This is the Sanguino board. It is an Arduino compatible board based on the atmega644P. This page will tell you how to assemble one, probably from a kit that you bought somewhere. Once you are done, you'll have a sweet little board you can use for prototyping, hacking, or even for a permanent project.

The Sanguino has some awesome features like:

* 64K of flash space
* 4K of RAM
* 2K of EEPROM
* 2 hardware serial ports
* 32 GPIO pins
* 6 PWM pins
* 8 analog pins
* I2C, SPI, etc.

This is a circuit for driving bipolar stepper motor drivers. More information on the RepRap site: make.rrrf.org/smd-1.2

This is a shield for the Arduino microcontroller board that has all sorts of fun do-dads to hack on:

* 3 x linear sliders w/ integrated LEDs (each independently hooked up to PWM)
* 3 x pushbuttons
* 2 x indicator LEDs (each with a PWM)
* 1 x piezo buzzer (for making noise!)
* 1 x temperature sensor
* 1 x light sensor
* 1 x knock sensor
* 1 x 7 segment LED (with shift register)
* power LED and reset button

More info at: zachhoeken.com/danger-shield-v1-0

This is a box headed guy that talks when you pick him up. You can record a new message for the boxman to say and leave him around for your friends to pick up. It is like a piece of you is always there, until somebody else records over you and you are gone. Here is a link to a youtube clip of it saying some nerdy things! youtube.com/watch?v=m-OaE8rOz_o

A little box for holding 5 potentiometers and three switches. Making it super easy to add inputs to your next Arduino project.

I decided to have a go at designing something 3D. This is a case for a simple 9v flashlight that uses a 9v battery, two 5mm LED's, a resistor, and a switch. It uses a snap joint to join the two parts.

I'm not good with blender at all so I did it with Autodesk Inventor. You'll probably have to play with the orientation and stuff so that it will be printable.

--EDIT--
I removed the snap joint because I found it wasn't very printable (at least the way I had it) so the top just fits quite snugly on the bottom.

This is a toy airplane thing I made for a hacker's on a plane advertisement.

I used 3mm wood. Four small swiss motors, 2 button batteries, some double sided tape and some wood glue.

A better Y-Axis endstop cable for the Makerbot.

I do need to upload the installed picture. I havent gotten around to taking the pic as I still have to connect it up properly.

This gets away from the thick ethernet-type cables and gives a more secure connection.

EDIT: Installed pics added. Will need a couple of blobs of hot glue will keep it in place.

Personal 3D Printer rev.3 Beta

A powder-based 3D printer.
Build area: 15.25"L x 8.8"W x 6.6"D
Based on a Lexmark z715 inkjet printer.

This is a revision of a project started at University of Washington, under Prof. Mark Ganter, in the Solheim RP Lab.

Credits:
P3P rev.1:
Kory Koyamatsu, Kristina Olson, Erik Roby, Nathaniel Thompson, Tri Truong
P3P rev.2:
Steven Balkus, Miguel Guzman, Kevin Hawkinson, Ben Palmer, Vlad Nesterov
P3P rev.3:
Kevin Hawkinson


3D printing information:
tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/diy_3d_printing_and_fabrication/

This is the final episode of a three-part mini-series on making things with low-melting-temperature-alloy. The collection of things here form a hot material transfer system that can be used to extrude (sort of) molten metal or wax. This is inspired by earlier work done by Dr. Sells and Prof. Bowyer reprap.org/bin/view/Main/AutomaticDepositionOfMoltenAlloyInt oACastingChannelToCreateAVerySimple Electro-mechanicalComponent .

As usual, remember that low-melt alloys are toxic and hot enough to cause burns and fires, so only use this material if you are experienced in a lab environment. On the plus side, this system can also be used to make things out of wax, which is much safer to use, although you still have to watch out for burns and fires! Possible uses for a wax-handling system include: 1) automated wax casting; 2) use of wax as a support material.

If you omit the heaters, you can probably use the nozzle and syringe pump to deposit slurries or liquids.

The idea of operation is that a standard RepRap prints a layer of plastic (HDPE, ABS, etc). Then the toolheads are switched, and the metal/wax toolhead deposits molten material in the channels or cavities formed by the plastic. If necessary, the process can be repeated for constructing thicker and more complex parts.

We have had good success using the nozzle as a hand-held tool for transferring metal. For example, we used it to make this thing: thingiverse.com/thing:802 .

We have had somewhat less success using it when mounted to a RepRap, as seen in the pictures. The main problem is poor control of flow-rate (see photo of pattern on hot plate). With some modification (such as a smaller nozzle hole diameter) and tuning of parameters (feed rate, height of nozzle above plate, etc) it might work much better. We RepRapped a simple test piece, manually filled it with metal while it was still on the hotplate, then let it cool (see photo of widget with 25-cent piece). This yielded fairly good results, indicating that an automated system may be able to produce usable parts.

The main components of the system are

1) Heated cup - this is a heated reservoir that contains the molten work material.

2) Heated copper nozzle - the nozzle slurps up material from the cup, then moves to a desired location and deposits the material.

3) Syringe pump - a motor-driven syringe controls air flow in and out of the nozzle, which in turn causes the nozzle to slurp or deposit material.

4) Heated plate - this keeps the work hot to improve the flow of the heated material. It also melts the base of the deposited part, creating a good seal between part and plate, so that molten material does not leak under the part. In general, the heated plate seems to help avoid warping, but the downside is that the bottom of the part starts to ooze outwards after a while.

An automated controller for home brewing, based on the Sanguino. I didn't design this - I just built it, but thought it would be an interesting addition :)

Both the hardware and software designs are open source. Kits and board schematics can be found at the homepage.

Homepage is brewtroller.com

My Second design of a small geometric sculpture that explores the battle between cake and pie

Niftymitter is an open source short range FM transmitter based on the open source hardware design by Tetsuo Kogawa.

Version 0.1 is designed to be housed within a 3mm acrylic or bamboo body, with a variety of options for hacking. The transmitter is tiny and handy for small scale radio broadcasts, building a distributed PA system for performances, linking your personal audio player to your car radio, or for general audio experimentation.

I am currently working on v0.21 which is a bit of a radical redesign, so v0.1 is posted for completeness.

ISSUES in v0.1:
- too bulky
- acrylic prone to failure at corners
- cable tie construction troublesome - not very secure, ends tend to catch on things.

The project's home is at openthing.org/products/niftymitter

This is a mount for a YAESU FT-857 head unit for the dash board of your car

If you happen to be a HAM , and you have a makerbot/reprap ( i'm sure there is more than one of us) and a FT-857 then you are SET!

This is the working alpha cut , I have some more mods to do

Niftymitter is an open source short range FM transmitter based on the open source hardware design by Tetsuo Kogawa.

Version 0.22 is designed to be housed within a ~1mm card body, with a variety of options for hacking. The transmitter is tiny and handy for small scale radio broadcasts, building a distributed PA system for performances, linking your personal audio player to your car radio, or for general audio experimentation.

The new version solves many of the problems in v0.21 (See project website for v0.21):
* dimensions of net refined for better fit to battery and pcb, and sleeve.
* transmission seems to be fine on the whole.
* spacing and hole sizes fixed for components on PCB

v0.21 solved many of the issues of v0.1:
* a lot less bulky, more friendly on the pocket
* improved component layout, slimmer, more stable
* no nasty cable ties
* more accessible for those without laser cutting facilities - can be hand cut, or plotter cut.
* cardboard more resilient at joints than acrylic.

KNOWN ISSUES IN v0.22:
* circuit box part needs to be restrained within sleeve - fiddly when removing battery tray.
* PP3 power lead needs better access to battery tray.
* separate, powered, mic design required.

The project's home is at openthing.org/products/niftymitter

A project that I am working on that will eventually replace a incandescent ceiling light. This LED light is somewhere around 10,150,000 MCDs.

Flickr Set
flickr.com/photos/20102150@N06/sets/72157622512347669/

Video
youtube.com/watch?v=PowfdqsiZgA

Uses 35 10mm LEDs. 7 rows with 5 in series.

Idea sparked from.
* instructables.com/id/Adjustable-Lego-Lamp-Counterweighted/
* instructables.com/id/LED_CHANDELIER/

This is the next step in my attempt to make a Sarrus linkage based 3D printer. The idea is to have a cartesian mechanism without those long rods and bearings.

I built three of the Mark III and mounted them in a x-y arrangement as shown. They can move over a square about 105 mm wide, and someday may carry an extruder. They are driven by DC motors taken from inkjet printers. These motors are driven in a servo arrangement using quadrature optical encoders and optical strips removed from the same printers.

Using 3 pieces of acrylic, 1 6inch by 6 inch board and 25 to 30 220ohm resistors i made this heater plate. you can make it too! -

i soldered one end of the resistors to the copper board, applied a thin layer of tape to the area across that was not soldered, and then soldered the other end to a wire . the red wire was positive, the copper plate was negative, i then soldered the copper board with a black wire, and then taped several times over the copper side with the resistors several times to allow heat to stay in. using the resistor values is ok, a method that uses 330ohms is used to keep telescopes from fogging at night. the idea is to provide enough energy in heat that can be dissipated safely. the soldered end of the resistor transfers heat to the copper board. the copper acts as a heat spreader, and the pcb acts as a good stick layer for thermal plastic. I also have a video here:
youtube.com/watch?v=pDEkp3ym1TE

Niftymitter is an open source short range FM transmitter based on the open source hardware design by Tetsuo Kogawa.

Version 0.24 is designed to be housed within a ~1mm card body (shirt card), with a variety of options for hacking. The transmitter is tiny and handy for small scale radio broadcasts, building a distributed PA system for performances, linking your personal audio player to your car radio, or for general audio experimentation.

The new version solves many of the problems in v0.22/0.23:
* Full assembly instructions on instructables.
* Artwork/info added on housing.
* Stereo/mono conflict resolved - can now accommodate stereo and mono plugs.

KNOWN ISSUES IN v0.24:
* circuit box slides around when switching on/off or plugging in.
* PP3 power lead needs better access to battery tray.

The project's home is at openthing.org/products/niftymitter

This basically is a dust scrubber that removes dust and other particles from the filament as it goes thru the sponges. Normally this dust could potentially clog up the extruder nozzle or break something.


Story:
After one night of printing, I discovered a large dust ball inside the extruder just before the idlerwheel. After a disassembly I found more. Apparently I had thrown the filament spool in to a really dusty area and dust got sucked to the abs.


About pictures:
At the first picture top right is the dust that gathered to the temporary scrubber while these parts were extruded. (black stuff)
Lower right is the way the sponges are placed in side the cup. (10x10x20)x4

The second photo is installation pic (it clips on to the extruder).

16x27 array of 5mm red leds (432 leds), controlled in PWM with arduino and MAX7313 controller on each line, controlled by i2c.


Build-up log: tetalab.org/lionel/
Web simulator: pixels.tetalab.org

this is a digital 7 segment led wall clock with 42mm high digits based on a atmel atmega168.
the display modules come from RFT, a former manufacturer in the GDR(DDR). (second hand)

The Nintendo's gift to the world. A block with leds that you can't live with and can't live without (Metroid 3.. ARGH)
I have a part of ghero drumset in front of sensorbar and it sometimes blocked the line of sight to the sensorbar and it F'd up my gameplay.
There were few times I really wanted to send the 50€ controller combo to the earth orbit through the tv set because of that.
This contraption solved that.
This raises the sensor bar 35-100mm over the possible obsticles (and closer to the tv screen)

(it stays up because of the friction from the clips clamping down to the wiibar)

I was in the need for a way to bread board a SMD TQFP 32 pin atmega168 for a project I am working on. I decided to look around for one. I found a great deal on digikey for $25 dollars.

search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=336-1505-ND

I thought that this had male headers on the bottom of the board. However it did not. It had a funky hirose connector.
See: blog.synthetos.com/arduino-boot-loader-party/

So I decided to make my own. I created the eagle footprint via a digital caliper. Which was difficult. I laserd the board and the 1/8th" masonite (hardboard).
You can see all images at my flickr stream. While you are there at me as a friend :)
flickr.com/photos/31697990@N00/sets/72157623219100172/

So in case someone wants a cheap TQFP holder. Here are the files.

In case you want to use the Nanotec stepperdriver boards for your 3D, e.g. RepRap, printer, this board might be of use. It provides for the recommended capacitor and connectors for (AMP) Power, steppermotoer, and Min/Max sensors. Use it for the X, Y, Z and (optionally) extruder steppermotors.
The nanotec board provides microstepping (1/8 or 1/16 for SMC11 or SMC11-2 respectively)

The connector pin layout is conform the gen3 electronics motherboard as used in the RepRap and MakerBot 3D printers.

Attached is a PCB version as well as a Veroboard layout.

The waxuum is sort of a reverse-extruder. The idea is that a heated hollow needle is used to remove material from a block of wax in a controlled manner, analogous to conventional machining using an endmill. A vacuum pump* pulls the molten wax through the needle, after which it is deposited in a reservoir where it can be recycled. The wax part can then be used directly, or more likely it can be used as a pattern for a mold. Below is a basic overview of how the process might work in a well-developed system. See video of a simple test at youtube.com/watch?v=rnKD9oIzcnM .

1. A heated basin is filled with wax, which is then allowed to cool. This big block of wax forms the working material for our little setup.

2. A waxuum mounted where the extruder usually goes on your 3D printer carves a master pattern (including containment walls) out of the wax block.

3. Elastomer resin is poured directly into negative pattern in the wax block.

4. When the elastomer cures, it is peeled off the wax master and used as a mold to crank out large numbers of parts.

5. The wax master is remelted within its heated basin. The removed wax in the reservoir is added back. The basin is cooled, and the wax is ready to use again for a new master pattern.

--------------------
ADVANTAGES

1. The wax is melted instead of cut, so high forces are not required at the tool-tip. The low force requirement means that the XYZ positioner can be much more flexible (and cheaper and easier-to-make) than is normally required for conventional machining. Unlike conventional machining, there is no need for chip removal.

2. In many cases the surface finish on parts is better than that on filament-extruded parts, due to the smoothing effect of the hot needle moving over the wax. There are also fewer warping, delamination, and anisotropy problems.

3. You get a mold instead of a part: casting from a pattern can produce parts at a much faster rate than printing. You also have a greater choice of materials (plastics, metals, ceramics, and wax can all be cast in silicone molds).

---------------------
DISADVANTAGES

1. You get a mold instead of a part: there are several additional steps and materials, including the manual work of pouring resins. Sometimes you really want to just print your parts and go.

2. Limited geometry: unless you make multi-part molds with cores and such, you are limited to relatively simple geometry. Hollow and concave parts are difficult.

3. The waxuum is relatively unproven compared to the many filament extruder designs currently in use.

------------------------
RESULTS

The test showed it was feasible to use a tool of this design to make wax patterns. The most important thing to consider seems to be optimizing heat transfer from the needle to the wax, while minimizing heat loss due to movement of cool air through the needle. The thin-walled brass tubing is just barely acceptable for this purpose. The next version will use a material with higher thermal conductivity, such as thick-walled copper tubing. The heater should probably be located outside of the case. Possibly two heaters should be used - one for the needle and one to keep the wax molten inside the case.

------------------------
*Update March 6 2010: See this cool article on converting an aquarium pump to a vacuum pump garage-shoppe.com/wordpress/?p=109

This is my first model to this forum, so be nice :)

I design this her wind turbine for the desktop. There has been a solar panel which generates electricity on to the little engine that sits up in the turbine head.

youtube.com/watch?v=FkYCw5SYI6Q