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If you played with a Meccano set when you were younger as I did this MicroRAX mini T-Slot Construction system may bring back some of those construction ideas. I have seen a larger version of this system used in industry for constructing modular systems that are very rigid and simply to modify. It looks like it could be an ideal solution to building a robot platform where the end result is more of an evolution than a set construction plan. Update. I forgot to mention that MicroRAX is giving away some free samples, this will allow you to have a look at the product before you buy. The free sample is probably time limited so act now, pass this along to your mechanical engineering friends so that they can learn about this product also. Via: Hacked Gadgets Forum "MicroRAX a light weight miniature T-Slot building kit. Suitable for use on your desktop or bench top to build science, engineering, or advanced hobby and DIY projects. This small rugged framing system is ideal for use in machines, school science projects, robotics, design houses, workshops, prototypes, repair, models, gadgets, maintenance, etc." |
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Our friend Carlos Asmat has built a Panoramic Camera with lots of build details. You can find the code that runs the system here and more results of the camera system here. "Materials
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Here is my latest creation, it’s a Gear Clock. It consists of a bunch of wooden gears, a PIC microcontroller and a stepper motor. The heart of the clock is a PIC 16f628A microcontroller. This microcontroller has an internal oscillator however an external 20MHz crystal oscillator is being used since it will have to accurately keep track of time for weeks and months. The microcontroller is interfaced to two buttons and one motor. The gear arrangement is as follows:
To achieve the correct timing the 9 tooth motor gear is advanced 4 steps every 9 seconds. By moving 4 steps at a time the motor routines can be simple since the motor is always at rest with the same coil energized. Read more about the gear clock here.
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Bob Davis has made another can crusher with a huge 5 thousand volt power supply eBay score. A 100uF capacitor doesn’t sound that big, heck I have ones that are 10 times that size in a tray right beside me as I type this. Well the big difference is the one that is beside me has a voltage rating of 50 volts. That is a far cry from the 5000 volt rating that the one in this power supply! We have featured a bunch of Bob’s can crushers here in the past but I think that this is the biggest and baddest one so far!
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Our friend Gio from DIY Audio Projects has sent in a cool Push-Pull Tube Amp Build. This tube amp fits into a 8 X 12 inch chassis and looks fantastic! Now if only we could find a drugstore with a tube tester. With cool equipment like this and tube TV troubleshooting guides popping up there is sure to be demand for tube testers once again? "The basic design has been around for a long time (50 years or so). The problem with early applications was that it was difficult to force it to operate in a linear manner. It can only function in a class-A mode with both tubes always conducting. The reason this circuit is attractive is that it eliminates the need for a phase splitter stage. It requires only a single-ended driver. The advent of solid state electronics provided a solution to the problem. A simple application of a common LM317 IC voltage regulator converts it to a very accurate constant current source (CCS). Using a CCS in the cathode circuit of the SIPP stage forces it to operate in class-A. What was a sort of a mediocre output stage thus becomes highly accurate and quite excellent."
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Surface mount rework stations are very expensive, Openschemes shows us that it is possible to perform Surface Mount Component Removal using a Heat Gun. "Now it doesn’t matter much WHICH heat gun you use, although it should be able to produce a good bit of air at >300C. In our experience, long heating times due to using a weaker gun are the biggest cause of PCB burn, bulge, or trace peel. |
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A Nerdkit microcontroller is used in this Capacitive Touch Sensor Halloween Pumpkin for some great effects! Full details are provided so that you can add this cool effect to your own projects. The sensor components are just aluminum foil which is great since you probably have some in your kitchen cupboard. Thanks Humberto. "Capacitive proximity sensors work because people are mostly water, and water is a very polar molecule, and is easily turned to align with any applied electric field. In fact, water has a "permittivity" (dielectric constant) that is about 80 times better than air! When a given voltage is applied between the two plates of any capacitor, an electric field is created between the plates. In the region where there’s a dielectric, the electric field is actually smaller than it is in air (for water, just 1/80th of the field strength), so your first instinct might be to think that the capacitance decreases as well. However, because the applied voltage must manifest as a product of electric field and distance, the electric field strength in the non-dielectric regions actually goes up substantially. Overall, the energy stored in the electric field per unit volume of space has to do with the square of electric field strength, so all in all, the stored energy and capacitance both increase when a dielectric is inserted." |
