When I heard that iFixit was going to sell their own soldering iron, I was excited. iFixit had a good reputation for really knowing what their customers need and paying detail to their tool s designs. When I saw what their soldering iron would look like, it was an instant buy for me. The immediate hint [ ]
This is something I really wanted to like. I really want to get behind a product that breaks down a barrier to entry of a hobby. But alas it s not the miracle product that I hoped it to be. For only $55, it is a RC transmitter that runs open source software, particularly, EdgeTX and [ ]
I made(*) this tiny remote control for Sony Alpha cameras. It can do what other camera remotes do, and I jam packed it with other weird features, features that I would like to see baked into the actual camera s firmware. Preface This is an open source firmware project. I wrote the source code for this [ ]
This is a tool made to transfer and backup photos from a professional camera while in-the-field. Built with a Raspberry Pi 4 (other Pis will work too, it s all just Python code), using Wi-Fi for file transfers and USB disks for file storage, powered by batteries. While on photography trips, I m running out of storage [ ]
You might be enjoying a trip to the Pacific coast one day, hoping to see some whales, and stumble upon this just felt like doing a little nice thing for the world in my own way, proudly made on my Hephaestus and my Beamo Welcome to the trail leading up to Mori Point! One of [ ]
I m having so much fun with my new Beamo laser cutter! I designed and made this wooden orrery with my Beamo. It s a mechanical toy that depicts the position of the Earth and Moon as they orbit each other and the Sun, with artwork showing the moon phases and Zodiac. See more pictures and animation: [ ]
I finally took the plunge and bought myself my very own laser cutter! It s a cute little Flux Beamo! A small but modern 30W CO2 CNC laser cutter/engraver. Here s what I think of it The Flux Beamo claims to output 30W of optical power at 10.6um wave length. The workspace area is about the size [ ]
It s nearly Christmas again! I ve started to learn a new craft, an ancient one, and started to mix it up with modern technology. Behold, stained glass suncatcher with embedded LEDs This is essentially black magic to most glass artists and a huge duh moment to all the makers and engineers. I ve been asked to teach [ ]
I ve had some fun with photogrammetry recently and wanted to try out other techniques for 3D scanning. I ve actually sort of accomplished S.L.A.M. during a hackathon using the PlayStation 4 camera and the Xbox One Kinect already, but I wanted something portable! With the new Raspberry Pi 4 debuting this year, I can finally accomplish [ ]
I ve been experimenting with 3D scanning objects outdoors with just a camera! Using Meshroom, an open source photogrammetry tool, I can process a bunch of photographs into a textured 3D model. I could use these models for 3D printing or as objects in a game engine. Anybody with a camera can do this! The caveat [ ]
This is a mineral oil submerged computer. Mineral oil is a liquid that looks and behaves like water but does not conduct electricity, hence why it is safe to run electronics inside it. The mineral oil also aids to control the temperature of the entire system, by soaking up and removing heat away from hot [ ]
I finally did it, I designed and built my own 3D printer. This is in no way the best 3D printer . Instead, this was an epic and nightmare project that exercised my ability to engineer and build my own CNC machine. Along the way, I figured out what I did well and what I did [ ]
A few weeks ago, the library consulted me about teaching programming to kids. The Grand Avenue library is already using the CS First With Google and the West Orange library wants to start something similar and asked because of the previous robotics classes I ve taught for them. While they could also try Google s CS First, [ ]
I spend my Saturdays volunteering at a public library makerspace, the South San Francisco Public Library. I help people operate a few 3D printers, a CNC mill, vinyl cutter, etc. While preparing for my annual RoboGames entry, I thought it d be cool to teach the library s patrons about robotics. I designed a robot kit, partly [ ]
Ha, that title makes me sound so evil. See this library actually leaves their 3D printers unsupervised, and the patrons use them how they please. I love it, getting people exposed to the latest tech is our goal. But this means that people do not realize how to properly remove filament from the printers, leading [ ]
For my antweight combat robot DetCord, I wanted a wheel that could improve upon the Banebots wheels that I used before. I wanted something shock absorbing, which would extend the life of my gearboxes. The tires need to be soft and have high traction. The wheel does not have to be very strong because the [ ]
I backed a Kickstarter called Cubiio. It s a palm sized cube shaped 800mW laser engraver. It is a rather controversial Kickstarter project. I have received and used mine for a bit and I have some personal opinions about it. This is going to be a real review, but from the perspective of an engineer and [ ]
It s that time of year when we think about gift giving. I decided to design a dome shaped box that opened with moving curved doors. Your browser does not support the video tag. (dear iPhone users, sorry if the videos don t work for you, please consider upgrading) Keep reading for more pictures and a full [ ]
I did a solo roadtrip from San Francisco to Portland so I can view the 2017 total solar eclipse with my friends in Salem! Of course, I had to nerd it up a notch I 3D printed holders for solar filters that attaches to binoculars. The filament I used is a soft PLA (softer than [ ]
This is the next step in my mission to make my car function 7 years newer and feel like a jet cockpit. (click here if the above video isn t loading) Your browser does not support HTML5 video. I wanted a HUD, Heads Up Display to my car. The main purpose is to let me keep [ ]
My 2018 competitor, with a titanium horizontal blade from FingerTech Robotics. I felt like rebuilding a drum spinner twice is too boring so gotta change up the weapon choice every year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jogX5dcA4ak I was the winner of that fight because of the driving I did after my blade broke off. My radio is a FrSky [ ]
Designed as a replacement for Shrapnelly. Shrapnelly is almost impossible to repair, so Hells Bells is designed with a 3D printed nylon-CF body and totally off-the-shelf electronics. Currently a work-in-progress.
We did it, we said we were going to win and we did. We built something so technologically beautiful that Elon Musk himself crowned it the most innovative of them all. I am proud to have served on a team where the exact combination of passionate people was key to achieving our success. Every ounce [ ]
rLoop I m involved in the rLoop team, we are building a 1/3 scale Hyperloop Pod for the competition hosted by SpaceX. Learn more about it here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-build-rloop-s-pod-for-spacex-hyperloop-comp Our team is sponsored by TE Connectivity (formerly Tyco Electronics), and they ve temporarily given us a building to work in, including access to complete machine shops and…
This is my first ever combat robot! 454 grams (1 lb American Antweight class). It has a spinning drum weapon.Body is made of Garolite, with titanium skirts mounted on hinges (parts are cut on my Nomad 883 Pro, and some 3D printing). The drum weapon is CNC lathed aluminum with a brushless motor inside. The [ ]
This is a special resistor voltage divider calculator. You tell it what is the maximum expected input voltage and the maximum desired output voltage, and a list of all the resistors you already own, and it automatically picks the two resistors you should use. This is useful because it means you don t have to buy [ ]
Yea so I had no choice but to start my car with a screwdriver (continue reading) Just kidding. This was inspired by these similar projects
I went to CES 2016 in Las Vegas. This is my second time visiting CES, last year I made this post (CES 2015) about it too. This year is a little underwhelming than last year, perhaps its because last year was my first time, and this year is my second time. There are many things [ ]
If you owned any good laptops, you might have a charger that had a curved shape, and/or a strap to help you wrap the cord. Well The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is an amazing computer but it s charger doesn t even have a strap. So I ve decided to solve this problem with 3D printing. The filament [ ]