The best online resources for your back to school electronics projects #BackToSchool August 6, 2015 AT 12:30 am The best online resources for your back to school electronics projects #BackToSchool There are lots of communities and resources out there for educators, hobbyists, makers, and students alike. Here are some of our favorite places to look for inspiration for new projects, learn about electronics, and more. littleBits You have probably seen littleBits kits in our store but did you know they have a great online community, educators page, and chapters in cities around the world? Make In addition to their print magazine, Make has a great online catalog of projects, news from the maker community, videos, and more. Arduino.cc Arduino, a great beginners tool for learning about hardware, also offers some useful online resources for their users. Raspberry Pi One of the best places to learn about the world of Raspberry Pi is their website – raspberrypi.org. Hackaday Instructables Instructables is a great site for all kinds of DIY projects – tons of inspiration awaits! Adafruit
Makey Makey Will Make You Love The "Internet Of Things" Ever wanted to wake up in a Disney cartoon where everything around you is animated and interactive? Now you can...Turn a bunch of bananas into a piano. Turn your friends into a synthesizer. Turn a trampoline into a slideshow controller. Makey Makey is a little circuit board that comes with a set of alligator clips. The not-so-secret agenda for Makey Makey, according to creators Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum, is to allow anyone to become an engineer. Makey Makey is part of a creative and technological down-shift in which very smart electronics are dumbed down to make the world manipulable by ordinary people in ways previously available only to developers. In the 14 months since the Kickstarter-funded project made its debut, 50,000 Makey Makeys have gone into the world; roughly one in five are being used in Makerspaces, for after-school programs and other educational settings. "Teachers need some kind of support or activity guide for open-ended activities," said Silver. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Using an Awl to Sew Leather and Heavy Fabrics “Sewing awl” by Rémi Cormier – Self-taken picture. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Introduction If you think about tools that we use today that are passed down from ancient people, the knife, or possibly a modern version of the spear might come to mind. Lying somewhere between those two implements in the modern-day usefulness is the awl. I’ve repaired part of a sailboat with mine and tested it out on the cardboard box that it came in. So how do you use one of these monster-needles? Parts of an Awl At its most basic, an awl is just a pointed “poking” instrument with a hole through it to hold a string. My awl, a “Speedy Stitcher” model, is probably closer to what is commonly used in the developed world, and contains: Quite an improvement over “knife with hole,” but in a pinch I’m sure either would be welcome. Ready to test out my awl on the cardboard package it came in. Set up your stitch Start Stitching Finish Jeremy Cook
MaKey MaKey Quickstart Guide Introduction Welcome to the world of Makey Makey! A world where everyday objects are much more than they appear. Bananas are more than just a curvy fruit --- they're keys to a virtual piano. Play-Doh isn't just a child's toy --- it's the controlling force behind Pacman's up/down/left/right. Be prepared to look at everyday objects in a whole new light. Materials Required Makey Makey --- The star of the show! Suggested Reading What is a Circuit? Every electrical project starts with a circuit. What is the Makey Makey? The Makey Makey is a collaborative project between Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum of the MIT Media Lab and SparkFun Electronics. Hardware Overview Top Side The Makey Makey is a two-sided circuit board. Each of those inputs as well as the very important “Earth bar” are available in the form of what I like to call “alligator-bait” connectors. If any key is activated with the "Earth Bar," an associated LED will light up next to the pad. Back Side Hardware Hookup Connect a USB Cable
CreoPop - Cool Ink. Infinite Creativity. | Indiegogo Our original Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign ended on 16 August 2014. Thanks to Indiegogo's "Funding Forever" program we continue to accept pledges here. You can also place pre-orders on www.creopop.com. CreoPopTM (www.creopop.com) is the world’s first 3D pen with cool ink. CreoPopTM,completed its crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo in August 2014 raising USD 185,690 (464% funded). The possibilities are endless. We have Cool Inks: Infinite Creativity With CreoPop you can create amazing 3D designs at home. Unlike other 3D pens there are no hot parts, no melting plastics and no unpleasant smell. We have an experienced team already in place to bring you CreoPopTM, with over 20 company launches between us. CreoPopTM packs the full power of 3D printing with light-sensitive photopolymers into the small size of a portable pen. By supporting CreoPopTM you will help make the next generation 3D pen a reality. We did not take CreoPopTM to Indiegogo to just raise funds. Yes. Yes. Legal Disclaimer
Carrot Piano (A MaKey MaKey Project) : Reprogramming the MaKey MaKey This is a fairly long process but when you get used to it, it is extremely easy. Before you can program the MaKey MaKey using Arduino, you need to download the Arduino environment from here- . Download the latest version that suits your operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux). The download comes in the form of a zip file, which needs to be unzipped to a directory you'll remember. From there you can access the Arduino application by double-clicking the Arduino application. You will also need to download the driver and addon for the MaKey MaKey, you can get those here- . A detailed set of instructions on programming your MaKey MaKey is available here- I am not going to go into details about how to reprogramme your MaKey MaKey but i will show you what you should put. #include "Arduino.h" int keyCodes[NUM_INPUTS] = { // top side of the makey makey board
Why You Need a Vinyl Cutter Photograph by Hep Svadja, sticker design by Caleb Kraft Of all the digital fabrication tools explored in our Digital Fabrication issue, cutting plotters have spread the furthest into the consumer marketplace, thanks in part to the evangelism of Oprah, Martha Stewart, and thousands of Etsy crafters worldwide. These are no longer just for Christmas design patterns you can buy from retail outlets. At the heart of these plastic shells lies a computer-controlled craft robot that drives a selected tool (often a blade) along paths set by the vector-graphic design file submitted to the device’s control software. If you notice a similarity to some 3D printers, it’s no accident: Cutters played a crucial role in inspiring the designers of desktop extrusion-based 3D printers. There are many names for these tools, varying based on the device’s intended use, but “cutting plotter” is the most broad, and “vinyl cutter” is one of the most common. Here are a few projects to get you started:
Massive Veg Attack: Makey Makey + Fruits, Vegetables = Music Call it a massive attack of fruits and veg. Simple circuits have long been able to make use of sensors in real-world stuff like apples or JELL-O. But Make Makey deserves special credit for making interfacing those circuits with a computer silly-simple. (The project grew out of research at MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten; to get a small sense of how much is involved in getting an idea like this off the ground successfully, check out the incredible list of men and women who contributed on the about page.) The original dream behind many computers was extending the interface between your mind and the world. With something like Makey Makey, including physical objects in what you imagine is made easier. The latest, greatest example: Massive Attack’s Teardrop, as covered on vegetables and fruits using the system, playing some very impressively-tight percussion and melody lines. This one is just great (though now I also want to make a bass drum sample with an eggplant; sounds nice):
Hummingbird Robotics Kit Playable Gameboy Costume November 4, 2014 AT 5:00 pm Instructables user fasaxc only had about 24 hours to make a costume for a party and constructed a playable and wearable giant Gameboy. He made sure he could get a Gameboy emulator running on his laptop and then printed a photo of the front of a Gameboy onto several sheets of paper. It was a quick fix for this costume – he prefers to paint and sculpt. After the glued the papers onto a cardboard box it was time to mount the electronics. The Gameboy’s screen is simply a laptop that fasaxc folded out flat; he used gaffer tape to keep the laptop in place and rested the computer on a cardboard ledge. Here’s how he made the buttons work with Arduino: At this point, I had the laptop mounted, Tetris loaded and it’d run through its demo loop every minute or two. See the costume in action: Read more about the build at Instructables. No comments yet. Adafruit has a "be excellent to each other" comment policy.
DIY Grow Box With Arduino December 8, 2015 AT 8:00 am Make your own grow box with Arduino. via instructables What should the Grow Box do?The Grow Box have many tasks.Automatic wateringIt shall ensure that the earth constantly keeps perfect moisture. It can also be adjusted so if I’m planting other plants that need drier or wetter soil.Humidity and temperatureTo ensure that the plants have a good environment, it is important to have the right temperature. Read more Maker Business — When a Unicorn Start-Up Stumbles, Its Employees Get Hurt Wearables — We’ve got an easy way to add light to your next project Electronics — Never Get Lazy With Decoupling Capacitors Biohacking — A controlled trial of the Litebook light-emitting diode (LED) light therapy device Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! No comments yet. Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.