The Crucible Offers Class Discounts to Makers
We got this announcement from our friends at The Crucible. Many thanks to them for offering this deal. We hope that some of our readers will use this as an incentive to take some classes.
Education
Maker Education is such a valuable role. These stories will bring you the latest information and tales of maker educators who area spreading the maker mindset. Help others learn how to make things or how to think like a maker at makerspaces, schools, universities, and local communities. The importance of maker education can not be understated. We appreciate our educators.
Skill Set: Intro to Machines and Mechanisms
This month, for our Mechanics Skill Set, we’re happy to have our friend Dustyn Roberts joining us again to help out with the theme. We’ll be excerpting from Dustyn’s book, Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists, doing a giveaway of signed copies of her book, and she’ll be writing some original […]
Bill Hammack vs The Smoke Detector: “Engineering At Its Best”
Most of our readers will know that one of the most common types of residential smoke detectors actually contains radioactive material—specifically, an isotope of americium—which is used to ionize air molecules in the detector itself. In this video, the always-engaging Bill Hammack, aka Engineer Guy, explains both the operation of the ionizing detector and, most interestingly for me, also the circuit in which it operates, and the MOSFET which is the other critical component in that circuit (and is, incidentally, the namesake of Phil Torrone’s cat). Characteristic Bill quote: “To me, this is engineering at its best: Simple, reliable, and inexpensive. And saving countless lives.” Thanks, Bill, as always!
Beating Heart LED Pendant
We got an email a few days ago from Charles Platt, MAKE contributor editor and author of our best-selling book, Make: Electronics. He was tickled because he’d gotten an email from Quinn Dunki. She had read his book and used his “Pulsing Glow” circuit (experiment 14) to create this “beating heart” pendant jewelry. She writes: […]
Laser Cut Celly Holders
In one of my classes, we’re making cell phone pouches recently. On Monday, we looked at some fabric iPod cases on Flickr, and then they made sketch models with paper and tape. Sketch models are a very quick model that allows you to see about what the design will be before committing lots of time, expense and materials to the design. The sketch model allows you to hold the idea in your hand in the fastest turnaround possible. They had about 20 minutes to make theirs, which placed an emphases on speed over perfection, which could come later.
Students next transferred the measurements to the computer and cut the shapes with the laser. On Thursday, some started cutting t-shirt fabric on the laser. A couple of students are sewing with hand but fabric glue is faster. As a finished product, glue probably isn’t the best, but it allows very quick feedback on the design’s measurements. One student wanted to photo on to his design, so we managed to raster an image onto the fabric. This weekend I scored a free sewing machine and associated gear, which should open up some new possibilities.
Dropless Laser Projection Microscope Takes Glass Slides
Interesting post from dusjagr over on Hacketeria, who reports success using a 100 mW green laser with the lens from a cheap webcam, in the arrangement pictured here, to make a projecting microscope that will accept conventional microscope slides, and is only slightly more complicated than a Planinsic-type water-drop projector. [via Hack a Day]
2011 NASA Make: Challenge
Image of the Noisebridge weather balloon space probe, part of our DIY Space coverage in MAKE Volume 24 I’m excited to announce the launch of the NASA Make Challenge: Experimental Science Kits for Space. Last year, I met with Lynn Harper and Daniel Rasky of the Space Portal at NASA Ames to talk about ideas […]
