pneumatic

These Engineering Students Put a T-Shirt Launcher on Their Hovercraft

These Engineering Students Put a T-Shirt Launcher on Their Hovercraft

In an effort to get more engineering students to attend college sporting events, these engineers are building a t-shirt launching hovercraft.

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Pinball Wizard Builds Massive Machine

Pinball Wizard Builds Massive Machine

A self-proclaimed inventor of useless things, Niklas Roy has built the largest pinball machine I’ve ever seen. The Galactic Dimension pinball machine is indeed of galactic dimensions, towering at almost 20 feet tall, with a wide berth of almost 10 feet (3m×6m). The colossal game was constructed for the 2015 pinball exhibition at Phæno, a […]

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5 Linear Actuators to Get Your Robot Moving

There are lots of types of actuators on robots. You know, the things that make the robot move and allow it to interact physically with the world … grippers, arms, legs, wheels, etc. Unlike wheels or servo-driven arms, linear actuators operate by pushing or pulling along a straight line. There are many potential uses for this, from […]

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Interactive Pneumatic Sponge Ball Accelerator

Interactive Pneumatic Sponge Ball Accelerator

Friend of MAKE Niklas Roy built and installed in the Tschumi Pavilion in Groningen, The Netherlands this beautiful sponge ball apparatus to bring the joys of tangible particle acceleration to the people.  I love him for it.   What was the inspiration? In his words: As I’m a fan of science and physics in particular, I find it […]

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Power Tools Retrofitted for the Amish

Power Tools Retrofitted for the Amish

There was an interesting piece on NPR this morning about power tools for the Amish. The Amish have traditionally been farmers, but land has become prohibitively expensive to purchase, so many are turning to woodworking to earn a living. Since their homes are not wired with electricity, their table saws, drills and sanders are retrofitted with gas engines and compressed air tanks.

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Real-life Mario Kart with RFID-Tagged Special Items

Real-life Mario Kart with RFID-Tagged Special Items

The team at Waterloo Labs have heavily modded go-karts to play a game of Mariokart right on the race track!

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