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.
7,076 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hear Light Using a Solar Panel
Methods to transfer and receive audio signals via light.
https://www.hackster.io/news/hear-light-using-a-solar-panel-9c02990c83c0
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slick Keyboard Built With PCB Magic
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/21/slick-keyboard-built-with-pcb-magic/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Beaded QR Code Bracelets Weave A Storytelling Interface
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/21/beaded-qr-code-bracelets-weave-a-storytelling-interface/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Taking The Bark Out Of Reverb With Wood Scraps
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/21/taking-the-bark-out-of-reverb-with-wood-scraps/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Polymer Discovery Gives 3D-printed Sand Super Strength
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/21/polymer-discovery-gives-3d-printed-sand-super-strength/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/21/a-trackball-so-good-you-cant-buy-it/
https://github.com/jfedor2/two-ball-trackball
Tomi Engdahl says:
Light-Tracking BEAM Robot Can See The Light
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/21/light-tracking-beam-robot-can-see-the-light/
BEAM robotics, which stands for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics, is an ethos that focuses on building robots with simple analog circuits. [NanoRobotGeek] built a great example of the form, creating a light-tracking robot that uses no batteries and no microcontrollers.
https://www.instructables.com/Light-Tracking-BEAM-Robot-Head/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cheating A Pedometer The Easy Way
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/20/cheating-a-pedometer-the-easy-way/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The (Sodium Chloride) Crystal Method
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/20/the-sodium-chloride-crystal-method/
[Chase’s] post titled “How to Grow Sodium Chloride Crystals at Home” might as well be called “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Salt Crystals (but Were Afraid to Ask).” We aren’t sure what the purpose of having transparent NaCl crystals are, but we have to admit, they look awfully cool.
Sodium chloride, of course, is just ordinary table salt. If the post were simply about growing random ugly crystals, we’d probably have passed over it. But these crystals — some of them pretty large — look like artisan pieces of glasswork. [Chase] reports that growing crystals looks easy, but growing attractive crystals can be hard because of temperature, dust, and other factors.
How to Grow Sodium Chloride Crystals at Home
Sodium chloride, Tutorial / November 10, 2021 by Chase / 51 Comments
https://crystalverse.com/sodium-chloride-crystals/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/20/its-doom-this-time-on-a-bluetooth-le-dongle/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building a Mechanical(Geared) Press (3d printed)
https://hackaday.io/project/182632-building-a-mechanicalgeared-press-3d-printed
This is a mechanical press. It has about 200 kg/ 440 lb press capacity (theoretically). The working area is about 100x100x150 mm.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Auto tracking camera
A camera that tracks a person & counts reps using *AI*.
https://hackaday.io/project/162944-auto-tracking-camera
The source code:https://github.com/heroineworshiper/countrepsRapidly becoming the next big thing, 1st with subject tracking on quad copters, then subject tracking on digital assistants. It’s long been a dream to have an autonomous camera operator that tracks a subject. The Facebook Portal was the 1st sign lions saw that the problem was finally cracked. The problem is all existing tracking cameras are operated by services which collect the video & either sell it or report it to government agencies.Compiling & fixing a machine vision library to run as fast as possible on a certain computer is such a monumental task, it’s important to reuse it as much as possible. To simplify the task of a tracking camera, the same code is used to count reps & track a subject. The countreps program was a lot more complicated & consumed most of
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to make the audio transformer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRNljBm8c2E
Winding the output transformer for vaccum tube audio.
Tomi Engdahl says:
That Old Super Glue And Baking Soda Trick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uhCCQRfQew
My Oakley sunglasses broke. Instead Of replacing the earpiece, I repaired them with super glue and baking soda.
Viewer comments:
CA glue needs what is referred to as a “kicker” to bond
Some thing like wood have a built in “kicker.” With some other things you need to add one. Baking soda is one of the best “kickers” and it also can fill gaps With baking soda you can even make a spray kicker by mixing it with some water.
I first used this idea in model hobbying since 1989. Used it on all woods, plastic etc. Can also use fillers they use is resins.
CA glue works the best and is even stronger with CA Kicker applied with the glue / baking soda mixture.
Talcum powder works well. I used fibreglass resin, hardener mixed with talcum powder. Used by panel beaters on rusted out panels. You have to get it perfect! As it’s impossible to sand once it goes off. I did this on a 76 Honda civic and lasted for years. Smells nice when you sand too. Lol
Since the baking soda only seems to be filler, you probably can use other powders as a replasement?
They sell a CA (crazy glue) accelerator called “kicker” which may contain a similar chemical (Sodium bicarbonate)
I’ve used baking soda and cyanoacrylate for a few things and I like it. It instantly turns into something like tooth enamel.
But now I have another favorite that I used on my glasses when the plastic frame broke. The lens has the frame stretched a bit and its too hard to use cyanoacrylate there. I got some UV cure adhesive that comes with a tiny UV light that cures it in 5 seconds. It works great. I pinched the broken ends together as tight as I could and pressed the light button.
Good as new!
Make the entire frames out of this stuff*, then publicly challenge William Painter to explain why anyone would ever need TWO bottle openers.
TOXIC FUMES WARNING: cyano-acrylate plus sodium bicarbonate interact to produce Darwin Award Recipients.
On the same concept you can mix the baking soda with water put it in a spray bottle and use it to quick dry super glue they sell it commercially but why buy when you can make it
Is the baking soda just a bulking agent or does it actually react with the superglue?
It has an exothermic reaction and hardens quickly.
iTS what they call a kicker,it pretty much does to plastic and other materials etc, kinda like a steroid does for a humans muscle.
Bs better off using epoxy or jb weld. Makes a mess and After you waste time and money $2 on the supplies your better of with something real. But good luck i could see it working here untill the guy put them on. As far a a helicopter, sounds like jb weld on a radiator. You will make it out of the parking lot.
Hint. You put the baking soda on last. And that little drop you first added? You already had a big drop. That big wet spot. On the glasses. Where you put the little drop. Yeah, that one. What about that? :-).
But seriously, this video is a life saver. Crack kills. Cracks? A plurality of crack?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Super Glue + Water / CA Super Glue Principle [Woodworking Tips]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBj6gED27MM
The wood absorbs the glue.
The water creates a film and prevents the absorption of the adhesive.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Contact Filler for Super Glues – For Instant Gap and Hole Filling with Cyanoacrylates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5_cAxz4BYU
Contact Filler for Super Glues is a specialised accessory which lets you use the high quality Weicon Super Glue range to fill cracks, clefts, holes and unlevelled surfaces instantly. It is applied in conjunction with the super glue and allows the glue to fill much deeper holes and cover larger gaps than if you used the glue by itself.
This filler also works well with many other grades in the Weicon range (including the black VA 30) which makes it a versatile addition to the range.
This video below shows just how easy it is to use Contact Filler and how it will increase the versatility and gap filling power of these already high quality cyanoacrylate super glues.
https://www.swiftsupplies.com.au/weicon-contact-filler-for-super-glue-30gm-container
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/23/charging-phones-with-the-power-of-paper-pulp/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Live Jam Kit Helps Electronic Musicians Stay In Sync
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/23/live-jam-kit-helps-electronic-musicians-stay-in-sync/
Jamming live with synths and drum machines can be fun, but for [Christian], there was a little something missing. He was looking for a way to keep everyone in the group on the beat and rocking out, and decided to build something to help.
The ethos of the build was to put one person ultimately in charge of the mix using Ableton. This stops the volume race, as each musician turns their own volume up and the jam devolves into a noisy mess. Each musician also gets a sync button they can hit if their instrument has drifted out of time. Everyone in the jam also gets their own monitor signal in their headphones, as well as a looper as well.
Loop based live/jam solution
Ableton Live based setup for live music collaboration using custom hardware controllers.
https://hackaday.io/project/182010-loop-based-livejam-solution
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/23/observing-a-plants-vascular-system-with-x-ray-video/
Tomi Engdahl says:
You Can’t Upgrade Soldered-On Laptop RAM? Think Again
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/24/you-cant-upgrade-soldered-on-laptop-ram-think-again/
Upgrading the memory in a computer is usually a straightforward case of swapping out a few DIMMs or SODIMMs, with the most complex task being to identify the correct type of memory from the many available. But sometimes a laptop manufacturer can be particularly annoying, and restrict upgradability by soldering the RAM chips directly to the board. Upgrading memory should then be impossible, but this reckons without the skills of [Greg Davill], who worked through the process on his Dell XPS13.
The write-up is a fascinating primer on how DRAM identification works, which for removable DIMMs is handled by an onboard FLASH chip containing the details of the chips on board. A soldered-on laptop has none of these, so instead it employs a series of resistors whose combination tells the BIOS what memory to expect.
Dell XPS13 RAM Upgrade (7390)
https://gregdavill.github.io/posts/dell-xps13-ram-upgrade/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/24/build-your-own-hp41c/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/24/bluetooth-record-player-puts-a-new-spin-on-vinyl/
https://www.instructables.com/Building-a-Portable-Bluetooth-Spinning-Record-Play/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/24/science-vs-internet-trolls-testing-another-kind-of-file-system/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/24/oscilloscope-probes-itself-to-add-video/
Modern oscilloscopes are often loaded with features, but every now and then you run into a feature that seems easy to implement yet isn’t available. [kgsws] wanted to use his Rigol DS1074 to show live measurements in his YouTube videos, but found out that this scope doesn’t support video output. Not to be deterred, [kgsws] decided to add this feature himself. In the video embedded below, he describes in detail the process of adding a USB Video Capture (UVC) interface to his oscilloscope.
I have turned my oscilloscope into a webcam … kinda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM5IHYPGXds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM5IHYPGXds
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/20/flowio-takes-top-honors-in-the-2021-hackaday-prize/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mini Cube Robot Contains Basic Robot Functions in a Small, Inexpensive Form
NotBlackMagic designed a simple, modular 5x5cm cube robot with differential two-wheel drive.
https://www.hackster.io/news/mini-cube-robot-contains-basic-robot-functions-in-a-small-inexpensive-form-bf128e8d54bd
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stack-chan Is a Fun, Open, and Fully-Customizable Companion Robot Platform
This palm-sized companion robot platform is based around the M5Stack and can talk, move, and express emotions on its embedded screen.
https://www.hackster.io/news/stack-chan-is-a-fun-open-and-fully-customizable-companion-robot-platform-dddf8fa689e7
Tomi Engdahl says:
ThunderScope, the Open Source Software-Defined Oscilloscope, Is Coming to Crowd Supply
Up to 350 MHz analog bandwidth with 1 GaSa/s sample rate streamed to a PC at 1 Gb/s.
https://www.hackster.io/news/thunderscope-the-open-source-software-defined-oscilloscope-is-coming-to-crowd-supply-220eb2e458fe
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.hackster.io/news/stay-aware-of-the-current-uv-radiation-levels-with-this-special-amulet-e3dd38682fdc
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.hackster.io/news/ken-shirriff-reverse-engineers-yamaha-s-classic-ym21280-ops-chip-the-heart-of-the-yamaha-dx7-synth-5a06e2ea938a
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.hackster.io/news/google-s-open-source-vibrotactile-haptic-platform-offers-feedback-and-sensing-in-one-e7216813a8cf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Solderocket is a desktop solder paste dispenser that uses disposable CO2 cartridges rather than relying on a compressor.
Solderocket Relies on CO2 Cartridges to Operate
https://www.hackster.io/news/solderocket-relies-on-co2-cartridges-to-operate-656ee9af7bd5
Nuri Erginer’s desktop solder paste dispenser uses disposable CO2 cartridges rather than relying on a compressor.
Solder paste dispensers need to connect to compressed air, achieved through a large compressor. Of course, this comes with a disadvantage because these produce loud noises and a footprint. Stencils could also be used for this purpose, but they prove unsanitary, which isn’t ideal for small PCB work. That’s why Nuri Erginer developed Solderocket, a clean, small, and easy-to-use solder paste dispenser designed to operate with CO2 cartridges. Anyone interested in this solder solution, priced at $195, can place an order on makestorage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
USB-GPIB Interface v2.1
http://pakahuszar.blogspot.com/2021/12/usb-gpib-interface-v21.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.boredpanda.com/pizza-box-diy-ideas/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Making a Simple Hydrogen Generator from Washers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY08xO-_11w
Construction of a simple HHO generator, made of stainless steel washers and a water bottle.
https://www.instagram.com/mn.projects/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Harvat ihmiset tietävät tästä MOBILE PHONE -ominaisuudesta!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAmLyIAnQgY
Mitä matkapuhelimesta voi tehdä. Hyödyllinen kotitekoinen idea kotiin tai kesämökkeihin vanhasta kännykästä. Tällainen kotitekoinen tuote pystyy suojaamaan kotisi tulipalolta, tulvilta ja jopa tunkeilijoilta. Harvat ihmiset tietävät tästä puhelimen ominaisuudesta.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/05/hackvent-calendar-will-open-the-door-and-get-your-kids-soldering/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tricked-Out Breadboard Automatically Draws Schematics Of Whatever You Build
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/06/tricked-out-breadboard-automatically-draws-schematics-of-whatever-you-build/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Touchscreen-Powered USB Hub Selectively Powers Down Devices
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/06/touchscreen-powered-usb-hub-selectively-powers-down-devices/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/06/classic-colorimeter-clone-calibrates-cuvettes-contents/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/06/cardboard-vs-laser-shootout-a-tale-of-speed-and-power-settings/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/06/guitar-pickguard-adds-midi-capabilities/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building The DIY HP41C: A Field Report
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/03/building-the-diy-hp41c-a-field-report/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/29/but-think-of-the-world-wide-users/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scrolling Name Badge Is Sure To Break The Ice
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/29/scrolling-name-badge-is-sure-to-break-the-ice/
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printed Generator Build Highlights The Scientific Method
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/01/3d-printed-generator-build-highlights-the-scientific-method/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Play Doom Or GTA V With Your Own Custom Controller And Xbox Emulator
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/02/play-doom-or-gta-v-with-your-own-custom-controller-and-xbox-emulator/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/04/make-your-own-ble-enabled-ios-app-from-scratch/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/02/keebin-with-kristina-the-one-with-the-cat-keyboard/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/02/smart-ruler-has-many-features/