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:
Prototype Robot For Omniwheel Bicycle
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/24/prototype-robot-for-omniwheel-bicycle/
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printed Suncatcher Shines In The Light
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/25/3d-printed-suncatcher-shines-in-the-light/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Custom SSD Gives New Life To Handheld Atom PC
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/25/custom-ssd-gives-new-life-to-handheld-atom-pc/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/28/autonomous-mower-hits-snag/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/28/mask-sanitization-that-anyone-can-build/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/25/grocery-store-rocket-fuel-dont-try-this-at-home/
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printed CPU Bracket Reduces Temperatures
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/26/3d-printed-cpu-bracket-reduces-temperatures/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/28/boring-belt-sander-is-rc-racer-in-disguise/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/24/a-gameport-joystick-to-usb-midi-converter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/01/a-custom-radio-and-telephone-system-for-glider-winch-operators/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/27/simple-dram-tester-built-with-spare-parts/
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printed Mechanical Contraption Shows Live Weather Forecast
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/26/3d-printed-mechanical-contraption-shows-live-weather-forecast/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/27/need-to-probe-circuits-remember-about-clothespins/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/28/hvtpi-primer-and-toolkit-equips-you-for-bom-substitutions/
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/24/an-unbusy-usb-c-port-doubles-up-for-jtag-programming/
Tomi Engdahl says:
No Privacy: Cloning The AirTag
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/22/no-privacy-cloning-the-airtag/
You’ve probably heard of the infamous rule 34, but we’d like to propose a new rule — call it rule 35: Anything that can be used for nefarious purposes will be, even if you can’t think of how at the moment. Case in point: apparently there has been an uptick in people using AirTags to do bad things. People have used them to stalk people or to tag cars so they can be found later and stolen. According to [Fabian Bräunlein], Apple’s responses to this don’t consider cases where clones or modified AirTags are in play. To prove the point, he built a clone that bypasses the current protection features and used it to track a willing experimental subject for 5 days with no notifications.
According to the post, Apple says that AirTags have serial numbers and beep when they have not been around their host Apple device for a certain period. [Fabian] points out that clone tags don’t have serial numbers and may also not have speakers. There is apparently a thriving market, too, for genuine tags that have been modified to remove their speakers. [Fabian’s] clone uses an ESP32 with no speaker and no serial number.
Find You: Building a stealth AirTag clone
https://positive.security/blog/find-you
Tomi Engdahl says:
An Off-Grid Makeshift Cell Network
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/21/an-off-grid-makeshift-cell-network/
When traveling into the wilderness with a group of people, it’s good to have a method of communications set up both for safety and practicality. In the past people often relied on radios like FRS, CB, or ham bands if they had licenses, but nowadays almost everyone has a built-in communications device in their pocket that’s ready to use. Rather than have all of his friends grab a CB to put in their vehicle for their adventures together, [Keegan] built an off-grid network which allows any Android phone to communicate with text even if a cell network isn’t available.
https://hackaday.io/project/183966-off-grid-lora-communicator
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT-Enabled Mailbox Lets You Check Your Mail Without Leaving Your House
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/24/iot-enabled-mailbox-lets-you-check-your-mail-without-leaving-your-house/
Whether you live in an apartment downtown or in a detached house in the suburbs, if your mailbox is not built into your home you’ll have to go outside to see if anything’s there. But how do you prevent that dreadful feeling of disappointment when you find your mailbox empty? Well, we’re living in 2022, so today your mailbox is just another Thing to connect to the Internet of Things. And that’s exactly what [fhuable] did when he made a solar powered IoT mailbox.
The basic idea was to equip a mailbox with a camera and have it send over pictures of its contents. An ESP32-Cam module could do just that: with a 1600 x 1200 camera sensor, a 160 MHz CPU and an integrated WiFi adapter, [fhuable] just needed to write an Arduino sketch to have it take a picture every few hours and upload it to an FTP server.
https://fhuable.fhu-space.net/mailboxbot/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Busting Myths about Torque Limiting Extensions: 31 Different Quick Dyno Tests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGxWMOP6deo
Torque of TTC is working for Astro Tools WHO MAKE THE MID PRICED SET IN THIS VERY EPISODE. TTC is not the only testing out there, always consider multiple sources when looking at a tool. Brand doesn’t seems to play a big role on these, it seems if they are made in the USA or Taiwan they are pretty similar from what we can tell. Go find a deal!
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Box that can SAVE YOUR LIFE….and get you out of awkward conversations! (GPS/SMS/Call Thingy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P4R91hsMf0
In this project I will be showing you how to build a GPS/SMS/Call thingy. I got the idea from an Instagram product that can send an emergency SMS with GPS location to a phone. But the only problem was that the instagram product requires a smartphone to do this which I think is not ideal. So I came up with a box that can do all this work on its own without requiring a smartphone. And as a bonus; my box can also call you to get you out of awkward conversations
Let’s get started!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Few people know about this function of the DRILL MACHINE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vPM7TjPbCM
Really cool project and a great way to cut metal without a bandsaw. Probably be a lot better to make some bearing housings to press fit the crankshaft bearings into and weld those to the crankshaft rather than just welding the bearings directly though. Much easier to just replace the bearings when they wear out, and stick welding to the alloys in bearing casings is never going hold up well to vibration in the long run. Also, if you don’t want to wear gloves to weld then that’s on you, but please tell me you’re at least wearing goggles or a welding mask for all those welds!
Tomi Engdahl says:
GORGEOUS DIY FROM AN OLD MOUSE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfOleWQdBEg
From a mouse for a computer, you can make a smart homemade product. Many have an old mouse from a computer that no one uses. In this video I will show you what you can do with a mouse for a PC. This homemade product is especially useful for fans of computer games. From an ordinary mouse, a smart homemade product turned out that costs much more in the store.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Just FYI, got two used flightsticks I wanted for some drone control mess for nearly the cost of the pipework seen here
Needless to say, even with some minor scratches a factory-made device is definitely a preferred choice over something so useless you even had to fake a test of…
Tomi Engdahl says:
Explosive Science – with Chris Bishop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQdcKJUijQ
Distinguished Scientist, Ri Vice President and explosives expert Chris Bishop presents another action-packed demonstration lecture.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/01/human-power-past-and-future/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/01/big-led-matrix-becomes-tiny-led-matrix-thanks-to-fiber-optics/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/01/sprockets-and-chains-drive-this-unique-mechanical-digital-clock/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Super-Bright Outdoor TV With Watercooling
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/01/diy-super-bright-outdoor-tv-with-watercooling/
Watching TV or playing a console game is usually not an outdoor activity, helped by the fact that you can’t see anything on your average TV in direct sunlight. However, with some basic fabrication skills, [Matt] from [DIY Perks] demonstrates how to upgrade an LCD TV to be viewable in the brightest conditions by upgrading its backlight, and adding a simple water-cooling system in the process. Full build video after the break.
An LCD panel doesn’t produce any light but acts as a filter for the backlight behind it, which is just a widely spaced array of white LEDs. The core of the build is upgrading the backlight, so [Matt] picked up a large 4K TV with a partially faulty backlight for a very affordable price. The new backlight consists of a set of high-brightness LED panels, screwed to a sheet of aluminum. The LEDs generate a lot of heat, so [Matt] cools the back of the aluminum sheet with a budget-friendly water cooling system built from a car radiator, small water pump, and some clear plastic tubing. Everything is housed in an industrial-looking enclosure made from aluminum sheet, aluminum extrusions, and an acrylic back panel. To protect the LCD panel, it’s glued to a sheet of tempered glass from an old coffee table.
Building an ULTRA-BRIGHT water-cooled TV…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlFVPnGEb8o
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazing Invention | You Can Make At Home | Simple Inventions | Homemade DIY | How To Make RFID LOCK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW6z_J6YmkI
Tomi Engdahl says:
Transform a Damaged Laptop into an ALL-IN-ONE desktop PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jeLCQ62vFk
In this video we’ll be transforming an old laptop into an all-in-one PC!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Soil Moisture Sensor Coating Lessons Learned The Hard Way
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/02/soil-moisture-sensor-coating-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/
As the picture might hint, waterproofing is of paramount importance, and soldermask doesn’t quite cut it. Raphael describes his journey of figuring out approaches and coatings that would last, starting from simply using nail polish, and ending with the current option – a rotisserie-like device that rotates sensors as the coating applied to them dries, mitigating a certain kind of structural failure observed long-term. With plenty of illustrative pictures and even a video of the rotisserie device in action, you’ll quickly learn things that took time and effort for Raphael to figure out.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Learn To Play Guitar, Digitally
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/02/learn-to-play-guitar-digitally/
How I learned to play guitar, and create my own digital one
https://hackaday.io/page/11876-how-i-learned-to-play-guitar-and-create-my-own-digital-one
Tomi Engdahl says:
why do windows have to be so boring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z8nfEOJS6M
I try to make an overly-complicated lava lamp window. Thanks KiwiCo for sponsoring this video. Check out the perfect gift for the kiddos in your life and get 30% off of any crate!
I got so much good info on how to make stained glass from SunBearGlassCraft:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMBw4a1Ucksqe-SWf24FPCw
Tomi Engdahl says:
Making a Working Smallest Drill Press
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjT7BHaWu_U
Hi Guys,
I make this small press drill out of scrap metal and some motorcycle parts, Hope you like it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Remote Control Differential Drive Robot Car
https://hackaday.io/project/183776-remote-control-differential-drive-robot-car
The goal of this project is to create a remote control robot car where the linear and angular speed of the robot are controlled using PID.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ultimate back scratcher
Back scratching is hard
https://hackaday.io/project/184164-ultimate-back-scratcher
Tomi Engdahl says:
MiniMega: DIY Arduino Mega (Atmega2560) Dev Board
https://hackaday.io/project/184213-minimega-diy-arduino-mega-atmega2560-dev-board
I needed many more IO for an upcoming project so here’s a small dev board I designed around the atmega2560
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/03/internal-combustion-torque-monster-has-great-impact/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hardware Hacking 101 Needs Matching Toolkit
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/03/hardware-hacking-101-needs-matching-toolkit/
One doesn’t always have the luxury of sipping tea comfortably while hacking a piece of hardware at a fully-equipped workbench, where every tool is within reach. To address this, [Zokol] shares an early look at a hardware hacking toolkit-in-progress, whose purpose is to make hacking sessions as productive as possible while keeping size and weight within reasonable limits. There isn’t a part list yet, but there are some good tips on creating your own.
Hardware Hacking 101
Here is a short intro of how to get started with hardware hacking and what tools you might need.
http://heikki.juva.lu/hardware/2021/11/12/hardwarehacking_101.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
CAD Up Some Shoes, But Don’t Start From Scratch
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/03/cad-up-some-shoes-but-dont-start-from-scratch/
Nothing helps a project get off the ground better than a good set of resources, and that’s what led [DaveMakesStuff] to release his Digital Shoe Design Kit, which is a set of 3D models ready to customize into a basic running shoe.
This is exactly what is needed for people who are interested in designing a custom shoe, but perhaps not interested in modeling every element entirely from scratch. [DaveMakesStuff]’s resources allows one to mix outsoles, midsoles, uppers, and other basic shoe elements into a finished model, ready to be resized or even 3D printed if desired. The files are all in stl format, but resizing stl files is trivial, and more advanced editing is possible with mesh sculpting programs like Blender.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5235672
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Make a DIY Projector
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0LgWX4xsK4
How to make a projector at home
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazing tricks that will take you to another level of work – Tips and tricks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tiA9J2J3O8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Few people know about this SOLDERING IRON FUNCTION! Great ideas for all occasions!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQUJGp0sfw
Tomi Engdahl says:
Few people know about this DRILL FUNCTION! Don’t waste your money, do it yourself!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOlwHsitr4k
Tomi Engdahl says:
AmpV2
A 2x260W@4Ohm audio amplifier complete with a preamp and some basic digital controls/monitoring
https://www.hackster.io/masonrf/ampv2-17beb2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Open-source LXI Tools is made for “LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation” compliant test instruments
https://www.cnx-software.com/2022/02/28/open-source-lxi-tools-is-made-for-lan-extensions-for-instrumentation-compliant-test-instruments/
LXI Tools is an open-source project designed to manage Ethernet-connected test instruments such as oscilloscopes, power supplies, spectrum analyzers, etc… that are compliant with the “LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation” standard, or LXI for shorts, hence the name of the project.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://blog.arduino.cc/2022/02/26/james-brutons-strange-bicycle-robot-self-balances-with-an-omni-wheel/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Macro-Keyboard
https://github.com/KikiHobbyRepair/Macro-Keyboard
This project is about a DIY open source macro keyboard with 15 mechanical switches. It is at the moment programmed to work as a Fusion 360 shortcut keyboard to speed up the designing process. Alternatively this could be used as a strem deck or for gaming where lots of additional buttons are necessary and you do not want to put the entire keyboard next to your Steering wheel (like Snowrunner or Farming simulator etc)
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/pico87-raspberry-pi-pico-powered-keyboard
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D-Printed OLEDs Enable DIY Screens Nearly Anywhere Tabletop print-your-own electronics tech could even put displays on the human body
https://spectrum.ieee.org/3d-printed-tvs?share_id=6878860
Tomi Engdahl says:
Paul Clark Triangulates Sounds with a GNSS-Based SparkFun Qwiic Sound Trigger Listening System
Built around a Sound Trigger board plus a GNSS-based high-accuracy timer, these sensors can triangulate any sound in 2D space.
https://www.hackster.io/news/paul-clark-triangulates-sounds-with-a-gnss-based-sparkfun-qwiic-sound-trigger-listening-system-a0f989c31d8c