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://hackaday.com/2023/09/19/e-paper-news-feed-illustrates-the-headlines-with-ai-generated-images/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/19/powerful-nerf-blaster-aims-to-fire-100-darts-per-second/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.io/project/192861-ledboy-micro
Tomi Engdahl says:
Retro look Analog style VU meter on VFD display
https://hackaday.io/project/192836-retro-look-analog-style-vu-meter-on-vfd-display
VFD displays are known for their high brightness, high contrast, and wide viewing angle.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Calling for hot water
Remote controlled buttons for activating hot water recirculation.
https://hackaday.io/project/192719-calling-for-hot-water
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/18/nitinol-is-a-material-we-need-to-be-playing-with-more/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/22/mosquito-laser-death-grid-is-just-what-it-sounds-like/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/22/whisperframe-depicts-the-art-of-conversation/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/22/rp2040-emulator-brings-the-voice-of-the-80s-back-to-life/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Repair Brings An X-Ray Microscope Back Into Focus
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/22/diy-repair-brings-an-x-ray-microscope-back-into-focus/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Getting Shredded Plastic…and Legs
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/23/getting-shredded-plastic-and-legs/
While electric motors have taken the drudgery out of many tasks, human power has its advantages. [Precious Plastic Torino] has developed a human-powered plastic shredder for those times when an electric motor just won’t do.
Designed primarily for educational purposes at venues where electricity can be difficult to source, but also useful for off-grid environments, this exercise bike-based shredder can take small pieces of plastic and shred them into tiny pieces suitable for use with any of the other machines in the Precious Plastics ecosystem like their injection molding machine. As with all [Precious Plastics] projects, the files are open source; however, there is a six month exclusivity period for Patreon subscribers to help fund development efforts.
https://community.preciousplastic.com/how-to/make-a-cyclette-shredder
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/23/exploring-ground-effect-with-a-quadcopter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/22/thats-not-a-junker-thats-my-generator/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/23/hackaday-prize-2023-a-3d-printed-vertical-wind-turbine/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/23/electrostatic-generator-project-starts-with-molten-sulfur/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/23/input-device-gets-new-input-device/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/23/high-temp-resin-means-faster-hot-foil-stamping/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Powder Your Prints For Baby-Smoothness
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/24/powder-your-prints-for-baby-smoothness/
Layer lines are a dead giveaway to non-normies that a thing was 3D printed. There are things you can do to smooth them — sanding, chemical smoothing, and fillers come to mind. Although this technique technically uses all three, it starts with something very simple.
In the video after the break, [DaveRig] gets right to the point: baby powder and resin mixed together make a fine smoothing agent when cured. Having read about it online, he decided to give it a try.
Starting with a half sphere that had admittedly pretty big layer lines, [DaveRig] mixed up enough resin and baby powder to make the consistency of milk or cream. Then he put five coats on, curing and sanding with 120 in between each one.
Then it’s on to standard post-processing stuff. You know, wipe it down with alcohol, sand it a little more, wet sand, and then it’s on to the airbrush and clear-coat. The end result looks to be as smooth as your average bowling ball, as you can see in the main photo.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/24/hackaday-prize-2023-stretch-your-day-with-this-29-hour-clock/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/24/hackaday-prize-2023-computer-vision-guides-this-farm-mower/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Getting Geared Up For Home Powder Coating
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/24/getting-geared-up-for-home-power-coating/
[Blondihacks] wanted to do powder coating for a model train without a lot of special equipment. She started with an Eastwood kit that runs about $230. Depending on the options, you can get the gun by itself for between $110 – $170. However, you will need more than just this kit. You can see how [Blondihacks] used the kit in the video below.
The idea behind powder coating is simple: an electrostatic charge attracts a powder — usually some polymer — and makes it stick to an item. Then heat or UV light turns the powder into a hard finish much tougher than paint. Powder coating can be thicker than paint and doesn’t run, either.
The gun requires a small air compressor, and you need an electric oven, which could be a toaster oven. It probably shouldn’t be an oven you plan to use for food. It should also be in a well-ventilated area, plus you’ll want a respirator or dust mask.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhwXnmctAhw
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize 2023: Abuse A Reference Chip For A Cheap Instrument
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/25/hackaday-prize-2023-abuse-a-reference-chip-for-a-cheap-instrument/
A Rogowski coil is a device for measuring AC current that differs from a conventional current transformer in that it has no need to encircle the conductor whose current it measures. They’re by no means cheap though, so over time we’ve seen some interesting variations on making one without the pain in the wallet. We particularly like [Stephen]’s one, because he eschews exotic devices for an interesting hack on a familiar chip. He’s taken the venerable TL431 voltage reference chip and turned it into an op-amp.
TL431 rogowski coil current sensor
Rogowski coil current sensor using cheap shunt regulators as opamps.
https://hackaday.io/project/190985-tl431-rogowski-coil-current-sensor
A rogowski coil current sensor involving some significant abuse of TL431 shunt regulators to act as opamps. One TL431 is used in an inverting integrator, another is a x20 inverting amplifier and the third is a simple regulator.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/25/keebin-with-kristina-hack-chat/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Minamil 3dp: another minimal CNC mill
A very compact, very inexpensive, very DIYable, very precise little CNC mill. This one uses 3d printed parts.
https://hackaday.io/project/192074-minamil-3dp-another-minimal-cnc-mill
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flea-Scope™ USB O-scope (18 Msps, $13 BoM, WebUSB)
Flea-Scope™ is a very low-cost and easy-to-use 18 Msps USB oscilloscope and mixed-signal logic analyzer.
https://hackaday.io/project/192598-flea-scope-usb-o-scope-18-msps-13-bom-webusb
Flea-Scope™ is a very low-cost ($13 BoM in quantity) and easy-to-use 18 million sample-per-second (Msps) USB oscilloscope and mixed-signal logic analyzer with a built-in waveform generator, and so much more, based on the PIC32MK MCU! Flea-Scope can be controlled by any Chromium-based web browser that supports WebUSB API or Web Serial API running on a computer, tablet, or phone (!!!), with no need for further software install – just plug it in and open a web-page and you are up and running!
The Flea-Scope User’s Guide (including some “how it works” internals) is here: https://rtestardi.github.io/usbte/flea-scope.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Felini – Revolutionary Pocket-Sized Electronic Lab
https://hackaday.io/project/192130-felini-revolutionary-pocket-sized-electronic-lab
Extremely affordable pocket-friendly, designed to provide a wide range of hardware testing and debugging functions in a compact and low-cost
Felini – is a compact device for experts and electronics enthusiasts alike. Just like a Swiss army knife, Felini is designed to efficiently replace multiple common tools in the electronics field.
The visual interface for transitioning between tools is similar to applications on a smartphone, without toggle switches, without menus using complex and obscure buttons. Felini is the beginning of a revolution in multi-tools and multi-meters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Tile Based MacroPad
Using “magic” tiles to assign keystrokes to this MacroPad’s keys.
https://hackaday.io/project/192937-a-tile-based-macropad
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/25/dark-trace-crts-almost-the-e-ink-of-their-time/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Reverse Oscilloscope
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/25/the-reverse-oscilloscope/
Usually, an oscilloscope lets you visualize what a signal looks like. [Mitexla]’s reverse oscilloscope lets you set what you want an audio waveform to look like, and it will produce it. You can see the box in the video below.
According to [Mitexla] part of the difficulty in building something like this is making the controls manageable for mere mortals. We really like the slider approach, which seems pretty obvious, but some other controls are a bit more subtle. For example, the interpolation control can create a squarish wave or a smooth waveform, or anything in between.
This is sort of an artistic take on an arbitrary waveform generator but with a discrete-panel user interface. The device contains a Teensy, a Raspberry PI Pico, a 16-bit ADC, and an external DAC.
https://mitxela.com/projects/rscope2
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/26/16-kbit-dram-gives-up-its-secrets/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tetris Clone Uses 1000 Lines Of Code, And Nothing Else
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/25/tetris-clone-uses-1000-lines-of-code-and-nothing-else/
If you’re programming on a modern computer, you typically make use of lots of work done by other people. There’s operating systems to abstract away the complexities of modern hardware, standard libraries to implement common tasks, and tons of third-party libraries that prevent you from having to reinvent the wheel all the time: you’re definitely not the first one trying to draw graphics onto a screen or store data in a file.
But if it’s the wheels you’re most interested in, then there’s nothing wrong with inventing new ones now and then. [Michal Zalewski], for instance, has made a beautiful Tetris clone in just 1000 lines of C, without using anyone else’s code.
https://lcamtuf.substack.com/p/mcu-land-part-10-blocks-all-the-way
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize 2023: A Software-Defined Radio With Real Knobs And Switches
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/25/hackaday-prize-2023-a-software-defined-radio-with-real-knobs-and-switches/
When cheap digital TV dongles enabled radio enthusiasts to set up software defined radio (SDR) systems at almost zero cost, it caused a revolution in the amateur radio world: now anyone could tune in to any frequency, with any modulation type, by just pointing and clicking in a computer program. While this undoubtably made exploring the radio waves much more accessible, we can imagine that some people miss the feeling of manipulating physical buttons on a radio while hunting for that one faint signal in a sea of noise. If you’re one of those people, you’re in luck: [Kaushlesh C.] has built a portable, self-contained SDR system with real knobs and switches, called SDR Dock 1.0.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/23/confluence-of-nerdery/
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/preserving-floppy-disks/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/tricks-for-mass-producing-laser-etched-art/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/hackaday-prize-2023-autoduct-smart-air-duct/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/backyard-led-sculpture-inspired-by-las-vegas-sphere/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/infinite-z-axis-printer-aims-to-print-itself-someday/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/16/kinetic-sculpture-intermittently-lights-up-the-night/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/16/toy-bulldozer-becomes-epic-terrifying-lawnmower/
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/16/open-source-rover-gets-an-update-for-easier-building/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/16/spinning-crt-makes-a-360-degree-audio-oscilloscope/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/16/dalibor-farnys-enormous-nixies-light-up-contemporary-art-museum/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/17/multi-year-doorbell-project/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/17/helping-robots-learn-by-letting-them-fail/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.io/project/191395-x-ray-ct-scanners-get-new-life
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/14/esp32-drives-tiny-fm-radio/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Homebrew Probe Tip Etcher Makes Amazingly Sharp Needles
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/14/homebrew-probe-tip-etcher-makes-amazingly-sharp-needles/
[Baird Bankovic], an undergrad student at Penn State University, discovered this when he was working with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). He noticed that the machines used to make STM probes, a pretty straightforward process, cost north of $7500. This inspired him to make a cheap STM probe etching machine using simple homebrew parts.
Zyrus Tip Etcher for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
https://hackaday.io/project/191941-zyrus-tip-etcher-for-scanning-tunneling-microscopy
This machine fabricates incredibly sharp tips for use in scanning tunneling microscopy, which images individual atoms!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Students Set EV Acceleration World Record
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/14/students-set-ev-acceleration-world-record/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/14/keebin-with-kristina-the-one-with-the-death-metal-macro-pad/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/14/building-a-rotating-display-plate-from-a-lazy-susan/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/14/bare-bones-vacuum-forming-just-add-plastic-plates/