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.
6,973 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.techspot.com/news/98289-modder-adds-isa-slot-modern-pc-retro-gaming.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/04/07/building-the-ohsillyscope/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brian Haidet Puts Electricity to Work Finding the Shortest Route Through a Maze
Using a maze laser-cut from aluminum, a power supply, and a thermal camera, electricity can solve a maze — all by itself.
https://www.hackster.io/news/brian-haidet-puts-electricity-to-work-finding-the-shortest-route-through-a-maze-c513442985e3
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize 2023: Explore The Basics Of Neuroscience With This Electronic Neuron
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/01/hackaday-prize-2023-explore-the-basics-of-neuroscience-with-this-electronic-neuron/
Brains are the most complex systems in the universe, but their basic building blocks are surprisingly simple — the complexity arises from billions of neurons, axons and synapses working together. Simulating an entire brain therefore requires vast computing resources, but if it’s just a few cells you’re interested in, you don’t need much: a handful of op-amps and transistors will do the job, as [Sebastian Billaudelle] has demonstrated. He has designed an electronic neuron called Lu.i that does everything a real neuron does, in a convenient package suitable for educational use.
Lu.i – educational neuron PCB
https://hackaday.io/project/190754-lui-educational-neuron-pcb
Lu.i is an electronic neuron circuit mimicking and illustrating the basic dynamics of real, biological neurons.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/01/my-great-great-grandad-the-engineer-who-invented-a-coffee-pot/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Magnetic Core Memory The Dr Cockroach Way
https://hackaday.io/project/190798-magnetic-core-memory-the-dr-cockroach-way
My not so fancy example of Magnetic Core Memory using fairly cheap cores and free parts from my junk box.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Op Amp Challenge: An Op-Amp Buck Regulator
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/01/op-amp-challenge-an-op-amp-buck-regulator/
Switching regulators have delivered such convenience and efficiency compared to their linear siblings, that it’s now becoming rare to see an old-style three-terminal regulator. Modern designs have integrated to such an extent that for many of us the inner workings remain something of a mystery. It’s still possible to make switching regulators from first principles though, which is what [Aaron Lager] has done by designing a buck regulator from a quad op-amp IC,
https://hackaday.io/project/190645-opamp-buck-regulator
Tomi Engdahl says:
Squeeze Over A Minute Of Movie Filming Onto A 35mm Still Cartridge
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/01/squeeze-over-a-minute-of-movie-filming-onto-a-35mm-still-cartridge/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Recreating A Non-Standard USB Cable
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/01/recreating-a-non-standard-usb-cable/
USB is a well-defined standard for which there are a reasonable array of connectors for product designers to use in whatever their application is. Which of course means that so many manufacturers have resorted to using proprietary connectors, probably to ensure that replacements are suitably overpriced. [Teaching Tech] had this problem with a fancy in-car video device, but rather than admit defeat with a missing cable, he decided to create his own replacement from scratch.
The plug in use was a multi-way round design probably chosen to match the harshness of the automotive environment. The first solution was to hook up a USB cable to a set of loose pins, but after a search to find the perfect-fitting set of pins a 3D printed housing was designed to replace the shell of the original.
Making an unavailable, proprietary USB cable with 3D printing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6iL9b8rtn8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Modern Components Enable Cheap And Compact Nixie Driver Circuit
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/02/modern-components-enable-cheap-and-compact-nixie-driver-circuit/
Nixie tubes can add some retro flair to any project, but they can also complicate your electronics quite a bit: after all, you need to generate a voltage high enough to ignite the tube and then switch that between ten separate display segments. Traditionalists may want to stick with chunky mains transformers and those unobtainium 74141 segment drivers, but modern components allow you to make things much more compact, not to mention way cheaper. [CNLohr] took this to an extreme, and used clever design tricks and his sharp online shopping skills to make an exceptionally compact Nixie driver circuit that costs less than $2.50.
Powering Nixies off USB with a 10¢ RISC-V, the CH32V003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4d3PgEXhdY
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/01/hinges-live-inside-3d-prints/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/01/squeeze-over-a-minute-of-movie-filming-onto-a-35mm-still-cartridge/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/01/recreating-a-non-standard-usb-cable/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Op Amp Challenge: An Ultra-Cheap PH Sensor Amplifier
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/02/op-amp-challenge-an-ultra-cheap-ph-sensor-amplifier/
It’s rare in 2023 for an instrument to be entirely analog, instead it’s more normal for a front-end to feed the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in a microcontroller. Typically the front-end will do the job of transforming whatever the output range of the sensor is, and present it to the microcontroller in whatever range it accepts. [David] had exactly this problem with a pH sensor, and rather than buy an expensive module to do the job he designed his own.
The sensor in question produces a relatively tiny voltage of -0.414 to +0.414 volts, and requires a very high input impedance. A FET input op-amp is selected, with the ground of the sensor shifted upwards into the positive range by a voltage divider. This then feeds a second op-amp that amplifies the resulting DC voltage for the microcontroller input.
ultra low cost pH amplifier circuit for 3.3V MCU’s
https://hackaday.io/project/190856-ultra-low-cost-ph-amplifier-circuit-for-33v-mcus
Ultra low cost amplifier circuit for pH sensor and 3.3V Microcontrollers
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/02/fet-fun-endeavors-together/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/02/electroosmotic-haptics-for-more-tactile-touch-devices/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/02/hackaday-prize-2023-eye-tracking-on-a-budget/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/03/op-amp-challenge-reliable-peak-power-measurement/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/03/exploring-woodworking-mysteries-with-strain-gauges-and-raspberry-pi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/03/carbon-fiber-and-kevlar-make-this-linear-actuator-fast-and-strong/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/04/jet-engine-tachometer-turned-into-unique-cpu-utilization-meter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.io/project/190920-diy-4-axis-motion-controller-budget-friendly
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/04/op-amp-challenge-get-more-from-a-single-wire-with-an-analogue-adder/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/04/easters-over-but-you-can-still-dye-keycaps/
https://kbd.news/Dyeing-Keycaps-in-2023-1998.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/04/hacking-hue-lightbulbs/
Tomi Engdahl says:
CNC Feeds And Speeds, Explained As A First-Timer
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/05/cnc-feeds-and-speeds-explained-as-a-first-timer/
If you’ve ever looked into CNC cutting tools, you’ve probably heard the term “feeds and speeds”. It refers to choosing the speed at which to spin the cutting tool, and how fast to plow it into the material being cut. They’re important to get right, and some of the reasons aren’t obvious. This led [Callan Bryant] to share his learned insights as a first-timer. It turns out there are excellent (and somewhat non-intuitive) reasons not to simply guess at the correct values!
A table of variables and how they relate to one another (click to enlarge).
The image above shows a tool damaged by overheating. [Callan] points out that as a novice, one might be inclined to approach a first cutting jobs conservatively, with a low feed rate. But doing this can have an unexpected consequence: a tool that overheats due to spinning too quickly while removing too little material.
CNC Routing: Speeds and Feeds
https://calbryant.uk/blog/cnc-routing-speeds-and-feeds/#
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/02/e-bike-battery-tapped-for-off-grid-laptop-power/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/03/kerfmeter-measures-laser-cutter-kerf-allowances-on-the-fly/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/05/cnc-feeds-and-speeds-explained-as-a-first-timer/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/05/linux-cell-phone-build-ourphone/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/05/op-amp-challenge-light-up-breadboard-shows-us-the-signals/
https://hackaday.io/project/190765-lightup-breadboard
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/05/tactical-build-makes-machining-splined-shaft-a-snap/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/05/holograms-display-time-with-esp32/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/05/a-dedicated-gpu-for-your-favorite-sbc/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/06/tiny-3d-printed-gaming-pc-contains-real-retro-hardware/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/06/op-amp-challenge-a-low-noise-amplifier-for-those-truly-low-noise-measurements/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Magnetic Core Memory The Dr Cockroach Way
https://hackaday.io/project/190798-magnetic-core-memory-the-dr-cockroach-way
My not so fancy example of Magnetic Core Memory using fairly cheap cores and free parts from my junk box.
This is a very basic 16 bit Magnetic Core Memory board with a minimal but stable Read circuit just using six transistors
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mini Empire State Building with Sparkling Lights
https://hackaday.io/project/190937-mini-empire-state-building-with-sparkling-lights
Lighting a scaled model of the Empire State Building with LED.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY 4 Axis Motion Controller Budget Friendly
Using Old 3D Printer parts I build an Camera Motion Controller
https://hackaday.io/project/190920-diy-4-axis-motion-controller-budget-friendly
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/07/launching-paper-planes-from-way-waaaaaay-up/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/07/op-amp-challenge-compare-op-amps-by-listening-to-them/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/07/diy-metal-detector-2/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/07/usb-meets-core-memory-in-a-vintage-scope/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/06/inside-a-pair-of-smart-sunglasses/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/08/arctos-robotics-build-a-robot-arm-out-of-3d-printer-spares/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/08/3d-printed-aerospike-was-designed-by-ai/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/08/converting-a-bw-exposer-head-for-colour-analog-photo-printing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/08/vcf-east-2023-alan-wolke-on-his-passion-for-tech/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize 2023: The Realities Of The Homework Machine
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/08/hackaday-prize-2023-the-realities-of-the-homework-machine/
For those outside the world of education, it can be hard to judge the impact that ChatGPT has had on homework assignments. If you didn’t know, the first challenge of the 2023 Hackaday Prize is focused on improving education. [Devadath P R] decided that the best way to help teachers and teaching culture was to confront them head-on with our new reality by building the homework machine.
The goal of the machine is to be able to stick in any worksheet or assignment and have it write out the answers in your own handwriting, and so far, the results are pretty impressive. There are already pen holder tools for 3D printers, but they often have a few drawbacks. Existing tools often take quite a while to generate G-Code for long pages of text. Hobby servos to lift the pen up and down take more wear than you’d expect as a single page has thousands of actuations. Vibrations are also a problem as they are a dead giveaway that the text was not human-written. [Devadath] created a small Python GUI to record their particular handwriting style on a graphics tablet and used ChatGPT to generate answers.
https://hackaday.io/project/190788-homework-machine
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/08/the-bicycle-and-more-explained/