reference

Skill Builder: An Introduction to PVC Pipe Sizing

Skill Builder: An Introduction to PVC Pipe Sizing

PVC is an amazing material because its versatility lends itself to countless projects, but exactly what size PVC should you be using?

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LED By Example

LED By Example

Note: This is an excerpt from Charles Platt’s newest book, The Encyclopedia of Electronic Components, Volume 2, the second in his reference trilogy. Unlike the “Learning by Discovery” emphasis of Charles’ popular Make: Electronics and Make: More Electronics, the Encyclopedia series doesn’t have step-by-step instructions for experiments, but rather, is intended to pull together the […]

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A Toolkit for Learning About Biomimicry

A Toolkit for Learning About Biomimicry

Explore the lectures, videos, exercises, case studies, and other resources included in the toolkit.

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Tool Review: Great Innovations Ultimate Engineering Screw Chart

Tool Review: Great Innovations Ultimate Engineering Screw Chart

The slide rule may be a quaint anachronism in this age of ubiquitous computing, but there’s still a place for the slide chart, the volvelle, the nomogram, and other hand-held “paper computers.” These are still published by a few companies, and are a handy source of on-the-spot reference data, particularly in field or workshop environments that may be inhospitable to or inconvenient for electronic devices. Slide charts containing key screw, bolt, and nut data have been around for decades, and the folks at Great Innovations identify TAD’s Universal Reference Calculator, discontinued in the mid 1990s, as inspiration for their chart.

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Cross-Stitched Resistor Reference

Cross-Stitched Resistor Reference

Complete with nerdtastic puns, both homonymic and typographical. You may have already guessed that Becky Stern would be the culprit. The pattern and detailed instructions are available for free.

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