introduction

9 Articles

Large gears on a bridge in Geneva, Switzerland

Gear Up: A 15-Minute Intro On Involute Gears

November 21, 2024 by 10 Comments

If you’re into CNC machining, mechanical tinkering, or just love a good engineering rabbit hole, you’re in for a treat. Substack’s [lcamtuf] has written a quick yet insightful 15-minute introduction to involute gears that’s as informative as it is accessible. You can find the full article here. Compared to Hackaday’s more in-depth exploration in their Mechanisms series over the years, this piece is a beginner-friendly gateway into the fascinating world of gear design.

Involute gears aren’t just pretty spirals. Their unique geometry minimizes friction and vibration, keeps rotational speeds steady, and ensures smooth torque transfer—no snags, no skips. As [lcamtuf] points out, the secret sauce lies in their design, which can’t be eyeballed. By simulating the meshing process between a gear and a rack (think infinite gear), you can create the smooth, rolling movement we take for granted in everything from cars to coffee grinders.

From pressure angles to undercutting woes, [lcamtuf] explores why small design tweaks matter. The pièce de résistance? Profile-shifted gears—a genius hack for stronger teeth in low-tooth-count designs.

Whether you’re into the theory behind gear ratios, or in need of a nifty tool to cut them at home, Hackaday has got you covered. Inspired?

Continuous Integration: What It Is And Why You Need It

January 6, 2020 by 35 Comments

If you write software, chances are you’ve come across Continuous Integration, or CI. You might never have heard of it – but you wonder what all the ticks, badges and mysterious status icons are on open-source repositories you find online. You might hear friends waxing lyrical about the merits of CI, or grumbling about how their pipeline has broken again.

Want to know what all the fuss is about? This article will explain the basic concepts of CI, but will focus on an example, since that’s the best way to understand it. Let’s dive in. Continue reading “Continuous Integration: What It Is And Why You Need It” →

WebAssembly: What Is It And Why Should You Care?

April 4, 2019 by 45 Comments

If you keep up with the field of web development, you may have heard of WebAssembly. A relatively new kid on the block, it was announced in 2015, and managed to garner standardised support from all major browsers by 2017 – an impressive feat. However, it’s only more recently that the developer community has started to catch up with adoption and support.

So, what is it? What use case is so compelling that causes such quick browser adoption? This post aims to explain the need for WebAssembly, a conceptual overview of the technical side, as well as a small hands-on example for context.

Continue reading “WebAssembly: What Is It And Why Should You Care?” →

Learn To Loop The Python Way: Iterators And Generators Explained

September 19, 2018 by 17 Comments

If you’ve ever written any Python at all, the chances are you’ve used iterators without even realising it. Writing your own and using them in your programs can provide significant performance improvements, particularly when handling large datasets or running in an environment with limited resources. They can also make your code more elegant and give you “Pythonic” bragging rights.

Here we’ll walk through the details and show you how to roll your own, illustrating along the way just why they’re useful.

Continue reading “Learn To Loop The Python Way: Iterators And Generators Explained” →

Intro To Docker: Why And How To Use Containers On Any System

September 5, 2018 by 72 Comments

If you have your ear even slightly to the ground of the software community, you’ll have heard of Docker. Having recently enjoyed a tremendous rise in popularity, it continues to attract users at a rapid pace, including many global firms whose infrastructure depends on it. Part of Docker’s rise to fame can be attributed to its users becoming instant fans with evangelical tendencies.

But what’s behind the popularity, and how does it work? Let’s go through a conceptual introduction and then explore Docker with a bit of hands-on playing around.

Continue reading “Intro To Docker: Why And How To Use Containers On Any System” →

Key To Soldering: Pace Yourself

June 29, 2017 by 29 Comments

When writing my last article, I came upon something I thought had been lost to the seven seas of YouTube: the old-school “Basic Soldering Lesson” series from Pace Worldwide.

This nine-episode-long series is what retaught me to solder, and is a masterpiece, both in content and execution. With an episode titled “Integrated Circuits: T0-5 Type Packages & Other Multi-leaded Components” and a 20-minute video that only focuses on solder and flux, it’s clear from the get-go that these videos mean business. Add that to the fact that the videos are narrated by [Paul Anthony], the local weatherman in the Washington DC area back in the 80s and 90s, these videos are a joy to watch.

Even if you know what you’re doing, don’t skip the first video. It’s where the “workpiece indicator” concept, which runs throughout the series, is introduced.

Covering everything from what solder really is to how to correctly solder integrated circuits, this series has it all, even if it’s slightly dated. And, while it’s not a hack, it’s a great way to rejuvenate your soldering skills or give someone a hot start on their soldering journey.

Speaking of which, we’ve seen many things designed to educate, but one size certainly does not fit all. Do y’all know of any well-made sources that teach foundational topics that are as accessible as this series? If so, let us know in the comments.

The first video in the series is after the break. In sum, they’re long but worth it.

Continue reading “Key To Soldering: Pace Yourself” →

Sage Advice For The New Ham

March 5, 2016 by 39 Comments

If you’re on the edge about getting your amateur radio license, just go do it and worry about the details later. But once you’ve done that, you’re going to need to know a little bit about the established culture and practices of the modern ham — the details.

Toward that end, [McSteve] has written up a (so far) two-part introductory series about ham radio. His first article is fairly general, and lays out many of the traditional applications of ham radio: chatting with other humans using the old-fashioned analog modes. You know, radio stuff.

The second article focuses more on using repeaters. Repeaters can be a confusing topic for new radio operators: there are two frequencies — one for transmitting and one for receiving — and funny control tones (CTCSS) etc. This article is particularly useful for the new ham, because you’re likely to have a relatively low powered radio that would gain the most from using a repeater, and because the technology and traditions of repeater usage are a bit arcane.

So if you’re thinking about getting your license, do it already. And then read through these two pages and you’re good to go. We can’t wait to see what [McSteve] writes up next.