Lego Pancake-Batter CNC
The sheer magnificence of Miguel Valenzuela’s Lego pancake CNC is matched only by the delight of his daughters Maia and Lily “printing” their own Mickey Mouse pancakes. Love this project!
Digital Fabrication
Digital fabrication tools have revolutionized the way designers, engineers, and artisans express their creativity. With the right resources, you can learn to use these powerful instruments in no time! Whether it’s 3D printing or laser cutting that interests you, these articles will provide useful tutorials and inspiration for makers of all levels. Discover how digital fabrication can open up new possibilities so that your craftsmanship is truly extraordinary!
Arduino Goes to War
Shown uppermost is the prototype of a handheld artillery spotting device developed as a student capstone project at West Point. The blue board to upper left is pretty clearly an Arduino Mega. You can see, in the near upper corner of that board, where the DC power jack has been desoldered and the pads hardwired to the battery pack. The system, called DemonEye, is now reportedly undergoing field testing.
Math Monday: Star Sphericon
A sphericon is a shape that you get by: (1) rotating a symmetric polygon about a mirror axis to get a solid of revolution, (2) cutting the solid into two equal pieces, and (3) putting the pieces back together differently. With a lathe or a 3D printing machine, it is easy to make many kinds of sphericons, with different starting polygons. Here is one based on a star.
Solar Sinter Project: 3D Printing with Sunlight and Sand
I’m absolutely amazed by Markus Kayser’s Solar Sinter Project, a 3D printer that uses the sun for power and sand as its raw material: In a world increasingly concerned with questions of energy production and raw material shortages, this project explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material occur in abundance. In this […]
Lemon Hand Grenades
I took an aesthetics class in college. One of the assignments was to package a piece of fruit in an innovative way. I bought a miniature pineapple, cut off the flower, and screwed the fuse, spoon, and pin from a dummy hand grenade into the top. I got an A. But then, I think, so did everyone else.
Open Source Generative Music Maker
The folks over at Teague labs have built a fun Arduino based generative music maker with a unique minimalist keyed user interface called Muze. Instead of directly manipulating instruments, you use a color coded knob to tune or influence multiple aspects of the score Muse plays at once. If you’d like to play along, you […]
Dads and Sons at Maker Faire
Our friends at RadioShack talked to some DIY dads and their kids at Maker Faire Bay Area about making together. Here they talk to Jim and his son Schuyler, the kid 3D printing evangelist. You may remember Schuyler from his adorable Ignite presentation.