Maker Faire Torino Fights Planned Obsolescence
Fab Lab Torino kicks off this weekend for another round in a gorgeous new location, 10 years after the first Fab Lab in Italy opened in the city.
A Quick Tour Of a Pop-Up Backyard Woodshop
When we moved into a new home, I needed to create a woodshop with level space, good air flow, room for power tools, and most of all, protection from the elements. I determined it would need to be 200 square feet. Unfortunately, local zoning doesn’t allow for a shed that large, or even a covered […]
How To Use AI To Build Optimized Models In Fusion 360: Generative Design
Autodesk recently added a futuristic function to its Fusion 360 design software. The new Generative Design workspace uses cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) software that designs mesh and T-spline models with parameters that you provide. It’s called generative because the software generates dozens or hundreds of solutions from those parameters. If you don’t like any of […]
This Instrument Uses The Most Powerful Musical Chord Progression To Make You Rock
Studying an instrument is a lengthy and worthwhile process, but what if you want to rock out today? I made the Instant Star Guitar so that I could get right to the fun part of playing music. You might remember a video by the band “Axis of Awesome” (some cussing) who famously pointed out that the same 4-chord progression […]
A Conversation with Doug Stowe, Author of The Wisdom of Our Hands
Working craftsman and educator Doug Stowe has written a new book that makes a passionate case for reintegrating mind and body in both education and life. Based on his 45 years as a woodworker and 25 years as a teacher of hand crafts, Stowe argues that human beings have a natural need to express themselves […]
Playification – The Makey Makey Story
Makey Makey, a creative platform that has spread widely through education, turned 10 this month. In this episode of Make:cast, I talk to Jay Silver, the creative technologist and self-described jester, who started this product with a successful Kickstarter. Makey Makey is meant to inspire play and exploration with the things around us, including technology. […]
Lego Bricks + Raspberry Pi = Awesome Motorized Microscope
IBM research has released a project that allows you to build a motorized, high quality microscope from Lego bricks and a Raspberry pi for roughl $300. They call the project MicroscopPy, and they’ve shared the build notes on Github. As you can see in the video, the build is surprisingly simple and uses the standard […]