Complete $300 DIY Desktop CNC Machine
Make reader Anders Haglund sent word of Edward Ford’s Project ShapeOko, which strives to build a complete and open DIY desktop CNC machine (including electronics) for around $300.
Digital Fabrication
Digital fabrication tools have revolutionized the way designers, engineers, and artisans express their creativity. With the right resources, you can learn to use these powerful instruments in no time! Whether it’s 3D printing or laser cutting that interests you, these articles will provide useful tutorials and inspiration for makers of all levels. Discover how digital fabrication can open up new possibilities so that your craftsmanship is truly extraordinary!
DIY Laser-cut Camera
The KDS-POTO2 camera by Kit Man of kit da studio is over the top. Assembled from laser-cut acrylic parts and scavenged lenses, this fully functional manual film camera takes interesting pictures reminiscent of an analog Hipstamtic or DIY Lomo and seems like it would be a blast to assemble.
Printable Nunchuck Pen Caps
From Thingiverse user PrintTo3D, who calls them BicChucks, and was inspired by a set of pen-cap cutlery attachments from lusofer.
Lego Pancake-Batter CNC
The sheer magnificence of Miguel Valenzuela’s Lego pancake CNC is matched only by the delight of his daughters Maia and Lily “printing” their own Mickey Mouse pancakes. Love this project!
Arduino Goes to War
Shown uppermost is the prototype of a handheld artillery spotting device developed as a student capstone project at West Point. The blue board to upper left is pretty clearly an Arduino Mega. You can see, in the near upper corner of that board, where the DC power jack has been desoldered and the pads hardwired to the battery pack. The system, called DemonEye, is now reportedly undergoing field testing.
Math Monday: Star Sphericon
A sphericon is a shape that you get by: (1) rotating a symmetric polygon about a mirror axis to get a solid of revolution, (2) cutting the solid into two equal pieces, and (3) putting the pieces back together differently. With a lathe or a 3D printing machine, it is easy to make many kinds of sphericons, with different starting polygons. Here is one based on a star.
Solar Sinter Project: 3D Printing with Sunlight and Sand
I’m absolutely amazed by Markus Kayser’s Solar Sinter Project, a 3D printer that uses the sun for power and sand as its raw material: In a world increasingly concerned with questions of energy production and raw material shortages, this project explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material occur in abundance. In this […]