This past Thursday, we here at Make: Facebook livestreamed an unboxing video of advance copies of the newest volume of our magazine. The stream featured Executive Editor Mike Senese (@msenese), Senior Editor Caleb Kraft (@calebkraft), Art Director Juliann Brown (@Jbear), and Digital Fabrication Editor Matt Stultz (@MatStultz).
The four shared stories about how the magazine’s universally loved cover came to be, and discussed the process of formatting and constructing Volume 57’s layout. You can watch the full livestream below (skip ahead to 9 minutes).
Volume 57 is our annual boards blowout. This year, the magazine includes a guide of over 80 different microcontrollers. However, plenty of other stories populate its pages. You can check out a few of those stories on our blog right now, like smart socks that are both comfy to wear and helpful for people with diabetes, or instructions on how to make your very own papercraft Makey mascot.
Allen Pan aka Sufficiently Advanced is back! On the heels of his Real Spider-Man Webshooters plan, Pan released a video of his newest project: a mini 3D printed grappling hook. The hook it tiny, barely larger than Pan’s thumb. However, Pan sets out to test the hook’s strength and see if it can hold his weight.
The Spidey costume is a nice touch to the whole experiment. Pan posted the files for the grappling hook in the description of his video for anyone who wants to replicate his project. Add them to the webshooters he is designing and you will have the beginning of one awesome Spider-Man cosplay.
Maker Faire Bay Area 2017 runs from May 19-21, which means it is less than two weeks away! Grab your advance tickets while you still can. You do not want to miss out on the largest gathering and celebration of maker culture. The event will feature plenty of panels to watch and exhibits to see, some even larger-than-life.
A self-described builder of things, Dane Kouttron has been putting things together and making all types of machines for years. Recently, he has made a robot that paints.
Kouttron use LinuxCNC to reverse engineer the controls for an old SCARA robotic arm. He says the entire process was a difficult one that slowly transpired over a two-month period. However, the final product can refill its own paint, recognize a multitude of different colors, and paint both portraits and scenery all by itself.
My favorite is a painting of Megaman. It is much simpler than the other paintings that the robot can do, but I am amazed that a robot can recognize an image of one of my favorite video game characters, and quickly replicate it with paint in less than seven minutes.
Mother’s Day is in exactly one week. I am sure you already have the perfect present for your mom gift wrapped and ready to go in preparation for the big day because you are a good child. Unless you are like me, and almost always forget that Mother’s Day is a thing until the holiday is right on top of us.
Not to worry, Make: is here to help those of us who still need a gift for Mother’s Day. The Mother’s Day Gift Guide has tons of ideas, ranging from gifts to give to the perfect project that mother and child can complete together. Check the guide out fast. You do not want to pay last minute, one day shipping.
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