Imaging

Webcam + CNC robot = high resolution scanner

Webcam + CNC robot = high resolution scanner

Tormach wants to sell you an upgrade package for your Mach3-compatible CNC robot that includes a 1.3M USB microscope with 220X optical magnification, a mounting bracket, and all the necessary software to turn your CNC equipment into a scanner. The cool part is they’ve also produced a video showing how to hack together a slightly-less-powerful system using a $20 pen cam and some free software that will let you make 2000 dpi scans limited only by the size of your CNC bed envelope. The “killer app” for this equipment is automatic reverse-engineering of parts, but you could also use it to easily scan maps, posters, artwork, or other oversize stuff. [via Hacked Gadgets]

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan2
MakerBot Cyclops 3D scanner

MakerBot Cyclops 3D scanner

MakerBot Industries’ autumn of innovation continues (their Automated Build Flatform made a lot of fans happy) with this neat 3D scanner framework: The Cyclops is a three-dimensional scanner mount made fit for a pico projector, a webcam, and an optional iphone/ipod. Using a method called Structured Light 3D scanning, common and available components that fit […]

Continue Reading John Baichtal
Stereoscopic view splitter

Stereoscopic view splitter

Stereoscopes and View-Masters have always fascinated me. The technology has been around for over a century and seems to have been reinvented with every generation. If you’re thinking about getting into shooting 3D, but would like to keep the costs down, you’ll want to check out this 3D Stereoscope Slide and Video Shooter Instructable by courtervideo.

Continue Reading Adam Flaherty
How-To: “Indestructible” 3-ring binder

How-To: “Indestructible” 3-ring binder

When I was a kid, I was very hard on school supplies, and I remember dreaming about “industrial grade” school supplies–Kevlar backpacks and, particularly, sheet aluminum binders with piano hinges. These days, you can actually buy such binders, but they are relatively expensive. So why not make your own? Instructables user cowscankill did, with a salvaged snap-ring mechanism and riveted leather hinges. I want one.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan10
Wooden desk lamp

Wooden desk lamp

MAKE subscriber Jeff from Kitchener, ON, wrote in with this Instructable for a cool ‘woodpunk’ desk lamp with a LED light. I’m very proud of my latest creation, the Woodpunk LED Desk Lamp. It’s made mostly of 1/4″ and 1/2″ plywood, hand-cut on a scroll saw. The cord, socket and springs were recycled from thrift […]

Continue Reading John Baichtal4