3D-Printed Kwikset Keys Parametrically

October 14, 2017 by 34 Comments

Good ol’ Kwikset-standard locks were introduced in 1946 and enjoyed a decades-long security by obscurity. The technology still stands today as a ubiquitous and fairly minimal level of security. It’s the simplest of the various standards (e.g., Master, Schlage, etc.) with a mere five pins with values ranging from 1 (not cut down hardly at all) to 7 (cut deeply). This relative simplicity made the Kwikset the ideal platform for [Dave Pedu] to test his 3D-printed keys.

Rather than simply duplicating an existing key, [Dave] created a parametric key blank in OpenSCAD; he just enters his pin settings and the model generator creates the print file. He printed ABS on a glass plate with a schmeer of acetone on it, and .15mm layer heights. Another reason [Dave] chose Kwikset is that the one he had was super old and super loose — he theorizes that a newer, tighter lock might simply break the key.

So, a reminder: Don’t post a picture of your keys on the socials since at this point it’s certainly possible to script the entire process from selecting a picture to pulling the key off the print bed. Looking to technology won’t save you either; Bluetooth locks aren’t much better.

Hackaday Prize Entry: An Open Radiation Detector

October 14, 2017 by 38 Comments

For his Hackaday Prize entry, [Carlos] is pushing the boundaries of what can be built with PCBs. He’s designed a very low-cost radiation detector that leverages pick and place machines, off-the-shelf components, and very simple electronics. It’s a novel ion chamber design, and if you ever needed a low-cost, easily manufacturable radiation detector, this is the project you want.

Instead of a Geiger tube or a spark detectors, this radiation detector uses an ionization chamber to detect radiation. This project was inspired by the work of [Charles Wenzel] and [Alan Yates], and the implementation is actually pretty simple. A metal can — or some other type of enclosure — is electrified, and a single wire is stuck right into the middle of the can. When alpha and beta particles enter the can, air molecules are ionized, and attracted to either the can or the wire by a difference in voltage. A tiny bit of current flows between the can and the wire, which can be detected if you have a sufficiently sensitive circuit.

The basic idea is well-publicised and well-understood. What [Carlos] is doing with this project is making an ionization chamber easily manufacturable. He’s doing this entirely with standard PCBs and solder instead of paint cans, RF connectors, and deadbugged transistors of the earlier experiments. The resulting PCB actually looks like something that wasn’t put together in a garage (even though it probably was), and is an amazing entry for the Hackaday Prize.

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Opening The Door To Functional Prints

October 14, 2017 by 11 Comments

If you are going to do something as a joke, there is nothing to say that you can’t do a nice job of it. If you’re like [Michael], a whimsical statement like “Wouldn’t it be funny to put Gründerzeit-style doors on the server cabinet?” might lead down a slippery slope. True to his word, [Michael] not only installed the promised doors, but he did a darn nice job of it.

Buying new doors was the easy part because the door frame and hinges were not standardized back then, so there was nothing on the server cabinet to his mount doors. He walks us through all the steps but the most interesting point was the 3D printed door hinges which [Michael] modeled himself and printed in steel. His new hinges feature his personal flair, with some Voronoi patterning while matching the shape of the originals. We love seeing 3D printed parts used as functional hardware, and hinges are certainly a piece of hardware meant to hold up under pressure.

This is not the first 3D printed door hardware we’ve seen. Check out this innovative latch printed as a single piece and here’s the skinny on making flexible objects yourself.

Continue reading “Opening The Door To Functional Prints” →

Nintendo Power Glove Achieves Its Promise As Vive Controller

October 14, 2017 by 11 Comments

You have to hand it to Nintendo, for blazing the virtual reality trail in consumer products a couple of decades before everyone else, even if the best that can be said for their efforts in that direction is that they weren’t exactly super-successful. Their 1989 Power Glove became little more than a difficult-to-use peripheral for everyday console games, and their 1995 Virtual Boy console was streets ahead of its time but had a 3D effect that induced discomfort in its players.

Many years later though, the Power Glove remains an intriguing product, and one that can be readily found second-hand. The folks at Teague Labs think that perhaps its time has come as the basis of a peripheral for modern VR systems, as a controller for the HTC Vive.

They’ve taken a Power Glove, and through an Arduino Due with a custom shield, interfaced it to the Vive controller mounted where the buttons would have been in its Nintendo days. The Vive provides positional data, while the Nintendo sensors provide hand data. Thus they’ve made an accomplished glove peripheral with a lot less heartache than they would have seen had they done so from scratch.

They show us a couple of environments using the glove, an iPad simulation which we’re having a little difficulty getting our heads round, and a rock/paper/scissors game which looks rather fun. If you are interested in further work, all their code is on GitHub.

We’ve shown you another hugely-upgraded Power Glove in the past, but how about one controlling a quadcopter?

Not Your Typical ATX Bench PSU

October 14, 2017 by 7 Comments

We know what you’re thinking — yet another scrap PC power supply turned into a bench PSU. But look a little closer and you’ll see a nicely designed linear bench supply that just fits inside a gutted ATX case.

A lot of the items on [Medzik]’s BOM for this build are straight from the scrap bin. The aforementioned ATX supply case is one, as is the power transformer donated by a friend. Modules such as the 30V/2A regulator, the digital volt/ammeter, and a thermostat module to control the fan at higher power settings were all sourced via the usual suspects. The PSU boasts two outputs — an adjustable 0-22 volt supply, and a fixed 12-volt output. An unusual design feature is a secondary input which uses the 22-VAC supply from a Weller soldering station to give the PSU a little more oomph. This boosts the maximum output to 30 volts; one wonders why [Medzik] didn’t just source a bigger transformer, but you work with what you have sometimes. There are some nice touches, too, like custom-printed vinyl overlays for the case.

It’s a good-looking and compact unit with a decent suite of features, and you could do a lot worse when building your next bench supply. If it’s not your cup of tea though, just take your pick — tiny and yellow, built to last, or ensconced in Ultrasuede.

3D Printed Tyres Let You Drive On Water

October 14, 2017 by 28 Comments

[Jesus] apparently walked on water, without any tools at all. But when you’ve got a 3D printer handy, it makes sense to use it. [Simon] decided to use his to 3D print some tyres for his R/C car – with awesome results.

[Simon] started this project with a goal of driving on water. Initial experiments were promising – the first design of paddle tyres gave great traction in the sand and were capable of climbing some impressive slopes. However, once aimed at the water, the car quickly sank below the surface.

Returning to the drawing board armed with the advice of commenters, [Simon] made some changes. The paddle tyres were reprinted with larger paddles, and a more powerful R/C car selected as the test bed. On the second attempt, the car deftly skipped along the surface and was remarkably controllable as well! [Simon] has provided the files so you can make your own at home.

It’s a great example of a practical use for a 3D printer. Parts can readily be made for all manner of RC purposes, such as making your own servo adapters.

The Early Bird Repairs A Slug

October 13, 2017 by 12 Comments

When faced with a problematic Bird slug, [Robert Meister] didn’t give up. He pecked away at the slug and brought us all along for the ride. If that sentence didn’t make sense to you, read on!

Anyone who’s been to a hamfest has seen a Bird meter. The Bird Model 43 watt meter is the defacto standard for measuring transmitter power in-line. Bird meters don’t just work from DC to light though. In fact, the model 43 itself is just a bit of transmission line and a meter movement.  The magic happens inside the swappable measurement element. These elements, affectionately called “slugs” are calibrated for a frequency band and power range. An example would be the model 4410-6, which works from 50 – 200 MHz, at up to 1 kW. Most hams have a collection of these slugs to go with the bands they transmit on.

[Robert]’s problem child was a model 100E element, good for 100 watts on 400 – 1000 MHz. The meter output seemed erratic though. A bit of troubleshooting with a second meter and a known good slug isolated the problem to the 100E. The problem was isolated to the slug, but how to fix it?

Slugs are sealed brass containers, each of which is calibrated to 5% accuracy at the factory. They are the closest thing you’ll find in the ham world to “no user serviceable parts inside”. Still, [Robert] had nothing to lose. He soaked the slug in a bit of Xylene solvent to loosen the glue holding the metal label on. Behind that were a painted screw and a hole for a calibration pot. We’re guessing the paint is Bird’s idea of tamper detection.

Pulling the screw out, and removing the nylon cover on the back of the slug revealed the real story. The slug contained a calibrated sensing loop, a diode, the calibration pot, and a terminating resistor. In [Robert]’s case, all he had to do was clean the contacts on the slug, and things worked fine.

For 11 years, anyway. After that, the slug started acting up again. Cleaning didn’t fix the problem this time. [Robert] ended up replacing the calibration potentiometer with a similar model from Digi-key. He re-calibrated the slug against his known good meter. It may not be a lab quality calibration, but this slug should be good for another few decades in his shack.