cnc hacks

912 Articles

Day O’ Guitar Hero Mods (with A Bonus)

December 3, 2007 by 20 Comments


I’ve already gotten a pile of tips on Guitar Hero controllers today, so here we go. The first one is already making the rounds. [Mark] replaced strummer with a touchscreen LCD and a magnetic switch. [Mark]s ultimate goal is to add some optical sensing and make the guitar self playing. For details, hit the acidmods thread or just watch the proof of concept demo.

[Johan] sent in the second controller of the day, and it’s probably my favorite for guitar bling. The original mushy switches were replaced with micro-switches and CNC milled replacement buttons. Each button is individually lit with LEDs and a cold cathode lights up translucent panel in the body. A PIC controller controls the lights and provides some input options for button tapping. The video is actually pretty entertaining to watch.

For a little bonus, check out [Mastershake916]’s cast Hack-A-Day pendant.

How-To: Where To Find Parts For Your Projects

November 16, 2007 by 78 Comments


Hunting down the right parts usually takes more time than soldering everything together. I can’t count the number of projects that I tried to build and couldn’t find some key component that’s no longer made. You can help put together a list of suppliers at the end, but the idea is to have a quick reference to get your projects rolling (saving your money for important things, like espresso). Even if you’re familiar with the usual electronics parts shops, chime in to help me create a list of the best suppliers to fuel those hardware hacking projects.

Continue reading “How-To: Where To Find Parts For Your Projects” →

Side Project: CNCBadges

October 14, 2007 by 114 Comments


Want something different for your latest PC? I’m starting to offer custom CNC cut case badges made on my mill. I’m starting off with 1″ x 1″ badges made from .125″ thick 6061 aluminum alloy. The test cuts above should give you a decent idea of what I’m talking about. (The edges are a bit rough because I need to order some proper engraving bits.) I’ve just about gotten the kinks out, so I’m going to start accepting orders now. Engraved badges are $6 and shipping’s just $1 in the US. Everything is very, very beta – let me know if you have any questions.

Eliot said that I could pimp my little venture if I give away some Hack-A-Day badges. So drop a comment – I’ll pick five or so at random (unless you’re a tool) to receive a free badge with the Hack-A-Day logo. I *might* consider offering Hack-A-Day badges to raise money for the EFF, but it’s still up in the air.

CNC Solder Paste/pick N Place

June 4, 2007 by 15 Comments


Just when I thought I’d seen most of the CNC mods out there, [Steve Ciciora] (who happens to be one of the driving forces behind the killacycle) sent in his diy solder paste dispenser *and* his diy pick and place machine. Both are extensions of his CNC taig mill. Hopefully [steve] will put up some more details of his mill mods.

Automatic Color Detection

May 8, 2007 by 15 Comments


[KLOZ] submitted his final project from college. Rather than an expensive CCD camera, he used a set of colored resistors LEDs and a light dependent resistor (I’m assuming he means a photo resistor) to determine the color of a product (m&ms). He used the carriage from an old HP inkjet, a custom cnc cut wheel to separate and deliver the m&ms and a Parallax propeller micro controller board to tie it all together. Now he can hog all the green ones for himself.

Update: Yes, I’m an idiot. I did mean colored LEDs. People who caught me will get an email – I’ve got something for ya.

Check out the sorting demo video after the break

Continue reading “Automatic Color Detection” →

Everybody Needs One

April 18, 2007 by 12 Comments


Not the hack o’ the day, but you guys might have noticed that I’ve been pretty quiet on the engadget How-To front. I’ve been spending all my spare time in my garage working on a CNC conversion for the mini mill I bought a few months ago. It features pic based microstepping controllers that handle up to 54 volts and 3amps. I settled for a modified PC power supply for now. I’ve got plans for this thing, including some stuff just for Hack-A-Day. All the mechanical and electronic work is completed; now I’m taking a breather while I wait for the actual beefy stepper motor for the Z-axis pictured above. I celebrated with a coffee stout.

Printer Hacking Roundup

March 12, 2007 by 11 Comments


Today’s roundup is in honor of all those inkjets, laser printers and plotters that have been cracked open and modded to perform unspeakable tasks. This is a bit of an experiment, so let me know what you think.

First, there’s the classic DIY CD printer. Aside from dremeling the back of the printer, making the cd cartridge from a decent material is probably the most difficult task. I used to print on my DVDs, but now I just rip ’em to my media server.

Not really a hack, but someone discovered that they can get ever nicer photo transfers if they use an inkjet instead of a laser printer to create the transparencies.

Not to be forgotten, using the fuser from a laser printer to transfer laser printed artwork onto PC boards.

If you missed it, [Volkan] and [Stefan] gutted an Epson C84 to make a direct to PCB etch resist printer. The feed the board in and get a printed design, ready for the etch tank. (once it’s dry, of course) Someone else is working on the same hack with a C87.

If you’re evil, there’s the classic paper shredding printer.

You could use an old network printer interface to control something else.

If people you work with actually read the lcd, you might have some fun exploiting the displays on those HP workgroup printers.

You could pick up an old pen plotter and convert it to cut vinyl for your nefarious custom stickers.

Speaking of plotters, there’s the ‘scribbler bot‘ – AKA diy pen plotter.

Of course, maybe you just want to fix your old printer after you completely dissassemble it. (Via zedomax)

Maybe you can make your own waterfall printer. (If you pull this one off, let us know)