Tool Review: BioLite CampStove
We’re impressed with the BioLite CampStove, a fan-stoked, twig-fueled rocket stove with a thermoelectric module that converts heat into electricity.
Maker Faire
Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth — a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the maker movement.
Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these people come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned.
Explore below to see the best of Maker Faire, and head to makerfaire.com for more information.
Conductive Paint Liquidity Lamps
Scottish designer Patrick Stevenson-Keating made these innovative lamps using Bare Conductive‘s nontoxic electrically conductive Bare Paint suspended in oil for the 2012 Milan Furniture Fair. Tilting the lamps so that the Bare Paint makes contact between the two electrodes extending from the bulb turns the lamp on.
Annika O’Brien Plays with Giant Robots
Annika O’Brien works full time making cool robots. She also founded the popular LA Robotics Club, which has over 1,200 members including high school students, hobbyists and professionals who share an interest in building robots. The club meets in real space to work on projects and participate in presentations, as well as holding classes as part of their community outreach to under-served teens.
Annika’s boundless enthusiasm and outspoken demeanor jumped right through the screen at me as we met via video chat to discuss her experience on SyFy’s ground breaking show, Robot Combat League, where teams control giant humanoid robots duking it out in an arena.
“It’s like WWE wrestling with robots. It was a concept that no one had actually done before,” she said. “It was a helluva lot of fun.”
HYREL 3D Printers
Daniel Hutchinson of Alpharetta, GA, is the front man for Atlanta-based HYREL 3D, a startup launched in November through a highly successful Kickstarter campaign. The idea behind their HighlY-RELiable 3D printer design is to provide an open-platform fused-filament system that does not cost as much as “industrial” machines, but requires less assembly and maintenance time than kit-based machines.
MAKE Flickr Pool Weekly Roundup
This week in the MAKE Flickr pool we saw…
How-To: Needle-Felted Totoro + Interview with Artist Jackie Huang
Learn how to make your very own needle-felted Totoro from needle felting artist Jackie Huang. Jackie got started needle felting after his daughter was born, and turned it into a business. He also tells us about his favorite tools, inspirations, and mistakes he’s learned from in the past.
Learning to Hack Fireworks with the WPA
Founded in 1989 by a handful of dedicated “pyros,” the Western Pyrotechnics Association is a west-coast answer to the older Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI) and other fireworks enthusiast and advocacy groups. The WPA works with hobbyists and professionals to promote fireworks safety, educate about the science and art of fireworks display, and to entertain the public.