-beautiful-enclosures-from-fr4-aka-pcbs/
Most hobbyists say that it is easier to build a functional prototype of an electronic device, than to make the enclosure for it. You could say that there are a lot of ready-made enclosures on the market, but they are never exactly what you need. You could also use a 3D printer to build a custom enclosure, but high-end 3D printers are too expensive, and the cheaper ones produce housings which are often not robust enough, and also require a lot of additional treatment.
Another way is to build the enclosure out of FR4, a material which is commonly used in PCB production. Such enclosures are low-cost, with thin walls but yet very strong, nice looking, pleasant to the touch and have excellent thermal and moisture stability.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Breadboard color computer from TTL
“Just because”
https://hackaday.io/project/20781-breadboard-color-computer-from-ttl
Can fewer than 40 old-skool simple TTL chips on a breadboard implement a 8-bits, multi-MHz 64-color computer? This is what we have now
Tomi Engdahl says:
These Engineering Ed Projects are Our Kind of Hacks
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/25/these-engineering-ed-projects-are-our-kind-of-hacks/
Highly polished all-in-one gear for teaching STEM is one way to approach the problem. But for some, they can be intimidating and the up-front expenditure can be a barrier to just trying something before you’re certain you want to commit. [Miranda] is taking a different approach with the aim of making engineering education possible with junk you have around the house. The point is to play around with engineering concepts with having to worry about doing it exactly right, or with exactly the right materials. You know… hacking!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Making an Inexpensive DRO
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/26/making-an-inexpensive-dro/
[Andrew] wanted a digital readout (DRO) for his mini lathe and mini mill, but found that buying even one DRO cost as much as either of his machines. The solution? You guessed it, he built his own for cheap, using inexpensive digital calipers purchased off eBay.
All Gauges Attached to DRO
http://trochilidae.blogspot.fi/2017/04/all-gauges-attached-to-dro-remaining.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Entry: Heart Failure Detection Device
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/25/hackaday-prize-entry-heart-failure-detection-device/
Early and low-cost detection of a Heart Failure is the proposal of [Jean Pierre Le Rouzic] for his entry for the 2017 Hackaday Prize. His device is based on a low-cost Doppler device, like those fetal Doppler devices used to listen an unborn baby heart, feeding a machine learning algorithm that could differentiate between a healthy and an unhealthy heart.
The theory behind it is that a regular, healthy heart tissue has a different acoustic impedance than degenerated tissue. Based on the acoustic impedance, the device would classify the tissue as: normal, degenerated, granulated or fibrous. Each category indicates specific problems mostly in connective tissues.
Early and low cost detection of Heart Failure
https://hackaday.io/project/19685-early-and-low-cost-detection-of-heart-failure
Heart Failure is a debilitating condition that most old people encounters. A PoC uses coded signals, Doppler and a sound ML classifier.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D-Printable Raman Spectrometer
The only thing worth doing, is the thing worth doing right!
https://hackaday.io/project/18126-3d-printable-raman-spectrometer
The DAV5 V3 Spectrometer will be the only project build here on Hackaday in its category, with ongoing, full performance and specifications documentation, this project will also be at least 85-90% 3D printed!
This project has 4 major ;
a. To build a rugged and reliable low cost spectrometer with at least 85 to 90% 3D printable parts.
b. A spectrometer capable of producing consistent and professional quality results in the field, home or Lab
c. A device with upgradeable capabilities
d. An open source instrumentation device W/CAD(CNC .stl files)/schematic/technology files with NO copyright and/or licensing agreements.
**This project will also have full professional/analytical and chemical documentation.
***This project is in NO way related to, or in anyway, conceptualized to replicate the 3D Raman-Pi project here at Hackaday.***
Tomi Engdahl says:
6 Things Repaired by 3D Printer – AWESOME IDEAS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBfAh9iID3I
Anyone else just destroying appliances in order to gather parts for your projects? I hope someone found this video inspiring to repair stuff using 3D printers. CAD is key to sketch up the parts you need. Fusion360 is free for students, but anyone can download Tinkercad for free: https://www.tinkercad.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
brdMaker
Advanced Pick and Place machine
https://hackaday.io/project/22033-brdmaker
Making advanced pcb boards by hand is nowday allmost impossible. You have to run against time before paste dry while placing hunreds on components allmost at micrometer scale. If you have done it, you know why brdMaker was created.
brdMaker is designed from scratch to handle modern prototype/small series PCB assembly needs of serious makers, startups or anyone who need get small series of assembled PCBs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Entry: 3D Printed Mini-Lathe
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/31/hackaday-prize-entry-3d-printed-mini-lathe/
Lathes can be big, powerful, dangerous machines. But sometimes there’s a call for making very small parts out of soft materials, like plastic and wood. For jobs like this, you could use something like this 3D printed mini-lathe.
The benefits of 3D printing a tool like this are plentiful. The design can be customized and refined by the end user; [castvee8] notes that the machine can be made longer simply by increasing the length of the lead screw and guide rails. The machine does rely on some metal parts and a motor; but the real power here is that if you can’t source the exact components, you can always customize the files to suit what you have on hand.
3D printed manual mini Lathe
Small and basic 3D printed lathe for small projects.
https://hackaday.io/project/20089-3d-printed-manual-mini-lathe
Another small 3D printed machine I designed and built for making. It is a simple design to make and build and allows you to make when you finish building it!
This machines inexpensive build cost(about 25$ total) allows everyone to make and use one. Putting tools into every makers hands helps everyone.
No custom PCBs to make-all off the shelf electronics/parts.
Super simple to use and make what you want. Make parts for projects, hobbies, costumes etc.
Work in woods, plastics and hard foams. Happy turning!
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Water Jet Cutter From A Cheap Pressure Washer
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/31/a-water-jet-cutter-from-a-cheap-pressure-washer/
A water cutter is something you might think would be impossible for an experimenter to make for themself, but [Applied Science] is on hand to disprove that notion. He’s taken a cheap pressure washer, and modified it to produce a much higher water pressure for a water cutting head.
His very detailed description of the modifications makes for an extremely interesting watch
Waterjet cutter built with a cheap pressure washer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg__B6Ca3jc
Building an abrasive waterjet cutter with a $150 pressure washer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
hRobot
open source, connected, 3D printable robotic arm, powered by ROS, with 500g lift capacity
https://hackaday.io/project/19096-hrobot
It’s an Open Source and printable manipulator with five degrees of freedom. The main purpose of this project was to create a robotic arm that could be made by makers around the world or in schools to teach robotics instead of using simulation software. In its upright position, hRobot is about 700mm long and it can lift objects up to 500 grams.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Inside The Maker Faire
Technology focus becoming far more practical and much more interesting.
https://semiengineering.com/inside-maker-faire/
The Maker Faire is to the Internet of Things what Comdex once was to the PC, what Mobile World Congress still is to the mobile device, and what CES has become to the automotive industry. It’s a collection of the latest ideas and unique implementations that point the way to the big shifts in technology.
Most of the companies exhibiting at these shows never make it to become household names. Some are bought and absorbed by other companies that have enough momentum and business know-how to fuse their ideas together. Others fade away when their funding runs out.
But this year’s Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif., had some unique attributes. For one thing, the foundation for these inventions is less about doing more things within the confines of a box than a means of connecting them to other boxes or things or people. In effect, it removes the barriers for creativity because that connectivity can be wireless or wired. Moreover, as drone makers have shown, it doesn’t have to sit on the ground or a desk or even fit into your pocket.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Useless Machine Does The Twist
http://hackaday.com/2017/06/01/new-useless-machine-does-the-twist/
Useless machines might not do any work or produce anything of value on their own, but they can be a great learning tool, and are often beautifully crafted as an expression of the builder’s artistic talents.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Invention Killed the Inventor
http://hackaday.com/2017/06/01/invention-killed-the-inventor/
The desire to innovate and change the world can drive one to take dangerous risks. Sometimes, inventors pay the ultimate price. Inventors can be early testers of a device under development, and sometimes pushing the limits of what’s possible has deadly consequences. In this era of warning labels on coffee cups, it’s perhaps worth taking a look back at some inventors of the past who lost their lives in the pursuit of building something new.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Outrageously Awesome Nixie Tube Clocks
Posted May 16, 2017 at 12:00 am
Not so long ago, Nixie tubes were the height of digital display technology sophistication.
https://www.eeweb.com/blog/max_maxfield/outrageously-awesome-nixie-tube-clocks
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackerspace Jukebox!
http://hackaday.com/2017/06/02/hackerspace-jukebox/
Depending on whom you talk to, music can be an integral part of getting work done. At the Hackheim hackerspace in Trondheim, Norway, [Nikolai Ovesen] thought that the previous system of playing music over Bluetooth took away from the collaborative, interactive spirit of the space. Solution: a weekend build of a Raspberry Pi-powered jukebox.
The jukebox is simply laser-cut from plywood and bolted together. Inside, the touchscreen is mounted using double-sided tape, with the Raspberry Pi 3 and buck converter mounted on its rear with motherboard spacers.
Jukebox sound system for the hackerspace
Letting all the members of the hackerspace add song requests and play music with ease
https://hackaday.io/project/24910-jukebox-sound-system-for-the-hackerspace
Setting up our own jukebox sound system to allow ease of access and use to play and control music at the hackerspace.
The process went along something like this:
Buy parts
Test software
Make case (we used our snazzy Full Spectrum Muse laser cutter)
Assemble
Tinker
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wheelchair controled by Eyemovements
Eyetracking with openCV – Odroid U3 vs. Raspberry Pi2B
https://hackaday.io/project/5955-wheelchair-controled-by-eyemovements
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flypi – cheap microscope/experimental setup
https://hackaday.io/project/5059-flypi-cheap-microscopeexperimental-setup
Pi + Picamera + M12 lens + Arduino microscope/experimental setup for diagnostics and scientific experiments!
Our plan with this project is to develop a complete opensource and cheap device for scientific experiments (data collection and analysis) and diagnostics (if they are “microscopy based”).
So far we were able to perform some proof of principle experiments in life sciences (Fluorescence and calcium imaging, opto and thermo genetics essays) and to perform diagnostics of the following parasites: Loa loa, Brugia Malayi, Wuchereria bankrofti, Schistosoma eggs, Mansonella perstans
The setup is quite simple:
A raspberry pi 2 (or 3) (running Raspian) + picamera with mounted lens (M12 standard) + some python3 code (for custom GUI + saving of data) do most of the lifting and an Arduino + custom PCB + electronic bits take care of timing, light stimulation, heating, temperature sensing and any other physical interaction necessary.
For more details, please check: https://openlabwaredotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/main-v4.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fluorescence Microscopy Meets DIY Fluid Management
http://hackaday.com/2017/06/03/fluorescence-microscopy-meets-diy-fluid-management/
Fluorescence microscopy is an optical technique that incorporates fluorescence or phosphorescence (as opposed to reflection and absorption) in order to study the properties of organic and inorganic substances. Not a stranger to bringing DIY techniques into the lab, [Philip] is using 3D printing resources to advance science and delight interns from labs everywhere.
Open source robot for liquid handing and serial multiplexing fluorescence microscopy
https://github.com/PRNicovich/SerialMultiplexer
Tomi Engdahl says:
Impression Products V. Lexmark International: A Victory For Common Sense
http://hackaday.com/2017/06/04/impression-products-v-lexmark-international-a-victory-for-common-sense/
A few months ago we reported on a case coming before the United States Supreme Court that concerned recycled printer cartridges. Battling it out were Impression Products, a printer cartridge recycling company, and Lexmark, the printer manufacturer. At issue was a shrinkwrap licence on inkjet cartridges — a legal agreement deemed to have been activated by the customer opening the cartridge packaging — that tied a discounted price to a restriction on the cartridge’s reuse.
It was of concern to us because of the consequences it could have had for the rest of the hardware world, setting a potential precedent such that any piece of hardware could have conditions still attached to it when it has passed through more than one owner, without the original purchaser being aware of agreeing to any legal agreement. This would inevitably have a significant effect on the work of most Hackaday readers, and probably prohibit many of the projects we feature.
We are therefore very pleased to see that a few days ago the Supremes made their decision, and as the EFF reports, it went in favor of Impression Products, and us, the consumer. In their words, when a patent owner:
…chooses to sell an item, that product is no longer within the limits of the monopoly and instead becomes the private individual property of the purchaser, with the rights and benefits that come along with ownership.
In other words, when you buy a printer cartridge or any other piece of hardware, it is yours to do with as you wish.
This can only be good news for our community, as so much of the work we see involves the modification or reverse engineering of products that might fall foul of such licences were they to be allowed to be used without restriction.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hacking On TV: What You Need To Know
http://hackaday.com/2017/06/05/hacking-on-tv-what-you-need-to-know/
It seems to be a perennial feature of our wider community of hackers and makers, that television production companies come up with new ideas for shows featuring us and our skills. Whether it is a reality maker show, a knockout competition, a scavenger hunt, or any other format, it seems that there is always a researcher from one TV company or another touting around the scene for participants in some new show.
These shows are entertaining and engaging to watch, and we’ve all probably wondered how we might do were we to have a go ourselves.
It looks as if it might be a win-win situation to be a TV contestant on a series filmed in exotic foreign climes, but it’s worth taking a look at the experience from another angle. What you see on the screen is the show as its producer wants you to see it, fast-paced and entertaining. What you see as a competitor can be entirely different, and before you fill in that form you need to know about both sides.
The experience left me with an interest in how TV producers craft the public’s impression of an event, and also with a profound distrust of much of what I see on my screen.
All TV competitions are a fix
It has been a universal experience of the competitors I have encountered, that all the competitions in the shows they appeared on had something of the fix about them.
Events on-screen don’t happen quite the way they did for real
Another universal experience when discussing shows has been the on-screen portrayal of an event being entirely different from what really happened. Usually this involves technical assistance being required to make something happen, but which would fall outside the on-screen “rules” of the show.
Prepare to be the bad guy
TV producers like heroes and villains. Personal conflict makes good TV. So they will do anything to create such a narrative, even if that means completely fabricating it.
Prepare to be set up to be laughed at
If the viewer can be persuaded to see themselves as better in some way than someone on their screens, from the producer’s point of view it makes good TV.
Your property is their property
TV producers like free stuff. Hell, everyone likes free stuff! To a TV producer, everything that comes in front of his camera is a prop, and props can be abused and destroyed at will, because that makes good TV.
Don’t trust them when it comes to money
the type of shows we are often asked to participate in will usually require a significant commitment.
Make sure that anything that puts you significantly out-of-pocket is adequately compensated in a black-and-white contract, and not on some vague promise of future payment.
There is one final warning. TV nowadays is a thousand-channel medium, so at any given time in the next ten years or so that episode with you in it is going to be on repeat somewhere in the high-numbered satellite or cable channels. Make sure it’s not going to have something you’re embarrassed about in it, because everyone you know is going to be constantly seeing it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Entry: The FPGA Commodore
http://hackaday.com/2017/06/06/hackaday-prize-entry-the-fpga-commodore/
The history of Commodore 8-bit computers ends with a fantastically powerful, revolutionary, and extraordinarily collectible device. The Commodore 65 was the chicken lip’ last-ditch effort to squeeze every last bit out of the legacy of the Commodore 64. Basically, it was a rework of a 10-year-old design, adding advanced features from the Amiga, but still retaining backwards compatibility. Only 200 prototypes were produced, and when these things hit the auction block, they can fetch as much as an original Apple I.
For their Hackaday Prize entry, resident hackaday.io FPGA wizard [Antti Lukats] and a team of retrocomputing enthusiasts are remaking the Commodore 65. Finally, the ultimate Commodore 8-bit will be available to all. Not only is this going to be a perfect replica of what is arguably the most desirable 8-bit computer of all time, it’s going to have new features like HDMI, Ethernet, and connections for a lot of FPGA I/O pins.
MEGA65 – OPEN 8-BIT COMPUTER
https://hackaday.io/project/11096-mega65-open-8-bit-computer
MEGA65 is an open-source new and open C65-like computer.
Hardware designs and software are open-source (LGPL).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tern – Ternary Logic Circuits
https://hackaday.io/project/6284-tern-ternary-logic-circuits
A series of ternary logic gates and higher level components implemented in the real world.
This project documents physical implementations of ternary logic gates and higher level sequential components. By documenting functional techniques for building up the lower level components of a ternary processor I hope to ease the way for others to begin experimenting as well.
By ternary I mean a circuit can output three distinct voltage levels and can accept and decode those same voltage levels.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Open Source Multimeter
A relatively low-cost but full-featured and safe multimeter.
https://hackaday.io/project/10820-open-source-multimeter
I intend to design and hopefully build a fully open-source multimeter. It will be designed with safety in mind (intended to meet CAT III 300 V), with very good accuracy and lots of features. I want to keep the price low.
A multimeter is an important tool for anyone doing electronics – this is one tool needed when building other really important stuff. Due to the open-source nature it can be adapted to the parts available, so it could potentially be useful in developing nations / areas where commercial meters with similar features may be too expensive or where this design could be used as the basis for a very cheap meter.
All design files and software will be released under the GPL v3
Tomi Engdahl says:
Air Compressor from Cooler DIY. How to make a membrane air pump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6sOFTCEI70
Membrane #air #compressor with your hands from a computer cooler. #airpump at home. Can be used for an #aquarium.
4 UseFul Life Hacks for DVD MOTOR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIzkSXGIsx0
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Gallium Fidget Spinner – 3 Million Special
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXU360o_w64
DIY Hot Glue Fidget Spinner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eku9XQ2FFrM
Tomi Engdahl says:
CPU Fidget Spinner!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61-_UfVXLTc
Tomi Engdahl says:
Don’t Build a Metal Foundry Until you See This First
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2FuvKTyRMQ
Updates, improvements, and all your questions answered about the Mini Metal Foundry.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Make an Electric Foundry For Metal Casting – Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cte_LSYflAE
In this video I am going to be showing you how to make a metal melting foundry that can melt aluminium in under 20 minuets!
This project is probably one of my more dangerous ones combining both extreme temperatures and lethal voltages and all safety precautions should be taken and always wear enough personal safety gear. This project could easily kill you!
How to Make an Electric Foundry For Metal Casting – Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fvBzlrlKl0
Tomi Engdahl says:
How To Make An Electrical Arc Furnace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTzKIs19eZE