Author: Kristina Panos

1861 Articles

Ink-Dipping Machine Saves Iotas Of Time

June 26, 2019 by 11 Comments

[Uri Tuchman] doesn’t always write with a dip pen. But when he does, he gets tired of re-inking it almost immediately. Now, convenience comes in many forms. He could make the switch to any number of modern writing instruments, sure. But that would be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

[Uri] decided that old-timey problems call for old-timey solutions, and we couldn’t agree more. His machine is an amazingly well-crafted automaton that dips a handmade pen into ink and shakes off the excess with the turn of a crank and the nudging of cams. We love the hand-carved claw, which looks perfectly absurd as it moves about gracefully on custom brass hinges.

We were somewhat surprised that given all this work, [Uri] didn’t grind his own nib or make his own ink. But that would cut down on the time he has to write letters longhand in between waiting for a wet quill. Crank past the break to see [Uri]’s thoroughly entertaining build video for this awe-inspiring machine.

Mesmerized by automatons? This laser-cut water droplet wave should quench your thirst.

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Postal-Themed Rat Rod Mower Really Delivers

June 1, 2019 by 10 Comments

There are birthday presents, and then there are birthday presents. You know, the amazing ones that are the polar opposite of phoning it in. This is one of those presents.

So, [peterbrazil]’s wife is a rural mail carrier on a small island. For her upcoming birthday, he wanted to build a lil’ something she could show off in the local Tractor Days Parade. He found an old Cub Cadet riding mower that was destined for the dump, and the rest is well-documented history.

This glorious conversion required a lot of frame work, but it’s obvious this wasn’t [peterbrazil]’s first rodeo. He got some tires and tie rods from a friend who used to race lawnmowers (yeah, really) and went from there. He wanted this rat rod to be totally slammed (lowered as far as possible), but that would prohibit [Mrs. peterbrazil] from riding it ’round the farm after her parade dust settles. Instead, he went for the raked look, which means the front is lower than the back.

We love all of the reuse here, which includes a wheelbarrow cleverly cut into a seat and a dashboard, an old mailbox for a bed/cargo box, and a pitchfork grill. There are some modern touches as well, like a 3D printed mailbox shift knob with a working door, printed ignition switch box for the dash, and an adapter that makes room for a huge cone air filter. The seat cushion is a nice touch, too—the sunflower fabric adds both femininity and farm flavor to the build.

Always wanted to build a hot rod, but don’t have the garage space? Get some traction with an R/C rod.

For Better Photogrammetry, Just Add A Donut

May 14, 2019 by 19 Comments

If you don’t have access to a 3D scanner, you can get a lot done with photogrammetry. Basically, you take a bunch of pictures of an object from different angles, and then stitch them together with software to create a 3D model. For best results, you need consistent, diffuse lighting, an unchanging background, and a steady camera.

Industrial designer [Eric Strebel] recently made an Intro to Photogrammetry video wherein he circled an object taking photos with his bare hands. One commenter suggested a different method: build a donut-shaped turntable that circles the object, which sits on a stationary platform. Attach the camera to the donut, counterbalance the weight, and Bob’s your proverbial uncle. [Eric] thought it was a brilliant idea (because it is), and he built a proof of concept. This is that video.

[Eric] can move the camera up and down the arc of the boom to get all the Z-positions he wants. The platform has a mark every 10° and there’s a pointer in the platform to line them up against for consistent camera positioning. He was pleasantly surprised by the results, which we agree are outstanding.

We always learn a lot from [Eric]’s videos, and this one’s no exception. Case in point: he makes a cardboard mock-up by laying out the pieces, and uses that to make a pattern for the recycled plywood and melamine version. In the photogrammetry video, he covers spray paint techniques to make objects reflect as little light as possible so the details don’t get lost.

If you prefer to rotate your objects, get an Arduino out and automate the spin.

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Talking Washer Is A Clean Solution For The Visually Impaired

May 4, 2019 by 27 Comments

Have you shopped for an appliance lately? They’re all LEDs, LEDs everywhere. You might say that manufacturers are out of touch with the utility of tactile controls. [Wingletang]’s fancy new washing machine is cut from this modern cloth. While it does have a nice big knob for selecting cycles, the only indication of your selection is an LED. This isn’t an issue for [Wingletang], but it’s a showstopper for his visually impaired wife.

They tried to make tactile signposts for her most-used cycles with those adhesive rubber feet you use to keep cabinet doors quiet. But between the machine’s 14(!) different wash cycles and the endlessly-rotating selector knob, the tactile map idea was a wash. It was time to make the machine talk.

For his very first microcontroller project, [Wingletang] designed a completely non-invasive and totally awesome solution to this problem. He’s using LDRs arranged in a ring to detect which LED is lit. Recycled mouse pad foam and black styrene keep ambient light from creating false positives, and double as enclosure for the sensor and support boards. As [Mrs. Wingletang] cycles through with the knob, an Arduino clone mounted in a nearby project box determines which program is selected, and a Velleman KA02 audio shield plays a recorded clip of [Wingletang] announcing the cycle number and description.

The system, dubbed SOAP (Speech Output Announcing Programmes), has been a great help to [Mrs. Wingletang] for about the last year. Watch her take it for a spin after the break, and stick around for SOAP’s origin story and walk-through videos.

It’s baffling that so few washers and dryers let you know when they’re finished. Don’t waste your time checking over and over again—Laundry Spy waits for the vibrations to end and sends you a text.

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Electromechanical YouTube Sub Counter Trades Clicks For Clacks

April 28, 2019 by 11 Comments

Acquiring a new YouTube subscriber is a blessed event that deserves far more fanfare than a phone notification. But maybe blinkenlights don’t really do it for you anymore, or you simply prefer to be soothed sonically rather than visually. Well, what could be more satisfying than the crisp clack of an electromechanical 7-segment display? Six of them, of course. These things look great, they sound great, and once they’re set, they don’t need power to stay that way.

These displays switch between black and white by reversing current flow through their electromagnets, so [Zack] turned to the H-bridge in order to use them with DC. One H-bridge for each segment of six displays adds up fast, though. To get around this, [Zack] tied one pole of each electromagnet together for a common signal input, and used the other pole to control each segment individually. Then, he was able to tie all the A segments together, all the B segments, and so on, and only needs 13 H-bridges to do it all.

There was just one thing [Zack] didn’t count on. Once he got the board soldered up and running, the displays started acting funny. The low impedance of the coils was causing them to influence each other over the common path, so he added diode arrays to keep them in line.

[Zack]’s using an ESP32 to get the 411 through the Google API, and four octal serial switches to drive the displays. Even more satisfying than all those clacks is the displays’ operational economy baked into [Zack]’s code—as they count up, any segments common to the first digit and the next digit remain on. Increment your way past the break to check out the build video.

Not focused on numbers, but still want to celebrate each new sub? Try a dancing robot or a Tetris twist.

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Nanoparticles Make Mega Difference For “Unweldable” Aluminum

April 15, 2019 by 62 Comments

Though much of it is hidden from view, welding is a vital part of society. It’s the glue that holds together the framework of the cars we drive, the buildings we occupy, the appliances we use, and the heavy machinery that keeps us moving forward. Every year, the tireless search continues for stronger and lighter materials to streamline our journey into the future of transportation and space exploration.

Some of these futuristic materials have been around for decades, but the technology needed to weld them lagged behind. A group of researchers at UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering recently found the key to unlocking the weldability of aluminium alloy 7075, which was developed in the 1940s. By adding titanium carbide nanoparticles to the mix, they were able to create a bond that proved to be stronger than the pieces themselves.

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This Light-Up Sorter Is A Bright Idea

February 12, 2019 by 14 Comments

Sorting out a mountain of screws and other workbench detritus by hand is a task that only appeals to a select few of us. [AdrienR] is not one of those people. He believes the job is better suited to a robot, so he built an intelligent and good-looking machine that does just that.

[Adrien]’s sorting bot is capable of organizing a hodgepodge of parts quickly and effectively. He simply scatters the parts on the light box work surface, illuminates it, and takes a picture with a downward-facing web cam. An algorithm studies the parts and their positions using OpenCV image processing, and sends the triangulation back to the arm so it can pick and place the parts into laser cut boxes using a home brew electromagnet.

[Adrien] calls this a work in progress. He plans to control it with a Raspberry Pi so it can be a standalone unit, and will probably move the parts boxes to the outside curve. Drop yourself past the break to see it sort.

If delta robots are more your sort, this one has balls. Colored balls.

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