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.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Ammo box apocalypse computer
Rasbperry Pi 4 in a durable casing
https://hackaday.io/project/187305-ammo-box-apocalypse-computer
Tomi Engdahl says:
Robot Opens Master Combination Locks In Less Than A Minute
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/18/robot-opens-master-combination-locks-in-less-than-a-minute/
A common trope in bank heist B-movies is someone effortlessly bypassing a safe’s combination lock. Typically, the hero or villain will turn the dial while listening to the internal machinery, then deduce the combination based on sounds made by the lock. In real life, high-quality combination locks are not vulnerable to such simple attacks, but cheap ones can often be bypassed with a minimum of effort. Some are so simple that this process can even be automated, as [Mew463] has shown by building a machine that can open a Master combination lock in less than a minute.
https://github.com/Mew463/Project-l0ckcr4ck3r
Tomi Engdahl says:
A HUGE 3D Printed Brushless Motor??? How Much Thrust Can It Make?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQu7KKK3qXo
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tiny 1kW Electric Bike Motor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5uUyUWpP_I
When it comes to the motor getting hot, remember that drone motors are designed to have what’s essentially an overpowered cooling fan blowing directly onto them at all times…
In my experience drone motors are rated using phase amps while ebikes use battery amps. Short duration peak pulse vs RMS continuous or average power. Would have been interesting to see how much battery power they were each using.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Super Easy 3000 Watt DIY Electric Bike Mid Drive CYC X1 Pro Gen 2 Installation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1gua7yLkqo
Tomi Engdahl says:
I Made My Own Image Sensor! (And Digital Camera)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaXweP73NT4
It actually works! Finally got around to building my own digital camera from scratch. Its not an easy project, but if you want to recreate it, there are resources below!
DIY Image Sensor and Digital Camera
https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Image-Sensor-and-Digital-Camera/
https://github.com/IdleHandsProject/diycamera
https://www.findchips.com/org/10-open-hardware/list/162969-digiobscura-diy-image-sensor-and-digital-camera
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is it worth building your own DIY Electronics Test Equipment Projects?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM06-NfxEJ0
In this video I look at six Electronics Repair related projects, chosen pretty much at random. Let’s see how much these projects cost to build and if we can save money. The projects in this video are:
10KHz-225MHz RF Signal Generator
Accurate LC Meter
T12 Soldering Station
Weller Compatible Soldering Station
Variable Electronic Load
MilliOhm Meter
CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:16 PCBWay Shared Projects
00:12:25 10KHz-225MHz RF Signal Generator
00:16:01 The Accurate LC Meter
00:18:26 T12 Soldering Station
00:20:55 Weller Compatible Soldering Station
00:23:33 Electronic Load
00:26:43 MilliOhm Meter
00:29:46 Conclusion
Tomi Engdahl says:
The most educational bass (the Moroder Bassline)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75p5puCwbL0
If you have any questions about how to program basslines, start here: the Moroder bassline. This rolling 16th-note subtractive bass style teaches you the foundations of sound design, programming and music theory, which you can use as a starting point to create your own flavour of bass.
Contents:
0:00 Examples
1:05 Features of the Moroder bassline
1:40 Programming a Moroder bassline
2:58 How to synthesise a bassline
7:02 Adding some minimal techno drums
7:50 Bass plays the root note (music theory)
9:27 Timbre edits and FX to add aliveness
11:55 Next steps
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 4 rules of techno minimalism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh8jV6IGI84
A lot of dance music revolves around maximising the impact of a very limited set of musical ideas. How do we achieve minimalist elegance but avoid sounding amateur, simplistic, underproduced?
Here are the 4 steps to getting effective minimalist productions.
Contents:
0:00 The four magic ingredients
2:38 How to groove at all levels
5:24 How to create movement in the timbre
7:00 Dealing with too much movement
9:19 The golden rule of movement
9:29 How to add polymeters to your techno groove
14:45 How to build tension and release in minimalist music
17:27 Summary and next steps
HOW TO MAKE MINIMAL TECHNO 3 MUST KNOWN PRINCIPLES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnVc5T_jqVA
Don’t know how to make minimal techno? In this tutorial, I’m gonna teach you guys how to make minimal techno and 3 must-known principles that will help you to make minimal techno.
We’ll start with the kick and bass. If you don’t know how to make techno rumble, this video will answer all of your questions. I will teach you guys how to make minimal techno rumble in less than 5 minutes. You might be thinking it’s hard, but actually it’s really easy. All we will need is a kick, a reverb, saturation, and an eq.
The drums. If you don’t know how to make techno drums this will help you to get an idea how does a good techno groove sounds like. Since it’s minimal techno, we will go simple here.
And the last thing we are gonna do in this minimal techno tutorial is melodic elements and atmospheres. Usually, minimal techno is dark, and this is the vibe I am aiming for in this video.
These are the 3 must known principles that will help you if you don’t know how to make minimal techno.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCB planar actuator
A milli-scale PCB actuator implementation.
https://hackaday.io/project/186121-pcb-planar-actuator
Tomi Engdahl says:
Multi-Stage Ion Thruster Holds Exciting Promise
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/19/multi-stage-ion-thruster-holds-exciting-promise/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/19/keyboard-shortcuts-at-the-touch-of-a-planetary-cube/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/20/3d-printing-aids-metal-polishing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/20/ride-on-star-wars-land-speeder-gets-a-real-jet-engine/
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printed String Vase Shows What’s Possible
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/20/3d-printed-string-vase-shows-whats-possible/
Overhangs are the bane of the melty-plastic 3D printing world. Often, we try to avoid them with creative print alignments, or we compensate with supports. However, [3DPrintBunny] decided to embrace overhangs in the extreme in the design of her creative 3D-printed string vase.
The design is intended to be printed with a larger nozzle, on the order of 0.8 mm or so, at a layer height of 0.6 mm. Under these conditions, the printer nozzle bridges the gap between the vase’s pillars with a single string of molten filament. With the settings just so, the molten filament stays attached during the bridging operation, and creates a fine plastic string between the pillars. Repeat this across the whole design, and you get an attractive string vase.
https://twitter.com/3DPrintBunny/status/1568783133440614400
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/20/its-pi-all-the-way-down-with-this-pi-powered-pi-picking-robot/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Open Source: Free As The Air You Breathe
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/20/open-source-free-as-the-air-you-breathe/
[Carolyn Barber] recently interviewed a 15-year-old who has been making Corsi-Rosenthal boxes for people in his community that are at risk for COVID. Not only is it great that a teenager has such community spirit, but it is also encouraging that [Richard Corsi] and [Jim Rosenthal] made an open-source design that can help people at a greatly reduced cost.
Making Spaces Safer
An easy-to-build box can help in the fight against COVID-19.
https://news.eb.com/level2/making-spaces-safer/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/19/a-peppy-low-power-wall-mounted-display/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/19/retrotechtacular-the-original-robot-arm/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/21/3d-print-yourself-a-tiny-steam-train-complete-with-smoke-effects/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/21/a-3d-printed-marble-run-features-neat-elevator-linkage/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/21/cutting-metals-with-a-diode-laser/
Using an XTool D1 Pro 20W as a testbed, [Chad] tried a variety of materials including mild steel, stainless, aluminium, and brass sheets at a variety of thicknesses. Steel shim sheets in thicknesses from one to eight-thousandths of an inch appeared to be perfectly cuttable, with an appropriate air assist and speed settings, with thicker sheets needing a good few passes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/21/mechanical-color-picker-types-hex-codes-for-you/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.io/project/186907-machine-sewable-led-strips
Tomi Engdahl says:
Experimenting with 3D-Printed Magnetic Gears
Non-physical gear engagement is more suitable for 3D-printed mechanisms, which is why YouTuber Retsetman experimented with magnetic gears.
https://www.hackster.io/news/experimenting-with-3d-printed-magnetic-gears-361e3b5a3f60
Tomi Engdahl says:
Simple Internet Radio Transplant
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/22/simple-internet-radio-transplant/
https://github.com/blake5634/Simple-Internet-Radio
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireless Water Detector Hooks Up To Home Assistant
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/22/wireless-water-detector-hooks-up-to-home-assistant/
Water damage can quickly make even the nicest buildings unliveable. [Andres Leon] suffered a small flood from an air conditioning unit, and wanted to avoid such issues in future. Thus, he built a wireless monitor to solve the problem.
The device is based on the ESP8266, allowing it to wirelessly communicate with Home Assistant. Thus, if it detects water via its rust-proof probes, it can notify Home Assistant via an MQTT message. From there, Home Assistant can advise the home owner remotely via phone and email. Plus, just for completeness, there’s a loud buzzer in the unit that goes off when water is detected, too. Thanks to a 2500 mAh lithium-polymer battery on board, the device can run for up to 5 months between recharges.
https://github.com/andres-leon/wireless-water-detector
Tomi Engdahl says:
Robots Chase Down Balls In Fun Outdoor Game
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/22/robots-chase-down-balls-in-fun-outdoor-game/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Music Spectrum and dB Visualizer
https://hackaday.io/project/184570-music-spectrum-and-db-visualizer
Receive input from a 3.5mm jack, divides the music into 7 frequency bands, shows the loudness of each frequency band in DB using LEDS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Shower water saver
An attempt to recycle the water wasted during the warm-up period at the start of a shower.
https://hackaday.io/project/4840-shower-water-saver
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pluto 1 Rocket
Building a rocket for fun I guess.
https://hackaday.io/project/187348-pluto-1-rocket
Tomi Engdahl says:
Launchpad || DIY or Buy || Keyboard Matrix & MIDI Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyKStRyez5Y
In this episode of DIY or Buy I will be showing you how I created my own launchpad. That means I will show you how I combined a design idea with 3D Prints, WS2812 LEDs, tactile switches and an Arduino to create a proper MIDI instrument. While building I will also tell you a bit about a keyboard matrix and in the end determine what advantages the DIY Launchpad offers. Let’s get started!
SUPER SIMPLE MIDI KEYBOARD DIY HOW TO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY1SRehZ9hM
Building a MIDI Controller Using Arduino
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ5yPdoPooU
Build a USB Midi Footswitch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3WevrsmO9o
I made my DREAM CONTROLLER – with PCBWay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K45KrCRyAQ
LIVE from the Lab: MIDI Controller – Pots and Buttons OH MY!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQIjri0RxHg
Tomi Engdahl says:
Combination Password Locker
Protect your passwords with this unique password locker. Once unlocked you can automatically send Website credentials via Bluetooth.
https://www.hackster.io/john-bradnam/combination-password-locker-e9fe1e
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/25/this-found-sound-organ-was-made-with-python-and-a-laser-cutter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/25/empty-spools-make-useful-tools-like-counters/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/25/2022-cyberdeck-challenge-cyberpack-vr/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Giving Environmental Readouts Some Personality
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/25/giving-environmental-readouts-some-personality/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mini-Deck
A Mini Modular Folding Cyberdeck
https://hackaday.io/project/187191-mini-deck
Tomi Engdahl says:
Network Detached Storage Device
Ever wanted a self-hosting NAS robust enough you can throw it in your rucksack and forget about it?
https://hackaday.io/project/186933-network-detached-storage-device
Tomi Engdahl says:
JIXIE – Small LED Nixie Tube
Inspired by Rodan-Okaya GR-524 Nixie Tube
https://hackaday.io/project/183718-jixie-small-led-nixie-tube
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D-Printable Sculpture Shows Off Unpredictable Order Of Chains
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/25/3d-printable-sculpture-shows-off-unpredictable-order-of-chains/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Adding A Third Wheel (And Speed Boost) To An Electric Scooter
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/24/adding-a-third-wheel-and-speed-boost-to-an-electric-scooter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Animated LED Arrows Point The Way
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/24/animated-led-arrows-point-the-way/
Visitors at the Garden D’Lights in Bellevue, Washington had a problem. While touring the holiday lights show, they kept straying off the path. The event organizers tried some simple LED arrows, but they were just more points of light among a sea filled with them. This is when [Eric Gunnerson] was asked to help out. He’s apparently had some experience with LED animations, even cooking up a simple descriptor language for writing animations driven by an ESP32. To make the intended path obvious, he turned to a PVC board with 50 embedded WS2812 pixels –RGB controllable LEDs. The control box was a USB power adapter and an ESP8266, very carefully waterproofed and connected to the string of pixels. The backer board is painted black, to complete the hardware. Stick around after the inevitable break, to get a look at the final
https://github.com/ericgu/Fade
Tomi Engdahl says:
CMOS Oscillator Circuit Gets An Eatable Input
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/24/cmos-oscillator-circuit-gets-an-eatable-input/
interaction designer [Leonardo Amico]’s work Processing Decay, lettuce is used as an input to produce sound as an element within a CMOS circuit.
We’ve all seen lemons and potatoes doubling in science-fairs as edible batteries, but lettuce is something else. [Leandro]’s circuit uses alligator clips to insert lettuce into oscillators in this audio generating circuit — we think they’re behaving like resistors. Without refrigeration, the resistance of the lettuce changes, and so does the oscillation in the circuit. In a matter of hours, days, and weeks the cells degrades slowly, modulating the system and its sonic output. What a way to make music!
https://vimeo.com/64051542
Tomi Engdahl says:
Minimal Tic Tac Toe Business Card
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/24/minimal-tic-tac-toe-business-card/
The PCB business card has long been a way for the aspiring electronics engineer to set themself apart from their peers. Handing out a card that is also a two player game is a great way to secure a couple minutes of a recruiter’s time, so [Ryan Chan] designed a business card that, in addition to his contact information, also has a complete Tic-Tac-Toe game built in.
[Ryan] decided that an OLED display was too expensive for something to hand out and an LED matrix too thick, so he decided to keep it simple and use an array of 18 LEDs—9 in each of two colors laid out in a familiar 3×3 grid. An ATmega328p running the Arduino bootloader serves as the brains of the operation. To achieve a truly minimal design [Ryan] uses a single SMD pushbutton for control: a short press moves your selection, a longer press finalizes your move, and a several-second press switches the game to a single-player mode, complete with AI.
Tic Tac Toe on a Business Card
A business card that can play the classic game of Tic Tac Toe.
https://www.hackster.io/ryanchan/tic-tac-toe-on-a-business-card-cd45fd
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Scratch-Built X-Ray Tube Really Shines
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/24/this-scratch-built-x-ray-tube-really-shines/
On no planet is making your own X-ray tube a good idea. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to talk about it, because it’s pretty darn cool.
Homemade x-ray tube – how i made it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL2RIzlo7W8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chandelier Mimics The Solar Analemma
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/24/chandelier-mimics-the-solar-analemma/
https://www.instructables.com/Solar-Analemma-Chandelier-20/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Add An OSHW Certified Stopwatch To Your Toolkit
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/23/add-an-oshw-certified-stopwatch-to-your-toolkit/
[MakingDevices] has created a simple stopwatch that makes for a nice introduction to surface mount electronic design and assembly. The project is open source hardware (OSHW) certified, with Gerbers, KiCAD files, and software all available.
https://www.instructables.com/StopWatch/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Filament Cutter Uses Unusual (But Effective) 3D-Printed Spring Design
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/23/filament-cutter-uses-unusual-but-effective-3d-printed-spring-design/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Big 3D Printed BMO Is Also An OctoPrint Server
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/23/big-3d-printed-bmo-is-also-an-octoprint-server/