Gadgets

CNC Milling a Spherical Ice Mold

We have covered these spherical ice molds before. I have used one, myself, and they work pretty well. A chunk of ice is sandwiched between two halves of a metal mold, and fast conduction of heat away from the ice, through the metal, causes it to melt wherever the mold makes contact. The mold halves slide on rods to maintain their alignment, and gravity does the rest. With a mold that starts at room temperature, it only takes a few minutes to make a nice shiny ice sphere.

Continue Reading January 5th, 2012 Sean Michael Ragan8

iPhone Cord-On-Board Case

Don’t you just hate it when your smartphone runs out of juice? If you’re like me, you’re probably not far from an open USB port, so you’re set if you’re the type that always carries around a spare cord. But that rarely happens, right? Not if makers Lucky, Nate, and Mark have anything to do about it. Their Cord-On-Board case for the iPhone 4 takes care of the need to always carry around a cord because it keeps one handy inside its durable PVC shell.

Continue Reading January 5th, 2012 Adam Flaherty14

Homemade Full Color DVD Laser Projector

I love video projectors, and have used one instead of a traditional TV for almost 6 years now. The only serious drawback, in my experience, is the expense of the bulbs, and I expect that it will not be very long before full-color laser diode projector technology overcomes it. Red, green, and blue laser diodes are already accessible; the trick seems to be in scanning the beams in an economical and reliable way.

Continue Reading January 4th, 2012 Sean Michael Ragan22

Drum Machine T-Shirt Brings Chest-Thumping to the Next Level

Not only is the Electronic Drum Machine T-Shirt a playable piece of clothing, but it has 63 different sounds that can be mixed, matched, and looped into the complex beat of your choosing. It comes with a mini amplifier that clips onto your pants and even goes up to 11.

Continue Reading January 2nd, 2012 Michael Colombo

“Prusa Air”

I love the look of this Prusa Mendel RepRap 3D-printer fork designed by Thingiverse user Mecano. Shown above is a concept rendering of his second prototype, Prusa Air 2, which hasn’t been built yet, and below, the physical prototype of Prusa Air 1. Among Manuel’s stated design goals for the project were “a little beauty,” which I daresay he has already achieved, admirably.

Continue Reading December 21st, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan16

DIY iPhone Remote Automotive Ignition

You’ll someday look back and think of how quaint it was to start your car with a key. With this clever hack, Will O’Brien shows us his working prototype for a remote automotive ignition controlled by an iPhone, an Arduino, and SMS text messaging. Source code and schematics are available on his site.

Continue Reading December 20th, 2011 Adam Flaherty