Our friends Lenore and Windell of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, have cooked up a scale model of a 555 chip that works as a footstool.
We wanted a new footstool at the lab, and somehow came across the idea of making it in the shape of our hero above, the 555 timer chip.
We started our design by looking at the datasheets, and found a few good dimensional drawings that we could scale up. Our model is roughly 30 times actual size at 12 1/2″ long, compared to 0.4″ for a genuine 555 chip. More importantly, it’s a little over 8 1/2″ tall, which we determined to be a good height for a footstool.
The first stage of construction was to cut out a stack of 1/2″ thick plywood shapes on a CNC router. We used a strong and dense grade of hardwood plywood for this, since there are thin parts that need to be strong. There are 15 elongated hexagons, six with short legs, and four with long legs. Note that every shape has four alignment holes through it.
(The little black dot in the top pic is a real 555!)
44 thoughts on “EMSL’s 555 Footstool”
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That’s neat, but I would have been really impressed if the legs were metal and it was wired to an actual chip inside! That’d be a fully functional scale 555 timer/footstool!
not chip but actual 555’s scheme with transistors and other stuff ^_^
I love it! Now we just need electrolytic capacitor side tables. Though they’d have to figure out how to get them to stand on just two legs.
And resistor throw pillows.
And resistor throw pillows.
don`t forget the LED
I would have settled for an encapsulated 555 embedded somewhere inconspicuously. However, since David mentions functionality, a timer that measures how long a “foot” has been using the stool would be radical too.
That’s beautiful! I want one.
Nice! Scale it up and you’ve got the potential for a coffee table too.
Gotta model the 8086 or 8088 for a coffee table. But maybe too many legs to work well as furniture on uneven floors. There’s a reason the three-legged stool is so popular.
Eh, you could always “cheat” and shorten all but the four corner pins a little. That way, it still looks right but the middle pins aren’t actually resting on the ground.
He would like to make more, but it’s a “one shot” product.
Why make the whole thing solid? it could be made hollow and save plywood
Why make the whole thing solid? it could be made hollow and save plywood
I’d been thinking of doing something like that too, as a padded bench — it looks better than most modern furniture.
Matryoshka Doll style packaging for ICs? Use assembled as footstool, remove innards for access to 555 timer chip inside!!!
LMFAO my wife laughed her ass off when I showed that too her, I’d love to make one, lol it might be a 40 pin ICP
i would like to buy one
Get in more ideas. There are many microcontrollers available. Go for Atmel, PIC, Motorola. Replace it for tables, chairs, doors.. and what not… Brilliant idea .. lol..
http://www.robotplatform.com
I want one in a BGA package so I can also use it as a back massager.
Ohh i want one so bad you dont even know. Did you mill the wood using a CNC mill? I would like the G-codes if you’re willing to give them away!
Ohh i want one so bad you dont even know. Did you mill the wood using a CNC mill? I would like the G-codes if you’re willing to give them away!