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.
7,192 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://blog.arduino.cc/2019/10/24/you-can-make-this-3d-printed-arduino-powered-ir-thermometer-yourself/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Xaxxon Launches OpenLIDAR Sensor, Boasts of Full ROS Compatibility
https://www.hackster.io/news/xaxxon-launches-openlidar-sensor-boasts-of-full-ros-compatibility-ac0192dee4ab
Tomi Engdahl says:
Build a Pick and Place Machine with OpenBuilds Hardware and Smoothieboard Controller
https://www.hackster.io/news/build-a-pick-and-place-machine-with-openbuilds-hardware-and-smoothieboard-controller-762e88aa5a9e
Engineers and makers who routinely design custom PCBs and circuits would benefit significantly from having a PNP machine on hand that could manage all the monotonous, repetitive soldering of SMDs. Unfortunately, most PNP machines can cost a fortune
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/28/sixi-2-an-open-source-3d-printable-6-axis-robot-arm/
Tomi Engdahl says:
World’s Smallest MIDI Synth, Now Even Better
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/28/worlds-smallest-midi-synth-now-even-better/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/30/3d-scanner-for-tiny-objects-uses-blu-ray-parts/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brachiograph: A Simple And Cheap Pen-Plotter
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/30/brachiograph-a-simple-and-cheap-pen-plotter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/07/a-guide-to-shop-equipment-nobody-thinks-about/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/17/3d-printed-snap-gun-for-automatic-lock-picking/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/23/desk-sized-cnc-engraver-does-the-job/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/01/cpap-monitor-alerts-wearer-to-malfunctions/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/29/the-bluetooth-lcd-sniffer-you-didnt-know-you-needed/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/28/take-control-of-your-dslr-with-pixpi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Deducing Stepper Motor Wiring
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/25/deducing-stepper-motor-wiring/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Make Your Own Flexible Panel Lights
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/03/make-your-own-flexible-panel-lights/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Light-Probe-MK-I/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/08/this-wifi-spoofing-syringe-is-for-external-use-only/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Better Embroidery Machine, With 3D Printing And Common Parts
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/07/a-better-embroidery-machine-with-3d-printing-and-common-parts/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/19/fail-of-the-week-how-not-to-light-pipe/
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printed Pen Plotter Is As Big As You Need It To Be
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/26/3d-printed-pen-plotter-is-as-big-as-you-need-it-to-be/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/30/the-gorgeous-hardware-we-cant-take-our-eyes-away-from/
Tomi Engdahl says:
FiberGrid: An Inexpensive Optical Sensor Framework
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/30/fibergrid-an-inexpensive-optical-sensor-framework/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finely Machined Valve Controls Miniature RC Hydraulics
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/28/finely-machined-valve-controls-miniature-rc-hydraulics/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Spot Adulterated Olive Oil With This Spectrophotometer
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/31/spot-adulterated-olive-oil-with-this-spectrophotometer/
Olive oil at its finest quality is a product that brings alive the Mediterranean cuisine of which it is a staple. Unfortunately for many of us not fortunate enough to possess our own olive grove, commercial olive oils are frequently adulterated, diluted with cheaper oils such as canola. As consumers we have no way of knowing this, other than the taste being a bit less pronounced. Food standards agencies use spectrophotometers to check the purity of oils, and [Daniel James Evans] has created such a device using a Raspberry Pi.
https://hackaday.io/project/167360-pi-spectrophotometer-tests-olive-oil
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/31/odd-sized-military-headphone-connectors-tamed/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Print A Drill Press For Your Printed Circuit Boards
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/05/print-a-drill-press-for-your-printed-circuit-boards/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hack Your Brain To Stop Overeating
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/05/hack-your-brain-to-stop-overeating/
Slim Band: Appetite Suppression Wristband
Help fight obesity and food waste through behavioral conditioning
https://hackaday.io/project/166965-slim-band-appetite-suppression-wristband
Tomi Engdahl says:
Open Source Smart Smoker Brings The Heat (Slowly)
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/04/open-source-smart-smoker-brings-the-heat-slowly/
Smokey Mc Smokerson
Automated barbecue and smoker on a budget
https://hackaday.io/project/165762-smokey-mc-smokerson
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D-Printed Film Scanner Brings Family Memories Back To Life
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/04/3d-printed-film-scanner-brings-family-memories-back-to-life/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Solar-Harvesting Blinkenlights
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/03/solar-harvesting-blinkenlights/
Tomi Engdahl says:
When Project Enclosures Go Bad: A Message From The Trenches
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/03/when-project-enclosures-go-bad-a-message-from-the-trenches/
A wall-mounted, electric car charging station doesn’t sound like it’d require the most exciting or complicated enclosure. This was pretty much the assumption [Mastro Gippo] and his team started out with when they decided to turn what came back from a product designer into a real enclosure for the ‘Prism’ charging hardware they had developed. As it turned out, the enclosure proved to be the most challenging part of the project.
Enclosure hell
https://hackaday.io/project/166859-prism/log/167243-enclosure-hell
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hardware password manager
https://hackaday.io/project/5588-hardware-password-manager
Small USB unit which simulates keyboard and generates, keeps and types up to eight passwords
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quiet EL Wire Inverter
A quiet El Wire inverter with USB plug for easy use.
https://hackaday.io/project/161482-quiet-el-wire-inverter
Quiet EL wire inverter, based on a boost converter and a H bridge driver IC. Provides 360Vpp drive at 2.5kHz, up to 3M of typical wire. Device plugs into a USB port or wall plug.
The EL is driven by a microchip HV809, set to run at about 2.5kHz.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Solar Right For You? Find Out!
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/07/is-solar-right-for-you-find-out/
Solar panels are revolutionizing the electric power industry, but not everyone is a good candidate for rooftop solar. Obviously people in extreme northern or sothern latitudes aren’t going to be making a ton of energy during the winter compared to people living closer to the equator, for example, but there are other factors at play that are more specific to each individual house. To find out if any one in particular will benefit from solar panels, [Jake] and [Ryan]’s solar intensity sensor will help you find out.
The long-term intensity tracker is equipped with a small solar panel and a data recording device, properly contained in a waterproof enclosure, and is intended to be placed in the exact location that a potential solar installation will be.
SOL: Long-term solar intensity sensing
https://hackaday.io/project/158984-sol-long-term-solar-intensity-sensing
SOL is a project to develop a solar powered, connected solar intensity sensor (also known as a pyranometer)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cheap Stereo Microscope Helps With SMD
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/08/cheap-stereo-microscope-helps-with-smd/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This CT Scan Of A PCB Is The Accidental ASMR We Didn’t Know We Needed
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/09/this-ct-scan-of-a-pcb-is-the-accidental-asmr-we-didnt-know-we-needed/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Think IN18s Are Cool? Get A Load Of This Must-Have Custom Nixie Tube
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/02/think-in18s-are-cool-get-a-load-of-this-must-have-custom-nixie-tube/
Custom Nixie Tubes are Custom
Tomi Engdahl says:
Interactive LED Dome Glows With The Best Of Them
https://www.instructables.com/id/Interactive-LED-Dome-With-Fadecandy-Processing-and/
Interactive LED Dome With Fadecandy, Processing and Kinect
https://www.instructables.com/id/Interactive-LED-Dome-With-Fadecandy-Processing-and/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Do Those Component Testers Work?
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/01/how-do-those-component-testers-work/
Most people have at least seen those cheap component testers you can buy on the Chinese websites for $10 or so. If you haven’t seen them before, they usually have some kind of multi pin socket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xsg8lpP75s
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Print Your Own Thermal Insert Press
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/01/3d-print-your-own-thermal-insert-press/
Thermal inserts are a big thing when it comes to engineering with plastic. They make it easy to use threaded fasteners with plastic parts, and they work great with 3D printing too. There’s a bit of a knack to installing them without damaging your workpiece, however, and [John Culbertson] wanted to make using them as easy as possible. Thus, he created a thermal insert press of his very own!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEdtyCNJDfY
Tomi Engdahl says:
Take A Break From Arduinos, And Build A Radio Transmitter
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/30/take-a-break-from-arduinos-and-build-a-radio-transmitter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Modular Camera Remote Is Highly Capable
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/04/modular-camera-remote-is-highly-capable/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Lightning Detector Is Remarkably Sensitive
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/03/this-lightning-detector-is-remarkably-sensitive/
Tomi Engdahl says:
When Engineering, Fine Art, And ASMR Collide
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/03/when-engineering-fine-art-and-asmr-collide/
The success that [Julian Baumgartner] has found on YouTube is a perfect example of all that’s weird and wonderful about the platform. His videos, which show in utterly engrossing detail the painstaking work that goes into restoring and conserving pieces of fine art, have been boosted in popularity by YouTube’s Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) subculture thanks to his soft spoken narration. But his latest video came as something of a surprise to lovers of oil paintings and “tingles” alike, as it revealed that he’s also more than capable of scratch building his own equipment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Clapper Lets You Pick Your Components
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/06/diy-clapper-lets-you-pick-your-components/
One thing that always means the end of the year is close is the reappearance of TV ads for “The Clapper.” After all, who needs home automation when you can clap on and clap off? While we’re partial to our usual home automation solutions, [Utsource123] shows us that building a clapper can be a fun and easy project using several similar circuits. One with a few transistors and another one with a 555 because, after all, what can’t a 555 do?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building A Wind Power Generator In Your Backyard
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/05/building-a-wind-power-generator-in-your-backyard/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How To Get Started With Fadecandy And LEDs
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/05/how-to-get-started-with-fadecandy-and-leds/
The internet is awash with millions of stunning LED projects, and for that, we are all very thankful. For those outside the hacker/maker matrix, it can be difficult to know how to approach such a build. Never fear, for [Amy Goodchild] has put together a beginner’s guide to building pretty glowables, using Fadecandy and Processing.
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Control-Addressable-LEDs-With-Fadecandy-and/
This is a step-by-step tutorial on how to use Fadecandy and Processing to control addressable LEDs.
Fadecandy is an LED driver which can control up to 8 strips of 64 pixels each. (You can connect multiple Fadecandys to one computer to increase this.)
Processing is a programming language used to make visuals. You have a canvas, just like you would in Photoshop or Paint but instead of drawing with the mouse, you draw by writing code.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building A Cyberpunk Multi-Touch Input Device
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/06/building-a-cyberpunk-multi-touch-input-device/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Solder paste and flux dispenser
DIY for hobby use
https://hackaday.io/project/166699-solder-paste-and-flux-dispenser
Next level DIY dispenser.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everything Makes Sound If You Try Hard Enough
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/11/everything-makes-sound-if-you-try-hard-enough/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2jRs45JTUs