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Little Free Hack Rack

LFL
Photo by Todd Bol

One of the projects I started and haven’t made much progress on yet is the Little Free Hack Rack. The concept smashes together the idea of a Little Free Library and a Hack Rack into something that’s just crazy enough to work.

We even set up a web site at littlefreehackrack.org for this thing… Oh, and what is this thing?

Little Free Hack Rack
Illustration by Kathy

Just like a Little Free Library the Little Free Hack Rack should be a weatherproof enclosure with a door, but it would contain miscellaneous items that could be useful to makers and hackers. You could stock it with some resistors, LEDs, capacitors, or other components. You might put your old cell phone in it, knowing someone might grab it just for the screen or the keypad. We might be able to keep old tech out of the landfill by promoting the recycling and reuse of materials.

I’d love to some day offer plans to create your own Little Free Hack Rack with cut files for laser cutters and CNC machines. In an ideal world someone at a makerspace could download the files and build their own Little Free Hack Rack and have it out near the curb in a very short time frame.

Let me know if you build a Little Free Hack Rack for your front yard!

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Learn to Solder Kit (Part V)

PCBs

I’m almost set for the Zoom Milwaukee Symposium this week. I’ll be in the Maker Plaza teaching people how to solder with the DIY kit I’ve been working on for the last few weeks. (Check out Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV if you haven’t seen them yet.)

PCBs

It doesn’t look like a lot, but there’s over 100 PCBs that were made at home. I cut all the vinyl, etched them, drilled them, cut them apart, and sanded the edges.

LEDs

There are a few options for LEDs, ranging from plain green and blue to flashing red and flickering orange. (There’s probably over 400 LEDs here.)

Resistors

The resistor you use will depend on the LED you choose. I’ll be able to talk about limiting current and how it is calculated for different LEDs.

Batteries

And of course there are batteries. I’ve got 100 CR2032 cells, which came in just under $18 for all of them thanks to ebay.

Binder Clips

There are 144 binder clips to hold the batteries to the PCBs. Again the cheapest I could find, thanks to Amazon.

Wire & Solder

A few spools of solid core wire and some solder. (I’ve got more solder than this, not that we’ll need a lot, but multiple rolls are helpful.)

Magnets

I also went crazy and got some Neodymium magnets in case people want to attach their PCB to other things. (I tried to arrange the magnets a bit more orderly for the photo but it was impossible!)

Zoom PCB

Here’s the back of the PCB. You can see how the board has been etched to leave just the copper traces to complete the circuit. (The ring around the edge is just a guide for the cutting and sanding.)

Zoom PCB

Here’s the front of the PCB. You can see the LED, resistor, and the wire that leads to the back through the hole which serves as the battery connector. And of course the binder clip holds the battery in place.

Zoom PCB

You can remove the arms of the binder clip if you want to stand the PCB up, attach it to something, or just be more streamlined.

Zoom PCB

Zoom PCB

PCB Wearable

And hey, with the addition of the magnet you can even turn it into a wearable! Be the envy of the Zoom After Party (wait, is there one?) with your flickering, flashing, or constantly lit LED PCB!

This is just one post in a series, check out the other posts as well:

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Craft Hammers

Craft Hammer

I made a few Baltic Birch hammers (laser etched and laser cut) as a follow-up to my CRAFT Screwdriver (which was just vinyl cut.)

Craft Hammer

Here’s the design and mock-up. I use Inkscape for the design process, and occasionally create the mock-up images using Photoshop.

Craft Hammer

This hammer is not the size of a normal hammer. It’s over 400mm long, which (being nearly 16 inches) is big. Why such a big hammer? Because, reasons…

Craft Hammer

Actually, this specific hammer was given to Frankie Flood, who has had a huge influence on my work the past few years. Since he’s leaving Milwaukee, I wanted to give him something that would be suitable for hanging on the wall in his new studio.

Craft Hammer

HAMMERS!!!

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Teensy LC BOB v1.3

Teensy LC BOB v1.3

Update: If you’d like one of these boards, there’s a newer version of this board, and you can purchase it on Tindie.

Good News, Everyone! The new Teensy LC break-out board is ready! Yes, we’re now at version 1.3 of the Teensy LC BOB.

Preview

I’ve made a few changes since version 1.2. I moved the traces from the top to the bottom (how did I miss that!?) and I added an extra ground line so that you can connect a bunch of screw terminals to the ground row even if you don’t solder in header pins at the end of the board and only do the sides. (This also comes in handy if using the Teensy Audio Adaptor Board.)

I’ve also lengthened the board a bit, and added a fifth hole, and here’s why…

Installed

For a recent project I discovered that the USB cable was able to rip the USB connector right off the Teensy if hit, twisted, or yanked in the wrong direction. The fifth hole is for adding a piece (wood? plastic?) by screwing it into the bottom and then looping a zip tie around the USB cable for strain relief.

USB mock-up

I scanned in a Micro USB cable and placed it over an image of the board to figure out spacing. It should work. I may end up 3D modeling the piece that holds the USB cable in place.

As I use the boards more I may find other improvements along the way. Also, I’m now able to load in custom images and graphics onto the PCB, so I’m already scheming for my next OSH Park project.

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Arts+Tech Night at UWM

Arts+Tech Night

I mentioned back in February that I’ve been teaching a Physical Computing class at UWM called “Electronics and Sculpture” this semester. So I’ve basically been showing students how to integrate microcontrollers into their artwork. (Arduino is the order of the day, though I’ve got one student exploring ATtiny85 chips.)

Students have been working on their final projects, using techniques they’ve learned all semester, and they’ll have their work on display for the public at Arts+Tech Night happening 6pm-9pm, Wednesday, May 18th, 2016. Come on down and check it out. Most of my students will be on the 4th floor in the center area. (Maybe your friends are already going!)

mike-light

(There is a web site for ATN but sadly, despite my best efforts, It has not been updated this time around.)