It’s no secret that we really like our blinky kits here at the Maker Shed. With the Holidays in full swing, there’s no better time to pick up some LED-related products to add a little extra Holiday spirit to your home (or your boring Christmas Tree).
The team from Incredible Machines have rigged up an Xmas tree using WiFi web-socket connected (and Arduino-powered) Visualight light bulbs and LED strips (crowdfunded back in October, 2012). You can interact with their “TreeeeeTMMMMM” at this website. If they’re working nearby I apologize, because I keep setting colors to “blink fast” mode :)
One of the most fascinating (to me) aspects of the Maker Pro movement are the expatriates who have moved closer to the manufacturing zones. Take bunnie Huang of chibitronics, which is based in Singapore. Bunnie gave a talk on the Make: Live stage at Maker Faire New York 2013, where he described his experience with finding factories in Shenzhen to manufacture products he developed.
Ever get a gift for someone, then realize it’s so awesome you have to get one for yourself? That’s pretty much what happened when I picked up the Bandit Rubber Band Sheriff Shotgun Kit for a friend of mine.
Electrify your holiday with gifts from the Maker Shed’s Intro Electronic’s Gift Guide! Instead of warming up by an open fire, you can get cozy with our Getting Started with Soldering Kit or simply grab a Variable Temperature Soldering Iron (not literally, those things are hot!). While you’re bringing soldering skills up to snuff, pick up a Learn to Solder Decoration to add to your ornament collection. For your holiday photos, build a BigShot Camera Kit, a DIY digital camera which is great for both photo hobbyists and electronics neophytes.
These charming sculptures of skeletons are the work Italian artist Giovanni Longo who crafts them from driftwood that he finds on the beaches of Italy.
Armed with an idea, I set about designing the concept using 3D modeling software. Though the computer model was relatively easy to make, creating a physical prototype proved challenging. I needed advanced manufacturing technology like a milling machine and an injection molder, each of which can cost thousands of dollars. Fortunately, I read in a newsletter about a fabrication lab that was opening up in Chicago just down the street from me.
