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:
Interact
Physically interacting with the world can be extremely difficult for some. This project aims to make it a little easier.
https://hackaday.io/project/172410-interact
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/24/running-a-successful-hacker-camp-in-a-pandemic-bornhack-2020/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.io/project/174428-propel-e-450-a-very-powerful-windturbine
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Mini Console Revolution, And Why Hackers Passed Them By
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/27/the-mini-console-revolution-and-why-hackers-passed-them-by/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/26/slack-off-from-home-with-a-networked-jam-session/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/25/the-usb-null-modem-cable-is-now-a-thing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/22/seeing-the-skill-is-better-than-seeing-the-project/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cool Off With A Piezo And A Glass Of Water
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/21/cool-off-with-a-piezo-and-a-glass-of-water/
Some cool-mist humidifiers work by flinging water at a vaporizer, but our favorite kind uses a piezoelectric transducer. These work by using high-frequency sound waves to pound the surface of the water with mechanical energy. That energy introduces standing waves that force the water to break apart into a fine mist on the surface of the piezo disk.
The driving circuit for this DIY mist maker uses a 555 to generate 113 KHz, a trimmer potentiometer to fine-tune it, and a MOSFET to amplify the signal. You don’t need much more than that and a handful of passives to recreate this cool junk box experiment, but the spec of the piezo disk is quite important. The circuit is designed for atomizing transducers, which have a resonant frequency of 113 KHz — much higher than your average junk box piezo. Check out the demo and build video after the break.
https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-MISTFOG-MAKER-USING-IC-555/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/21/four-years-later-off-grid-office-shed-still-rocks/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Free Refrigeration In Hot Climates
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/21/free-refrigeration-in-hot-climates/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/12/softcore-cpu-comparison/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/11/life-saving-surgery-for-a-telescopic-antenna/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/11/hack-together-your-own-bat-signal/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/13/home-automation-covers-everything/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/20/clacker-hacker-hot-rod-switch-mods/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/21/hand-depanelizer-gets-pneumatic-upgrade/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/21/a-simple-soft-power-switch-using-common-modules/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/04/nilered-makes-superconductors/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Want To Support Hacker-friendly Hardware Design? Follow Valve’s Example
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/20/want-to-support-hacker-friendly-hardware-design-follow-valves-example/
It’s been just over a year since Valve released Index, their flagship VR system, and it’s worth looking back at this GitHub repository as a fine example of how to provide supporting materials to a hacker-friendly hardware design. The image above shows off one of the hacker-friendly design elements: an empty space behind the visor, with a USB port off to the right, that exists for no reason other than to make it easier to mount and plug in whatever one might come up with. There’s more to it than that, however. If one wishes to provide supporting materials for a hardware design, one could certainly do worse than emulate Valve’s example.
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/IndexHardware
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chaotic Oscillator From Antique Logic
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/23/chaotic-oscillator-from-antique/
Building a Chaotic Oscillator from Common Components
https://cpldcpu.wordpress.com/2020/06/15/building-a-chaotic-oscillator/
Tomi Engdahl says:
MegaDebug interposer board
If only you could disconnect that one pin…
https://hackaday.io/project/172282-megadebug-interposer-board
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Low-Cost Current Probe For IoT Applications
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/27/a-low-cost-current-probe-for-iot-applications/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Battlab-One Battery Life Optimization Software
https://hackaday.io/project/173680-battlab-one-battery-life-optimization-software
A software/hardware solution for capturing current profiles of battery powered devices and optimizing battery life for your projects.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/09/22/this-diy-drill-press-is-very-well-executed/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/09/22/a-digital-guestbook-is-a-perfect-hacker-wedding-gift/
Tomi Engdahl says:
$1 Hearing Aid Could Treat Millions With Hearing Loss
https://science.slashdot.org/story/20/09/24/2311203/1-hearing-aid-could-treat-millions-with-hearing-loss?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Saad Bhamla, an undergraduate in Mumbai, India, has invented a do-it-yourself hearing aid made from inexpensive, easy-to-find parts. “At bulk rates, Bhamla says, it would cost just under $1 to make,” reports Science Magazine. “But anyone with the freely available blueprints and a soldering iron can make their own for not much more — maybe $15 or $20, Bhamla says.” From the report:
Inspired by his grandparents and a hearing-impaired colleague — who is the first author on the new paper — Bhamla and his team set out to develop a cheap hearing aid built with off-the-shelf parts. They soldered a microphone onto a small circuit board to capture nearby sound and added an amplifier and a frequency filter to specifically increase the volume of high-pitch sounds above 1000 hertz. Then they added a volume control, an on/off switch, and an audio jack for plugging in standard earphones, as well as a battery holder. The device, dubbed LoCHAid, is the size of a matchbox and can be worn like a necklace.
This $1 hearing aid could treat millions with hearing loss
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/1-hearing-aid-could-treat-millions-hearing-loss
As an undergraduate in Mumbai, India, Saad Bhamla wanted to do something nice for his maternal grandparents: Buy them a pair of hearing aids. But the prices were shockingly high—and far beyond his means. Now, 15 years later, the bioengineer has invented a device to help grandparents across the globe: a do-it-yourself hearing aid made from inexpensive, easy-to-find parts. The no-frills device, described in a new study, could help restore hearing to millions suffering from age-related hearing loss—for less than the price of a bottle of water.
The new device is “incredibly compelling,” says Frank Lin, an ear, nose, and throat doctor at the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University who was not involved in the work.
Globally, 230 million people aged 65 and older experience age-related hearing loss. Typically, high-pitch sounds become harder to distinguish, like electronic beeps and speech sounds such as “s” and “th.” Conversations can seem mumbled, and background noise feels distracting and invasive. Such deficiencies can be isolating, Lin says, and his research suggests they can also accelerate cognitive decline.
Inspired by his grandparents and a hearing-impaired colleague—who is first author on the new paper—Bhamla and his team set out to develop a cheap hearing aid built with off-the-shelf parts. They soldered a microphone onto a small circuit board to capture nearby sound and added an amplifier and a frequency filter to specifically increase the volume of high-pitch sounds above 1000 hertz. Then they added a volume control, an on/off switch, and an audio jack for plugging in standard earphones, as well as a battery holder. The device, dubbed LoCHAid, is the size of a matchbox and can be worn like a necklace. At bulk rates, Bhamla says, it would cost just under $1 to make. But anyone with the freely available blueprints and a soldering iron can make their own for not much more—maybe $15 or $20, Bhamla says. The parts are easy to source, he says, and putting them together takes less than 30 minutes.
SI Movie1 for Sinha et al. PLOS ONE 2020. Construction of the LoCHAid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0gnbOJ3nDo
https://github.com/bhamla-lab/LoCHAid-2020-PLOS-ONE
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Design a Solar Photovoltaic Powered DC Water Pump?
https://www.electricaltechnology.org/2020/09/design-solar-photovoltaic-powered-dc-water-pump.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.hackster.io/news/a-smart-planter-made-out-of-recycled-materials-804f3d12cce9
Tomi Engdahl says:
Three Magnetometers, a Fingertip Magnet, and Clever Mathematics Offer Cheap, Accurate 3D Tracking
Toyota’s research arm works on a flexible, low-cost, and non-intrusive way to track a wearer’s finger through 3D space.
https://www.hackster.io/news/three-magnetometers-a-fingertip-magnet-and-clever-mathematics-offer-cheap-accurate-3d-tracking-bb06ea25a787
Tomi Engdahl says:
Guide To Build An Obstacle Avoiding Robot
https://circuitdiagrams.in/obstacle-avoiding-robot-car-without-programming/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Some Reflections on Better Sleep
Using RF reflection imaging, BodyCompass can track sleep position for better health while preserving privacy and comfort.
https://www.hackster.io/news/some-reflections-on-better-sleep-fae635c2c36e
Tomi Engdahl says:
Weigh Your Car With Paper
https://hackaday.com/2020/09/30/weigh-your-car-with-paper/
Sometimes a problem is more important than its solution. Humans love to solve mysteries and answer questions, but the most rewarding issues are the ones we find ourselves. Take [Surjan Singh], who wanted to see if he could calculate the weight of his Saab 96. Funny enough, he doesn’t have an automobile scale in his garage, so he had to concoct a workaround method. His solution is to multiply the pressure in his tires with their contact patch. Read on before you decide this is an imperfect idea.
#16 – Weighing a Car with Tire Pressures
https://surjan.substack.com/p/16-weighing-a-car-with-tire-pressures
Tomi Engdahl says:
Obstacle Avoiding Robot Without Programming
https://circuitdiagrams.in/obstacle-avoiding-robot-car-without-programming/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A 3D-Printed Tank Track System That You Can Use on Your Own Robots
James Bruton has designed a universal, modular tank track system that you can 3D print yourself to drive your own robots.
https://www.hackster.io/news/a-3d-printed-tank-track-system-that-you-can-use-on-your-own-robots-e7e89eb4f79e
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hardware Store Hydroponics
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/05/hardware-store-hydroponics/
Low Cost NFT Hydroponic Garden (under $250)
A low cost NFT hydroponic garden design cheaper than most online kit solutions. Developed as a test bed for HydroPWNics
https://hackaday.io/project/7116-low-cost-nft-hydroponic-garden-under-250
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/05/baseball-cap-mouse-provides-a-look-and-click-interface/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Custom Tool Helps Hakko Set Threaded Inserts
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/05/custom-tool-helps-hakko-set-threaded-inserts/
When the tool you need doesn’t exist, you have to make it yourself. Come to think of it, even if the tool exists, it’s often way more fun to make it yourself. The former situation, though, is one that [Sean Hodgins] found himself in with regard to threaded inserts. Rather than suffer from the wrong tool for the job, he machined his own custom threaded insert tool for his Hakko soldering iron.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9KJvoohiPE
Tomi Engdahl says:
numPad
Mechanical switch numpad for when my TKL keyboard doesn’t cut it.
https://hackaday.io/project/175203-numpad
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zack Freedman designed, 3D-printed, laser-cut, and soldered a custom mechanical keyboard in a matter of days.
Big Wheel Video Deck Made in a Small Amount of Time
https://www.hackster.io/news/big-wheel-video-deck-made-in-a-small-amount-of-time-d8b1b12ad203
Zack Freedman designed, 3D-printed, laser-cut, and soldered a custom mechanical keyboard in a matter of days.
What he came up with is a nicely 3D-printed and laser-cut deck, with a large jog wheel, 14 Cherry MX-compatible key switches and keycaps, and a trio of encoder knobs. It runs on a Teensy board, allowing him to edit clips to perfection. Files for the aptly named Big Wheel are available on GitHub if you’d like to take a stab at it, or simply use his design for inspiration.
https://github.com/ZackFreedman/Big-Wheel
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/06/scratch-built-xy-table-gets-the-job-done/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This fully customizable, Arduino-compatible mouse runs QMK and is now available for preorder.
Ploopy’s New 3D-Printed Computer Mouse Is Built on Arduino
https://www.hackster.io/news/ploopy-s-new-3d-printed-computer-mouse-is-built-on-arduino-3ab7a6802a6f
The fully customizable, Arduino-compatible mouse runs QMK and is now available for preorder.
Ploopy Is an Open Source Trackball Mouse You Can 3D Print Yourself
https://www.hackster.io/news/ploopy-is-an-open-source-trackball-mouse-you-can-3d-print-yourself-035f401a57d4
If a trackball sounds appealing to you, there is an open source design called Ploopy that you can 3D print yourself.
https://github.com/ploopyco/mouse
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Budget Folding Sim Driving Rig
https://www.designnews.com/industry/diy-budget-folding-sim-driving-rig
For less than $50, a home-brew driving sim rig that won’t dominate your family room while you’re tearing up the track on your videogame console.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Developing An Open Source Electronics Trainer
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/07/developing-an-open-source-electronics-trainer/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.hackster.io/news/this-maker-built-a-system-to-illuminate-their-home-using-mirrors-f5dae79faed9
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Little Bee is an open source current and magnetic field probe for debugging and analyzing electronic devices.
Little Bee Is an Open Source Current and Magnetic Field Probe
https://www.hackster.io/news/little-bee-is-an-open-source-current-and-magnetic-field-probe-3c86cd9fa835
This tool effectively debug and analyze electronic devices, plus function as a sensitive magnetic field probe and a current probe
We must determine voltages and currents in our designs. It’s a given. Using an oscilloscope is simple. Current probes are cool but pricey at times. In walks an alternative − Little Bee, a low-cost, high-performance current and magnetic field probe from Weston Braun that’s capable of effectively debugging and analyzing electronic devices.
The Little Bee is built around an Anisotropic Magnetic-Resistive (AMR) magnetic sensor, making its performance comparable to probes based on fluxgate magnetometers and those hybrid models combining AC current transformers with DC Hall effect sensors. It features a bandwidth that can be adjusted between 1 MHz and 10 MHz, an SMA output connector, connectivity to 1 MΩ impedance oscilloscope input, and it has automatic offset adjustment. Little Bee only requires one AA battery to operate
This tool can function as a sensitive magnetic field probe. These types of probes can measure the current flowing through PCB trace and inductors. This is done by measuring generated magnetic fields. Even though non-intrusive current sensing doesn’t precisely measure current amplitude, it enables you to confirm circuit wavelength while identifying defects and short circuits. Little Bee’s magnetic field sensing has a 10 MHz DC bandwidth with a sensitivity of 0.2 Volts/Gauss, and its max field is +/- 6 Gauss. Its noise level is 32 mG p-p at 10 MHz bandwidth and 13 mG p-p at 1 MHz bandwidth.
The Little Bee also comes with a flux concentrator attachment that allows it to operate as a current probe, giving isolated measurements of a wire’s current.
The DC accuracy is +/- 15%, and insertion impedance is 100 nH in parallel with 70 0hms.
https://www.crowdsupply.com/weston-braun/little-bee
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/13/robot-gets-around-on-all-fours-thanks-to-many-many-servos/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/13/usb-adaptor-isolates-multiple-serial-interfaces/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/12/retro-computer-trainer-gets-a-raspberry-pi-refit/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/10/heavy-metal-power-bank-uses-tool-batteries/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/11/modular-rover-platform-rolls-on-3d-printed-flexible-tank-tracks/