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.
7,114 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/09/16/tobot-is-your-tic-tac-toe-opponent-with-a-bad-attitude/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/09/17/cyberplotter-uses-multiple-tools-to-great-success/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/09/17/vacuum-dragster-uses-syringes-for-propulsion/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The High School Student Who’s Building His Own Integrated Circuits
https://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/devices/the-high-school-student-whos-building-his-own-integrated-circuits
Tomi Engdahl says:
Simple Micro Lathe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVOkYPvzQPI
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mil-Spec Looks Without Defense Department Budget
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/27/mil-spec-looks-without-defense-department-budget/
While hackers and makers have a tendency to focus on functionality above all else, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some visual flair. A device that works well and looks good will always be more impressive than the bare bones approach, but the extra time and money it usually takes to polish up the visual component of a build means it’s often overlooked. Which is exactly what [Jay Doscher] wanted to address with his Mil-Plastic project.
On the surface, the Mil-Plastic is yet another entry in the rapidly growing and often ill-defined world of cyberdecks: custom computing devices that forgo the standard laptop and desktop dichotomy and instead explore the road not taken by mainstream consumer electronics. To that end, it’s a solid build more than worthy of praise. But more than that, it’s also a lesson on how 3D printing and some clever design can create a truly impressive visual for little more than the cost of a spool of PLA.
https://back7.co/home/back7co-mil-plastic
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/26/this-geiger-counter-has-few-parts/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vintage Instrument Gets Modern Replacement For Unobtainium Parts
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/10/vintage-instrument-gets-modern-replacement-for-unobtainium-parts/
One of the best parts about Hackaday is how much you learn from the projects that people tackle, especially when they are repairs on old gear with unknown failure modes and potentially multiple problems. By the same token, the worst part about Hackaday is seeing what other people are capable of and knowing that you’ve got a long way to go to catch up to them.
A case in point is [Curious Marc]’s recent repair of an old pulse generator. The instrument in question is an H-P 8082A, a device from a time when H-P was a place where “good engineers managed by even better engineers [wanted] to help other engineers,” as [Marc] so eloquently puts it. The instrument was capable of 250 MHz output with complete control over the amplitude, frequency, duty cycle, and rising and falling edge geometry of the pulses, in addition to being able to output double pulses.
https://www.curiousmarc.com/instruments/hp-8082a-pulse-generator
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/09/open-source-stream-deck-does-it-without-touch-screens/
https://github.com/koriwi/freedeck-hardware
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/08/your-own-electronic-drum-kit/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/07/milling-dies-and-injection-moulding-some-acrylic-lenses/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/06/analog-noise-generator-fighter-of-other-noises/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Multi-Volume Knob Gives All Your Programs A Turn
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/06/multi-volume-knob-gives-all-your-programs-a-turn/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/06/linux-in-the-machine-shop-hack-chat/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/06/the-spin-cycle-washing-machine-motor-converts-10-speed-to-e-bike/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elegant Shoji Lamps From Your 3D Printer
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/06/elegant-shoji-lamps-from-your-3d-printer/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hypervisor: Optical Touchscreen
Look at electronics to control them. Open hardware!
https://hackaday.io/project/173518-hypervisor-optical-touchscreen
The Hypervisor is an eye tracking headband powered by a Raspberry Pi, capable of controlling an entire room of computers, phones, and tablets just by looking at them.
The Hypervisor uses an infrared camera pointed at your eye, a full-color camera on your forehead, and an IR transceiver, to identify exactly where you’re looking, and which device you’re using. Blinking summons a cursor, clicks, and drags.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/07/rc-car-becomes-useful-little-mower/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/02/watch-conways-game-of-life-flutter-across-a-flip-dot-display/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/05/syringes-put-the-squeeze-on-this-mini-drill-press/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Baby MIT Cheetah Robot
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/05/diy-baby-mit-cheetah-robot/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/04/a-reason-to-code/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/29/an-affordable-home-made-vacuum-chamber/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/29/build-a-lathe-like-its-1777/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/29/thumbmouse-keeps-your-hands-on-the-keyboard/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/29/led-art-hack-chat/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Passive Pixel Pole Project
A vertical array of magnetic flipdot pixels as a non-contact water level indicator
https://hackaday.io/project/172388-passive-pixel-pole-project
With an aversion to drilling holes in the tank, and also not wanting to run wires into the water, as would be needed when using commercial water level switches (which I did not have anyway), I devised a setup using a magnet floating in a food-safe polyethylene bottle inside the tank (which is also made of polyethylene). The magnet is sensed using reed switches mounted on the outside of the tank, so that water and electricity does not have to mix. Two nonmagnetic stainless steel rods inside the tank form a track constraining the movement of the floating bottle to a vertical trajectory near the side of the tank.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/25/building-and-flying-a-helicopter-with-a-virtual-swashplate/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bottango
Animation for Robots
https://hackaday.io/project/171436-bottango
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printable Robotic Arm – ARManda
This is a 4 DOF 3D printable robotic arm that I am currently developing.
https://hackaday.io/project/173330-3d-printable-robotic-arm-armanda
Tomi Engdahl says:
Switch Tester Servo-Slaps Them ’til They Fail
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/23/switch-tester-servo-slaps-them-til-they-fail/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Creating A Custom ASIC With The First Open Source PDK
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/25/creating-a-custom-asic-with-the-first-open-source-pdk/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Baby Grand Gets MIDI
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/25/baby-grand-gets-midi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/25/measuring-the-time-is-a-breeze-with-this-air-flow-clock/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Get The Party Started With A Mesh WiFi Light Show
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/26/get-the-party-started-with-a-mesh-wifi-light-show/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/06/google-chrome-dinosaur-game-in-real-life/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/06/a-tongue-operated-human-machine-interface/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/02/electrochemistry-at-home/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/02/digital-caliper-talks-for-accessibility-with-this-app/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/01/a-homebrew-radio-as-all-the-best-homebrew-radios-should-be/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/30/rotary-dialer-becomes-numeric-keypad/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/29/an-open-source-microfluidic-pump-for-your-science-needs/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/29/breakaway-keyboard-pcb-makes-customization-a-snap/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/29/panic-button-is-an-audio-visual-parachute-out-of-zoom-calls/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/28/the-swiss-army-knife-of-bench-tools/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/27/tiny-circuit-sculpture-keeps-the-night-watch/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/26/breadboarding-console-has-the-power/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/11/building-a-youtube-remote-control-worthy-of-2020/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2020/09/11/kaytannon-opas-e-tekstiilien-tekemiseen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flexible PCB Actuator
The thinnest Magnetic Actuator!
https://hackaday.io/project/159936-flexible-pcb-actuator