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Make a Rustic Shadow Box, Pallet Lumber: This guide will teach you everything you need to know to make a great rustic shadow box.  You can use it yourself or even give it as a gift.  All the ladies in my life love them, my wife, mom, mother-in-law, grandmothers, etc.  If the…

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Tiny Jet Card Stock Glider W/ 4th Gen Style

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Tiny Jet Card Stock Glider W/ 4th Gen Style: Hello! And would you like to make a jet glider?
This little glider can be made in about 40 minutes. It can fly beyond 25′ / 8m when thrown level and with moderate force. Being a very small glider, it should be flown when there is little or no breeze.

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Basics of Arduino (TINKERCAD): Arduino and Tinkercad are two powerful tools that are gaining popularity in the world of electronics and engineering. While both of these tools are commonly used by hobbyists and professionals alike, many people may not have heard of them or may not…

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Bolt-Nut Puzzle - 3D Printed: This project is based on the publication https://www.instructables.com/Twin-Nut-Puzzle/ by AtulV15. Thanks for posting this nice little projekt!
It drives everyone who does not know the solution to despair and abandonment! 
While looking for a …

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Simple DIY Magnetic Stirrer: This is one of those projects that seems like it would be hard, but actually ends up being way easier than you’d think, and it works amazingly well. You can see in the video below that it stirs extremely well.
Unfortunately, this is also one of thos…

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Marblevator Pick and Place, Version 4.: “Marblevator Pick and Place, Version 4” is my fourth pick and place based Marblevator. This model utilizes four 3D printed TPU “fingers” to pick up a marble from the end of the track and place it at the start of the track. The fingers are mounted to…

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Miniature Concrete Hoover Dam: In this lesson, we’ll create a little version of a working arch dam similar to the Hoover Dam. On the boundary of the American states of Nevada and Arizona, in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, sits the Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity stru…

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Arduino Audio Spectrum on LED Dot Matrix 4 in 1 Display | DIY Project

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Arduino Audio Spectrum on LED Dot Matrix 4 in 1 Display | DIY Project: Greetings everyone, and welcome to my Instructables tutorial. Today, I’ll guide you through the process of creating an Arduino Audio Spectrum on LED Dot matrix 4-in-1 display.
Project Overview:
We’ll guide you through building your very own audio sp…

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Wooden Chapati Maker at Home: What purposes does a roti maker serve?
Using a chapati maker, you can quickly turn your dough into a spherical roti or chapati. Because the dough doesn’t need to be rolled, electric roti makers make it simpler to manufacture round chapati.
What is t…

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Western Wooden House Using Popsicle Stick

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Western Wooden House Using Popsicle Stick: Welcome to my Instructables DIY project for a wooden western house! This project is perfect for anyone who loves the look of the old west and wants to add a touch of rustic charm to their home. The house is made from simple materials that are easy t…

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How to Make Miniature Scaled 200:1 Piper J3 Cub Model

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How to Make Miniature Scaled 200:1 Piper J3 Cub Model: One of the coolest things you can imagine is holding a Piper J3 Cub in your hand, which sounds cool but also feels impossible, right?....but now we can make this fantasy a reality by building our own J3 Cub airplane with this DIY, which I’ll be shar…

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Spiral Puzzle - 3D-Printed - Wire Bending

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Spiral Puzzle - 3D-Printed - Wire Bending: The task of this little puzzle is to get the elongated rectangle of copper wire out of the spiral. After a few tries, you will manage to solve it! By the way, also a nice little gift for friends!
The idea of this puzzle is not new. Often they a…

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3d Optical Illusion Wood Art: I wanted to make an interesting wood art wall hanging for my workshop; and I found this fascinating quilting pattern by Ruth Ann Berry. So I decided to use this pattern for a wood art piece, employing four different colored wood species for shading.…

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Articulated Snake: When I originally made my 3D printed flexi snake with tulle hinge, I was attempting to recreate a wooden toy from when I was little. So I didn’t consider using a hinge because it wouldn’t work with the ultimate goal.
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Arduino Two Weel Self Balancing Robot: This is a relatively simple, visually effective balancing robot project that only requires four components to make.

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Piano Doorbell - Reimagine How a Door Bell Sounds

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Piano Doorbell - Reimagine How a Door Bell Sounds: Doorbells are often overlooked, but think about it, the doorbell is the very first interaction between you and someone visiting your home. Shouldn’t your doorbell be something more? Something that brings a smile to the face of your visitor?
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The Magic Flip Lamp You Can Build at Home!

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The Magic Flip Lamp You Can Build at Home!: I’ll show you step-by-step how to make an amazing Magic Flip Lamp — a fun and mesmerizing project that’s perfect for your desk, room, or as a unique gift! 🛠️💡 Watch how a simple flip creates a magical light show and learn how you can build one yours…

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DIY Arduino GPS Tracker With Real-Time Location on Web Dashboard

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DIY Arduino GPS Tracker With Real-Time Location on Web Dashboard: Ever thought of building your very own GPS tracker, one that does NOT need a $30/month subscription?
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DIY Self-Driving Car for Beginners (Arduino & LiDAR)

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DIY Self-Driving Car for Beginners (Arduino & LiDAR): Greetings everyone, and welcome to my Instructables tutorial. Today, I’ll guide you through the process of creating an Obstacle Avoiding Car using LiDAR Sensor and Arduino.
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Rotating LED Display: The Rotating Display is a compact disc-sized device that rotates quietly using a CD motor. It features 40 LEDs that display time and weather data sourced from the internet. The device is wirelessly powered and controlled via a user-friendly web inte…

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How to Make Bubble Blower Machine in a Very Simple Way

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How to Make Bubble Blower Machine in a Very Simple Way: Hi readers in this instructable I will show you how can you make this amazing bubble blower machine at your home.
To make this you need very simple materials and basic electronic components, the end result will surprise you.
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Make Very Easy Robot Car That Is Smartphone Controlled

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Make Very Easy Robot Car That Is Smartphone Controlled: Hello readers In this Instructables I will show you how I made this Easy Robot Car at home with basic electronic components and the cool thing about this robot is it can be controlled by a smartphone.
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Create a Mesmerizing Kinetic Sand Table With Just One Motor

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Create a Mesmerizing Kinetic Sand Table With Just One Motor: Patterns are everywhere in our lives, and our brains are amazing at finding them in everything we see. In this project, we’ll build a beautiful kinetic sand table—a simplified version of traditional kinetic sand tables, which often rely on advanced …

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How to Hold a Robot Racing Event!: Have you ever wanted to hold a robotics event at your library, school, and/or community center? In this instructables the Tompkins County Public Library will share how they brought robotics to their community and kept it running for half a decade. I…

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3D Printed LED Arm Band Making Which Is Programmable

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3D Printed LED Arm Band Making Which Is Programmable: Hey readers in this project I made a 3d printed LED armband and it’s not just a regular armband this is fully programmable and you can 3d print this at your home.
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How to Make Obstacle Avoiding Car Using Arduino

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How to Make Obstacle Avoiding Car Using Arduino: Hey guys in this project I have made an Obstacle avoidance car that uses arduino, This robotic car will automatically avoid going in the path of any obstacles! How cool is that?
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STIRLING ENGINE for Every One!: Instructions for building a simple Stirling engine. Suitable for everyone! A few ordinary objects are enough. A little skill, patience and a little time.
Jiří Lüftner

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Arduino School Bell - Simple DIY: Hi guys, in this article we are going to see how to make a circuit with Arduino and some other components to make a school bell automatic and not make the school staff go to press the button every time. By the end of this article, you will have crea…

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Silent Clock Drive Mechanism: I design a lot of 3D printed pendulum clocks and wanted a quiet desk clock that never needs winding. It should be accurate and built using readily available components. I wanted it to have a second hand and lots of extra motion.
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Introduction: Arduino Password Gate Lock System in a Simple Way

Hey guys in this instructables i will show you how you can make this gate lock system protected by a password and is controlled by arduino and servo, This is a very interesting project because you can implement the same technique in many kind of project.

For example say that you want to make a password protected piggy bank or a house door lock system or the house door of your favourite pet you can utilize the same circuit.

The possibilities are wide and the choice is left to you, But here i will explaining you how i made this project.

Now you may ask why this is needed, There are many reasons but i will give you main reason for building this.

Password lock system is used in phones because of its security to keep things safe from intruders, we are using the inexpensive keypad matrix that contains numbers from 0 to 9 and you can set any number of digits.

In this project i will make a simple gate system that uses 4 digit number to open and close it, and the best part here is you can also change the password to your choice and keep everything under your control.

I have given a detailed circuit diagram explanation and the programs for this project so that who is new to electronics can also build this project.

There is a working video of this project given in the below steps, Dont miss to check that out too

Supplies

Here are the list of components that is required to build this project

Arduino Uno

4x4 Keypad

LiquidCrystal_I2C (LCD) Display

Push Button

Micro Servo Motor

Jumper Wires

Piece of Cardboard

Hot glue or double sided adhesive

Step 1: Circuit and Codes

The first step is making the circuit connections following the circuit diagram given in this step, For beginners i have given the written explanation for the connection

I will split the circuit into 3 steps, Keypad, LCD module and micro servo

Keypad connection, The keypad contains rows and columns in the matrix of 4x4 and the connection goes as given below
Rows
Row 1 to Arduino Pin 2

Row 2 to Arduino Pin 3

Row 3 to Arduino Pin 4

Row 4 to Arduino Pin 5
Columns
Column 1 to Arduino Pin 6

Column 2 to Arduino Pin 7

Column 3 to Arduino Pin 8

Column 4 to Arduino Pin 9
LCD module
VCC and GND to Arduino 5V and Gnd pins

SDA to Arduino A4 and SCL to Arduino A5
Micro servo
The servo has 3 pins, Vcc and gnd to 3v and gnd pins to the uno and signal pin is connected to arduino pin D11
Uploading the code
This completes the circuit connection and now we can upload the code to the board, Just copy and paste the below arduino program to your IDE and click on the upload button.

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Step 2: Testing the Circuit

The Arduino code has two main functionalities regarding the keypad

First is Entering the Password to Open the Door and the other is Changing the Password

To enter the password follow the below steps

Press the '*' Key,Now the LCD clears the current display and shows the message " ENTER THE CODE" and code waits for the user to enter the password, Type the default password 1234 and now the gate opens
Changing the password
To change the password press the # button and now will have a console to change password on the LCD, First enter the old password and later you will be shown panel to enter and confirm new password.

If the entered password is correct (matches the stored password), the servo motor rotates to open the door and LCD displays "Access Granted" and "WELCOME!!". In the other case If the entered password is incorrect the LCD displays "CODE INCORRECT" and "Invalid!!!".

Step 3: Finishing

To give it a look of the typical gate i will use a small piece of cardboard to the side of which i glued a paper that looks like the road.

Arrange all the components on this white piece of cardboard and glue all the components to it using double sided adhesive or hot glue.

Check the position of servo before fixing it to the board and add the barrier to the horns of the servo.

This was my setup, you can place the components as per your project too, with same setup of electronics you can make password protected piggy bank and other such cool projects

Step 4: How to Use

Using this is very easy all you have to do is power on the project using USB power source, Now you will see the display message asking to enter the password.

Press the * button and now you can see in LCD asking to enter the code, enter the default password 1234 and then press A

The servo lifts the gate and after some time it closes you can adjust this time on the code as per your needs.

Now if you are entering the wrong code the gates will not open and the LCD will show error message "Incorrect Password"

If you want to set other password you can change it as per your wish, If you still have any doubt you can ask me in the comments, don't miss to check the tutorial video below.

Step 5: Working Video

Here is the complete video tutorial of this project, If you have any doubts about the uploading program or any errors occurring during the process consider watching the video it will have all the solutions to your questions.

Try building this project in different variants and post your make here i will be happy to see if someone is benefiting from my ideas.

Thank you and happy making.

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Arduino Password Gate Lock System in a Simple Way

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Arduino Password Gate Lock System in a Simple Way: Hey guys in this instructables i will show you how you can make this gate lock system protected by a password and is controlled by arduino and servo, This is a very interesting project because you can implement the same technique in many kind of pro...

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Remote Controlled Self-Balancing Robot: A self-balancing robot using Arduino nano, mpu-6050, and a cheap 6v DC geared motor. This bot not only stands but also walks using wireless data through nrf24l01. I also added an ultrasound sensor for distance measurement. I used everything convenie…

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Origami and Projection Mapping: I’ve been doing creative workshops with kids and schools for years (with 8-10 years old) and this can be an easy and creative activity to do at home. All you need to make the sculpture is paper, tape, and a bit of time. :)
For the mapping part, you…

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STEM Project: Quadruped Robot: This time I share you an easy to build STEM project regarding robotics in the classroom.
It’s been observed that kids learning robotics has many benefits in the whole development of a child: Encourage interest in STEM (science, technology, engineer…

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This toy consists of concentric rings stretched in the middle, so each ring moves without falling off. Since it is symmetric, we only need to construct the bottom half. We will do this as a series of concentric rings on the xy plane, extrude them at half the toy height while applying a taper, and mirror the result with respect to a plane placed at half the toy height. Determining the optimal distance between two consecutive rings requires some experimentation but can be done quickly thanks to parametric design: we design two full consecutive rings, move the inner one upwards, inspect whether it intersects with the outer one, and adjust the relevant parameter until we are happy with the amount of movement allowed. A set of parameters that work well and will produce a short print is provided.

Let's create a document and add the following parameters by going to Modify > Change Parameters:

name: rings, unit: no units, expression: <some integer>

The number of rings of our toy.

name: inner_radius, unit: mm, expression: <some number>

The radius of the inscribed circle of the innermost polygon.

The ring thickness. It should be thin enough to be printed in 2 or 3 walls without any infill. I used 0.9 mm for a 0.4 mm nozzle with a 0.45 mm line width.

name: half_height, unit: mm, expression: <some number>

Half the height of our toy.

name: taper_angle, unit: deg, expression: <some number around 15-20>

Ring taper angle.

Determines the distance between two consecutive rings so that a ring can move without coming off the assembly.

Distance between two consecutive rings.

name: path_radius_offset, unit: mm, expression: 5 * gap

When the ring shape is a convex polygon, we construct the planar rings by sweeping lines around a polygon; for this method to work, we must place these polygon paths at several intervals. Intervals are different for different polygons, but placing a path every 5 rings is safe for pentagons and hexagons - if you encounter issues, try more frequent paths, or the manual offset method.

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Concentric Rings Fidget Toy: A collection of small fidget toys consisting of concentric rings with instructions on how to make your own in Fusion 360. They are inspired by this fidget toy: Fractal Fidget Star This design is appealing both for the patterns and sounds it makes wh...

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RAINBOW SHELF: Hii,
INFINITE RAINBOW SHELF means, the shelves made of Hexagon shape, we can arrange them in infinite styles, and I covered all the Rainbow colors in this shelves. I simply made this in one day, I averagely spent 300rs (4$). Actually this looks Pret…

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Introduction: Rainbow Ribbon Power Streamer (Looper)

Rainbow Ribbon Power Streamer
When I was a child I had a toy that looked like a bubble pipe, but it had an opening in the top and bottom of the bowl. A loop of string was threaded through these openings and when you blew into the pipe the string zipped into the bottom hole and out the top with the loop whirring along. It was great fun. That toy is the inspiration for this Rainbow Ribbon Power Streamer.

Let the colors of the rainbow zip along through the air.

This Power Streamer uses an air mattress inflator, some PVC pipe, foam core board and a loop of colored crêpe paper.

The 14 foot long loop is powered by air and can float skyward or can be moved around like a trick lasso and people can even jump through it (ultra-carefully, please). It is just plain great fun!

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Supplies

Supplies:
120V Air Mattress Inflator (I tried a battery powered one, but it was too weak)

3/4 inch PVC Pipe. 1- 5 foot length. 1- 6 inch length. This is type 1120 PVC pipe. It is a thin wall version of schedule 40. It weighs less and is easier to thermal form.

3/4 inch PVC coupler (union).

3/4 inch PVC 45 degree elbow.

Colored crêpe paper. Six colors of the rainbow. Each about 28 inches long.

Foam Core Board

Latex Glue. (This is quick drying and light weight. Other types may also work.)
Tools:
Razor Knife

Metal Ruler

Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Heat Gun

Heat Resistant Gloves

Scissors

Step 1: Create Crêpe Paper Loop

The crêpe paper loop is 14 feet in length and is made up six colored segments each about 28 inches in length.

Each colored segment is glued to the other. I cut the leading edge in the shape of an arrow to reduce the likelihood of the splice getting caught as the loop moved along.

I applied glue to the arrow point and also to the trailing edge of the segment in front.

Make sure the loop is 'flat' with no twists in it.

Step 2: Heat Form PVC Pipe

There are two places in the build that need to have the PVC pipe formed. 1) The air output nozzle and 2) The slip joint over the output of the inflator.

Carefully heat up the PVC pipe with a heat gun while constantly rotating it. [Probably best to do this outdoors in case the PVC off gasses something nasty].

When the pipe is soft use heat-resistant gloves to flatten the pipe to make the nozzle.

The inflator extension pipe is similarly done, when the pipe is soft force it over the outlet.

The 3/4 inch 1120 type PVC pipe was chosen because it was very close to fitting over the inflator outlet. A different diameter pipe might have to be used depending on the diameter of the inflator outlet you have.

Step 3: Build Foam Core Box

The box that keeps the crêpe paper loop tamed and running where it should is just a box made from foam core board cut to size and hot glued together.

The box consists of 3 sides, each 9-1/2 inches long by 2 inches wide. The 3 pieces are hot glued together.

Step 4: Mount Nozzle in Box

The nozzle positioning can be a bit finicky, so play around with its position and angle before gluing it in place. Try to find the spot where the crêpe paper loop extends out the farthest. The nozzle opening is located about half way down the length of the box and pointed downward toward the bottom lip.

A spacer of two pieces of scrap foam core board is used to space the nozzle away from the side of the box and leaves a gap on the opposite size where the crêpe paper loop can be threaded into the box.

Step 5: Assemble

The 5 foot length of PVC is attached to the inflator with a coupler and to the nozzle with a 45 degree elbow.

The actual length of PVC pipe can be longer or shorter than the 5-foot piece according to your liking. There was no special reason for the length.

Step 6: Get Looping!

Switch on the power and get that loop looping!

Enjoy!

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Rainbow Ribbon Power Streamer (Looper): Rainbow Ribbon Power Streamer When I was a child I had a toy that looked like a bubble pipe, but it had an opening in the top and bottom of the bowl. A loop of string was threaded through these openings and when you blew into the pipe the string zip...

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Introduction: DIY Miniature Haunted House

We recently made this cardboard DIY Haunted House from a box of total mystery supplies! It was a "Chopped"-style challenge where Derek from VanOaks Props sent us a box of mystery stuff and we had to make a DIY Halloween decoration from it. 😀

After a bit of thinking, we decided to make this miniature haunted house diorama. We even used the cardboard box it was shipped in to build most of the house.

It was crazy fun trying to come up with ideas on how to use all this random little stuff to make a complete project and the best part, it would be so easy for you to make your own at home.
Please consider watching the video above as you read to see the build in action!

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Step 4: Gluing the House Together

Once the windows were dry, we glued the four walls of the house together using more hot glue.

Step 6: Making the Roof

To make the roof, we measured, cut the cardboard, and glued two big pieces together at an angle, as shown. The roof will be removable so we can get inside the house to adjust lighting.

For the roof tiles, we cut dozens of tiny pieces of cardboard and then glued them on one at a time. You start at the bottom and work your way up in rows, giving it some randomness as you go to create an interesting look.

The "chimney" also got hot glued on one side, and we added some random little small accent pieces (also from the mystery box) to the trim below the ridge line to give it a fun look.

Step 7: Base Coating Everything With Mod Podge

Once the roof was done, we were finally able to do a full coat of the black mod podge on everything, which produced this really fun looking black house!

You could stop here...but there's more fun to be had!

Step 8: Creating the Foam Base

While a cardboard base for the house would be simpler, we opted to use a small piece of insulation foam (xps foam) for the base. This way we could texture it and do some fun stuff!

We used acetone to burn into the foam a bit to create a pathway and some texture, and also used some rolled up aluminum foil to roll around and texture the foam further. Don't have acetone? Just use the tin foil and some rocks and roll them around, pressing hard to give it some texture.

Finally, we grabbed some small stones from outside in our yard and glued them in various places to create a little landscape outside. Later on, we'll do the same thing with some small branches we found outside to make little trees. 😀

Step 9: Adding LEDs and the Witch Silhouette!

We got a small LED strip in our mystery box, so we attached them inside the house to make it glow! If you don't have LEDs, another way to create this glow would be a small tea light, a flashlight, or anything that glows. (Just don't use a candle since it could start a fire.)

In our mystery box was also a small motor which we used to rotate a witch silhouette across the window! It looks like she's walking by the window every so often, really fun!

Since not everyone has the motor of course, another neat trick is to just use a cardboard cutout against the window to create a silhouette of whatever you want inside.

Step 10: Making Hot Glue Tombstones

We had a little hot glue leftover, so we used a silicone mold and made some tombstones with it! This is surprisingly easy. Just put the hot glue directly in the mold and wait until it cools. Pop them out and paint!

Step 11: Painting the House

The most fun was painting the house. We used a lighter gray for the siding, which later got dirtied up with a dark paint wash and then highlighted with some dry-brushing. The door and roof got the same treatment.

This part takes a bit of practice but the best part is the paint is cheap and you can always try again. Don't like how the door came out? Just repaint it again! Practice on some other cardboard as well to get the feel for it.

Step 12: Painting the Base

After base coating the foam in the black Mod Podge, the base got painted to look like an autumn yard. Green grass, a dirt path, the rocks got painted as well.

This is all done using simple and cheap acrylic paints that you can get at any craft store or using the links in Step 1.

Step 13: The Final Results!

The last step was to add some small details like a wispy ghost coming out of the chimney, some black cats, more tombstones, and some fall pumpkins!

Not bad for cardboard, right? We can't wait to do more of these types of projects. You should try it too!

For more details on how we built this, consider checking out the full YouTube video in the first step. We have many more projects on our Instructables page and our YouTube channel. 🎃💀👻

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DIY Miniature Haunted House: We recently made this cardboard DIY Haunted House from a box of total mystery supplies! It was a "Chopped"-style challenge where Derek from VanOaks Props sent us a box of mystery stuff and we had to make a DIY Halloween decoration from it....

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Introduction: DIY Wind Tunnel

Make a Wind Tunnel for around £20/$25! This is a perfect 'Demo Rig' to show how aerodynamics work - and allow students to examine the aerofoil profile and how much lift it creates, before creating miniatures of historic or modern aircraft. It uses a small balance/scale (±0.1g) to work out how much lift a given wing/aircraft design has over another.

The project was conceived to help Design & Technology teachers have more projects which were not just engaging, but also connected with desirable learnings that prospective employers valued.

One of those experiences was 'designing for a client' - and at first this sounds improbable for a KS3 kid (aged 11-14 years) to do, but then we figured - why not make another subject teacher the 'client'.

This Wind Tunnel could be used to 'Demo' a Physics Lesson, but could also look at Sport Science Lessons (Cycle Helmet Aerodynamics), or even History Lessons (differences between mono/bi/tri-planes - and why quad planes mostly failed!).
I included some preamble about the project and work with DATA, but if you want to crack of with the build - jump ahead to Step 4!

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Reusing Materials & Scrap-stores.
This project is deliberately designed to be economical, and can be made from (double) corrugated card, and scrap materials like PVC water pipes (available in all DIY stores for a few £/$), with some offcuts of wood for the base, and some acrylic/polycarbonate sheet for the sides ( LINK). I think most of these will be readily available in most school workshops, but also search of 'children's warehouse' or 'surplus stores' also. Example I used in Bristol, UK: Scrapstore. Likewise, I find it plausible a D&T teacher can get hold of a Fan without having to buy new / second hand. Even if you did buy it all new, this is hopefully still within budget for a term time project.
Essentials:
Scales:

You will need a small scale, ideally better than a ±1g accuracy scale in the Kitchen. Better to use a ±0.01g scale that is used for small quantities of powders, and are pocket-sized. LINK.

Fans:

When I first made this for a TV show (more on that below), the Wind Tunnel was about 40cm(l)x16cm(w)x18cm(h). This actually cost even less than £20, and used a travel LiIon Battery Powered Fan. (e.g. LINK), however, if teaching in schools, I would ensure that students cannot access the Lithium Ion battery inside, as these can be dangerous if shorted. It is better to use a USB one like this ( LINK).

For this project with DATA.org.uk, I 'super sized' this to be about 70cm(l)x25cm(w)x28cm(h) - and also used a mains (240v) Fan ( LINK). Of course you need to PAT Test this like any other equipment in the school.
Optional Extras:
Depending on how much Engineering you want in this project, for about £75/$85 you can measure the following:

Pressure using a Manometer. (LINK). Around £45.

Flow/Wind Speed using an Anemometer. (LINK). Around £15.

Fan Speed using a Tachometer. (LINK). Around £15.

Having studied Fluid Dynamics at University, I can also say it was not until I worked at Dyson that I really applied that knowledge to problem solving, and it was the hands-on experience that made the equations and theory come alive. Often kids at school can tell you that atmospheric pressure if 101kPa, but if you asked how much pressure the average fan or vacuum cleaner has, they probably have no idea - you really only get this 'sense or numbers' from doing real experiments and designing, so I think these (frankly amazingly cheap) digital devices are a part of that.
Disclaimer/Safety: I have suggested using certain processes and chemicals which should be adapted to the competence of the teacher/class. Please conduct all risk assessments and inform students accordingly. Neither the Author or DATA can assume responsibility for following this guide.

Step 1:

As mentioned, this project has been commissioned by the Design And Technology Association ( DATA.org.uk), as at the time of writing the subject has seen a reduction of over 70% since the subject was created. Yet many successful Designers cite D&T as a key subject in their formative years - helping them not only get hands-on experience, but also to learn the 'soft skills' of interviewing and observing people - and what is professionally referred to as 'user research' or 'user centred design'. As much as many creative courses at university are accessible with grades in only Science, Maths, Art and Engineering, D&T evidently gives a rare chance in school to create a real product and test it.

Step 2: Preface - a Case for Saving D&amp;T in Schools

In the attached article, Sir James Dyson alludes to: "Taught well, D&T leads to high value careers in Engineering and Technology" - the key phrase being * Taught well*. When I was at school, D&T was considered a 'doss subject' - an opportunity to mess around in the workshop, often making things only out of wood. It took me many years and an extra degree to get back to what would have been best if I set off on a good D&T course in the first place.

Something has to change.

With the subject in real danger of being obsolete in a few years in the UK, we are at a 'radical candour' moment on needing to speak frankly about where the subject is now, and where is should be in order to regain its status as a serious subject.

The aim of these unquestionably challenging projects is to 'raise the bar' of the subject, in such a way that D&T is seen as a credible career preparation - giving students a taste of the highs and lows of iterative design, and the emotional complexity of working with 'clients'. Nothing said here is intended to upset teachers or governors, but rather to provoke a response that is not gradual - the time for incremental improvement has passed. The subject will fail without significant overhaul.

Please join the debate on Comments here and/or at https://twitter.com/DTassoc and https://www.data.org.uk/

Step 3: Why You Might Like the Wind Tunnel Project

Building on the first project (Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder Challenge - LINK) - which aimed to 'neutralise' the fear of failure, both for Students in doing consecutive design iterations, and taking on 'feedback', but also for Teachers not to feel they have to always guide Students to something 'working flawlessly', for an A-Grade. I've been designing for 2 decades now, and can't think of anything that worked first time flawlessly. Embracing and learning from the failure is vital personal and professional growth, and yes, the Squirrel's is pretty funny, even when it's besting your design!

The Wind Tunnel is an example to inspire Students and Teachers to think where D&T might 'be of service' to other subjects. There are so many 'chalk and talk' subjects, which would benefit from an exciting physical embodiment of the theory on the black/white-board! Some might say that doing this is not pure altruism, but also a good way for D&T Teachers to build more appreciation of their work around the school in general. I'm sure not all teachers feel maligned, but many who I spoke to felt D&T was not regarded as highly as some others, so the act of 'being of service' this might build some bridges in more ways than one!

Perhaps you and your students realise the school needs a Van De Graaff Generator for Physics (I suggest the LOW (9V) Voltage one here), or perhaps the school canteen needs a voting system for the following week's menu, and waste-reducing solution? It could be a device to get balls down safely off the roof, and so on...

It many ways the design does not matter as much as learning to be of service, 'manage a client', and 'deliver on a Brief', on time / specification / budget.

Step 5: Air Flow Straightener

Using a small bandsaw, I set up a distance of around 80mm, using a block of wood as a guide.

I then removed the 'swarf' (ragged bits left over from cutting) with the edge of the ruler.

I then lined the first layer of tubes as show, using some masking tape (placed upside-down) to hold in place.

I used PVC Glue ( LINK), but you can use any mild solvent-based glue (like UHU), or if you don't have this - Hot Melt Glue is fine also. Although PVC Glue is rather nasty, if used outside and with a mask, it should be fine, but Hot Melt is of course cheaper and safer and works fine for this too.

Note - I have also added some 'half pipes' to the alternate edges. These are just cut from the same sections, just lengthways (take care to use a push-stick to keep fingers safe).

FYI - There are 10.5 tubes 'wide', and 12 'high', and this gives around a 21cm 'square', using '20mm piping'.

SAFETY TIPS:

Dust: Please ensure you are using dust extraction.

Keep Hands Clear: Pipes are round, and if they snag on the sawblade (especially if less than sharp!), they rotate, and can hence rotate your hand suddenly towards the saw. Care should be taken to keep hands well back / to the side (as shown), or to use a clamp/vice if not sure. If students are very new to this, they may even prefer to use a hacksaw, or even a pipe cutter. (LINK). If in doubt, use hand tools over power tools.

Step 6: Sand Down

Once the glue has been left to set(ideally overnight), it can then be sanded back flush to remove any irregularities.

I then took a scalpel to remove any swarf on the edges, (a ruler will do if not).

Step 7: Made to Measure

I personally think this is an important skill for students to learn / unlearn.... At school you are often taught to 'measure twice, cut once' or to create detailed plans before assembly, and although this is perfectly valid, when prototyping sometimes you want to use a more 'relativistic' method.

When you watch carpenters fitting stairs, or making any other bespoke piece, they are less interested in the exact measurement, and more interested in the 'fit'. This is a great mindset to learn for prototyping.

The fact is, your glued together pipes will likely be slightly 'out', and so it's better to create a 'snug fit' around them with cardboard, and do this by taking a measurement of each piece sequentially. Start with side 1, use this to reference/mark the length of side 2, and so on. Also, you may note I have 'spiralled' the pieces around, so they are all overlapping, rather than having 2 long and 2 short sides like a box.

The advantage of this is speed and fit, even if overall it may be a little 'out'. You may find it useful to discuss the pros and cons of this method, as of course this is great for cardboard modelling, but no aircraft in general!

I used 2-ply corrugated cardboard for this. It came from standard Apple Boxes at markets.

Step 8: End Box

Now that you have the general idea, do the same of the 'end' of the Tunnel.

Arguably this is more of an aesthetic piece, but it provide stability later on for the acrylic, and a visual 'end' which is worth the effort to make. You can also practice creating a chamfer by cutting at an angle also.

Step 9: Making the 'Fan Collar'

Using some 1-play cardboard as this bends better. You can see how I've pulled the card through my hands, allowing it to compress in one direction - and bend. Note the direction of the holes or 'fluting' is key. Cut strips to fit the fan like a 'collar' as shown. I happen to have a fan which had an 'inner' and 'outer' profile as shown, so I decided to make collars for both for a tighter seal, but the outer is sufficient if you are short of time.

As with the point above on 'fitting' vs 'measuring', I could have used "2*Pi*radius" for the circumference, but it is simpler just to cut an oversize strip, mark the intersection, and cut to fit perfectly. Arguably the mathematical approach would have had error and not fit as well.

When you are happy with this, apply Hot Melt glue and stick down a larger piece of card flat on it as shown.

When set/dry - remove and cut out home from inner circle. Leave the outer edge 'square'.

Step 10: Round to Square 'Adaptor'

Prepare some card strips as shown, about 25mm/1" wide, and the same size as your Flow Straightener. Form a 'Box' as shown.

Measure the side of the 'inlet' on the left, and the 'outlet' on the right, as shown - and create this 'trapezium' on card. (e.g. mine went from 28cm to 25cm).

Use masking tape to set these in place, and build up as shown.

Step 11: Transparent Sides

The wooden sides are pretty straightforward - combine two pieces of wood, to form an 'L' shape. These need to be fitted around the size of the Airflow Straightener (including the Card border).

Once you have this, cut one side of Acrylic/Polycarbonate to the walls - allowing extra for joining to the Wood as shown in later steps.

As with the Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder, careful drill the holes so the screws can pass through. I used screws with a wide head, but of course washers will do also. The point is to spread the stresses/load as much as possible.

Indeed, I saw this as a possible area of improvement, as if you have a very 'boisterous' class, you might want to make it all from wood, and inset 'windows' to make it stronger. This is all good 're-design' feedback depending on your class.

The plastic can be cut on any saw you have in the workshop, and to finish, sand the edge, and if you like polish it on a polishing wheel, and.or flame with a mini blowtorch...Depending on how capable/trustworthy your class is.

Step 12: Ready!

With the protective blue plastic removed from the plastic sheet, the viewing now is clear. (FYI - it's best to leave on until the last minute, as it saves getting the plastic scratches, but also is a good surface to mark on for cutting).

You can now get your aircraft building going, if you have not already in parallel to this!

Step 14: Scale Modelling

I suspect there may well be a few D&T teachers who have made a balsa wood glider, so this should be easy enough. For those of you who have not, you can either buy a kit (eg. LINK) - small enough to fit inside your wind tunnel, or you can make one from scratch...

This might sound intimidating, but this is a cheap challenge for school kids to attempt. The only 'tweak' I would say is to advise using Balsa Cement ( LINK), or UHU ( LINK), which is not as risky as Super Glue.

You can find all sorts of historic and modern planes online, and simply search of 'plan' as well. If like me you wanted the Wright Bro's - here you go ( LINK). Simply print these out to scale, and then here's the clever bit - apply sticky tape over the stop, so the balsa does not stick!

You can then cut out small Aerofoil Profiles from 2mm Balsa Wood ( LINK), as well as cutting long strips/spars. The key thing is less the skill, and more having a sharp knife. I recommend teaching your students how to use a Scalpel over a craft knife, I have used both and injured myself far less with the former. The No.3 Handle and No.10A blades are good all-rounders ( LINK).
Note: for the keen eyed among you, you'll note that I made the Wright Bro's plane backwards - thinking that the smaller wings were at the back - when they are actually at the front! I personally think this will be a funny talking point for the class. Luckily I realised this and simply flipped the rings around, and 'got lucky', but goes to show you how much aviation has changed over the years!! When I rotated the wing by 180 degrees, I also realised another thing - the drawings by Louis P. Christman on the weblink above, are actually not symmetrical, as the left wing is actually about 5% smaller than the right wing. So these are all good lessons to note as a designer - mistakes happen and need correcting as you go.

Step 15: Smoothing the Profile

Once you have the Wings made, you can use a file to create a more rounded profile, as it's likely the spars will need some sanding to 'curve' with the aerofoil profile.

Finish with a fine grit sandpaper.

If you like you can apply a light coating of PVA Glue (diluted 50/50 with water) to add strength. Sand down again when dry.

Step 16: Adding Tissue Paper

Using PVA Glue, I added some Tissue paper to the wings as shown. Try to use one piece, and glue on, wrapping around the wing as you go. Trim excess with scissors and leave to dry for an hour or two.

As you can see, I added some cross braces and struts to fit. As mentioned previously, I cut these to 'fit' rather than a measurement, and made sure to 'mirror' them to the other side to keep things as even as possible. I added the rudder also.

Step 17: Magnetic Stand

I used a couple tongue depressors ( LINK) and some bolts with wingnuts to make an articulating stand, that has a metal washer on top - such that the plane(s) can be located with magnets, as interchanged easily.

This is perhaps a little elaborate, but a good design challenge. Your students might find that they simply modify some 'helping hands' or flexi arms like this ( LINK). Even small design challenges like this might be worth assigning to small teams or individuals to perfect.

Step 18: Dope

I used EZ Dope, which is a less 'nasty' version of the old smelly (likely toxic) form that was used when I was a kid. ( LINK). Paint this on and allow to dry overnight until tight and thoroughly dry.

Step 19: Ready to Fly?

Compare your model with the plans. This is a good warm-up exercise, and may well be a good idea to do this before the wind tunnel even, so students can gain confidence with tools and materials, etc.

It also makes sense to know what your sizes are - so as your tunnel/planes fit.

Step 21: Scales / Lift

This is of course a rudimentary method of evaluating aeronautical efficiency, and much could be improved upon regards the deeper science I'm sure, but for KS3 (11-14 year olds) this seems a fair 'starter' or 'primer' to get them to consider their designs.

To do this, simply 'tare' the plane/aerofoil, start the fan, and see how 'negative' the scale goes. Of course if you have a smaller wing, it may 'loose' less, but be more efficient (in terms of its area or weight) than a larger win that 'lost' more. So there is a bit of approximation here, but you can of course go as deep as the classroom is willing, but I suspect students will appreciate how subtle the design of human flight and natural flight is - everything from Attack Angle to surface friction of the tissue paper will make a difference.

Step 22: Design Your Own Fan

Warning - I am showing a disassembly of a 240V mains electricity fan. It is unplugged, and only operated when the cover is all back on. If you are not qualified to do this (or just unsure) please just use battery powered fans, but you can assume the same line of enquiry...

If you have PAT Testing, and are qualified and confident to do this, you can buy a simple fan like listed above, and remove the star-clip by prying the leaves as shown. I suggest wearing Goggles for safety - these things can ping off, and keep fingers clear to avoid stabbing yourself with the level/tool.

Assuming you have this all done safely, you can simply slide off the Fan and start to take dimensions.

Step 23: Hacking, CAD and 3D Printing

I took measurements of the fan's interior and made a few modifications.

The 3D printer I used (Ender 3) is cheap and still gives very smooth results, and I'm actually impressed that my 'flung together' fan blade gave as good performance as the original. This might sound bad, (for all the effort), but having designed impellers at Dyson, it's hard to just beat a product performance - and especially given the 3D Print given it was rough / not polished, balanced or optimised - is not so bad!

Anyway, in case you were thinking this is incredibly difficult for KS3 students - my empasis is not to always 'be better'. The learning of working between a product and a mod, and iterating the CAD and 3D Print is a great design/re-design cycle that gives contest beyond just 'Learning CAD'.

More than anything else, I think this is a good example of showing that students can modify a key component without having to build everything from scratch. This sort of 'hacking' or 'modding' of off-the-shelf items is very common in Industry and is also just a good lifeskill for any inventor, designer or engineer to master.

Step 24: Fan Modifications

This might be a nice integration of CAD and Physics into the D&T subject, as although one can 'copy' a Fan - it's quite another to improve on it.

I printed the blue 'collar' to fit inside, and close the gap between the fan blade edge/tip, and the side. This has the effect of allowing less air to 'backflow' or 'escape' when pushing the air forward, and so the pressure is higher. It may not increase flow speed, but pressure should improve.

You can then look at the angle, profile, thickness and number of blades - all of which can be tested for theory and practice.

To give more context to the metrics, I would also consider investing in a few affordable flow-related digital devices...

Step 25: Tachometer - Fan Speed

You may be interested to know how fast the fan is moving, and a tachometer can do this as shown - adding a small reflective tape to the fan blade, and pointing the Tacho at it.

Between the 3 settings the rpm went from around 900 to 1000 to 1200. This of course is great for working out the efficiency and power of your fan - should you wish to redesign it also!

Step 26: Anemometers - Wind Speed

I tested the wind speed of the fan, with and without the Flow Straighteners - and I'm quite pleased that they are about 90% efficient (10km/hr vs 11.3km/hr). It might be that you try to balance this with using finer tubes, like drinking straws, but this may reduce the flow and speed considerably (unless you use Bubble Tea straws perhaps?). Likewise, you might use larger pipes, but the flow becomes too turbulent (you can see this with smoke or cotton thread on a stick).

Step 27: Manometers - Wind Pressure

I made a 'plate' for to cover the fan, and tested the pressure and compared this with different fan blade designs (more on that later). If you had a totally sealed design of the test chamber you could also try this at the end too.

Step 28: Gallery

The final set-up. Hope you like it - but hope you also do it your way!

Would you make yours 'flat packable' if storage is tight?

Do you want to make it bigger?

Are you going to 'hack' a Vape device to make 'smoke trails' (please extract vapours if you do!)?

Perhaps you want to use this for Race-car Design?

Hope you have fun with your new Demo Rig for lessons beyond D&T...

Step 30: Taking Inspiration - Sir David Jason's "Great British Inventions"

I had the pleasure of working with Sir David Jason and Wise Owl Films to create a series of DemoRigs to show how great British inventions worked in principle, for a Channel 4 TV show in the UK.

As well as learning that the UK also had a crack at getting to the moon (using decommissioned rockets from WWII - seriously), and getting to make scaled down versions - I was also asked to create Demos showing a fundamental principle like the Electric Lightbulb, a Steam Engine, and how Hydraulics work - which we often take for granted in our lives, but these were Designed by designers with D&T-esque skills and mindset.

Others were about recreating what it might have felt like to transmit speech for the first time in human history - such as the Bell Telephone - which to this day is a truly incredible moment that a 'drum, and a wire in vinegar' can transmit sound waves!

Aside from these being fun to recreate, these also need to be designed by students to cope with the hustle and bustle of general teaching life.

For more inspiration: Link: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/david-jasons-great-british-inventions

Step 31: V1.0 Gallery

As to make the point about re-design: It's been great fun to re-design the Wind Tunnel to be larger than the first one I made for the TV show. It still amazes me that humans took to the skies in such a compressed around of time. ( LINK).

Step 32: V2.0 and Beyond...

THE FAN LOCATION:

To 'walk the talk' or 'practice what I preach' - I've had a few comments that give great advice to put the fan on the other side - ie to 'suck air', not 'blow air'...hindsight being a wonderful thing, this honestly makes total sense, to reduce turbulence and keep flow nice an smooth. So if you're read this far - congratulations, you can now use all the tips and process above, but just put the fan on the other side. The benefit of this is simply that it'll be easy enough to modify in card and make another - and crucially - test if it makes a difference! Good luck. I'll do the same soon, when I get a free weekend!

SMOKE TRAILS:

Like in the professional settings, people use smoke trails to investigate laminar flow over the wings and such in a wind tunnel. I'd erred on not doing this, as I was working on a budget, but also I didn't want to use vape pens as a source of 'smoke' - even though they are available un-scented and un-fragranced - it just sent the wrong message for kids to use them! I had suggestions of foggers (but these get stuff wet), but also special dry foggers for model trains, which I need to look at as they are not too expensive (but I'm sceptical they will be smokey enough tbh). Incense sticks were also suggested, but these are pretty scented, so I'm not a huge fan. So I'll keep having a think, but suggestions welcome!

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DIY Wind Tunnel: Make a Wind Tunnel for around £20/$25! This is a perfect 'Demo Rig' to show how aerodynamics work - and allow students to examine the aerofoil profile and how much lift it creates, before creating miniatures of historic or modern aircraft. It uses a...

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Introduction: Build a Da Vinci Inspired Flying Machine (Glider) With Simple Supplies

In this Instructable, you'll learn how to make a flying machine similar to the drawings originally created by Leonardo Da Vinci in the (15th) century (over 400 years before manned flight).

Skill Level: Intermediate

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Supplies

Balsa Wood sticks

1 qty - 1/8 x 3/8 x 36

5 qty - 1/16 x 1/2 x 36

1 qty - 1/4 x 1/4 x 36

3 qty - 1/16 x 1/16 x 36

3 sq/ft - tissue paper

1 tube - Testors ultra fast drying wood glue

1 - Exacto knife (please be very careful, these are very sharp. Go slow and use precision. Take this project at your own risk)

4 ft - wax paper

One stack - 8.5x11 sheets of paper

20-30 - quilting needles

A cork board or a cutting mat

Scotch tape

Step 1: Get Inspired

Step 2: Create Your Design

You first will need to create your design. Grab a pencil and a stack of paper and have fun! (If you need more help on wing design see this other Instructable). I'd love to see what designs you come up with. If you're stuck on ideas, you can download my design below:

Step 3: Gather Your Supplies

It's always best to have everything organized before hand to avoid running out of supplies.

Step 4: Cut Out All the Parts

The cutting of each piece will be the hardest part of the whole project, so getting the hard part out of the way first will help us get this project done.

First we'll start with the ribs. These pieces are the most delicate so take your time and follow the steps below to get it right.

Starting with the 1/16 x 1/2 strips we'll cut out 20 ribs in total:

6 - inner ribs

2 - secondary ribs

8 - center ribs

2 - outer ribs

2 - wing-end ribs

Then we need to cut the leading and trailing edges of the main wings. If you are cleaver with inverting the strip each time you do an angle cut, then you can save a ton of space and reduce the number of cuts needed.

Everything else will be cut as needed.

Step 5: Set Up Your Work Area

When I glue together my models, I like to build on top of a cork board. This makes it easy to hold everything together using quilting pins.

First, place your designs facing up. You can use pins in the corners to hold everything in place. Be sure to place wax paper over the top of the design before pinning things in place. This will help prevent the glue from sticking to the paper.

Step 6: Build the Main Wings

First we'll place all of the wing leading and trailing edge pieces in place on top of the build plans. Glue each join and quickly pin the parts in place.

Once those are all done, we'll want to glue the inner most rib first. It is very important that we use rib #1 for the inner ribs for either left or right wings. The first rib will be angled slightly to give the wings a bit of a camber. All of the other ribs will be glued at a 90º angle. Use the jig from the design plans to get a consistent angle to use for both wings.

Work your way down the wing using 4 of the inner ribs, then 4 of the center ribs, then 1 outer rib, and lastly 1 wing-end rib. You will start to see this take shape, and you'll be able to see where you can glue in the supporting spars across the top.

Step 7: Build the Tail Pieces

The tail will require two triangle shaped pieces to help support the leading point of the tail wings. Cut these out first using the 1/16 x 1/2 balsa strip.

Next, cut the lengths needed from the 1/8 x 1/8 strips.

The main pieces can be glued and pinned in place. Then you can cut support cross support pieces and glue them in place. Once these are done, go ahead and cover them in tissue paper, and repeat any shrinking needed as mention in the previous step.

Step 8: Assemble Your Wings to Fuselage

We'll first cut the main fuselage piece to a length of about 18 inches (your design may vary), and pin it on our build plan. You'll first glue the main wings in place on either side about 5 inches from the front. In this design we glue the wings on before covering them in tissue paper.

Step 9: Cover Wings in Tissue Paper

When covering the wings, I trim the paper to have a 1 inch overhang on all sides. Then, place glue on the top parts of the spars and press the tissue paper into place. Let that dry. Then, keep gluing the rest of the paper in place. Pull the paper tight as you work your way around. Once you have everything glued in place, you can then fold over all of the overhangs and glue them in place.

Step 10: Attach the Tail Wings

In this step, your tail wings should already be covered in tissue paper.

I shaved a small groove into the tail section of the fuselage to provide an angle point the tail wings downward slightly. Use as much glue as you need to get this to hold firmly. The tail should make a V shape.

Step 11: Shrink Your Tissue Paper

A very important step! Be sure to shrink the tissue paper. Not only will it help your glider look really nice, but it will also help it to fly better!

Borrow a misting spray bottle (or any old spray bottle will work) and mist your wings until they are damp. Be sure not to get them too wet or over handle the wings while wet, as to avoid tearing any pieces.

Then set your glider out in a protected area outside where it can soak up the rays from the sun. The heat will help to dry and shrink the tissue paper. This step may not seem like it's working, but you'll be surprised how much excess tissue paper this can take up. You can see a big difference in the photos above. Feel free to do this more than once as necessary, however tissue paper will shrink a ton, so one time should get you there.

Step 12: Fly Your Glider!

Congratulations! You've completed your flying machine. Now before we hang this up on the wall as a unique piece of decor, take your design to a local hill or field and have some fun!

Before you get too ambitious, be sure to do a few small test flights at a very low altitude (like 18 inch above the ground. Do a few very light throws. This will help you to understand if your glider is balanced or not. I taped a few pennies onto the front of my glider to help get things balance. In the Flight Video, you can see what an amazing difference it makes in the flight.

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Build a Da Vinci Inspired Flying Machine (Glider) With Simple Supplies

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Build a Da Vinci Inspired Flying Machine (Glider) With Simple Supplies: In this Instructable, you'll learn how to make a flying machine similar to the drawings originally created by Leonardo Da Vinci in the (15th) century (over 400 years before manned flight). Skill Level: Intermediate

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Introduction: Bamboo Decorative Desk Lamp

This is an easy to make bamboo desk lamp and it looks great when finished. The hardest part is cutting/sawing bamboo sticks in short pieces.
This project took me a long time (a few months) because it was supposed to be a birthday gift for my wife and I did it secretly, but at the end I didn't finish it in time and told her about it :) . She loved it anyway.

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Supplies

1. Bamboo sticks - 5 or 6 - 2.5m (8.2ft) long sticks, ~1-2.5cm (0.4- 1in) in diameter

2. Hot glue

3. Basketball

4. Metal hand saw - with mitre saw or table saw it would be faster.

5. Lamp cord with socket an lightbulb

6. Measuring tape/ruler and marker

7. Cardboard an PVA glue - optional - you can use other solutions

Step 1: Getting Started

Cut the bamboo sticks in short pieces - I chose them to be 5 cm (2in) long, but they can be shorter or longer - that would affect how much light would come out and also how many bamboo sticks you would need.

I used a metal hand saw because the teeth of the saw are small enough that the bark/ "skin" of bamboo wouldn't splinter. But even if there is a splinter that peals off, it wouldn't be noticeable on the lamp -so not a big deal.

I cut them in batches and those pieces with nodes (intersections) I left for later because they need to be drilled. I used a regular drill with drill bits.

Step 2: Gluing the Pieces

Take a basketball, set it securely on the table - I used a duct tape roll to set it on. Take the first bamboo piece, apply some hot glue around it and immediately stick other pieces around it on the top of the basketball. Glue the pieces together on the ball so it would take the balls shape. The cut edge of each bamboo piece should lie flat on the ball's surface - the balls surface should be your guide.

When you get to the middle of the ball, turn the whole thing upside down and start to build it up.

Note that the ball's air hole should face down at the beginning (where the hole of the lamp is going to be) so that later you can deflate the ball and pull it out.

Be careful, the glue is HOT.

Step 3: Finishing the Lamp's Form

You should stop adding pieces when the hole is roughly so big that you can easily put your fist in (~12cm/4.7in). Add the final pieces so that the hole looks round.

Stick a ball needle in the ball to let the air out, you can press the ball with hand, but I used small electric air pump to suck the air out, take the ball out and admire your creation. It will be quite heavy because it contains several long bamboo sticks (mine is 3.5kg - 7.71lbs).

Step 4: Installing the Cord and Socket

I used a standard cord with switch and an appropriate socket.

As a base for light bulb socket I cut out a cylindrical form of glued together cardboard - you could use wood or something else. Then I glued the socket in the cardboard base, and put it in the bamboo form with no glue. It should be held in just with friction so it could be taken out easily.

I used long shape light bulb so that the angle of light would be more even, rather than from one point. But this aspect is also changeable as you like.

And you are done!!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bamboo Decorative Desk Lamp: This is an easy to make bamboo desk lamp and it looks great when finished. The hardest part is cutting/sawing bamboo sticks in short pieces. This project took me a long time (a few months) because it was supposed to be a birthday gift for my wife ...

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Pocket Sized Pottery Wheel: Making pottery is a really fun and rewarding form of entertainment. The only problem with pottery is that it required a lot of supplies and a large studio so you can’t do it anywhere, until now! In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make a …

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Introduction: Build a Motorized Dinosaur Using Plastic Trash, in 55 Minutes or Less!

Hello. My name is Mario and I love to build things using trash. One week ago, I was invited to participate in a morning show of the national TV channel of Azerbaijan, to talk about the "Waste to Art" exhibition. The only condition? I had to build one of my creations in 1 hour or less... in live television... broadcasting to all the country!

I created a small rolling dinosaur named "Yoshi", using a discarded charger, the handle of a cat-hair cleaner and dental floss containers. It took me 30 minutes to build it. I couldn't take a lot of photos because of time limitations and besides, I gave away the dinosaur as a present for the show. But if you want to see it, this is my Instagram video of Yoshi exploring the TV studio.

Nevertheless, I loved the design so much that I created Yoshi 2.0, so I can share with you how to build your own up-cycled motorized dinosaur. It took me 55 minutes to make (including time for photos and some setback during the process); but if you have all materials and tools ready for action, you can make this in 1 hour or less.

I'm participating in the "1 Hour Challenge" of Instructables. If you like my project, your vote will be appreciated.

Oh, and I timed the process. You can check for the chronometer in some of the photos.

Ready... set... GO!

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Supplies

Materials are relatively easy to find, and even, you can get substitutes:

1 dual shaft gearbox with motor (like this one)

1 AA battery holder with switch (like this one)

2 AA batteries

Wheels: 2 circular dental floss containers.

Body: 1 discarded cellphone charger (or the cat-hair cleaner handle I mentioned. Any plastic piece that looks like a body and where you can attach the gearbox and the battery holder will do the trick)

Head: 1 discarded power converter

Arms: 2 Mini-brushes for dental care (like these ones.) You can also use hard plastic mini spoons.

Claws: triggers from toy guns. I leave to your choice what item to use to replace them.

2 paperclips

Hard plastic pipe, that fits into the dental floss containers and can be attached to the gearbox's shafts. Your best option are the sticks for party balloons, or even, discarded pens.

2 plastic gears or 2 googly eyes. For the eyes.

Shoulders: 2 bottle caps

Screws, nuts, bolts and washers

Superglue

Hot glue

Soldering tin

TOOLS: Dremel rotary tool, screwdrivers, Leatherman multitool, pliers, soldering iron, hot glue gun, heating gun, cutting blade.

NOTE: Links are given just for information. I'm not endorsing any product or seller.

Step 1: Let's Start With the Head...

Open the power converter using the screwdriver. Remove the transformer and the board. Leave the case and the screws.

Step 2: Now the Body...

Probably your cellphone charger won't have screws, so use the cutting disc of the Dremel to open it, repeating the process of the previous step. Check that you can fit the gearbox inside. Using the Dremel, open a hole on each side, checking that the gearbox shafts are not in contact with the case. Don't attach the gearbox yet.

Step 3: The Tail

The battery holder will act as the tail and counterweight. Inspect the case of the charger and define the best place to attach the tail. Open small holes in that area and on the bottom end of the holder (the one opposed to the switch's end.) Use screws, but be careful of not damaging the battery holder, drilling too much.

Step 4: Now Fix the Gearbox to the Body

Connect the cables of the battery holder to the motor's pins of the gearbox, checking the direction of the rotation. To attach the gearbox, you can use hot glue, screws or a zip-tie.

Step 5: The Wheels

I wanted to use green caps for the wheels. However, the pink dental floss containers matched perfectly with the arms, so I decided to not use them at the end.

Cut two segments of 2 cm each from the party balloon sticks; insert the gearbox shaft in one end, and insert the other end inside the dental floss containers. If the size is perfect, it will work by pressure. If not, use carefully a little of hot glue, without melting the tube.

Step 6: Arms

Cut the dental care mini-brushes, drill three holes on each one and build the claws.

Step 7: Returning to the Head...

Arrange the two cases from the power converter to make it look like a dino-head. Use the heat gun if it's necessary to mold the plastic.

Attach the head to the top of the body, using screws.

Step 8: Shoulders

The bottle caps will act as shoulders, giving a necessary space between arms and body for the crank mechanism. Attach the arms and shoulders to each side of the body. Don't tight too much the bolts of the shoulders: you need arms to be loose enough to rotate freely.

Step 9: Eyes

Attach the white gears or put some googly eyes on the head of our dinosaur.

Step 10: Crank Mechanism

Take both clips and put them straight. On one end, bend the clip 90 degrees and insert it in the middle hole of the arm. On the other end, create a loop, and attach it to the wheel using a screw and some small washers. Bot end must rotate freely. Check the rotating movement of the wheels and the ascending/descending movement of the arms, to detect if it cannot move freely in some point.

Step 11: RAAAWWWRRR... Dinosaur!

Place back the cover of the body, to hide the gearbox. Use hot glue.

And your dinosaur is finished! Time to take Yoshi for a walk.

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Build a Motorized Dinosaur Using Plastic Trash, in 55 Minutes or Less!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Build a Motorized Dinosaur Using Plastic Trash, in 55 Minutes or Less!: Hello. My name is Mario and I love to build things using trash. One week ago, I was invited to participate in a morning show of the national TV channel of Azerbaijan, to talk about the "Waste to Art" exhibition.

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Now that everything is wired up, you can move on to applying the code. Power on your circuit with by plugging in your power supply. Connect your Arduino or Pro Trinket to the computer using a USB cable. Always make sure to have your circuit powered while connected to the computer or the servo may try to draw power through the signal wire, which could cause damage to our components. You may want to leave the signal wire of the servo disconnected for now. Copy the code provided into a new sketch in the Arduino IDE and save it. Make sure to add the INA260 library to the IDE. The servo library should be included by default, and you should have added the HX711 library when calibrating your scale. All three libraries need to be included for this project.

1) Turn on debugging mode by going to the debug class and setting debugOn to true.

2) Go to the Feeder class and go to the private data section at the bottom.

3) Change the calibrationFactor to the one you obtained in the scale calibration step and make sure to add one decimal place.

4) Change the minCatWeight to a little bit less than the weight of your pet.

5) Do not change maxCatWeight for now.

6) If you used different pin designations than the ones in the wiring diagram, you can set those in this section.

7) Compile and upload the sketch to your Arduino.

8) Open the serial monitor in the Arduino IDE and make sure that the INA260 chip is found.

9) It should then print out "I'm in the loop" over and over.

10) Go back to the debug class and set debugOn to false.

11) Connect the signal wire of the servo and reupload the sketch.

12) The Servo should spin to 20 degrees and then slowly rotate back to zero.

13) Disconnect the USB and power supply.

14) We now know the position of the servo is at zero. Align the miter gears of the servo and axle and add the four fasteners to the corners being careful not to smoosh any wires. The lid should be all the way closed with no gaps.

15) Reconnect the power supply to the feeder. The lid should quickly lift to twenty degrees and then slowly close to zero. This is the calibration phase and will happen every time the feeder is powered on.

16) Put some weight on the scale and watch it open.

17) Make sure it closes when weight is removed.

18) You can test safety features by trying to obstruct the movement of the lid. (Please use caution if safety feature fails)

If your feeder is working, it is time to move on to the final steps.

Mount your finished feeder to the scale using double sided tape or Velcro.

Set maxCatWeight to a little bit more than the weight of your pet and reupload the sketch, but this time to your Pro Trinket. Make sure everything is still working with the bread board. We will minimize the size of the electronics by transferring everything to a solder board. Using the same wiring diagram as before Figure 4, Add each component to the solder board. The exact arrangement of components does not matter, only that the connections be the same as in the wiring diagram. You can copy the arrangement from Figure 10. Figure 11 shows how to bridge connections using solder.

Mount your solder board to the electronics mount and fix that inside the feeder using double sided tape or Velcro.

In order no mount the shroud that covers the gears the lid must be fully open. Slide the cover in to place and allow the lid to close. Place to set screws in the top to hold the shroud in place.

We plugged our feeder into a Govee smart plug which allows us to control it with our smart speaker.

/**
Developed for Hobbyiest use by Tomas Diaz-Wahl for Kalliot LLC.

Copyright © 2022 Kalliot LLC

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following
conditions are met:
1. Redistributions of source code and documentation must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products
derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE,
EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
**/

/*
 * This project uses two third-party libraries.
 * INA260 and HX711 libraries can be found at:
 * <https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-ina260-current-voltage-power-sensor-breakout/arduino>
 * <https://github.com/bogde/HX711>
 */

#include <Adafruit_INA260.h>
#include <Servo.h>
#include "HX711.h"


Adafruit_INA260 ina260 = Adafruit_INA260();
Servo servo;
HX711 scale;

/*
 * Debug class is designed to output info to the serial monitor, (found under the tools menu in the Arduino IDE),
 * This is designed to make sure that all boards and electronics are working as designed.
 * TO ACTIVATE DEBUG CLASS MAKE SURE debugOn IS SET TO TRUE.
 */

class Debug {
 public:
  static const bool debugOn = false; //turn debug on and off
  void printMsg(int x){
   if (debugOn){
    Serial.print(x);
    Serial.flush();
   }
  }

  void printMsg(String x){
   if (debugOn){
    Serial.print(x);
    Serial.flush();
   }
  }

  void printLine(int x){
   if (debugOn){
    Serial.println(x);
    Serial.flush();
   }
  }

  void printLine(String x){
   if (debugOn){
    Serial.println(x);
    Serial.flush();
   }
  }

  void setUpSerial(){
   if (debugOn){
    Serial.begin(9600);
    // Wait until serial port is opened
    while (!Serial) { delay(10); }
   }
  }
};//Debug

/*
 * Queue class is designed to make a basic queue for our current measurements.
 * There is no need to modify this class.
 */

class Queue{
 private:
  const static int maxQueueSize = 8;
  float arr [maxQueueSize];
  int queuePos;

 public:
  Queue(){
    for (int i = 0; i < maxQueueSize; i++)
    {
     arr[i] = 0;
    }
    queuePos = maxQueueSize - 1;
  }// Queue constructor

  int enqueue (float val){
    queuePos += 1;
    if (queuePos >= maxQueueSize){
      queuePos = 0;
    }
    arr[queuePos] = val;
  }

  float getAvg (){
     float total = 0;
     float avg;

     for (int i = 0; i < maxQueueSize; i++){
      total += arr [i];
     }
     avg = total / maxQueueSize;
     return avg;
  }
};// class Queue

/*
 * Feeder class allows for motion of the feeder lid as well as implementing a check
 * to see if there is an obstruction affecting lid motion.
 * You will need to change several variable in the private data section of this class.
 * You MUST change: calibrationFactor, minCatWeight, maxCatWeight
 * You MAY need to change: maxCurrent, lidMaxPosition, any pin designations you wish to change.
 */

class Feeder {
  public:

    const int moveAmount = 1; // How much the servo should move per command

    /*
     * Set up stores an known initial position in the microcontroller memory.
     * Tells the microcontroller which pin the servo is on.
     * Activates and sets the scale calibration factor (see SparkFun_HX711_Calibration sketch)
     */

    void setUp () {
      servo.write (initialPos);
      servo.attach(servoPin);
      delay (1000);
      scale.begin(LOADCELL_DOUT_PIN, LOADCELL_SCK_PIN);
      scale.set_scale(calibrationFactor); //This value is obtained by using the SparkFun_HX711_Calibration sketch
    }

    /*
     * reset should be called when powering up the feeder but can be called manually as well.
     * reset tares the scale as well as moves the servo to a known position and then slowly moves the servo to position 0.
     */

    void reset () {
      scale.tare(); //Assuming there is no weight on the scale at start up, reset the scale to 0
      servo.write (initialPos);
      delay (500);
      for (int i = initialPos; i > lidMinPosition; i--){
       servo.write (i);
       delay (servoDelay);
      }
      pos = lidMinPosition;
      numberOfRetries = 0;
    }

    bool IsCatOn ()
    {
     float weight = scale.get_units();
     return ((weight >= minCatWeight) && (weight <= maxCatWeight));
    }

    void moveServo (int amount){
      pos += amount;
      servo.write(pos);
    }

    void raiseLid (int amount){
      moveServo(amount);
    }

    void lowerLid (int amount){
      moveServo (-amount);
    }

    /*
     * Open and close lid are nearly identical in function (haha! get it? they're actually methods)
     * These methods are designed to use the Adafruit INA260 current sensor to detect the current during operation.
     * If the current draw from the servo is too high, it may indicate an obstruction.
     * The implementation of this is a little complex so I recommend not messing with these values.
     */

    float openLid () {
     while ((pos < lidMaxPosition) && (numberOfRetries < maxRetriesAllowed))
     {
      raiseLid(moveAmount);
      float current = ina260.readCurrent();
      myQueue.enqueue(current);
      if (myQueue.getAvg() >= maxCurrent){
          numberOfRetries += 1;
          lowerLid(5);
          delay(1000);//Wait before lid open retry
          debug.printLine("Max Current Detected, Closing Lid Before Retry");
          if(numberOfRetries > maxRetriesAllowed){
           exit (-1);//Lid is blocked
          }
          closeLid();
          return;
      }
      delay(servoDelay);
     } // end while loop
     numberOfRetries = 0;//reset counter
    } // openLid

    void closeLid (){
     while (pos > lidMinPosition)
     {
      lowerLid(moveAmount);
      float current = ina260.readCurrent();
      myQueue.enqueue(current);
      if (myQueue.getAvg() >= maxCurrent){
          numberOfRetries += 1;
          raiseLid(5);
          delay(1000);
          debug.printLine("Max Current Detected, Opening Lid Before Retry");
          if(numberOfRetries > maxRetriesAllowed){
           exit (-1);//Lid is blocked
          }
          openLid();
          return;
      }
      delay(servoDelay);
     } // end while loop
     numberOfRetries = 0; //reset retry counter
    } // CloseLid

  private:
    const float calibrationFactor = -9660.0; //This value is obtained using the SparkFun_HX711_Calibration sketch.
    const int LOADCELL_DOUT_PIN = 10;
    const int LOADCELL_SCK_PIN = 11;
    const int servoDelay = 40; // Speed of servo. (change not recommended)
    const int initialPos = 20; // initial position of servo when feeder is reset. Be careful!; servo will move at max speed to this position.
    const int lidMaxPosition = 70; // Maximum position of servo may vary depending on tolerances.
    const int lidMinPosition = 0;
    const int servoPin = 9;
    const float minCatWeight = 11.0; // lbs. Set the minimum activation weight of your animal.
    const float maxCatWeight = 1000.0; // lbs. Set the maximum weight of animal. (if you have a bigger dog or cat you dont want getting into the feeder)
    const float maxCurrent = 250.00; // Maximum current that is allowed under normal feed operation. Triggers overcurrent protection mechanism.
    const int maxRetriesAllowed = 10; // Maximum number of lid movement commands during overcurrent protection before lid operation ceases.
    const int numberOfMeasurements = 5; // Number of current measurements to be averaged.
    int pos;
    int numberOfRetries;
    Queue myQueue;
    Debug debug;

}; // Feeder



Feeder feeder;
Debug debug;

void setup() {
 delay(1000); //wait for boot up
 // DEBUG BEGIN
 debug.setUpSerial(); // Enables serial port communication. (Make sure debugOn set to true in debug class for USB serial communication)

 debug.printLine("Adafruit INA260 Test");

 if (!ina260.begin()) {
  debug.printLine("Couldn't find INA260 chip");
  exit (-1);
 }
 debug.printLine("Found INA260 chip");
 debug.printLine("Configuring Ina");
 debug.printMsg("INA260_TIME_8_244_ms = ");
 debug.printLine(INA260_TIME_8_244_ms);

 ina260.setCurrentConversionTime(INA260_TIME_8_244_ms); // Changes the measurement interval. This makes current readings less spikey.

 debug.printMsg("INA260_COUNT_4 = ");
 debug.printLine(INA260_COUNT_4);

 ina260.setAveragingCount(INA260_COUNT_4); // Changes the number of measurements averaged by the INA260 sensor. This will also make readings less spikey.
 INA260_ConversionTime convTime = ina260.getCurrentConversionTime(); // Verifying Ina Configuration
 INA260_AveragingCount avgCount = ina260.getAveragingCount();  // Verifying Ina Configuration

 if (convTime != INA260_TIME_8_244_ms){
  exit(-1);
 }
 if (avgCount != INA260_COUNT_4){
  exit(-1);
 }

 debug.printLine("Configured Ina");

 // DEBUG END

  feeder.setUp(); // initialize feeder.
  feeder.reset(); // set feeder lid to position 0 and tare scale.

 delay(2000);// During construction of the feeder, this delay can be set much higher to align the servo gear with the door gear. (avoid pinchy fingies)
}


void loop() {

 debug.printLine("I'm in the loop");

 // The following code was used during construction for debug purposes
 // feeder.openLid();
 // feeder.closeLid();
 //debug.printLine("Program Exit");
 //
 // exit(0);
 //END DEBUG

 //main code for feeder operation
 if (feeder.IsCatOn()) {
  feeder.openLid();
 }
 else{ // Cat is not on the feeder
  feeder.closeLid();
 }

 delay(1000);
}

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cat and Dog Selective Feeder: I designed and built this automatic cat feeder to help my diabetic cat to control his feeding and to prevent my other cat from eating his food. This feeder could prove useful to other pet owners who need to monitor the feeding needs of their pets.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Introduction: Giant Sidewalk Chalk

Super-sized sidewalk chalk!

Have you eaten way too many Pringles in quarantine and have a giant bag of plaster laying around? Make some giant sidewalk chalk!

2 People Made This Project!

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Supplies

Materials:
2+ Pringles cans

Plaster of Paris

Duct tape

Tempera paint (optional, make sure it's washable and non toxic)

Water

Empty milk jug (not pictured)
Tools:
Bucket

Stir stick

Plastic cups (for scooping/measuring)

Cutting device

Can Opener

Step 1: Prep the Pringles Cans

Eat all the Pringles!

Once the cans are empty, use a can opener to remove the bottom of one Pringles can so that it is now a Pringles tube!

Step 2: Make a Mega Can

Attach the two cans together top to top with duct tape so you have one very long can. Connecting them top to top will make it easier to get off at the end. Make sure its sealed really well so plaster won't leak out of the seam. It's easier with a second person to help line up the cans.

Step 3: Make a Wide Mouth Funnel

Cut the top off of a milk jug to create a wide mouth funnel for pouring the plaster into the cans.

Step 4: Mix the Plaster

We mixed roughly 6 plastic cups of plaster powder with about 4-5 cups of water for a good pourable plaster mixture. The exact proportions aren't super important, just make sure that it isn't too dry or too thin, err on the side of it being too dry so you don't have to worry as much about leaks. If you want to make colored chalk add in about a half a plastic cup of tempera paint into the mix before adding the water. Make sure the paint you use is non toxic and washable, so you don't stain the concrete or harm the environment. Paint marketed towards kids usually meets these standards.

Step 5: Fill the Molds

Use the milk jug funnel from earlier to help fill the cans. This is definitely easier with a second set of hands to steady the cans and funnel. Be sure to work fairly quickly as plaster only has a 5-10 minute work period before it starts to cure. Fill it all the way to the top!

Find somewhere to leave them upright for about 20-24 hours to fully cure.

We tried lining the cans with wax paper, but it ended up giving a worse finish and made it harder to demold at the end than just the plain can.

Step 6: Demold Your Giant Chalk!

Start by removing the duct tape from the middle and then tear away the Pringles tubes from the plaster! The cardboard was still a bit damp and made it easy to tear off along the seam of the mega can. The chalk will also still be slightly damp and need another 24 hours or so to fully dry.

Step 7: Draw Something!

Make a giant sidewalk drawing with your new homemade giant chalk!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Super-sized sidewalk chalk! Have you eaten way too many Pringles in quarantine and have a giant bag of plaster laying around? Make some giant sidewalk chalk! 2 People Made This Project!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Introduction: Cardboard Ratchet Mechanism

Ratchet mechanisms are useful for ensuring movement occurs in one direction. Examples include the hand brake lever, socket wrench, and tie wraps. A nice way to explore how ratchets work is to create one out of cardboard. The following steps will show how to make a ratchet gear and two pawls that are easy to assemble into a neat handheld device that demonstrates how it works. It is fairly easy to operate with one hand a bit like a fidget (non-)spinner.

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Supplies

1. corrugated cardboard - commonly used in packaging boxes for stuff ordered over the Internet

2. card stock, preferably in 2 different colours

3. A drawing pin or thumb tack

4. PVA glue

5. Epoxy resin, or super glue

6. Pair of scissors or exact-o-knife

7. Pair of compasses or a circle cutter

8. Pencil

9. Ruler

10. Protractor

Step 1: Cut Out Circles

1. Cut a circle 6 to 7 cm in diameter out of card stock

2. Mark out a number of equally sized wedges. 12 is a good number to work with.

3. Cut two circles of the same size out of corrugated cardboard

Step 2: Glue the Circles Together

1. Use PVA glue to stick the corrugated cardboard circles together. Pay attention to the orientation of the corrugations. Gluing the corrugations at right angles to each other would strengthen the final result

2. Glue the card stock circle on top of the other two

3. This completes the main disc that will become the gear wheel of the ratchet mechanism

Step 3: Cut the Gear Wheel Teeth

1. Mark a straight line at an angle across each wedge as shown - starting at right angles to each of the radial lines and ending at the perimeter. The aim is to make a saw-tooth pattern that wraps around the outside rim of the circular disc

2. Cut along the lines you just marked. You can use scissors for this step instead of an exacto-knife, however scissors tends to squeeze the gear teeth flat. This shouldn't pose a problem to the working of the final mechanism

3. Cut along the radial lines to remove a piece from each wedge on the disc. What remains will form the gear wheel of the ratchet

Step 4: Cut Spacers

You will also need at least one spacer of the same thickness as the gear wheel you just created. Make this by cutting two smaller circles out of corrugated cardboard. These can be optionally stuck together using PVA glue.

Step 5: Making the Pawl

An important piece of any ratcheting mechanism is the pawl which engages with the teeth of the gear wheel to stop it from turning in one direction

1. Start by cutting two long rectangular strips from card stock. Use a different colour from that of the gear wheel. The width of the rectangles should be roughly the same as three teeth on the gear wheel.

2. Punch a hole in one of the strips using a drawing pin. The drawing pin will be used as the shaft of the gear wheel. The hole should be near one end of the strip but not so close that the gear wheel would extend beyond the edge.

3. With the gear wheel in position on the drawing pin, mark a pencil line parallel to one of the teeth. Don't trace along the tooth. The line should be offset away from it but not too far away. Expect some trial and error with getting the positioning just right.

4. Draw an inverted L-shape above this pencil line. This will become the pawl.

Step 6: Cut Out and Test the Pawl

1. Cut along the inverted L-shape but do not cut along the initial pencil line. This line will become a creased edge.

2. Fold back the L-shape along the initial pencil line. Make another crease parallel to this fold line so that the inverted L-shape is standing upright

3. Bend the inverted L inwards towards the pin hole

4. Test the pawl design

Insert the drawing pin

Place the spacer discs on the pin

Place the gear wheel on the discs

Try turning the gear wheel forwards and backward to check that the pawl engages with each tooth.

5. The gear wheel should freely turn in one direction but be stopped by the pawl from turning in the opposite direction

6. If it doesn't work try adjusting the pawl - making the creases sharper or straightening them out. Failing that, get a new strip of cardboard and try positioning the pawl either closer or further away from the drawing pin.

Step 7: Ratcheting With Two Pawls

1. Once you've found a pawl design that works, use the other rectangular strip of card stock to create a 2nd pawl using the same dimensions as the first one.

2. Mount both strips on the same drawing pin.

3. Place the spacer discs on the drawing pin, followed by the gear wheel

4. Test that both pawls engage the teeth of the gear wheel. Move the rectangular strips by flexing and contracting them. Observe that the gear wheel turns in one direction when doing this.

Step 8: Assemble the Final Mechanism

1. Cut one of the rectangular strips into two pieces. One piece will have the pawl and pin hole. The other piece will be used to form a bracket around the gear wheel

2. To form the bracket, make a few creases in the strips of card stock. These should be spaced such that the strips can be folded around the gear wheel and spacer discs.

3. Glue the strips together. If you plan for sufficient overlap, the doubling of the layers of cardboard will add strength to the final device

4. Push the drawing pin through the pin hole. The previous gluing step might have covered the pin hole necessitating that you punch a new hole in the freshly glued layers.

5. Position the card with the 2nd pawl as before, and mount the space disc and gear wheel.

6. Fold over the rectangular strip on top of the gear wheel. Push the tip of the drawing pin through the top layers of cardboard

7. Glue the overlapping top layers of card. You might find that PVA glue is not strong enough to prevent the drawing pin from falling out, so use a drop of super glue or epoxy resin to secure the pin.

Step 9: Display Window Enhancement

Your handheld ratchet mechanism is now complete!

One useful modification you might like to make is to cut a small window in the bracket to display information that changes as the gear wheel ratchets forward one step at a time. You might find it easier to cut this window before the final step of gluing everything together.

The ratchet gear shown here displays the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. You can make your ratchet to display other information, such as birth stones, star signs, emoji, select different colours, or to keep score in a game.

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Cardboard Ratchet Mechanism: Ratchet mechanisms are useful for ensuring movement occurs in one direction. Examples include the hand brake lever, socket wrench, and tie wraps. A nice way to explore how ratchets work is to create one out of cardboard. The following steps will sho...

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Card Stock Trainer Airplane [STEM Plane]

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Card Stock Trainer Airplane [STEM Plane]: This easy-to-build airplane includes two wing shapes in the plans. Additional wings can be created and subjected to testing. The fuselage design allows wings to be replaced effortlessly.
A 1/2" diameter vinyl thread protector (or thread cap) is…

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Introduction: How to Make a Cryptex

Hi everyone!

In this instructable I'm gonna show you how to make a Cryptex; a kind of box locked by a password, that contains a roll of paper full of secret messages. Like every other invention created by Leonardo da Vinci, this is a fantastic object that it's based on a simple yet enchanting mechanism.

A couple of months ago I saw "The Da Vinci Code" film and I started wondering how to make the cryptex. I looked some guides here on Instructables.com , and I decided to follow merijnvw's guide and Random_Canadian's guide. (I suggest you to check them out if you want to learn more about the history of the cryptex or if you want to make one out of cardboard)

Since I was not able to find the needed materials, I changed the process in order to create it using the materials that I had laying around deciding to publish this instructable.

Follow this guide to understand how to make it using just scrap pieces of wood, 20cm of pvc pipe, and 4 small bolts.

2 People Made This Project!

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Step 1: Materials & Tools

MATERIALS:
- 10cm of pvc pipe (2,5cm diameter)

- 10cm of pvc pipe (2,2cm diameter)

- 4 small bolts

- scrap pieces of wood (thickness 1,5cm and 0,4cm)
TOOLS:
- drill and drill bits

- hole saws

- file

- sandpaper

- glue

Step 2: The Options

Once you understand the mechanism of the cryptex, you can make it in lots of different ways.

In this step I'll show you a couple of options for the scrolling digits and for the inner tube that contains the roll of paper.

In the 1st picture you can see on the left merijnvw's option, and on the right my option.

While he used two pieces of pvc pipe glued together, I decided to divide each digit of the code in two pieces. The thinner ones are glued on the bigger pvc pipe while the bigger ones are just inserted between two glued small discs and are free to scroll over the bigger pvc pipe.

In the 2nd picture instead, you can see two options for the inner tube.

You could use a cap to close the hole on the end of the tube, and you could create a long hole on the side (as in the left of the picture) or you could just insert the roll of paper in the tube from the bottom (right option of the 2nd picture).

In the following steps of this instructable I'll show you the "right option" of both pictures.

Step 3: Cut All the Pieces

Let's start by cutting all the needed pieces using different sizes of hole saws.

If the code of your cryptex will have 3 digits like mine, you will need 5 pieces thick 1,5cm (3 for the digits and 2 as cap on each end), and 4 pieces needed as digits-dividers thick 0,4cm.

I cut the 5 pieces with a hole saw of 6cm of diameter, and the 4 thinner discs with a 4,5cm of diameter hole saw. I suggest you to insert a long bolt through all the pieces, and to sand all of them at the same time using a drill and a piece of sandpaper like in the 2nd picture.

Finally, each of the 9 pieces must have a 2,5cm hole in the center, in order to insert each of them over the bigger pvc pipe.

(Obviously you can change the dimensions (specially the diameter) of the discs based on the materials that you have, but the important thing is that the dividers must be thick just as the small bolts that we will use in Step10)

Step 4: Mark the Groove on the PVC Pipe

The bigger pvc pipe must have a groove.

In order to make it you just have to insert all of the wooden discs (except for a bigger one) on the pvc pipe. Mark the needed length for that pipe (photo#2). Then remove all the discs saving the first one (photo#3) and make another mark under it.

Finally mark two lines in parallel to the pipe to complete the groove (photo#3).

Step 5: Create the Groove

In order to cut this groove you could use a dremel, or you could drill several holes along the marked spot.

Since I bought a router I decided to use it to create a perfect straight line with almost no effort. So I screwed together some pieces of scrap wood (really scraps) and I created a quick jig to secure the pipe in place and to create the groove using the router parallel fence.

As you can see in the 2nd picture I also screwed down the pipe to secure it better on the jig.

Finally you can cut the tube at the right length obtaining what you can see in the 1st picture.

Step 6: Mark the Groove on the Wooden Pieces

Now it's time to mark the groove on all the wooden discs except for two bigger ones which, since they will act as caps, they don't need to have the groove.

First of all I inserted all the wooden discs on the bigger pvc pipe, and I made a mark on the inside following the groove of the pipe (photo#2).

In order to mark the same spot on each piece, I created a quick paper template.

Then I drilled a hole in all the pieces using a 3,5mm drill bit (which is a little bigger then the small bolts used in Step10).

Step 7: Create the Groove

Once you have the hole, you just need to use a file to extend it creating the groove.

I suggest you to clamp the pieces on a vise in order to work on them more precisely.

Step 8: Mark the Position for the Bolts

Now we can start to work on the smaller pvc pipe marking the position for the bolt.

Insert it in the bigger pipe, and make a mark along its groove.

Add a 0,4cm disc, and make an horizontal mark (photo#4). Then repeat this step alternating a 0,4cm disc with a 1,5cm one.

At the end of this process you should obtain 4 marks that will help you to drill the holes for the small bolts in the right position.

As you can see in the last picture, in order to check that everything is correct, you can place the small tube side by side to the wooden discs. If the marked squares coincide to the 0,4cm discs you made everything right.

Step 9: Drill the PVC Pipe

Use a 3,2cm drill bit to make 4 holes in the center of the marked squares on both sides of the pipe as in the 2nd picture.

Then use bigger drill bits to enlarge the holes just on one side of the pvc pipe until you reach the dimension of the bolt's head (photo#4).

Step 10: Insert the Small Bolts

Use a screwdriver to secure the 4 bolts on the pvc pipe.

Be sure to screw them as straight as possible (photo#2,3).

Again, in order to check that everything is correct, you can place the tube side by side to the wooden discs. If the bolts coincide to the gaps created by the 0,4cm discs, you made everything correctly.

Step 11: Start to Assemble It

Finally it's time to assemble the body of the cryptex.

Since we are gluing together different materials, I suggest you two things: first of all use super glue or epoxy, and then use a x-acto knife to make scratches that will improve the adherence between the pieces.

Start by gluing the 1,5cm disc (the one without the groove) to the bigger tube (photo#2,3).

Then glue a 0,4cm disc (repeating the scratching process photo#4,5). Place the groove centered with the groove in the pvc pipe and wait for a couple of minutes in order to allow the glue to dry properly.

Insert a 1,5cm disc (with the groove) without gluing it, and then glue another 0,4cm disc.

Repeat this process until you reach the end of the pvc pipe. At this moment you should get the body of the cryptex(photo#1). If you shake it you should not hear any noise, and all the 3 non-glued discs should rotate freely in their place without too much effort.

Step 12: Finish to Assemble It

To complete the cryptex, we need to assemble the remaining parts that will act as container for the roll of paper.

(I should have drilled the hole on the wooden disc as big as the smaller tube. Unfortunately I don't have a hole saw small enough so I had to use the same hole saw used for all the other inside holes filling the gap with insulated tape and a piece of the bigger pipe. Also, the smaller pvc pipe that I used, should have fit tightly inside the bigger pipe. Example: if the inside diameter of the bigger pipe is 2cm, the outer diameter of the smaller pipe should be 1,8/1,9cm. But as I said in the intro, I decidet to challenge myself building a cryptex using just what I already had, without buying anything.)

Step 13: Paint It?

At this moment we have a functional cryptex.

You can free your creativity deciding to paint everything with your favourite color, or maybe each disc with a different color or...why not? Give it a couple of hands of clear protective paint as I did.

Do whatever you want but be sure that the three "digits discs" can be rotated in their place without too much effort.

Step 14: Decorate It

I decorated it applying a couple of hands of clear protective paint, and then I glued a blue plastic cap on each side.

Finally I printed the alphabet on 3 stripes that I glued to the central discs.

In order to set the code you have to align all the grooves looking into the hole of the main body of the cryptex. Then you just have to mark a light line (photo#4), on which you will glue the correct letter (letter A in photo#5).

P.S. Here below you can find the alphabet that I used made by Random_Canadian. You just have to print it at the right size or, more simply, you could just write the letters/symbols by hand.

Step 15: Hide Your Secret

As last thing, write your secret on a roll of paper, insert it in the smaller pvc pipe, and close the cryptex by rotating the 3 digits.

I hope that you liked this ible! If so, don't forget to check my other ones.

Thank you for reading my Instructable. ;)
Feel free to comment and ask if you need to know something!

manuelmasc

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How to Make a Cryptex: Hi everyone! In this instructable I'm gonna show you how to make a Cryptex; a kind of box locked by a password, that contains a roll of paper full of secret messages. Like every other invention created by Leonardo da Vinci, this is a fantastic objec...

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Introduction: PC Mouse Becomes a Robot (MouseBot)

A robotic pet mouse requires much less maintenance than a real one, and it is enjoyable to watch. It runs around, bumping briefly into obstacles, and searches for interesting places to visit.

The mousebot in this project uses only a few parts: 2 motors, 3 switches and 2 batteries.

When the mousebot is running and its whiskers touch an obstacle, the switch on that side turns "on" and this reverses the motor on the other side briefly. The mousebot turns slightly to avoid that obstacle and then continues forward.

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Supplies

PARTS

1 computer mouse. A large one is better than small.

2 small DC motors, 1.5 to 3 volts. Motors with 2 flat sides fit better than round sides.

2 SPDT (single-pole double-throw)microswitches with a straight lever

1 SPST (single-pole single-throw) or SPDT slide switch.

2 AAA battery holders.

2 AAA batteries.

2 paper clips.

2 connectors.

2 Googly eyes.

Wire: red, black and some other color.

Heat-shrink tubing to fit the motor axles.

6 Small bolts and nuts (#2).

Small pieces of corrugated cardboard.

Pin or needle.

4 bristles from a cleaning brush.

TOOLS

Dremel tool or a collection of basic tools: hacksaw, small files, wire cutter, drill.

Glue gun or a glue that holds plastic, metal, cardboard.

Soldering iron and solder.

Wire stripper.

Scissors.

Small screwdrivers.

Needle-nose pliers.

Thin magic marker.

Clear tape or masking tape.

Step 1: Placement of the Parts

After taking off the top of the mouse case, remove the circuit board and all the parts inside. Save those for possible use in a future project. The circuit board in a ball-type mouse has 2 switches for the mouse-buttons, 2 IR emitters (usually clear?), 2 receivers (usually black?) and some other parts.

Cut the cord to about 4" (10 cm) for the tail.

Decide where to place the parts inside the bottom of the mouse case. The motors should be in the middle, where the mouse is tallest. The microswitches must be at the front, and the battery holders and on-off switch could be placed wherever they fit. The photo shows where the parts for my mouse are located. The on-off switch doubles as a support for the back of the mousebot. It is offset slightly from the middle so that it supports the middle when the switch is in the "on" position.

Step 2: Prepare the Case

Cut out any plastic obstructions that are in the way of the parts to be installed. Also, cut holes for the motors and switches. This may be done with a Dremel tool, or maybe by melting with a soldering iron, or by drilling and cutting with basic tools.

The photos show the before and after of the top and bottom of the mouse case. Some sections are still present, for attaching the motors.

Step 3: Motors

The motor axles need to be angled so that they support the mousebot and will move it when rotating. In my project, the motors had to be angled at about 45 degrees to fit inside the top and bottom of the mouse case.

It is difficult to hold the motors in place for gluing, and so I made a support from corrugated cardboard, as shown in the photo. The pieces are cut from the corners of a larger piece of cardboard. The edges of the corners are at 90 degrees, which is perfect for holding the motors at 45 degrees each. The pin helps to hold the pieces in place while being glued.

After gluing the cardboard support inside the bottom case and allowing time for the glue to set completely, the motors may be glued to the support and to the case.

The motor axles are too smooth to move the mouse when they are rotating. This may be fixed by adding small pieces of heat-shrink tubing over the axles, after wiping the axles with alcohol to clean them. The ends of the shrunk tubing should stick out the same small distance on both motors, so that they provide the same amount of contact to the surface on which the mousebot will be running. In my project, the heat-shrink tubing didn't stick well to the axles, and I had to add some glue at the top end of the tubing.

Step 4: Wiring

The first photo shows how the parts should be wired, and the second photo shows the wired mousebot.

The wires to the motors should be cut long enough to reach the farther terminal on each motor, in case some wires need to be switched if a motor is rotating in the wrong direction. The motor wires should not be soldered until you test that the motors are both rotating in the proper direction.

The various parts should be attached, wired and soldered as shown.

Step 5: Whiskers

The whiskers are made from paper clips and attached to the microswitch levers. Rather than soldering the paper clips to the switch levers, it is better to attach them with connectors so that they can be removed easily if they need to be adjusted or replaced. The steps are as follows:

1. Straighten the paper clips.

2. Cut them to about 2" (5 cm) in length.

3. Cut a piece of the connectors out, as shown in the first photo. This is necessary to avoid the connectors bumping into each other when attached to the microswitches.

4. Check that the paper clips do not have a plastic coating, or remove about ⅜ inch (1 cm) from one end if they do.

5. Solder the paper clips to the connectors as shown in the first photo. The metal on the connectors is thin and narrow between the paper clips and the fatter end, and I found that it needs solder in that area to keep from being bent when the mousebot bumps into obstacles.

6. Slide the connectors onto the microswitch levers as shown in the second photo.

Step 6: Test

Before attaching the top of the mouse case to the bottom, turn the mouse "on" and put it on the floor to ensure everything works properly.

This is such a simple project, and yet, many little problems could (and did) occur, as described below.

If the mousebot simply spins, then the wire connection (unsoldered at this time) on one of the motors may not be making a proper contact, or one of the motors is turning in the wrong direction, or the heat-shrink tubing on one motor has fallen off. Check the wire connections first. Then, if the heat-shrink seems to be attached well, the wires should be switched on the motor that is on the inside of the spin.

If the mousebot is running forward in a circle, this is not important unless the circles are too small. There could be a few reasons: One motor may be turning faster than the other, or the motors are not at the exact same angle from the vertical, or the heat-shrink tubing on one motor is slipping slightly, or the tubing on one axle is shorter than on the other axle.

Hold the mousebot with one hand, press one of the switches, and see if the motor on the other side begins to spin backward instead of forward. Then, try the other switch. In my project, this didn't work. After checking with my multimeter, I found that one of the battery holders was not connecting the negative side of the battery. I don't know if this was a flaw in the battery holder or if my soldering somehow caused it. This problem got solved when I put a bent piece of bare wire into the hole in the middle of the spring, pushed it around the end of the spring towards the outside of the holder, and twisted the two ends with needle-nose pliers. This made a proper connection between the spring inside the holder and and the terminal outside.

If the mousebot doesn't turn slightly when it bumps an obstacle, the microswitch on that side is not being turned "on". This could happen for a few reasons: If the mousebot hits the middle of a round obstacle or the corner of a square one, neither whisker may be pressed far enough for the switch to turn "on". If the bottom of the obstacle is slightly curved up to its side, the whisker maybe did not touch the obstacle before the mousebot did. Or, it could be caused by the whisker being blocked by the other whisker. A whisker may be adjusted up or down slightly by moving the connector on the microswitch lever. The paper clip may need to be bent up if the whisker is too low.

A strange thing happens with my mousebot: If the on-off switch is "off" and I press one of the microswitches, both motors begin to rotate. This can be explained from the wiring diagram. With one of the switches pressed, the batteries are providing voltage to both motors in series. The current goes from one battery, thru one motor, then thru the other motor, to the other battery.

When the mousebot is running well, the wires for the motors should be soldered

Step 7: Googly Eyes & More Whiskers

Attach the top of the mouse case to the bottom.

Stick small Googly eyes to the top of the mousebot.

Glue 2 bristles from a cleaning brush to each connector, for additional whiskers as decoration. It is useful to have tape holding them in place for gluing, as shown in the photo.

The project is finished!

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PC Mouse Becomes a Robot (MouseBot): A robotic pet mouse requires much less maintenance than a real one, and it is enjoyable to watch. It runs around, bumping briefly into obstacles, and searches for interesting places to visit. The mousebot in this project uses only a few parts: 2 mot...

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Introduction: Make Anything Into an RC Car

I've always been amused by the idea of transforming unconventional objects into an RC vehicle, like a remote control pizza. Even more amusing is when that pizza also has some oversized googly eyes!

This quick Instructable will show you how to transform any smallish household object into a silly RC vehicle for about $20 and 20 minutes.

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Supplies

Essential supplies:
You'll also need an object you want to remote control, and maybe some cardboard and scissors. I suggest using something that's smaller than 12x12x12" and weighs less than 2lbs.

*These yellow gearbox motors have high torque which makes it very easy to create a drivable car. Typical DC hobby motors usually don't have enough torque for a toy car without some kind of pulley or gear reduction. They also have flat sides which makes it easy to attach to lots of different things.

Note: You can speed up or slow down your RC creation with different amounts of batteries. A 2x AA battery holder (3v) will move at a more deliberate, plodding pace. 4x AA batteries (6v) will be quite zippy, and a single 9v battery will be so fast it might be difficult to control (and will need to be changed often)! I personally prefer 3x AA batteries (4.5v). More voltage may also be a good idea if your chosen object weighs more than a couple pounds.

Step 1: Create the RC Circuit

Create the RC circuit by connecting the RC receiver wires to the motors. The polarity isn't important because the entire motor can be rotated so the wheels spin in the direction you need for your car.

For the 5 channel receiver/transmitter set, the LR nodes are connected to one motor and the BF nodes are connected to the other. The V+ and V- nodes are connected to the corresponding battery holder wires.

The M+ and M- nodes can be used for a 3rd motorized action by pressing the center button on the remote. In this example the 5th channel is unused.

Cover the battery holder wires with tape to prevent a short circuit.

Step 2: Attach the RC Circuit and Wheels

Before attaching the motors to your object of choice, test the direction the wheels spin. Make sure both wheels are turning in the direction you expect when you press on the controller inputs. If they don't, detach the wheel, flip the motor around so the other powered axle is facing outward, and reattach the wheel.

Attach the motors to the sides of your object with adhesive squares or hot glue. Hot glue is more durable, but adhesive squares allow you to reuse the components more easily.

Important: Attach the battery holder between the motors. The weight of the batteries gives the wheels better traction, and it balances the car better so it can spin faster. If there's not enough space, then attach it as close to the motors as possible.

Important: Raise the antenna. In this 5-channel circuit, the antenna is the white wire. Tape it to the side of the box so the exposed metal part is as high as possible. You can extend the remote control range by soldering or twisting a conductive metal wire to the antenna and raising it even higher.

Lastly, attach a smooth rounded object to the other end of the object to reduce friction. Hot glue or several pieces of tape will work better than adhesive squares.

Step 3: Test It Out!

Give your car some personality with big googly eyes, then try it out!

Try driving straight by pressing both Up buttons at once. If the car spins, then undo one motor, turn it around, and reattach it.

Spin the car by pressing one Up and one Down button at the same time.

Make a slow, wide turn by pressing just one button.

Step 4: Adapting for Oddly-shaped Objects

For objects that are uneven, or don't adhere well to adhesives, or are too valuable to ruin with hot glue, attach a piece of cardboard to the underside with masking tape first, then follow the steps above.

There are endless ways to customize this idea: make a remote control picture frame, a book, a lunchbox, a cat toy, wireless speakers, an empty carton of milk, or even an old shoe! Each object may come with its own unique challenges so be prepared to do a little troubleshooting. When you're tired of one RC object, remove the components and make a new one. Happy making!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make Anything Into an RC Car: I've always been amused by the idea of transforming unconventional objects into an RC vehicle, like a remote control pizza. Even more amusing is when that pizza also has some oversized googly eyes! This quick Instructable will show you how to transf...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wind-Up Paper ButterFLY: Delicate! Enchanting! Magical!This wind-up paper butterfly will flutter into your heart and make you want to create more! It is a perfect addition to a card or invitation, or can be placed in a book for a neat surprise. This butterfly doesn’t take l…

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Introduction: Arduino Servo Motors

Servo motors are great devices that can turn to a specified position.

Usually, they have a servo arm that can turn 180 degrees. Using the Arduino, we can tell a servo to go to a specified position and it will go there. As simple as that!

Servo motors were first used in the Remote Control (RC) world, usually to control the steering of RC cars or the flaps on a RC plane. With time, they found their uses in robotics, automation, and of course, the Arduino world.

Here we will see how to connect a servo motor and then how to turn it to different positions.

The first motor I ever connected to an Arduino, seven years ago, was a Servo motor. Nostalgic moment over, back to work!

We will need the following things:

1. An Arduino board connected to a computer via USB

2. A servo motor

3. Jumper wires

There are few big names in the servo motor world. Hitec and Futaba are the leading RC servo manufacturers. Good places to buy them are Servocity, Sparkfun, and Hobbyking.

This instructable and many more can be found in my Arduino Development Cookbook available here. :D

Step 1: How to Connect Them

A servo motor has everything built in: a motor, a feedback circuit, and most important, a motor driver. It just needs one power line, one ground, and one control pin.

Following are the steps to connect a servo motor to the Arduino:

1. The servo motor has a female connector with three pins. The darkest or even black one is usually the ground. Connect this to the Arduino GND.

2. Connect the power cable that in all standards should be red to 5V on the Arduino.

3. Connect the remaining line on the servo connector to a digital pin on the Arduino.

Check the image for a view of the servo connected to the Arduino.

Step 2: Code

The following code will turn a servo motor to 0 degrees, wait 1 second, then turn it to 90, wait one more second, turn it to 180, and then go back.

// Include the Servo library
#include <Servo.h> // Declare the Servo pin int servoPin = 3; // Create a servo object Servo Servo1; void setup() { // We need to attach the servo to the used pin number Servo1.attach(servoPin); } void loop(){ // Make servo go to 0 degrees Servo1.write(0); delay(1000); // Make servo go to 90 degrees Servo1.write(90); delay(1000); // Make servo go to 180 degrees Servo1.write(180); delay(1000); }

If the servo motor is connected on another digital pin, simply change the value of servoPin to the value of the digital pin that has been used.

Step 3: How It Works

Servos are clever devices. Using just one input pin, they receive the position from the Arduino and they go there. Internally, they have a motor driver and a feedback circuit that makes sure that the servo arm reaches the desired position. But what kind of signal do they receive on the input pin?

It is a square wave similar to PWM. Each cycle in the signal lasts for 20 milliseconds and for most of the time, the value is LOW. At the beginning of each cycle, the signal is HIGH for a time between 1 and 2 milliseconds. At 1 millisecond it represents 0 degrees and at 2 milliseconds it represents 180 degrees. In between, it represents the value from 0-180. This is a very good and reliable method. The graphic makes it a little easier to understand.

Remember that using the Servo library automatically disables PWM functionality on PWM pins 9 and 10 on the Arduino UNO and similar boards.

Code breakdown

The code simply declares the servo object and then initializes the servo by using the servo.attach() function. We shouldn't forget to include the servo library. In the loop(), we set the servo to 0 degrees, wait, then set it to 90, and later to 180 degrees.

Step 4: More Things About Servos

Controlling servos is easy, and here are a few more tricks we can use:

Controlling the exact pulse time

Arduino has a built-in function servo.write(degrees) that simplifies the control of servos. However, not all servos respect the same timings for all positions. Usually, 1 millisecond means 0 degrees, 1.5 milliseconds mean 90 degrees, and, of course, 2 milliseconds mean 180 degrees. Some servos have smaller or larger ranges.

For better control, we can use the servo.writeMicroseconds(us) function, which takes the exact number of microseconds as a parameter. Remember, 1 millisecond equals 1,000 microseconds.

More servos

In order to use more than one servo, we need to declare multiple servo objects, attach different pins to each one, and address each servo individually. First, we need to declare the servo objects-as many as we need:

// Create servo objects
Servo Servo1, Servo2, Servo3;

Then we need to attach each object to one servo motor. Remember, every servo motor uses an individual pin:

Servo1.attach(servoPin1);
Servo2.attach(servoPin2);
Servo3.attach(servoPin3);

In the end, we just have to address each servo object individually:

Servo1.write(0); // Set Servo 1 to 0 degrees
Servo2.write(90); // Set Servo 2 to 90 degrees

Connection-wise, the grounds from the servos go to GND on the Arduino, the servo power to 5V or VIN (depending on the power input), and in the end, each signal line has to be connected to a different digital pin. Contrary to popular belief, servos don't need to be controlled by PWM pins-any digital pin will work.

Continuous rotation servos

There is a special breed of servos labelled as continuous rotation servos. While a normal servo goes to a specific position depending on the input signal, a continuous rotation servo either rotates clockwise or counter-clockwise at a speed proportional to the signal. For example, the Servo1.write(0) function will make the servomotor spin counter-clockwise at full speed. The Servo1.write(90) function will stop the motor and Servo1.write(180) will turn the motor clockwise at full speed.

There are multiple uses for such servos; however, they are really slow. If you are building a microwave and need a motor to turn the food, this is your choice. But be careful, microwaves are dangerous!

Step 5: Check Out More

More topics regarding motors such as brushless, transistor drivers ormotor speed control can be found in my Arduino Development Cookbook available here. :D

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Arduino Servo Motors: Servo motors are great devices that can turn to a specified position. Usually, they have a servo arm that can turn 180 degrees. Using the Arduino, we can tell a servo to go to a specified position and it will go there. As simple as that! Servo motor...

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Spider Launcher | DIY for Beginners | KiwiCo

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Spider Launcher | DIY for Beginners | KiwiCo

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Get hands-on with this Spider Launcher DIY project for beginners! Learn everything you need to know with step-by-step instructions and create something awesome!

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Marble Maze | DIY for Beginners | KiwiCo

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We love getting multiple uses out of simple materials. That's why we created this easy DIY Marble maze. Not only will you repurpose an old crate or box to make the maze. But you will also be able to play multiple games out of one project! If your kids enjoy puzzles or strategy games then this would be a perfect DIY for your family.

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Marble Maze | DIY for Beginners | KiwiCo

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We love getting multiple uses out of simple materials. That's why we created this easy DIY Marble maze. Not only will you repurpose an old crate or box to make the maze. But you will also be able to play multiple games out of one project!

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Introduction: Flip Car Track

In my never ending quest to be the "favorite" uncle, I made my nearly three year-old nephew (who loves cars) this flip car track from walnut and birch plywood. It features four levels of track with six cars (three variants) giving three different weights and speeds.

Not working from any plans or blueprints, this seemingly simple project ended up being more difficult and time consuming than originally planned. That being said, it turned out looking and working as planned.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

This list of materials and tools are what I used for this project. It can easily be done with less tools. Use your own judgment and what you have.

Materials:

Tools:

Step 2: Car Body

For the car bodies I wanted to use two different colors of wood to draw attention to the fact that the cars were flipping as they rolled down the track. These pieces of scrap wood were taken from a rolling pin you can see here.

The car bodies measure 2 in. x 1 3/8 in. x 5/8in.

Step 3: Router Car Bodies

Run each end of the car through the router using a 1/4 in. round over bit. Hold the car securely with a wooden hand screw clamp or similar holder.

Step 4: Weight Car As You Like

I added different weights to each car to provide varying speeds of cars. See steps 21 and 22 for two other variants.

Drill a 1/2 in. hole in the middle of the car. Tape one side and fill the edges with two part epoxy. Press the 1/2 in. rod in the hole and let dry. Once dry, smooth each face using the disc sander.

Step 5: Wheels

I used both walnut and maple wheels for these cars. They were cut out using a 1 1/4 in. hole saw through 1/4 in. thick wood. Set the depth stop on your drill press to cut almost half way through your wood. Flip over and repeat. Cut away the remaining wood with the band saw.

You can sand the wheels by hand here, but I found that they fit nicely on the pen mandril of my lathe. The lathe made quick work of sanding the outside of many wheels at once.

Step 6: Lubricate and Instal Axles and Wheels

Cut axles an inch longer than needed. Glue wheel on one end of each axle. Using masking/painters tape mark the end of the car body. Place the axle in a hand drill and sand the axle and wheel smooth. While spinning the axle in the drill, press beeswax onto the axle. Using a heat gun melt the wax into the wood. Using a cotton rag, buff the wax smooth. This will be the lubricant that the car rolls on.

Make a simple clamp out of a short threaded rod and nuts, sand and round over the edges of the opposing wheels. Insert the axle in the car and glue on the opposing wheel leaving ≈ 3/32 of an inch of clearance (just eyeball it).

Cut off the remaining axle and sand smooth.

Step 7: Cut and Assemble Track

Now that the cars are assembled you can use them to decide on what size the track needs to be. Not knowing how long the finished track was to be, I cut four lengths of track 18 in. x 5 3/4 in. from a sheet of 3/4 in. plywood.

Cut edge walls for your track 18 in. x 1 1/4 in. x 1/4 in. and attach with glue. I used brad nails to attach them as well because I was rushing to get this project finished before Christmas.

Step 8: Make Center Stripe and Track Uprights

Cut strips 18 in. x 1/2 in. 1/4 in. that will fit down the center of the track to keep cars from crossing lanes. Glue and nail in place.

Using a table saw, cut the ends flat.

Using the same process as the previous step, make three uprights with the same measurements about 8 inches long.

Step 9: Clamp Up and Test

Using scrap wood from around the shop, I clamped everything up to see how big it was going to be and what angle each track should be at.

A height of 5 in. on the high end gave the desired grade.

Step 10: Cut Angles

Using a miter gauge or sled, cut one end of the track and one end of the upright at 36.8 degrees from square. This will ensure that the upright will be vertical at the desired slope.

If you are building this with any other measurements than what I have shown, you will need to break out your high school trig and calculate the angle that you need to cut this miter at.

Step 11: Cut Splines

To cut the splines in the uprights of the tracks, a makeshift holder is needed for the table saw. I made this out of scrap wood and secured it to my cross-cut sled. Cut two 1/8 in. slots 1 1/4 in. from each side of the track. Glue splines in place. Using a pull saw, cut the extra wood away once the glue is dried. Sand smooth.

Step 12: Trim Uprights and Cut Supports

Remove the spline cutting jig from the cross-cut sled and cut the uprights to 3 in. in length measured from the mitered corner.

Cut the supports measuring 3/4 in. x 1 3/8 in. x 28 in. for the longer supports and 24 in. for the shorter supports.

Step 13: Mark Support Locations

Setup the the whole track and supports holding everything in place using f-clamps. Once everything is where it should be, use a knife to mark the guides along the supports.

Step 14: Remove Sections of Guides

Using the marks from the previous step, attach a guide block and cut along the mark with a hand saw. Once cut, remove the section of the guides with a chisel. Do this for all the tracks. Clamp the track pieces and supports together to make sure that everything fits as it should. If anything isn't fitting, trim and test fit again.

Step 15: Cap Ends of Track Pieces

All four pieces of track need the exposed plywood edges covered. Cut eight pieces of 1/4 in. walnut that will fit on the ends of the track. Trace the profile of the track on the cap. Cut that profile using a bandsaw. Glue and nail the caps in place. Once dry, trim the caps down to the profile of the track. Use any sort of hand tool you have. I found small chisels and sanding blocks to be the most helpful.

Step 16: Drill Holes for Pins

Trim the top of the supports level with the rails of the top track. With the tracks clamped in place, mark the locations of the plywood portions of each track on the supports. Where the support and tracks intersect, drill a 1/4 in. hole 3 in. deep.

Step 17: Apply Finish

Disassemble the track and apply painters table along each interface between the tracks and the supports. This will ensure a clean glue location for assembly. Apply three coats of spray lacquer to the tracks and supports. Sand smooth between coats of lacquer.

Step 18: Assemble

Cut notches in each pin. This will give strength to each glue joint.

Assemble the track and clamp in place. Mix and apply two part epoxy into each hole. Press the pins in each hole until flush with the outside of each support. Let dry.

Apply lacquer to any un-finished wood at the glue/pin locations.

Step 19: Create Bottom

Create a bottom that will fit around the track between the supports. Apply the same lacquer finish and nail in place. Create a trim and nail in place. After the trim was in place, there was a gap between the track and front trim. I created a small piece of walnut the fit perfectly in place. Secure in place and glue until dry. Attach rubber feet.

Step 20: Alternate Car One

Draw lines from corner to corner and mark five equidistant points. Drill 1/4 in. holes at each point. Apply two part epoxy in each hole and insert brass rod. Once dry, sand smooth.

Step 21: Alternate Car Two

Cut a large coupling nut in half. Trace the profile of the nut in the center of a car. Cut the profile from the car using a jig saw. Cut notches in the nut and glue in place with two part epoxy.

Step 22: Polish and Finish Cars

Cover the cars with painters tape and cut the profiles of each metal insert with an exacto knife. Polish each insert until shiny. Remove painters tape and finish with lacquer.

Step 23: Play

This flip car track was a highlight of Christmas and will be great fun for years to come.

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Flip Car Track: In my never ending quest to be the "favorite" uncle, I made my nearly three year-old nephew (who loves cars) this flip car track from walnut and birch plywood. It features four levels of track with six cars (three variants) giving three different we...

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Introduction: Wooden Can Crusher

This is a fun project you can make in an afternoon with just scrap wood and the right tools. I used Cherry and Sapele mainly.

You will need the appropriate amount of wood, three bolts with washers and nuts, and something to crush. Drink up!

Overall the little crusher does a good job, and was super easy to build.

Supplies:

Scrap wood, nuts, bolts, and washers

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Step 1: Cut Out Pieces From Wood and PVC

Here are the pieces you will need to cut out.

I used a router circle jig to cut the crusher head. It does not have to be perfect, nor round.

For the can holder, I used a piece of PVC pipe that was just large enough for a can. You can use a coping saw, or hack saw to cut the PVC.

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Step 2: Attach the Can Holder to the Base

If you are using a router circle jig to cut the crusher head, use the same settings on the jig to cut the indention for the can holder. I used E6000 adhesive to hold it in place, though it was very snug to begin with.

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Step 3: Assemble the Pieces, and Dry Fit Together

Since I made this without a pattern, I had to do a lot of adjusting on the fly to figure out the length to make the crushing arms, the handle, and where to drill all of the holes. You can get a good idea of where the holes need to be by looking at my pictures.

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Step 4: Finished Project

The Can Crusher in Action

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Wooden Can Crusher: This is a fun project you can make in an afternoon with just scrap wood and the right tools. I used Cherry and Sapele mainly.You will need the appropriate amount of wood, three bolts with washers and nuts, and something to crush. Drink up!Overall ...

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Introduction: The Puzzling Bottle

This is a puzzle lover's dream, a fantasy in a bottle. A creative way to test the real puzzle enthusiast. At first glance, it may seem impossible to get the note out of the bottle which then leads you to wonder, how it was secured in the first place.

A creative way to solve that puzzle itch you've had for so long. Paper cash can be used as an incentive or a personalized handwritten note to that puzzle crazy loved one, whatever the case, this is the puzzle that will keep them busy for a while with its simplistic difficulty.
Try to figure it out before reading the instructable, without breaking the bottle of course.
Supplies:

What You Will Need:

A Flat Flask Bottle (Glass)

2 1/2 - 3-inches tall piece of paper and/or Paper Currency (Money

Rubber band or Piece of string

A 9-inch long piece of stick (Must fit within the opening of the bottle with a little wiggle room)

A bolt and nut (Must be half the width of the bottle)

A magnet

Tools You May Need:

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Step 1: Creating Note

To use a paper currency note with this puzzle, it will need to be rigid enough so a piece of paper the dimensions of the paper money is cut from a letter-size sheet of paper. A Pen is used to mark the edges and the shape is cut from the letter-size sheet.

Note: If you are using multiple paper currency notes then there is no need to cut additional paper as this is only done to ensure the thickness of the paper once folded. Also, if you are only going to be using paper for, let's say a handwritten note, poem or drawing, etc then the sheet of paper just needs to be long enough so once rolled, does not flex easily.

Step 2: Rolling Paper

Once the type of paper being used has been gathered, we need to roll it. Start with a close roll but not too tight at the beginning. As you continue to roll, ensure the sheet is being pulled tightly to get an even and close roll.

Add additional joints of paper by slipping the beginning of the ned sheet into the end of the old sheet that has almost finish rolling.

Step 3: Strapping Down

Once the sheets have been rolled together, secure them with an elastic band or string. Ensure the elastic or string covers the rolled paper at least halfway.

Step 4: Create Bolt Hole

A hole needs to be in the stick, 1 inch from the bottom to accommodate the bolt. Use a drill to make a hole in the wooden rod. Ensure the bolt is able to go in and out of the hole easily.

Note: the rod does not have to be wooden however it needs to be solid all the way through.

Step 5: Bottles Up

Now we need to fill the bottle. Start by adding your note, then the bolt and nut, and finally the rod.

With all the parts in the bottle, now the real fun begins.

Step 6: Fitting the Puzzle

This step will describe and illustrate both how to fit the puzzle together and how to solve it.

Assembling the puzzle:

With the bottle tilted to the narrow side, use the magnet to hold the bolt upright.

Position the hole in the rod below the bolt.

Remove the magnet, allowing the bolt to fall in the hole.

With the bold in the hole within the rod, align the nut below the bolt.

Using the bottom of the bolt to hold the nut in place, twist the bottle off its narrow side on to its flat face.

At this stage, the paper roll needs to be on the same side as the nut.

With the nut now on the edge of the bolt, screw the bolt onto the nut with the paper roll.

Align the paper roll below the bolt and gently push down on the bolt while pushing it forward.

Repeat the instruction in the previous line until the nut has been tightened.

Solving the puzzle:

Solving the puzzle isn't hard once you figure it out but it does take, focus, concentration, a steady hand, and patients.

The same method used to screw the bolt-on is what is used to solve the puzzle.

With the paper roll on the same side as the nut.

Press the nut against the paper roll while pushing or pulling in the direction needed to loosen the nut.

This is repeated until the nut is free from the bolt.

The bottle is then turned 180 degrees and the bolt will be able to fall from the hole in the rod.

Once the bolt is free, the rid can be removed along with the bolt, nut, and the treasure.

View the assembly and solution video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0v6mSiDWcQ

Step 7: Test the Puzzle Lovers

Now you know how to assemble and solve the puzzle, lets put a friend to the test. Many will think it's not solvable but all those who got to the end of this instructable will know the secret.

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The Puzzling Bottle: This is a puzzle lover's dream, a fantasy in a bottle. A creative way to test the real puzzle enthusiast. At first glance, it may seem impossible to get the note out of the bottle which then leads you to wonder, how it was secured in the first place...

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Introduction: Robotic Hand Science Project

Hello,

A little introduction first. I volunteer as a science teacher at a local elementary school, and my goal is to instill a love of learning in each child. You can check out my blog here. Kto6Science projects.

Now, on to the robotic hand....

Projects described in books or shown on Youtube seem absurdly easy, but I have yet come across a project that didn't need any tinkering before I could take it into a classroom. This one isn't too bad, but it still took me longer than I expected.

I came across this robotic hand project on Youtube as well as teachengineering.org (I think), but when I tried to build it, it took me almost two hours to work out the kinks.

Sure, I did have to try several different versions and had to make adjustments as I went along, but I'm not sure if this is something I can take directly into a classroom of 2nd graders without more tinkering.

BUT... I think it'll be fun to try it with my kids.

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Supplies Needed:

Tape

Scissors

Cardboard paper or cardstock paper

Standard drinking straws (Dollar Store variety is fine)

Pearl drink straws or bigger diameter straws

Yarn or twine

Step 2: Draw Your Robotic Hand

1. Trace your hand on a cardboard or cardstock paper.

2. Cut the traced hand out (cutting it a little bigger than the actual tracing).

Step 3: Creating Joints

1. Mark your finger joints on the cutout.

2. Draw straight or curved line across it.

Step 4: Creating Your Robotic Hand

1. Fold the fingers at the lines.

2. Cut smaller straws to size (leave a little gap between the lines to facilitate in threading the yarn).

3. Tape straw pieces to the hand.

4. Thread yarn through the straw pieces. Each finger will have a length of yarn of its own.

5. Thread all five pieces of yarn through the bigger straw.

Step 5: Additional Comments:

The threading part was difficult. If I had a big needle for the yarn, it would have made it easier, but I didn't. So, I struggled with it. If I do go forward with this one in the classrooms, I think I'll have to buy big plastic needles for this project.

I had grand plans for making a sleeve that will cover the arm, but I'm not sure I'll be able to build all of that in an hour let alone a 2nd grader. So, I might still try it, but I probably won't take it into the classroom.

I think I'll buy different colored yarns for each finger, so the students will know which finger they are trying to move. With the same colored yarns, it was difficult to figure out which end went with which finger.

P.S. - I'll break down the steps more in detail next time.

Enjoy!

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Robotic Hand Science Project: Hello, A little introduction first. I volunteer as a science teacher at a local elementary school, and my goal is to instill a love of learning in each child. You can check out my blog here. Kto6Science projects. Now, on to the robotic hand.... Proj...

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Introduction: Self Watering Pot Plate

Hi.

Sometimes we can travel or be absent at home for a long time. If we have an indoor plant we have to find someone to water our plants until we far away. Market solutions give us such possibility, but that requires changing the whole pot, because of the built-in irrigation system.

This project is a remix of the idea for the self-watering solutions, many examples could be found on the web, here are some of them:

- https://www.instructables.com/id/Self-Watering-Pl...
- https://www.instructables.com/id/Self-Watering-Se...
- https://www.instructables.com/id/Self-regulating-...

In this instructable, I'll share with you an idea, how to create a self-watering pot plate that could be used with any existing pot plants or trays. It doesn't require changing the soil or something else. All that needs to be done is to connect any empty bottle with some tubes to the plate, put the potted plant into the pot plate and that's it! Please check the main attached video. It requires no electronics, relays valves, or other mechanical parts.

Supplies:

25 cm silicone tube Ø 8mm

35 cm silicone tube Ø 3mm

empty PET bottle, e.g. from water or milk

3D printer

Fusion 360 (optional)

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Step 1: Some Theory

Before we start we have to understand, why 2 tubes being used and how to make it work.

Because of the surface tension of the water, it will not flow through one thin tube, because of air bubbles, that will block flow inside the tube with ≈10mm in diameter. That is why, this project using 2 silicone tubes, one inside the other, to separate flows and let water flows without obstacles. This step contains a schema of the flows.

The bottom ( pot's plat) end of the tube should be lower for ≈3 mm than the slotted hole in the plastic pipe. In this situation, water will be flowing lower than air will be sucked back to the bottle.

The top (bottle) end of the tube should be higher than the outer one, to reduce the chance of sucking air inside the tube with water.

The main rule here is that fitting from the bottle end has to be above the fitting from the pot ≈1-2cm

Step 2: Models

If you have a pot with a bottom diameter ≤ 85 mm them could be grabbed and 3D printed. Also, you can design own models, a comprehensive step by step guide could be found in the next steps.

Step 3: Modelling the Pot Plate

The pot model, that is attached to this instructable is suitable for the average pot in my local area. If you have different pot sizes or shapes, and not very experienced in Fusion360, you can follow the video guide and images to create your own in an easy way. It'll take ≈15 minutes with no rush.

Note: Experiencing some problems with attaching the video to the instructable, so temporarily putting the link here, until the issue will be solved by the site admins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex9NwSd_v4Y

Step 4: Modelling Fitting for the Bottle

You can also create an own model of fitting in the same way as the pot was created in the previous step. Size examples could be found on the attached images to this step.

Step 5: Assembling the Bottle Cap

Drill/cut the hole in the bottle cap Ø 11mm

Apply some super glue and Insert the inner fitting into the cap. Once fitting inserted apply super glue and cover with the second part of the pipe. See photos for reference.

Step 6: Assembling the Pipeline

In this step, we have to assembly out a pipeline that connects the bottle with a pot plate.

1. First of all, we have to connect a bottle cap with a plate by using the outer tube. Simply pull the tube on both fittings.

2. Thread through the outer tube our tiny one and make sure that it ends for 3-4 mm lower than the top edge of the slot hole. Please check the second photo, attached to this step.

3. Leave an extra 2-3 cm tube length on the second end of the tube and cut it. Check the last photo for more details.

Step 7: Finishing

All that we need to do here is to place the bottle in the holder, screw the cap with tubes and place the plant.

That's it!

Thank you for reading and happy planting

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Self Watering Pot Plate: Hi.Sometimes we can travel or be absent at home for a long time. If we have an indoor plant we have to find someone to water our plants until we far away. Market solutions give us such possibility, but that requires changing the whole pot, because o...

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Introduction: 3D Printed Articulated Finger Extensions

Creepy and intricate, I have always loved seeing the articulated finger extensions. Recently I decided that I wanted a set of my own to match a previous project. Not content with what was already out there, I decided to make my own design.

The project shared here is my current prototype. It does not yet meet all my requirements in regards to looks, but it is already fully functional and can be made by anyone interested.

Supplies:
Tools:

A 3D printer

A craft knife

A lighter

A drill

A 1mm drill

A 1.75mm or 1.8mm drill
If a drill is not possible, a piece if iron wire of 1,5-1.8mm will also work. See "Preparing" step

(Calipers)

materials (optional in parenthesis):

Filament (preferably 1,75mm)

Fishing line or thin strong wire

CA glue

(Activator for CA glue)

(Elastic wire or rubber bands)

(Zipties)

(Something that straps around your wrist)

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Step 1: Why I Made This

Why did I make this? First of all, because I can and they are awesome.

My first encounter with the articulated finger mechanism was when I saw them on Tested ( video) where Adam Savage showcased them. As is often the case, I vaguely remember it, and rediscover it later with more passion.

A few weeks ago was when I got that passion. I wanted to make a set. Preferably one that matched the 3D printed scales I already have ( link to scales). I started looking around the internet to find existing plans. Why design something that already exists. Gary Fey, the creator of the vingers in the first video only sells the fingers themselves. There were 2 reasonable options.

The first option was on thingiverse. These finger extensions were more closely resembling the model by Gary Fey, using a pulling system on the top of the finger (more in the next step). It is designed to be as compact as possible, and the be reskinned with another file. It is brilliantly compact, seems to work well, and should be a decent print. It was also one I did not try myself, because I found something else first.

The second is a model you have to pay for on Cults3d. It is a design that has the style in the part itself. In my case, robot, but there is also dragon and skeleton. It is a pusher system which is a bit limiting in the movement, and places push bars on the inside of the hand. My finger can only move by 45 degrees for the full movement of the extension. I printed a single finger. While it was somewhat optimized for 3D printing, it was a supported print. It also tended to bind a bit because of how the linkages are placed. The style did not really match with anything I wanted, but that is not a valid complaint. There was no real information on the dimensions, so I had to print a random size and hope. It worked fairly okay, but I would have wanted better measurements to determine what I needed to print.

After printing the single finger I wanted to try designing it myself. I wanted a few things.

1. Make the design easily modifiable so I can alter it to my hands (and anyone else's if I do it right)

2. Make the extension's movement happen in as close as 90 degrees of finger movement as possible.

3. Make the design move smoothly. This basically requires the Gary Fey puller design.

4. Make it supportless. I hate supports on mechanical parts, and felt it would be possible to make a design without supports.

5. Make the design match my scales (not in this Ible)

This Instructable is my first prototype of supportless articulated finger extensions.

Step 2: How It Moves

The basic idea of the finger extensions is that it takes the movement of your finger, and extends it to several more joints. The movement of the first 2 sections (from the right) are used to move the next 2 sections of finger.

On the first joint there is a linkage that is attached to the leftmost section of the finger. This linkage goes into a gear set that inverts the movement so it goes the right way. A linkage is used to convey the movement from the middle of the mechanism to the tip of the mechanism.

I have included images and a gif to hopefully give a good overview of how it works.

Step 3: Design Choices

There are a few design choices that I do want to share with the people making this mechanism. These will hopefully help people understand some of the choices I made, and maybe aid people trying to design this themselves.

Orientation of all parts

One of the main reasons to make my own design is to try and make it support free. This means that all parts cannot have overhangs greater than roughly 45 degrees, and only short bridges. Given that all fingers have some sort of linkage running through them, this kind of forces me to print all finger related parts upright. Printing them on the side would give difficult bridges to print. The ring at the base of the finger also needs to accommodate the almost 90 degree motion of the finger itself, forcing it to have a 45 degree angle. The same goes for all other finger joints, which need to move past each other. In order to keep the design itself calm, I wanted all finger joints printed in the same orientation. I went with 55 degrees. This makes it simpler to print due to limited overhang, and gives all joints room to move 90 degrees. All gears and linkages are printed flat on the bed. The joint right after the gears was split up into 3 pieces in order to make it printable.

Wire hinge

The first hinge around the finger is the most challenging part of the design. While most hinges on the extensions have width available to them, around the finger there is a finger in the way. There are also up to two fingers, one on each side, sitting very close to the hinge. This forces the hinge to be fairly narrow. I first tried making the hinge as a conventional hinge (as seen in the photo). This hinge was still quite large, fragile, and difficult to print.

Gary Fey seems to have encountered this problem as well, and made some sort of living hinge. While technical details are not shared (he sells them after all) it is clear that he uses some type of living (or bending) hinge. I suspect he uses a coil spring, potentially with a cable running through it as a hinge. While I would be able to design this and make this, it would make replicating this project problematic.

I opted to use a bit of a hybrid. The first joint consists of a sort of ball and socket design. A flexible wire pulls the joint together. The part around the base of the finger has clearance for the wire to move when the finger bends. The fingertip has a smooth channel and the "ball" that runs in the socket. The channel runs at an angle of 45 degrees so that there is 45 degrees of movement to either side. On either side there is some length to the cable before it is mounted to give the cable some room to flex. This design functions because the finger itself has a functional joint. All the wire hinge does is keep the parts together. This hinge is narrower and strong enough to work. The only downside is that it adds some sort of flexible wire such as fishing wire to the bill of material.

Gearing mechanism

The finger extensions take the movement of the finger, and extend it to several more joints. Getting this movement from the finger to the first joint is the biggest challenge. Some sort of linkage is used to convey the movement. The linkage needs from one side of your hand to the other in order to pull the finger in the right direction. This crossing is easy through the mechanism, but around the finger itself it is difficult, since there is a finger there. If the linkage moves 1cm, there needs to be a 1cm gap after the fingertip for the linkage to move.

Gear mechanism that Gary Fey uses solves part of this problem. It makes it so that the linkage has both joints on the top of the finger. The gear inverts the movement before passing it to the next joint. This gearing takes space as well, but the linkage can be more compact and generally takes less space the passing the linkage to the other side of the hand.

Step 4: Determining the Size

To get the right size of finger, you will need to measure your hand. The easiest way is to use a calipers to measure the indicated spots of the finger. You measure by placing the calipers over the indicated spot and have it barely touching. Make sure you do not squeeze the finger. This will make you measure too small a value. All dimensions are in millimeters.

For the thicknesses you want the thickest parts at the indicated points, usually plus 1mm to have some clearance.

For the width you measure the width of the widest part, plus around 1mm. You need to exclude the webbing of your finger, the part moves around your webbing.

For the length you measure the distance between the middle of the wrinkles of your fingers and the very end of the tip of the finger. Here you add at least 2mm, because a finger becomes longer when it bends.

Adding 1mm to width and thickness is important. This design binds easily to the finger, making it difficult to remove from a finger. My first prototype almost needed to be cut open to remove it, even though it fit perfectly.

The dimensions you need for a single finger are:

1. "Base thickness": The thickness of the base of the finger

2. "Base Width": The width of the base of the finger

3. "Base length": The length to the first joint + around 2mm

4. "Joint thickness": The thickness of the first joint

5. "Joint width": The width of the first joint

6. "tip thickness": The thickness of the tip (around the nail)

7. "Tip width": The width of the tip (around the base of the nail)

8. "Tip length": The length from the first joint to the tip + around 2mm

Since each finger is based on the same file, the dimensions will be included in the filename. All given dimensions are in millimeters in the filename, in the order of the list above, so the filename will be constructed:

AFE-Finger-T#1-W#2-L#3-T#4-W#5-T#6-W#7-L#8.STL

or

AFE-Thumb-T#1-W#2-L#3-T#4-W#5-T#6-W#7-L#8.STL

My index finger for instance is: AFE-Finger-T22-W21-L31-T21-W21-T15-W17-L55
What sizes are available
Finger:

AFE-Finger-T18-W19-L26.5-T18-W19-T14-W16-L46.5

AFE-Finger-T18-W20-L29.5-T18-W20-T14-W16-L51.5

AFE-Finger-T19-W18-L26-T18-W18-T13-W15-L48

AFE-Finger-T21-W20-L29-T20.5-W21-T15-W17-L55

AFE-Finger-T21-W22-L30-T21-W22-T17-W19-L53

AFE-Finger-T21-W23-L34-T21-W23-T17-W19-L59

AFE-Finger-T22-W20-L37-T22-W22-T15-W17-L59

AFE-Finger-T22-W21-L31-T21-W21-T15-W17-L55

AFE-Finger-T24-W25-L34-T24-W25-T20-W22-L59

AFE-Finger-T25-W26-L38-T25-W26-T20-W22-L67

Thumb:

AFE-Thumb-T21.5-W19-L23-T18-W16-T15-W13.5-L32

AFE-Thumb-T21.5-W24-L25.5-T18-W20-T15-W17-L36

AFE-Thumb-T24-W30-L30-T20-W25-T17-W21-L41.5

AFE-Thumb-T25-W29-L27.5-T21-W24-T17.5-W20-L38.5

AFE-Thumb-T26-W28-L34-T20-W23-T14-W20-L41

AFE-Thumb-T30-W39.5-L32-T25-W33-T21-W27.5-L44.5

Given that I have no good database of hand dimension, and only have my own thin long hands as reference, I have made a guesstimate of some sizes that might be useful. If a size close enough is not on the list, for the first while after this project I will be creating new files on demand. Give the list of dimensions that you need and I will make it. Do however look if there is not already a file which matches yours fairly closely (1-2mm too big fits just fine) since I do not plan to make creating new hand files my full time hobby. Also do give me a few days to make the files, I do also lead a life.

(Be aware that since most models are automatically generated, they may have mistakes. I try to catch most of them, but I cannot guarantee that all files work perfectly. If you encounter a file that works poorly let me know and I will fix it)

Step 5: 3D Printing the Parts

As mentioned before, all parts are supportless. Any printer capable of overhangs of 45 degrees should be able to print the parts for a finger. I printed mine on a Prusa Mk2s. A single finger takes around 4 hours to print at 0.2mm layer height and takes around 30-40g of filament (10-12m). A thumb prints faster at 2,5 hours.

Lower layer heights should give you a better printing experience at the angles of the parts. This will increase the print time however. Also, some parts have only a small amount of surface stuck to the printbed. I myself print on gluestick, even though I have a PEI bed. I do not know how these parts print if you have poor bed adhesion.

It is important to keep all parts of a file together after printing. There are no identifications on the parts, and size differences can be small. I keep all parts in separate bins after printing and assemble one finger at a time.
Getting the files

For now I have included the files with this instructable. I will probably find another place to stash them if I get more sizes, but they will remain available for free.

Step 6: Preparing the Parts for Use

The wire holes on the parts around the fingers need to be drilled with a 1mm (or similar) drill. Here it is wise not to go the full depth in one go. This will fill the drill with plastic and either break the drill or the part. Drill several millimeters at a time, and then take out the drill and remove all loose plastic.

The parts might have an elephant foot (a squashed first layer) that can hinder the operation of the extension. Use a knife to carefully remove this. Especially the gears need to be cleaned, since these will need to mesh properly.

All the holes that will have filament hinges and pins in them need to be reamed to 1.75-1.8mm. If you have a 1.8mm drill or reamer, use that to open the holes to the right diameter. On the gears, linkages, and hinges, a piece of filament needs to rotate smoothly without binding or big clearance.

Since most people do not have a 1.8mm drill or reamer (including me) there are some alternatives. You can take a 1.5mm drill that is more common, and move that around the hole to open it up. You can also try to find a piece of metal tube or wire of the right diameter and mount that in a drill. In plastic you can make holes with friction alone.

I found a mousetrap with a wire diameter of around 1.6mm. I cut of a piece of wire that I could fit in my drill. I pressed the tip of this wire in a vice to make a wider tip. This created a tip of around 1.8mm which I used to ream all holes.

(If you are desperate you can use a 2mm drill, but this makes the mechanism very sloppy)

Step 7: How to Make the Hinge Pins

The parts in the fingers hinge around 1.75mm filament. However this needs to be fixed in place. The easiest way to do this is to melt the pins in place.

After a pin is inserted, have 1-2mm on each side sticking beyond that part. You can now use a lighter to heat up the end of the filament. This end can catch fire. When it does, it is guaranteed to be molten. Remove the flame, blow out the fire and deform the pin into place.

You can either deform the end of the filament with a wet finger, or a piece of metal. When you touch the end, it should set almost instantly.

WARNING! You will be melting plastic with an open flame and deforming it. Make sure the parts do not catch fire and that molten plastic does not hit anything important (like your hands). Doing this wrong can lead to burns.

Step 8: Assembling the First Hinge

The first part to assemble is the wire hinge.

Cut off two pieces of fishing wire of around 10cm (4"). Make a knot in one end. Feed the wire through the tip of the finger. Use a dab of CA glue to secure the wire in place. Try not to get too much CA in the channel. In the channel the wire should be able to move freely. You can use activator to instantly set the CA glue. Otherwise, you can wait for around an hour for the glue to set.

When the glue has dried, feed the wire through the base of the finger. Make a knot an pull the knot to as close as the channel as you can get it. Then apply a small dab of CA to the knot and either use activator to set the glue, or wait until the glue has set.

In the image the red line is the fishing line with the knots, and the yellow is where the CA glue should be.

After this the finger should hinge freely. You can try the finger on to see how it moves at this point.

(The knot is not really optional. It is used to give the CA glue something to hold on to. Not making the knot risks the wire slipping from the glue and breaking the hinge)

(If the hinge is not correct, you can cut the wire and use the 1mm drill to open the hole again)

Step 9: Assembling the Gear Mechanism

The linkage with gears is to be assembled next.

It is wise to make sure all parts run smoothly over 1.75mm filament. Insert a piece of filament in both gears, the curved arm of the gear, and the top linkage. All hinges should move without much clearance or resistance.

Mount the top linkage to the base of the finger. The 45 degree side should point towards the finger. Insert a piece of filament and cut to length.

Mount the gear with the curved arm, with the teeth facing away from the finger and the arm facing up. Insert a filament pin and cut to length. Mount the top arm to the curved arm using a filament pin. You can move the mechanism to see if there is resistance.

Move the finger to the straight position. You can now place the second gear with the chamfer facing up. Insert a pin. Test the movement. If it binds, there is either too much elephant foot on the gears, or the gears might need to be filed down a bit.

Step 10: Assembling the Front Linkages

The tip of the finger can now be mounted.

Make sure the filament pin runs smoothly in the front hinge and linkages.

Glue the middle joint to the gear using CA glue as shown, and mount the pins in place. Glue end hinge to the middle joint and add pins here too.

You can now mount the linkage as shown. The linkage does have a right and a wrong orientation. The sharp corner is the side that sits closest to the finger.

You can now mount the rest of the fingertip as shown and insert the pins. You should now be able to move the whole finger. If it does not move smoothly, you can remove pins and see where it binds. Ream the binding holes more and try again.

When the whole finger moves smoothly you can melt the pins in place as described before.

Step 11: Thumb Alterations

The thumb does not need it's own instructions. The wire hinge and gear mechanism is a one to one match with the normal finger. The only difference is that there is no linkage and no hinge after the gear. This is where the thumb ends. You can print a thumb sized finger and use that as a thumb. However, in real life, the thumb only has 2 joints as well, so it is more realistic.

Step 12: Making the Fingers Fit Better

Imagine printing the finger extensions and they don't fit quite right. What can you do if that happens?

Making parts bigger

Simply printing the parts too small cannot be fixed. Sadly a ring several millimeters too small cannot really be stretched that much. However, there might be sections that need to be moved a little. Hands have odd shapes. The front 2 pieces are thin walled and can be altered with a lighter.

Simply heating the wall you want to move with a lighter for around 5-10 seconds makes the part malleable enough to be moved several millimeters. Be aware that the part becomes incredibly hot and easily burns skin.

In my case, the back ring was pressing against the knuckles. Some heat of a lighter allowed me to move these sections up slightly, making the finger much more comfortable. The thumb actually required me to move every thin walled section to make it properly fit.

Making parts smaller

You should be printing the parts slightly bigger than you think you need them. However this leaves you with parts potentially too big. Any part too big can be filled with felt, fabric or strips of plastic to make them fit. If you already wear these over gloves, adding extra fabric should be easy.

Step 13: Tips on Keeping the Fingers in Place

By default the fingers do not stay in place properly. They tend to slide forward, a bit, and if you hold your fingers down the finger can fall off. Most people add some sort of wrist strap that holds all fingers in place.

The fingers themselves have 2 holes in them to mount some sort of elastic. In my case I had no elastic thin enough to fit through there, so I zip tied them in place.

For a wrist strap I used a velcro strap I had, and ran the elastic through there. It is a rough looking solution, but it does work.

The strap cuts into my skin, making it uncomfortable. Also the zip ties look out of place and also push into my knuckles. Anyone making this might benefit from making a softer wrist strap and using thinner elastic that fits through the holes. The reason I did not spend much time on the strap is because I intend to integrate the finger extensions into a set of arm guards that can function as the wrist strap.

Step 14: Future Ideas

I have several ideas on what I can do (or what others can do) in the future with this design.

The first is to design the parts themselves to match certain style. I myself want a sort of dragon claw for the extensions to match the scales I already have. I can imagine that there are more styles where this would work. If you integrate the style with the frame of the extension, it can be made lighter. Some designs like bones are not really suitable for parametric design in Solidworks, but the files can be exported to a polygonal design program and the nice design added there. I can hopefully get a friend of mine to help me with the design I would like.

Taking inspiration from the design over on Thingiverse, you can also design skins that fit over the extensions. This does mean more weight, but leaves people more flexible in how to design them. I did however make the dimensions of the extensions variable in the design, so at this moment there is not a universal design for which skins can be designed. If there is enough interest I can look into locking the extension dimensions so that skins can be made for this.

Step 15: Working With the Source Files

The Solidworks Source files can be downloaded here: https://ytec3d.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/AFE-Solidworks-20201101.zip

The design for the finger extensions was made in Solidworks 2018. I chose Solidworks because I work with it professionally, and I know it well enough to make complex designs like this.

The design for the finger extensions was dictated by the requirement that it was easy to change to each size of fingers. While there were several options for this, I opted for the master model, where there is a single model (in my case a single sketch and list of values) to which all parts are tied. The main assembly "AFE-A01-00" Then ties all parts together.

The list of variables has several values of interest to us:

"Base thickness": The thickness of the base of the finger

"Base Width": The width of the base of the finger

"Base length": The length to the first joint + around 2mm

"Joint thickness": The thickness of the first joint

"Joint width": The width of the first joint

"tip thickness": The thickness of the tip (around the nail)

"Tip width": The width of the tip (around the base of the nail)

"Tip length": The length from the first joint to the tip + around 2mm

"joint 2 length": The length of the second extension joint (the one with the linkage)*

"Joint 3 length": The length of the third extension joint (the tip)

*(On the thumb, joint 2 goes to the tip of the thumb)

All other variables are configurable, but can break the model of change the mechanism's behavior and should not be changed unless you know what you are doing.

The model "AFE-STL assembly" Holds the printbed file. This assembly can de exported as a single stl file after checking "Export as single file" in options. This was done to make a simple complete stl file oriented. All parts are by default under weird angles. It is wise to have the main assembly open when you have the STL assembly open. The main assembly is used to construct all files.

Something to bear in mind is that some of the features damage easily. I tried making it as robust as possible, but organic models are notoriously unstable. Some chamfers break if you alter dimensions. You can either ignore this, or try to alter sizes to fix it. Removing chamfers is not advised, since there might be more attached to the feature.

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3D Printed Articulated Finger Extensions

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3D Printed Articulated Finger Extensions: Creepy and intricate, I have always loved seeing the articulated finger extensions. Recently I decided that I wanted a set of my own to match a previous project. Not content with what was already out there, I decided to make my own design.The projec...

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Introduction: Deep Hole in a Small Box, a Different Take on the Infinity Mirror.

First off I must give credit for the inspiration to these two Reddit posts, this is the first one I saw and this is the one that inspired that first one.

Having seen these I knew it was something I wanted to make. I hope this Instructable inspires you to pick up the tools and give it a go.

I completely messed up my first attempt by trying to use some beach and ash offcuts that I unsuccessfully jointed, this is version 2 and so much better.

The final product is impressive, even if I do say so myself.

Supplies:

Most of the supplies will depend on the size of the box you're planning to make.
I used some really nice B/BB plywood, this is such a great material and so different from the 'normal' plywood you get from the big box stores. Very few (if any) voids and with the B grade face it's pretty much blemish free. It's a little heavier and quite a bit more expensive, I would say it's worth it for any 'public' facing project.
The size of the box I made was determined by the mirror that my wife was throwing out, this was used as the bottom mirror.
You'll need enough wood (ply) to make the four side of the box to a height of about 325 mm (13 inches).
I decided to go for a bulkhead light for the inside of the box as I thought this was in keeping with a mine shaft. You'll also need a length of mains cable.
The bottom mirror is a standard mirror but the top is where the 'magic' happens.

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Step 1: The Bottom Mirror

To reinforce the bottom mirror I mounted it to a piece of 4 mm plywood using some double-sided carpet tape.
This gave a total thickness of 8 mm, you'll need to remember this measurement for later as this is the size of the router bit you'll need for the rabbet.

Step 2: Make Your Ladder

I had originally planned to get an old ladder and chop one of the rungs off. After searching Gumtree, Facebook marketplace and local skips I didn't manage to find anything cheap enough (free).

I wasted so much time looking around, it actually took me less time to make a quick single rung ladder.

Using a couple of 70 x 50 mm pine offcuts and an old broom handle I knocked up a little single rung ladder.
I distressed the pine by knocking it about with a hammer and painted it black to add to the mine shaft authenticity.

The height of you ladder will be determined by the space between your two mirrors, you want to make sure the ladder is tight up against the top mirror as any large gap will ruin the illusion. You also want to make sure the rung is in the middle for the same reason.

Step 3: Making the Box Sides

As I do with most projects I drew up the basic plan first. I've attached the Sketchup file of the plywood layout.

For added strength I decided to join the sides using super sized finger joints, to do this I made a quick jig, this allowed me to make multiple blade passes on my table saw, these were also at an exact 90º.
I started by measuring the end of the long sides and dividing it by 5 to get the size of the fingers. These were then marked out on both ends of the two longer sides. Once I had made the cuts to make the fingers I then used the cutouts to mark up the corresponding fingers on the short side pieces.

Using the cutouts to mark up the second pieces ensures that the fingers line up.
I dry fitted the box together to ensure a good fit before the glue up.

Step 4: Routing the Slot for Top and Bottom Mirrors

Using an 8 mm router bit mounted into my router table I routed a slot for the bottom mirror around the bottom of each of the four sides. In the shorter sides this slot was stopped before the edge, so I was not visible from the outside.

In one of the short sides I cut a 50 mm hole, this is centred around the bottom mirror slot, it's to allow the mains cable to pass past the mirror, through to the light.

Again, another dry fit, this time with the mirror in place.

I then routed a slot all around the top edge of each side, this slot was 4.5 mm deep as I was planning to use a 4 mm top mirror. The slot was cut to half the width of the sides, this gives the top mirror enough area to rest on.
All the top slots were stopped to line up with the corresponding slot on the joined piece.

Step 5: The Top Mirror

Once I had routed the slot around the inside top edge I was able to measure up to get the top piece of glass.

I went to my local glass / mirror centre, having given them the measurements and told them what it was for, they strongly recommended I got toughened glass. This is a service they offer but there was a week delay.

Having collected my new piece of toughened glass it was time to make the top mirror.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures / video of me making the actual top mirror.
It took two attempts as I completely messed up the first one, I hadn't cleaned the glass well enough and managed to stick the mirror film to itself and crease it. I decided not to film my second attempt as I really needed to concentrate.

I'm pleased to say the second attempt went much better and I now had a serviceable top mirror.

Please take the time to watch the video, even if it's just for the trick on how to remove the mirror film backing.

Step 6: Glue Up

All the sides had now been finished it was time to glue up the box.

DON'T FORGET TO PUT IN THE BOTTOM MIRROR. If you do you won't be able to add it in later. I also put the top mirror in place to make sure the box was square around it.

I used Titebond 2 wood glue but any PVA wood glue would work fine. Make sure you cover all the mating surfaces, if like me you're using plywood, make sure you use enough glue as the ply is thirst and you don't want a dry joint.

As shown in the second picture I made two corner blocks to allow me to put some clamping pressure across the box to square it up.

The box was then left for the glue to set.

The following day I sanded all the outside faces.

To the outside faces I applied 3 coats of Danish oil, sanding lightly between coats.

Step 7: Fitting Out the Inside

Again to maintain the illusion of the mine shaft I clad the inside of the box with some unfinished shiplap.
This was a great find because it was out of the bin at the timber merchants.

After this I hot glued the bottom of the ladder into position on the bottom mirror. I also ran a bead of hot glue down the back of each leg to hold it to the side.

On the opposite side to the ladder I passed the wire through the hole up to the bulkhead light. This was wired and screwed to the side, a 6 watt LED was installed and the top put on.

Step 8: Feet

To lift the box off the floor I added some feet, these were made from some plywood offcuts.

The main reason was to allow the mains cable to pass out of the box without being squashed and damaged.

Step 9: Finished Results

The end result was superb and exactly what I was hoping to achieve.

It must be convincing because I showed one person who proceeded to look under the box to see how this 'magic' was being done.

The 'magic' of this is how a 'one way' mirror works... As it was explained to me by the guy in the mirror shop is that the refection is always on the side of the mirror with the most light. This is why the police turn off the light when they are observing the interview from outside.
On the table when the light inside is off it just looks like a mirrored top, when the light is on you get the internal reflections, this is even more effective when the external light in the room is off too.

Step 10: Go for It

I hope this has inspired you to have a go too.

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Deep Hole in a Small Box, a Different Take on the Infinity Mirror.

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Deep Hole in a Small Box, a Different Take on the Infinity Mirror.: First off I must give credit for the inspiration to these two Reddit posts, this is the first one I saw and this is the one that inspired that first one.Having seen these I knew it was something I wanted to make.

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Since the 1940s, many companies around the world have created small three dimensional plastic puzzles known as "keychain puzzles". These puzzles usually consisted of around six puzzle pieces, and when correctly assembled, created a keychain figurine. In this Instructable, I've reproduced three of my favorite keychain puzzles from my youth; the dog, the giraffe (ok, maybe my wife's favorite as well, sigh) and the elephant. And if you wish to customize these puzzles I've also included the Autodesk Fusion 360 CAD files for each.

Each step of this Instructable contains the puzzle pieces for each of the three puzzles. SPOILER ALERT: Along with the puzzle pieces is a video showing how the puzzle pieces are assembled, so if you wish to figure out how each puzzle is assembled on your own, don't watch the videos!

The puzzle pieces are small, require no support, and print fairly quickly, making them a great introduction to 3D printing with the result being a three dimensional keychain puzzle to boot!. I printed all my puzzle pieces at .1mm layer height with 20% infill. After printing I used jewelers files and Micro Mesh sanding strips along with plenty of patience to remove the build plate "ooze" (sometimes referred to as "elephant foot") from each piece. Depending on your slicer, printer, printer settings and the colors you chose, you may need more or less filing and sanding. You will want the pieces to fit snuggly, so "sneak in" on the filing and sanding.

I hope you enjoy them!

As usual I probably forgot a file or two or who knows what else, so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask as I do make plenty of mistakes.

Designed using Autodesk Fusion 360, sliced using Ultimaker Cura 4.6.1, and 3D printed in PLA on an Ultimaker 3 Extended and an Ultimaker S5.

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A Trio of "Keychain Puzzles".: Since the 1940s, many companies around the world have created small three dimensional plastic puzzles known as "keychain puzzles". These puzzles usually consisted of around six puzzle pieces, and when correctly assembled, created a keychain figurin...

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Cardboard Geodesic Dome: This tutorial will show you how to build a small geodesic dome out of cardboard. I originally made mine for my cat, but you can use the principles in this tutorial to scale this up or down to fit your needs. This took about 5 hours.

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This looks impossible, sort of a table top held in the air by string. Actually, the weight of the upper structure places tension on the center string (attached to the pencil). The other three strings prevent the top from twisting or flipping--it's really not that hard to set up.

Research "tensegrity" for more information regarding this type of structure.

Supplies:

Cardboard

Pencil

Glue

Tape

Fishing line (or string or thread)

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Floating Table Top: This looks impossible, sort of a table top held in the air by string. Actually, the weight of the upper structure places tension on the center string (attached to the pencil). The other three strings prevent the top from twisting or flipping--it's r...

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Introduction: Cryptic Calendar

Lots of people like gadgets. I am not the exception to the rule.

There is a YouTube channel called "Grand Illusions" https://www.youtube.com/c/grandillusions/videos where his author Tim (Timothy Quiller Rowett) presents curiosities, toys, etc.

At this site I saw a cryptic calendar for the first time.

As I liked it, I tried to find it to buy it on the web. Since I couldn't find it, I decided to build it on my own.

In this tutorial he explains how to do it very easily.

Let's start !

PS: my special consideration to all the people who are suffering from COVID-19.

We all hope that scientists can find a vaccine !!

=== EDITED 4-NOV-2020 ===

-in step 2, files are again available in the onedrive link.

======================

Supplies:

- Wooden Plywood 12 mm.

- Black PTEG or PLA filament.

- Metal Keyhole hanger (1)

- Epoxy pegament.

- Black Acrylic Paint.

- Clear/Transparent paint spray.
Tools:
- A table saw or similar.

- CNC.

- Milling bit, double flutes spiral carbide flat nose end mill 1mm cutting diamater and 1/8 shank diameter carbide.

- Straight end mill milling cutter flutes (tungsten Steel) 1/8 "cutting diameter and 1/8 shank diameter.

- Printer 3d.

- Sandpaper (fine, medium and coarse grain)

- Electric rectangular orbital sander.

- Electric blower or compressor.
- Vacuum cleaner electric.

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Step 1: ​CRYPTOGRAPHY...WHAT?

According to the Cambridge dictionary cryptography is "the practice of creating and understanding codes that keep information secret".

If you are interested in the subject, there is a lot of bibliography on the subject on the web.

Here you could see a lot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography

In this project we will build a wooden table that contains signs (triangles, squares, rectangles, etc.) that are indecipherable at first glance.

But, when we place a plastic template (the secret key) on the table and slide it from top to bottom, each of the 31 days of a calendar month magically appears individually.

See the included schematics to understand how encryption and decryption works.

Step 2: DESIGN

Font
The first thing I did was look for the type of font to achieve the desired effect.

The appropriate font is "Porker" designed by Robert Schenk. Note that there are some others fonts with which a similar effect.

In the attached photo you can see what a normal number, an encrypted number and the decryption process are like with the help of a template (key secret)
Adobe Ilustrator
With Adobe Illustrator (AI) I generated a drawing with the 31 calendar numbers in POSITIVE, that is, black color and white background. I made two columns: on the left the numbers 1 to 16 and on the right the numbers 17 to 31.
Moho(ex anime studio)
Then I imported the AI file from the MOHO program, which has a lot of versatility to work with vector drawing and animations.

I completed each of the boxes for each number, and I turned the numbers to NEGATIVE, that is, a white font and a black background.

Then I erased all the white background lines, leaving only the black ones. In this way the table of numbers from 1 to 31 was "encrypted".

I exported this image to JPEG file (see note 2)
Aspire Vectric
With software moho I made an animation to test the numbers and the key secret (please see video).

I exported this file as JPEG and imported it with Aspire software to be able to create a GCODE to work in a CNC machine.

I think it would also be possible to make the drawings with a laser.

For the shapes (squares, triangles, etc.) I used milling bit, double flutes spiral carbide flat nose end mill 1mm cutting diameter and (1/8 shank diameter carbide)

For cut the outer edge, I used a bit straight end mill milling cutter flutes (tungsten Steel) 1/8 "cutting diameter (1/8 shank diameter).

The feed rate that I applied to carving / cut plywood was 250 mm/min.

To hang the calendar on the wall I looked for a metal keyhole hanger.

In the back face of the calendar I made a milling of the wood to install it.
PLEASE READ. VERY IMPORTANT:
Of course you can use different types of keyhole hanger, depending on what you can find.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AoZa4oXuD3mOgokIRXiefbm-g0-niw?e=QhuGs4
(1) you can download my Aspire, Gcode files and DXF, but take special care to adjust it to your CNC (heights, etc.) and your own bits. Also if you decide to use another wood, you will have to change the parameters.

(2) if you haven´t Aspire Vectric or you use another software you can use the template in JPEG or the DXF file included in the link above to generate the GCODE in another way.

Step 3: SUMMARY OF ALL TASK (See the Video)

To build the Cryptic Calendar, once you have the necessary materials and tools, the tasks are as follows (they will be explained then step by step later).
CNC

Cut de base wood (340mm x 140mm x 12mm)

Fix the wood in the CNC and leveling the base plane CNC.

Carving the figures.

Aspire the dust.

Cut the edges.

Aspire the dust.

Remove the Wood from CNC.

Sand the Wood.

Put the wood on the back side, to carving the space to metal keyhole hanger.

Aspire the dust.

Sand the Wood.

PAINT FIGURE

Initial sanding

Painting the figures (triangles and rectangles) with acrylic paint.

Sanding soft/hard to remove excess paint.

Use a blower or compressor to remove the dust.

Final cleaning and retouch

Use vacuum cleaner to clean up any particles or dust.

Final cleaning with a dry cloth.

3D PRINTER
Print the "key secret" piece, in black PTEG PAINT FIGURES
PAINT SURFACE
Paint the surface (front, back and sides) with clear / transparent aerosol paint.
FINAL INSTALATION

On the back of the Cryptic Calendar put the keyhole hanger in the carving position.

Install the "Secret key" (printed 3d piece) into the Cryptic Calendar.

Choose a wall in your house to install it.

Enjoy.

Step 4: CUT WOOD

The final dimensions of the calendar are H= 330 mm x W= 80mm x T=12 mm

For the CNC working process it's necessary to cut a larger dimension: 340 mm height by 140 mm wide.

I've used 12mm Plywood in this project, but another type of wood could also be used.

To cut the wood I used a table saw.

Step 5: CNC

For this process, I used the excellent DREMEL CNC designed by NIKODEM BARTNIK (with 500w chinesse spindle upgrade).

The CNC's work space can may seem limited, but for the hobbyist, and those who have never worked with CNC in general, I really recommend it! (See photos 1 and 2)
https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-3D-Printed-Dr...
Discard this comment if you have another commercial or larger CNC ;)
Preparations before using the CNC
First The first thing I do is make holes in the corners of the wood to work with the CNC to fix it with self-drilling screws. To prevent the screws from sticking out above the Z = 0 level, I make a countersink with a tool for this purpose.(See photo 3 and 4)
Leveling
Before working with the CNC, with the wood placed in it, I recommend leveling the space of work (Z). This is because we have carving 0.4 mm, which is a very small dimension.

I do it with a small piece of paper, similar to leveling in 3d printers. See photo 5. Photo 6 wooden ready to run CNC.
Carving figures (front)
To carve the figures (triangles and squares) I used milling bit, double flutes spiral carbide flat nose end mill 1mm cutting diamater and 1/8 shank diameter carbide. (See photo 7).

In photo 9 you can see the the finished carving work done by the CNC.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PY5Q6B6/ref=... Cut edge (front) and carving space for metal keyhole hanger (back)
To cut the outline of the calendar to its final size I used a bit straight end mill milling cutter flutes (tungsten Steel) 1/8 "cutting diameter and 1/8 shank diameter. (See photo 8)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PY5Q6B6/ref=...
In photo 10 you can see the the finished cutting edge work done by the CNC (side front)

On the back side of the calendar I made a carving using the same bit above.

In photo 11 you can see the the finished carving done work for metal keyhole hanger by the CNC (side front)

Step 6: PAINTING FIGURES

Initial sanding
Use a regular sandpaper to remove any wood debris as shown in the figure (photo2)

Do this work with the side edges of the wood and on its back.

This previous work is very important, please do the work patiently to get a good result in the following stages.
Painting the figures (triangles and rectangles)
With the help of a small brush and acrylic paint, paint each of the spawned figures from the wood.

Make sure that the painting reaches both the bottom and the sides of each figure.

To do this, distribute paint generously inside the figure and around it as seen in the figures.

Let stand until completely dry. Once it is dry, check that there are no unpainted parts.

With the same brush and paint, make the touch-ups so that 100% is well painted.

Again let stand until completely dry.

NOTE: you can use a heat gun to speed up the drying of the paint.
Final sanding
Now it's Time to remove excess paint.

For this I used:

Sponge coarse sandpaper

An electric rectangular orbital sander.

Coarse sandpaper glued to a small piece of wood.

For this task, the use of safety glasses and gloves is recommended.

First apply sponge sandpaper firmly and evenly across the entire surface.

Then with the rectangular orbital sander I remove 100% of the paint. Do it firmly and evenly across the entire surface. The small piece of wood with sandpaper attached will serve for the final details.

You will notice that the wood dust will accumulate in the carved figures.

The sanding is ready when there is no more excess paint.
Final cleaning and retouch
Now use a blower or compressor to remove the dust.

You will see magically that the paint stays and the job is perfectly done.

With the help of a pointed metal element (such as a needle or similar) remove the dust that may stick to the corners in some figures (see photo 3 and 4)

You can also use a vacuum cleaner to clean up any particles or dust (see photo 7)

Finally, use a clean and dry cloth as a final cleaning.

If you prefer, you can dampen the cloth very slightly and go over all surfaces.

Step 7: SURFACE PAINT

I chose a matte clear / transparent spray paint finish (not varnish).

It is applied following the manufacturer's recommendations, spraying from a distance, avoiding excess paint (drops or similar).

His paint should be applied on the front, back and sides.

The drying of this type of paint on plywood is very fast.

Step 8: 3D PRINT: THE SECRET KEY PIECE

The design of the part was made with AUTODESK FUSION360.

Use a 3d printer to create the part. I have a Creality Ender 3 Pro.

I suggest printing face down as seen in photo 3 (Cura software).

In my case I used black PTEG filament, but you can also use PLA.

I include the file to print.

Step 9: FINAL INSTALATION

On the back of the Cryptic Calendar put the keyhole hanger in the carving position and applied epoxy cement (I did that) or if you prefer self drilling screws.

Choose a wall in your house to install it.

In my case I made a hole in the wall and installed a fisher wall plug S5 (choose the right model for your type of wall). Height from the floor approximately 1.65 / 1.75 m.

Then I put in a 2.5mm self drilling screw.

Now only remains to hang the Cryptic Calendar on the wall and enjoy the work done.
How to use:
To mark the days of the month from 1 to 15, the 3d plastic piece (Secret Key) must be placed with its square holes on the left side. From number 16 to number 31 the piece must be rotated 180 degrees so that the square holes are on the right side.

Step 10: Final Words

That's all for this project! I hope you enjoyed this instructable.

If you have any question ask them in the comments below!

I would also love to hear what you think about the project.

Happy making!

cfb70

PS1: if you like the project, please vote for this!

PS2/Credits: "The End" photo Designed by Freepik

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Lots of people like gadgets. I am not the exception to the rule. There is a YouTube channel called "Grand Illusions" https://www.youtube.com/c/grandillusions/videos where his author Tim (Timothy Quiller Rowett) presents curiosities, toys, etc. At this site I saw a cryptic calendar for the first time.

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Introduction: Levitating Side Table Made From Old Cardboard Boxes

When I was looking for something cool and fun to make during these indoor quarantine days, I stumbled upon tensegrity models. It's really interesting physics and saw mainly tiny models, so I wanted to try and build it larger with a bit more ability to lift some light objects :-). The optical illusion is my favorite part of the final result and maybe the best part is that it doesn't require a lot of time or difficult materials so anyone can start to make something like this!

6 People Made This Project!

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Step 1: Draw Your Parts on the Cardboard and Cut Out

Step 1 is about cutting the parts you will need. We will begin with 4 squares of 19 x 19 cm. then make 4 legs as shown in the photo. 9,5cm wide and length 37cm. Next you will need 2 squares of 5 x 5 cm cut into triangles. Cut a few strips of thin cardboard that are going to be used to cover up the edges later. These strips will be as wide as 2 of the legs on top of each other so twice the cardboard thickness. The cardboard I used here was 5mm thick so I had to cut the strips to 10mm wide.

Step 2: Hot Glueing the First Parts

Glue 1 of the squares on top of another one and repeat that with the other 2 squares so you end up with 2 double stacked squares. Do the same with the table legs (2x2). Glue the table legs onto the squares in the middle and on the edge. Use a triangle ruler or anything else to make sure the angle is right. Later reinforce the leg with the cardboard triangles (5x5cm) you made earlier.

Step 3: Time for the Magic Rope and Detailing.

Use sufficient glue to mount the piece of rope onto the leg as in the picture. Next step is a bit of an esthetic one and that is to cover all the open cardboard edges (only the first leg/square). This also makes the leg stronger.

Step 4: Join the 2 Table Parts Together

Glue the other end of the rope onto the second leg. I kept a distance of 9 cm between the 2 parts. After connecting the 2 parts you can finish up table part 2 with the strips like you did in the previous step.

Step 5: Make a Temporary Frame.

This is an important step. Before you can apply the thread for balance, you need to position both parts as good as you can. I used 4 pieces of cardboard to hold the floating part horizontal. What is important is that the rope in the middle is a little bit on tension. In this way your floating table top will hang in a straight position rather than hanging to one side.

Step 6: Adding Thread for Balance

Use your needle and thread to pierce trough the top surface and make a knot. Fixate the knot with a little bit of hot glue. Mine are on the bottom of the table top so you won't see them right away. When dry, pierce trough the bottom part and fixate with hot glue. make sure you don't pull to hard because this might have negative effect on the other threads.

Step 7: Remove the Temporary Frame and Try It Out!

Remove the frame and if everything is correct, you got yourself a floating table! :-) When you put on little weight for a test you will notice that the placement of the 'cargo' is very influential to the position of the floating top. Watch out with heavy stuff like flower pots or anything similar because that would require a more sturdy build version :-) Enjoy and amaze some people with your magic side table! :-)

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Levitating Side Table Made From Old Cardboard Boxes

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Levitating Side Table Made From Old Cardboard Boxes: When I was looking for something cool and fun to make during these indoor quarantine days, I stumbled upon tensegrity models. It's really interesting physics and saw mainly tiny models, so I wanted to try and build it larger with a bit more ability ...

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Popsicle Stick Bridge: The popsicle stick bridge is a classic science demonstration and competition. Every year many students world-wide build bridges made soley from popsicle sticks and glue, to see which designs can hold the most weight.We built one, using maybe 140 sti…

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Introduction: Learning About Motion With Light Painting

Got a light? Then you're ready for the wonderful world of light painting. Light painting is an incredible way to use a camera to make beautiful art and illusions. Here is just a sample of some of the fantastic possibilities. But now you can use it for the study of motion, physics, and kinetics as well.

Photography has always been a great way to capture a single instance, to freeze a moment in time. In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge famously played with that notion by taking a series of high-speed photographs to see if all four of a horse's feet come off the ground when it gallops. This developed in to strobe photography, which suddenly created something not only beautiful but also the ability to capture more than a moment in a single photograph. We could now look at time and motion compressed.

The neat thing about LED light painting is that we can digest this down to how a single point on an object moves, or multiple points. This is like motion capture, the classroom or home version. And with this, we can learn a tremendous amount about kinetics, physics, and the way things move. I've taken this to my classroom and challenged students to come up with experiments where they can look at a kinetic principle with a blend of science, art, and math.

Light it up!

What: Learning about Motion with Light Painting

Time: quick to make, too fun to stop experimenting

Cost: ~$0.50 per LED set-up

Materials:

LEDs (different colors, super-bright work well)

3V button cells (watch battery)

Tape

Blinkies (these rings work well)

Stuff to experiment with (wheels, rolls, tubes, cardboard, toys, anything!)

NOTE: For all of the LED photos, they look way snazzier in full-resolution. By clicking on them once, then again when they appear larger, and then a third time on the "original file" link that appears below them, you can see the light paths more easily. :)

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Step 1: LED Prep

Your first step is to make your LED circuit, which you can do in seconds. Grab an LED and put the leads on either side of your 3V button cell, and it should light up. YAY! If it's not working, try orienting your LED the other way. Positive and negative matters. Tape it up when it's ready to go!

You can start by experimenting with your camera in a dark room. Turn down the F-stop, the ISO, and turn your shudder speed to something between 5-20 seconds, and try to draw in mid-air. Huzzah! You're light painting. This alone is super fun, but soon we're going to get down with some physics.

If you want a review on LEDs, this Instructable is a great intro.

Step 2: Blinky Prep

For doing some motion and speed tracking, blinky lights are super useful. They'll leave dotted lines wherever you go. I found the cheapest and most accessible to be these bumpy jelly light-up rings that you can find here.

Cut open the ring, and pull out the circuit to reveal the batteries, the LEDs, and the button that turns it on and off. I simply tore off two of the LEDs and ended up with a single LED that is timed to turn and off.

Test it out in the dark with your camera!

Step 3: Experiment: Flying Things

Trajectories of flying things are just fascinating, and often too quick for us to really analyze. There are so many things that you can look at, and the joy is that LEDs can track them all.

For starters, I looked at bouncing a wood ball, and could see its spin after the first bounce with the blue LED.

Next I looked at an amazing principle dealing with center of mass of a rotating flying object, which is that an object rotating through the air will rotate around its center of mass. By finding the balancing point for a spoon, and putting an LED there (green) and one at the end (blue), you can notice the smooth trajectory of the green one in comparison.

Other experiments included watching spinning balloons as well as the trajectory of launched objects out of a toy catapult. With the addition of a ruler, you can look at things like height, distance, and angle of different launches.

What more can you fly?

Step 4: Experiment: Rolling Things

Tape LEDs to the edges of different cylinders and spheres, and watch the way they move.

My first experiment was to use a roll of tape with two LEDs taped along the edge. This created beautiful arcs, exploding with light as each LED came close to the ground. The distance between two peaks or valleys of the same LED is equal to the circumference of the tape roll, which with a ruler, is a neat way to calculate it.

My second experiment was to try different cylinders to compare the difference in radii. After that, I tried spinning a yo-yo, which came out less even than I had initially imagined.

You can add in irregular objects, launch things down ramps at different angles with blinkies, and have a whole range of amazing rolling behaviors recorded.

Keep rolling!

Step 5: Experiment: Spinning Things

Moving from rollers, there is also a ton to look at in rotational motion. I made a set-up with a drill, bolt, and plate to spin LEDs at different radii. There are amazing patterns that happen as you walk horizontally while spinning the plate in different directions. You can challenge others to try to figure out which direction you were walking and with what spin.

Additionally, I tried an experiment looking at rotational velocity by swinging a bat with blinky LEDs at three different locations. By the trails, you can see that the LED farther from the fulcrum was moving faster than those nearer. This is an important aspect when looking at things like rotational inertia and why its rough being at the end of a "crack the whip" line in a roller disco or ice rink. :)

Step 6: Experiment: Motion Tracking With Toys

This is a great warm-up to think about the way complex things move, be they machine or alive. I started with attaching LEDs to different wind-up toys, and seeing the way they move. I challenged my class to figure out which light paintings belonged to which toys (after taking off the LEDs).

If you want to make your own toys, here's how to make a simple wobbling robot or here are a bunch of robots from randofo.

Step 7: Experiment: Motion Tracking With People

The mechanics of we human machines is fascinating. This is akin to motion capture used in games and animation in that we're looking at points on ourselves to see where they go. You'll find some surprising results with different everyday motions.

I taped some LEDs to my toes to look at walking, in which I was struck by the quick toe-drops at the end of a step. I moved the LEDs to my toes and heels, and was interested in the quick rise of the heel as well in a slow walk. Try out comparing this to jogging and running to see the differences.

I also tried jumping, and with the addition of tape measurers you can see how high you can get your feet. I tried testing different jumping styles for height, and later putting LEDs on my head as well to see how hight that gets.

There is so much that you can track with people, so try them all out! If you're in need for ideas, try a ball throw, a dance move, a jump, or a funny walk.

Step 8: Experiment: String and Rope

The grand finale (for now) is looking at string and rope dynamics. There is much that you can look at like with waves, tension, and rotational motion.

My first experiment pictured here was to spin LEDs on a string, and then pull the string to the right. you can see the initial different amplitudes of their orbit, and then them narrowing as they are pulled to the right. This is a neat demonstration of the relationship between movement and tension, and is what gives guitar strings their adjustable tones.

You can also try looking at waves and nodes with longer string, or if you want to get really complex, try out a giant wave model with LEDs.

Step 9: Keep Going!

There is of course an infinite number of experiments you can do with lightpainting that deal with kinetics and motion. Keep experimenting, and I'd love to see what you come up with!

Lightpainting is an incredible art, and I hope this Instructable shed some light on how it could be used for science and math observation, too.

Have a wonderful one, and I'd love to see your ideas, comments, and questions below!

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Learning About Motion With Light Painting

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Learning About Motion With Light Painting: Got a light? Then you're ready for the wonderful world of light painting. Light painting is an incredible way to use a camera to make beautiful art and illusions. Here is just a sample of some of the fantastic possibilities. But now you can use it f...

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Introduction: Best STEM Activities for Different Age Groups

STEM activities are currently the most engaging, productive, and educational ways of teaching, but just the right one for students of a specific age group may be hard to find. Kids usually develop mindsets of their own, pick their areas of interest, and start making future plans near the end of middle school, and therefore the best time to perform hands-on activities involving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math with them is before they get to 7th or 8th grade. With that in mind, here are the best STEM activities for kids of ages 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12.

Format: The activity for each age group will have two Steps, the Preparation and Action. The Preparation step includes an introduction to the activity, how it helps bolster the kids' educational knowledge & skills, materials needed (along with tools), and what things to do before the actual day of the activity. The Action step is how the activity will go (format of the day), what problems may be faced, and the results from our classrooms.

NOTE: Each of these activities has been performed in a classroom of kids of the proper age.

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Step 1: Structures Challenge (Ages 4 - 6): Preparation

Prior to constructing any type of building, engineers first have to design and build a sturdy and fitting structure. They use concrete, timber framing, metal beams and slabs for this task, however, the same concept can be modeled with toothpicks, straws, and marshmallows! This classroom STEM challenge gives kids in kindergarten or 1st grade (aged 4-6) a chance to show their creativity and engineering skills. The tallest structure built in a limited period of time with the given materials (explained in detail later on) wins the challenge.

Required Materials:

- Bag of Marshmallows

- Box of Toothpicks

- Bag of Straws

Tools:

- Scissors

The first step is to get the materials and tools ready. This is an activity that's exceptionally easy to prep for, since all you need to really do is find illustrative examples of structures or patterns the kids can use (any visual from google, like https://www.pinterest.com/pin/426293920954437218/ that may be replicated with the materials you provided will do. You can even draw or make some examples in front of them). You can also upgrade this activity by printing out templates that the kids can use to put together parts of their structures (videos from YouTube, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBHJtWbsiaA may help too). Make sure to create a set of rules for the challenge, mines were:

- 20 Minute Time Limit

- 25 Marshmallows per Person

- Total of 40 Toothpicks + Straws (So 20:20, 15:25, 30:10, etc. The quantity of the two should add up to 40)

- Touching classmates' structures not allowed

- Tallest and sturdiest structure wins (has to stand for 10 seconds, then it is measured with the ruler)

Step 2: Structures Challenge (Ages 4 - 6): Action!

Before starting the timer, it's best to give a short lesson and provide kids with information about the challenge. First, show and explain the visuals, what ways of connection and patterns tend to be the strongest, and how that could be applied to structures with the given materials. It also helps the kids when the teacher demonstrates what's being explained my making a small example structure, so keep that in mind.

When the class has a good understanding of what to do, everyone's received their materials and tools, and the rules have been explained, ask the kids if they feel ready or have any questions. Then, start the timer!

Even with materials of slight variety, I saw many different combinations tested out and being used. Some kids were prototyping, others building support structures for the structures, and a few creating very original designs. There was a lot of thinking and collaboration in the air, as well as some failed attempts and falling structures. Twenty minutes is usually enough time for most kids to finish, depending on their design, but there was some incomplete ones at the end of time for us. If someone gets their building to be pretty high before the time ends, count to 10 (seconds) and record its height (cm). When the time is over, everyone puts their hands in the air, and backs off their table. The class counts to 10 together, and the teacher measures the structures that look tallest.

Our winner structure was 32 centimeters high! After each one has been recorded (or pictures taken), the kids are free to eat up the marshmallows of their structures! This activity is not only fun and delicious, but gets young kids in the mindset of using logic and math to build very simple structures and solve problems that model those faced in the real world. The skills gained from this 30-minute challenge can act as a base for more to be built upon them in the future. This is the ultimate youth-engineering STEM activity!

Approximate Activity Cost: $20

Step 3: Paper Circuits (Ages 7 - 9): Preparation

Electricity has surrounded our lives in the 21st century, and since the first inventions it was utilized in, it has improved our communication, transportation, standard of living, and education. Any technology which uses electricity has some type of circuit, whether it's the PCB in a smartphone, a simple circuit in a toy, or even a... Paper Circuit! These are great for STEM activities to get kids introduced and interested into electricity and electrical engineering. The students of preferred age are usually in 1st through 3rd grades (aged 7-9), but this can be expanded to include 4th and 5th grades as well. Here's what you'll need:

Materials:
- Colored & Regular Paper

- Coin Cell Batteries

- LEDs

- Conductive Copper Tape (Conductive Adhesive)

Tools:

- Colored Pencils/Markers

- Pens & Pencils

- Glue Sticks

- Scissors

- Ruler

With all the tools and materials ready, the first step is to get the lesson together. This is the 15-20 minute time period during which the teacher will explain how circuits work (https://youtu.be/zSSkZ9F7Bng) and how to make a paper circuit (The fold technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hb-9eUpfbQ or The card technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_ApyKqqctM) to the kids. For the lesson, it's helpful to use a white board or smart board to provide the kids with visuals. Before the day of the activity, I recommend making your own paper circuits to give and reference to as examples during the lesson. I made two, one representing a circuit that will work, and the other a circuit that won't work. I recommend using google websites and youtube videos to learn about paper circuits if you don't know much about them yourself. Pick which type of circuit (Fold Method or Card Press Method) you'd like the kids to make. Include the steps on how to make it in the lesson.

Step 4: Paper Circuits (Ages 7 - 9): Action!

Do not pass out materials until the lesson is finished and all questions are taken. After finishing the lesson, start out by handing out paper to the kids of the color they choose. First, instruct them to fold the piece of paper in half to create a card. Then, provide them with the colored pencils and markers, and instruct them to make a drawing with one spot where the LED will be placed to glow, and one spot where the battery will go for pressing, to act as a switch.

Once they're done drawing, open up the inside of the card to make the circuit. This step may be different depending on what type of circuit you picked to make, we used the Card Press technique (Battery on one side's end, end of circuit on the other side's end. When card is closed, the end of circuit falls on top of battery's " - " side, closing the circuit, as shown in the images). Assist the kids in going through each step to make the circuit. Some common problems that may be faced are:

1. Open Circuit. There is a gap somewhere in the circuit that prevents electricity flow. Check copper tape connections and whether the copper tape is touching the battery when the paper is folded.
2. Alternative Flow. There is no gap between the copper tape that touches each end of the LED, or there's another way for the electricity to flow without passing through the LED. Re-do the LED connections and remove excess copper tape.

3. Burnt Out LED. Because this activity doesn't involve resistors, 15-30 minutes of the LEDs staying constantly glowing may cause them to burn out. Avoid keeping them on for too long, since a burnt out LED requires replacement.

In addition to art, precision, and patience, this activity requires creative-thinking and problem-solving. None of the paper circuits our students made worked on the first try, they each required further maintenance, done by the kids! They get to face and make their ways through real problems in order to achieve the glowing LED. They also get to design and make their own circuits, as each needed to place their LED and Battery in a different place on the paper, and therefore, had to make the rest of the circuit accordingly, which is the real challenge to it.
Almost all of our paper circuits worked at the end, and all of the kids had fun. But more importantly, they learned information and strengthened skills they will use in both the lingering years and the far future. By combining art and current, paper circuits make electricity fun and fascinating to kids.

Approximate Activity Cost: $35

Step 5: Motor Craft (Ages 10 - 12): Preparation

Motors are a large part of engineering and are utilized more often as technology advances. But more importantly, they are great to use in STEM activities! This is a classroom project for elementary school students in grades 3rd through 5th (ages 10-12). The materials required and optional additions are as follows:

Required Materials:
- DC Motors (Regular and/or Geared)

- Wires

- Batteries

- Electrical Tape

- On/Off Switches

Optional Materials:

- Battery Holders

- Motor Mounts

- Wire Connectors

- Popsicle Sticks

- Masking Tape

- Hot Glue Sticks

- Bottle Caps (Metal or Plastic)

- Zip-ties

- Double Sided Foam Tape

- Fastener Dots

- Velcro

- Clear Tape

- LED's

- Toothpicks

- Rubber Bands

- Cardboard (Not Pictured)

- Regular and Colored Paper

- Dowels

TEACHER NOTE: Keep in mind that you can have less or more "Optional Materials" than listed above. In our case, about ⅕ of the materials listed were not used by the kids. You can also add in bottles, Coke, and Mentos to add some science to the experiment (for an automatic volcano, for example). If you're a teacher with CAD experience, you can even use 3D printed parts (which, in our case, we didn't use since we didn't have a 3D printer), and even allow the kids to design their own parts, like bases and attachments.

Adult Operated Tools:
- Hot Glue Gun

- Drill / Rotary Tool

- Soldering Iron (Optional for preparation use)

- Box-cutter

Kid-Safe Tools:

- Scissors

- Stapler

- Ruler

- Markers

- Colored and Regular Pencils

After you've got the tools and materials ready, it would be a smart idea to start soldering the day before the activity. You will need to cut small pieces of wire, and solder them onto the ends of the motors and on/off switches (do this with electrical tape if you don't have access to a soldering iron). Also, cut the wires of the battery holders so that the metal strip is exposed. When you're done, you should have a set of motors, switches, and battery holders that have firm wires on both ends with at least 1 cm of the metal strip exposed on each wire (as pictured). This is to allow the kids to simply twist the desired wires together and strengthen the connection with electrical tape rather than having the wires soldered during the activity by an adult (having a soldering iron in the same classroom as kids poses a danger as the fumes are slightly toxic, and there's always the risk of getting a burn. So please avoid the use of a soldering iron in a classroom).
Next, use a chalkboard, regular board, or a smart board to draw a simple and correctly labeled circuit with a battery (+ and - sides), an on/off switch, and a motor, all of which are connected by lines representing wires. If you're using more than one type of motor, make sure to also write down and draw the differences between the separate motors. This will give the kids a visual understanding of circuits and motors as you teach them during your lesson. The board I used can be seen in the picture above. Prior to the start of the activity, lay down all your materials on a table and prepare the tools. Since it would be dangerous to have certain tools near kids, we operated two rooms, one in which we kept the materials and safe tools (where the kids made their crafts), and another in which we kept the adult-operated tools (where the kids individually brought their components and described to the tool operators desired holes or cuts). You should now be fully prepared!

Step 6: Motor Craft (Ages 10 - 12): Action!

This STEM activity will consist of 4 steps; the lesson, planning, crafting, and results. Make sure you have an idea of how circuits work and what problems the kids may face as they work on their projects. In the lesson, you will teach about how circuits work and give information about the motor(s) that you use, like RPM, torque, size, etc. (make sure to explain what they mean as well!). Use the board you drew on from preparation to help in your explanations. Describe what combinations will and won't work, how to correctly make connections, and answer any remaining questions. The lesson should take between 10-20 minutes.

After the lesson is the planning phase. Here, the kids will use provided pencils and paper to write down the materials they will use and plan & sketch their ideas. Tell them to focus on connections and steps to take in their projects. They should aim for as much detail as possible. Planning should take between 15-25 minutes.

Now is time for the most exciting step; crafting. Start off by providing the kids with a motor of their choice (1 to start with, maybe more later), an on/off switch, and a battery holder with batteries. Then, you can allow them to start collecting their materials, and either begin helping them with questions or operating the tools. There should be at least one teacher to go around and help out the kids, and another to operate the tools for a smoother and more convenient time, but just you by yourself is fine too (we had one adult teacher and one high school sophomore assistant who did the lesson and helped out the kids with their problems). Encourage innovative ideas and give the bright students some confidence because even a small and simple robot or an easy motored car takes effort and patience to make.

TEACHER NOTE: One great thing about this STEM activity is that you don't have to be a computer science, engineering, science, or math teacher to be able to pull this off successfully! Even just 2 hours of research should be enough to allow you to help with the biggest problems these kids will face. Don't feel intimidated if this isn't you area of study.

After a table full of hot glue droppings, Popsicle stick pieces, cardboard and paper cuttings, table-scratches, and a mess of various other materials, most students should be finished with their projects. The crafting phase should take between 1 - 2 hours. Most if not all the kids should have a smile on their faces and feel proud of what they've accomplished; their first motor craft!

There will be some amazing and original, and some not too original ones. Whatever may be the case, I can assure you that this activity will allow kids to have a truly fun and productive time. The results will be astonishing! We had a total of 16 crafts that were successfully finished (4 not pictured), and I must say, the creativity of these kids never fails to amaze me! Some shout outs are the "skiing man" (replica skier that used a DC Gear Motor to move forward), the "box fan", the "cow" (used a DC Motor to make vibrations and move), the "spinner", and the "slapper" (used a DC Motor to spin a hand to softly slap someone!). This STEM activity is a great one to introduce kids to electrical and mechanical engineering, technology, and robotics. Although the preferred age group is 10-12, this can also be done with middle school students of ages 13 and 14.

Approximate Activity Cost: $75

Step 7: Thank You!

I hope that this Instructables can help you in your classroom. It's been a tough but fun adventure for me to picture and write out this tutorial, since this is the first one I've ever made! I encourage any teacher who replicates these activities to share their experience with me. Please contact me at yigitboston@gmail.com with any questions regarding any of these activities, and thank you for taking your time to read through this. Have a STEMmorous day!

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Best STEM Activities for Different Age Groups

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Best STEM Activities for Different Age Groups: STEM activities are currently the most engaging, productive, and educational ways of teaching, but just the right one for students of a specific age group may be hard to find. Kids usually develop mindsets of their own, pick their areas of interest,...

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Introduction: DIY Automatic Alcohol Dispenser (No Arduino Needed)

Build the simplest $4 Automated Alcohol Dispenser without using Arduino. Keep your hands clean by filling it with liquid soap, hand sanitizer or with rubbing alcohol. By reducing physical contact, an automated dispenser keeps virus from spreading around in communal areas.
The Design:
I've seen several Arduino automated liquid dispensers circulating the web. I find using Arduinos a bit overkill for this specific project. Arduinos are far too expensive. I figured using a simple transistor or MOSFET would do the job, which would also drastically reduce the costs. Obviously, the absence of a micro controller removes control of over spilling, but then, I did find out that using a smaller nozzle would physically limit the flow of liquid. There are several two transistor RC circuits that would solve the over spilling problem but the single transistor design works well, given that you choose the proper nozzle size.
YouTube Tutorial:

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Step 1: Parts & Materials

Parts & Materials:
- Proximity Sensor ($0.6 - https://bit.ly/3ape7I2 )

- DC Water Pump ($1.8 - https://bit.ly/3ayT5qJor $3 - https://bit.ly/3aouip4 )

- TIP32C PNP Transistor ($0.2 - https://bit.ly/2UljPVM )

- 1N4007 Diode

- Aquarium Tubing

- Old Glass Jar

- Old Ballpen

- Sanitizer/ Rubbing Alcohol

Step 3: Connect a Tube to Your Motor

Stretch your tube's end by using the end of your pliers while heating it using a lighter. The tube must be force fitted to your DC pump's liquid outlet. To can use a zip tie to keep it in place.

Step 4: Drill Holes for Wire and Tube

Use your power drill for drilling holes for the wire and tube. Be sure to use the proper drill bit to give it a snug fit.

Step 6: Add a Bendy Wire

To keep the tube from sagging, you can use chicken wire or copper wire to make the tube bendable. Simply insert the wire inside your tube. You can braid it to make the wired tube stiffer.

Step 7: Makeshift Nozzle

A nozzle can be used to control the amount of fluid exiting the dispenser. I got mine from the tip of a dried out pen. You can try out a smaller nozzle to achieve a mist.

Step 10: Schematic Diagram

Here's a simplified wiring diagram for the components.

Why not just connect the pump directly to the sensor's digital output? For one, the sensor's digital output can only handle a few militi-amps of current, connecting the pump directly to the IR sensor could damage the LM393 op-amp chip. Second, the sensor's digital output is HIGH by default when no object is detected or LOW when an object has been detected. This means you would need a logic inverter in order for the dispenser to work properly. Using a PNP transistor solves the two problem in a cost effective way.

Step 11: Schematic Revision

MOSFET: Originally, the plan was to use a logic level MOSFET instead of a BJT. MOSFETs are designed to operate as switching devices, unlike a BJT which is often use to serve in the active region than on a saturated level. MOSFETs can also handle more current due to its material composition. The reason why I chose to use a BJT was due to its availability for hobbyists as they are more common than MOSFETs.

FLYBACK DIODE: The motor acting as an inductive load. A flyback diode is a diode connected across an inductor used to eliminate flyback, which is the sudden voltage spike seen across an inductive load when its supply current is suddenly reduced or interrupted. You can add a common rectifier diode such as a 1N4007 or a schottky diode for a faster response. From quick measurements and observations, the motor from the specific DC pump only emits very minute amounts of back EMF due to the motor's size and the shaft's reluctance to stop immediately. When it comes to switching, adding a fly back diode is a common practice in electronics. Although I haven't had problems with the absence of a fly back diode in this specific project, If a diode is available at hand, It would be better to add the diode just be sure.

Step 13: Add a USB Male Plug

The project was designed to operate at voltages under 6 volts. USB power was the most universally available source I could think of that gives 5 volts. You can get salvage any USB cable you have lying around. Cut the other end of the cable and use your wire stripper.

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DIY Automatic Alcohol Dispenser (No Arduino Needed)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
DIY Automatic Alcohol Dispenser (No Arduino Needed): Build the simplest $4 Automated Alcohol Dispenser without using Arduino. Keep your hands clean by filling it with liquid soap, hand sanitizer or with rubbing alcohol. By reducing physical contact, an automated dispenser keeps virus from spreading ar...

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Introduction: DIY AIR RIFLE

powerful air rifle made at home. with pump wood rubber band and tube. easy and fun.
MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL Check out how to make dart out of matches

Step 1: MATERIALS

you'll need all these materials. and tools.

bike pump, I used this one.
Beto PU300 Mini Pump

wooden plank
rubber band
metal tube
hose joint
cable ties
electrical tape

and tools

Step 2: Cut Wooden Rifle Base

draw a template of desirable shape of your rifle on wood and cut it out with jigsaw.

Step 3: Add Side Rails for Pump to Slide Correctly When Reading.

with hot glue, glue two side rails as shown. for pump to slide back and forth when reading.

Step 4: Cut the Tube and Make a Barrel.

if your tube is too long cut it to desirable length and attach hose joint as shown with electrical tape. and attach barrel to your base with some tape and cable ties as shown.

Step 5: Attach Pump to Base

take your rubber band and pierce it through pumps handle so you got equal length bands on both sides. then find something that slides and fits on pump. then attach pump to base as shown. so you are able to move pump back and forth. check out my video for more detailed information.

Step 6: Load and Shoot. !!!

load your rifle with bullet. it can be berries or anything round that fits your barrel. I used nail and cones shaped paper as a dart.

Step 7: Have Fun

have fun. but be careful. don't hurt anyone. this rifle is powerful and can do some serious damage. I am not responsible for your actions. :)

step by step video tutorial how to make this. like share and subscribe.

https://youtu.be/hv9OGvzSKfc

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powerful air rifle made at home. with pump wood rubber band and tube. easy and fun. MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL Check out how to make dart out of matches you'll need all these materials. and tools. bike pump, I used this one.

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Introduction: Arduino Controlled Robotic Biped

I have always been intrigued by robots, especially the kind that attempts to mimic human actions. This interest led me to try to design and develop a robotic biped that could imitate human walking and running. In this Instructable, I will show you the design and assembly of the robotic biped.

The primary goal while building this project was to make the system as robust as possible such that while experimenting with various walking and running gaits, I wouldn't have to constantly worry about the hardware failing. This allowed me to push the hardware to its limit. A secondary goal was to make the biped relatively low-cost using readily available hobby parts and 3D printing leaving room for further upgrades and expansions. These two goals combined provide a robust foundation to perform various experiments, letting one develop the biped to more specific requirements.

Follow on to create your own Arduino controlled Robotic Biped and do drop a vote in the " Arduino Contest" if you liked the project.

3 People Made This Project!

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Step 1: Design Process

The humanoid legs were designed in Autodesk's free to use Fusion 360 3d modelling software. I began by importing the servo motors into the design and built the legs around them. I designed brackets for the servo motor which provides a second pivot point diametrically opposite to the servo motor's shaft. Having dual shafts on either end of the motor gives structural stability to the design and eliminates any skewing that may occur when the legs are made to take some load. The links were designed to hold a bearing while the brackets used a bolt for the shaft. Once the links were mounted to the shafts using a nut, the bearing would provide a smooth and robust pivot point on the opposite side of the servo motor shaft.

Another goal while designing the biped was to keep the model as compact as possible to make maximum use of the torque provided by the servo motors. The dimensions of the links were made to achieve a large range of motion while minimizing the overall length. Making them too short would make the brackets collide, reducing the range of motion, and making it too long would exert unnecessary torque on the actuators. Finally, I designed the body of the robot onto which the Arduino and other electronic components would mount.

Note: The parts are included in one of the following steps.

Step 2: The Role of the Arduino

An Arduino Uno was used in this project. The Arduino was responsible to compute the motion paths of the various gaits that were tested and instructed the actuators to move to precise angles at precise speeds to create a smooth walking motion. An Arduino is a great choice for developing projects because of its versatility. It provides a bunch of IO pins and also provides interfaces such as serial, I2C, and SPI to communicate with other microcontrollers and sensors. The Arduino also provides a great platform for rapid prototyping and testing and also gives developers room for improvements and expandability. In this project, further versions will include an Inertial Measurement Unit for motion processing such as fall detection and dynamic locomotion in uneven terrain and a distance measuring sensor to avoid obstacles.

The Arduino IDE was used for this project. (Arduino also provides a web-based IDE)

Note: The programs for the robot can be downloaded from one of the following steps.

Step 3: Materials Needed

Here is the list of all the components and parts required to make your very own Arduino powered Bipedal robot. All parts should be commonly available and easy to find.
ELECTRONICS:
Towerpro MG995 servo motor x 6
HARDWARE:
Skateboard Bearing (8x19x7mm)

3D printer filament (in case you don't own a 3D printer, there should be a 3D printer in a local workspace or the prints can be done online for quite cheap)

Perfboard (similar size to the Arduino)

Male and Female header pins (about 20 of each)

Ultrasonic sensor (optional)

Excluding the Arduino and 3D printer the total cost of this project is 20$.

Step 4: 3D Printed Parts

The parts required for this project had to be custom designed therefore a 3D printer was used to print them out. The prints were made at 40% infill, 2 perimeters, 0.4mm nozzle, and a layer height of 0.1mm with PLA, color of your choice. Below you can find the complete list of parts and the STLs to print your own version.

Note: From here on the parts will be referred to using the names in the list.

foot servo holder x 1

foot servo holder mirror x 1

knee servo holder x 1

knee servo holder mirror x 1

foot servo holder x 1

foot servo holder mirror x 1

bearing link x 2

servo horn link x 2

foot link x 2

bridge x 1

electronics mount x 1

electronics spacer x 8 (optional)

servo horn space x 12 (optional)

In total, excluding the spacers, there are 14 parts. The total printing time is about 20 hours.

Step 5: Preparing the Servo Brackets

Once all of the parts are printed you can begin by setting up the servos and the servo brackets. First push in a bearing into the knee servo holder. The fit should be snug but I would recommend sanding the inner surface of the hole a bit instead of forcing the bearing which may risk breaking the part. Then pass an M4 bolt through the hole and tighten it using a nut. Next, grab the foot link and attach a circular servo horn to it using the supplied screws. Attach the foot link to the knee servo holder using the screws you will use to also attach the servo motor. Make sure to align the motor so that the shaft is on the same side of the bolt you had attached earlier. Finally secure the servo with the rest of the nuts and bolts.

Do the same with the hip servo holder and foot servo holder. With this, you should have three servo motor and their corresponding brackets.

Note: I am providing instructions for building one leg, the other is simply mirrored.

Step 6: Making the Link Pieces

Once the brackets are assembled, start making the links. To make the bearing link, once again lightly sand the inner surface of the holes for the bearing then push the bearing into the hole on both sides. Make sure to push the bearing in till one side is flush. To build the servo horn link, grab two circular servo horns and the supplied screws. Place the horns on the 3D print and line up the holes, next screw the horn onto the 3D print by attaching the screw from the 3D print side. I recommend using a 3D printed servo horn spacer for these screws. Once the links are built you can begin the assemble the leg.

Step 7: Assembling the Legs

Once the links and brackets are assembled, you can combine them to build the leg of the robot. First, use the servo horn link to attach the hip servo bracket and knee servo bracket together. Note: Don't screw the horn to the servo just yet as there is a setup stage in the following stage and it'll be an inconvenience if the horn were screwed onto the servo motor.

On the opposite side mount the bearing link onto the protruding bolts using nuts. Lastly, attach the foot servo bracket by inserting the protruding bolt through the bearing on the knee servo holder. And fix the servo shaft to the servo horn connected to the knee servo holder on the other side. This may be a tricky task and I would recommend a second pair of hands for this.

Repeat the steps for the other leg. Use the pictures attached to each step as a reference.

Step 8: Custom PCB and Wiring

This is an optional step. To make the wiring neater I decided to make a custom PCB using perf board and header pins. The PCB contains ports to directly connect the servo motor wires. In addition, I also left extra ports in case I wanted to expand and add other sensors such as Inertial Measurement Units or ultrasonic distance sensors. It also contains a port for the external power source required to power the servo motors. A jumper connection is used to switch between USB and external power for the Arduino. Mount the Arduino and PCB to either side of the electronics mount using screws and the 3D printed spacers.

Note: Make sure to unplug the jumper before connecting the Arduino to your computer through USB. Not doing this may result in damaging the Arduino.

If you decide to not use the PCB and instead use a breadboard here are the servo connections:

Left Hip >> pin 9

Right Hip >> pin 8

Left Knee >> pin 7

Right Knee >> pin 6

Left Foot >> pin 5

Right Foot >> pin 4

If you do decide to make the PCB follow the same order as above by using the ports on the PCB from right to left with the IMU port facing up. And use regular male to female jumper wires to connect the PCB to the Arduino using the above pin numbers. Make sure to also connect the ground pin and create the same ground potential and Vin pin for when you decide to run it without USB power.

Step 9: Assembling the Body

Once the two legs and the electronics are assembled, combine them together to build the robot body. Use the bridge piece to link the two legs together. Use the same mounting holes on the hip servo holder and nuts and bolts that hold the servo motor. Finally, connect the electronics mount to the bridge. Line up the holes on the bridge and electronics mount and use M4 nuts and bolts to make the joint.

Refer to the attached images for help. With this, you have completed the hardware build of the robot. Next, let's jump into the software and bring the robot to life.

Step 10: Intial Setup

What I've noticed while building this project is that the servo motors and the horns need not align perfectly to stay relatively parallel. This is why the "central position" of each servo motor has to be manually adjusted to align with the legs. To achieve this remove the servo horns from each servo and run the initial_setup.ino sketch. Once the motors have settled in their central position reattach the horns such that the legs are perfectly straight and the foot is perfectly parallel to the ground. If this is the case you are in luck. If not open the constants.h file found on the adjacent tab and modify the servo offset values (lines 1-6) till the legs are perfectly aligned and the foot is flat. Play around with the values and you will get an idea about what is necessary in your case.

Once the constants have been set, note these values as they will be needed later on.

Refer to the pictures for help.

Step 11: A Bit About the Kinematics

To make the biped perform useful actions such as running and walking the various gaits need to be programmed in the form of motion paths. Motion paths are paths along which the end effector (the feet in this case) travel along. There are two ways of achieving this:

1. One approach would be to feed the joint angles of the various motors in a brute force manner. This approach can be time-consuming, tedious, and also filled with errors since the judgment is purely visual. Instead, there is a smarter way of achieving the desired results.

2. The second approach revolves around feeding the coordinates of the end effector instead of all the joint angles. This is what is known as Inverse Kinematics. The user inputs coordinates and the joint angles adjust to position the end effector at the specified coordinates. This method can be considered as a black box that takes as inputs a coordinate and outputs the joint angles. For those who are interested in how the trigonometric equations of this black box were developed can look at the diagram above. For those who are not interested, the equations are already programmed and can be used using the pos function which takes as input x, z and outputs three angles corresponding to the motors.

The program containing these functions can be found on the next step.

Step 12: Programming the Arduino

Before programming the Arduino, slight modifications need to be made to the file. Remember the constants I had asked you to take a note off? Modify the same constants to the values you set in the constants.h file.

Note: If you have used the designs provided in this Instructable, you have nothing to change. In case there are some of you who have made their own designs you will have to change a few more values along with the offsets. The constant l1 measures the distance between the hip pivot and knee pivot. The constant l2 measures the distance between the knee pivot and ankle pivot. So if you designed your own model, measure these lengths, and modify the constants. The final two constants are used fo the gaits. The stepClearance constant measures how high the foot will lift while coming forward after a step and the stepHeight constant measures the height from the ground to the hip while its taking steps.

Once all the constants are modified according to your need, you can upload the main program. The main program simply initializes the robot into a walking stance and starts taking steps forward. The functions can be modified according to your need to explore the various gaits, speeds and step lengths to see what works best.

Step 13: Final Results: Time to Experiment

The biped can take steps that vary from 10 to 2 cms long without tipping over. The speed too can be varied while keeping the gait balanced. This biped combined with the power of the Arduino provides a robust platform to experiment with various other gaits and other objectives such as jumping or balancing while kicking a ball. I would recommend you to try to change the motion paths of the legs to create your own gaits and discover how various gaits affects the performance of the robot. Sensors such as an IMU and distance sensor can be added to the system to increase its functionalities while force sensors can be added to the legs to experiment with dynamic locomotion on uneven surfaces.

Hope you enjoyed this Instructable and is enough of an inspiration to build your own. If you liked the project do support it by dropping a vote in the " Arduino Contest".

Happy Making!

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Arduino Controlled Robotic Biped: I have always been intrigued by robots, especially the kind that attempts to mimic human actions. This interest led me to try to design and develop a robotic biped that could imitate human walking and running. In this Instructable, I will show you t...

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Juuke - a RFID Music Player for Elderly and Kids

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Juuke - a RFID Music Player for Elderly and Kids: This is the Juuke box. The Juuke box is your own musical friend, made to be as easy as possible to use. It is especially designed to be used by elderly and kids, but can of course be used by all other ages.

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Introduction: Popcorn Kernel Jar Diversion Safe

I recently visited a spy shop for the very first time and was very intrigued by their line of secret diversion safes. Most of them were cool but on the pricy side. Some of the objects were rather enticing, making me think they'd be taken if found (I know I'd take some WD-40). Others, like a can of Pringles, I'd probably toss right in the bin. (Goodbye, valuables!) Enter my cheap-as-hell jar of popcorn kernels. Just the right mix of "meh" to be looked over, and nice enough that only a meanie-goat with just throw it away.

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Step 1: Gather Your Materials

You will need:

1 empty water bottle

1 jar with a wide top opening

1 marker

scissors

popcorn kernels

Step 2: Prepare the Water Bottle

Peel the label off the bottle and dry the insides. Stick it inside the jar and use your marker to draw a line on it right at the lip of the jar. Cut the bottle right below the line. Discard (or recycle) the top of the bottle.

Step 3: Fill 'er Up!

Place the lower half of the cut bottle into the jar. Use your fingers to push the bottle inwards, then pour some popcorn kernels into the sides of the jar. Shake it in circular motions to fill any gaps. Keep filling until it looks 100% full.

Step 4: Store Your Valuables

You can now safely insert your valuables: money, jewels, keys, that 1st series Garbage Pail Kid.

Step 5:

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Popcorn Kernel Jar Diversion Safe: I recently visited a spy shop for the very first time and was very intrigued by their line of secret diversion safes. Most of them were cool but on the pricy side. Some of the objects were rather enticing, making me think they'd be taken if found (I...

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Introduction: Articulated Grabber - Engineering Project for Kids

Have you ever dropped something behind the couch and couldn't get it? Or perhaps your parents keep the best snacks on the top shelf, out of reach? If so, this project is perfect for you! This'll extend your reach by over 30" (76cm)! I'll show you how to make the basic grabber, and then it's up to you to improve its grip. You can thank me later after you grab that package of cookies from the top of the fridge.

The grabber is just 1 of 18 hands-on projects from The STEAM Handbook! It's a book I wrote that's all about project-based learning for kids that blends applied Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. It's written in collaboration with Galileo Learning, whose mission is to develop the next generation of innovators who envision and create a better world. If you're into project-based learning, or just love making things with kids, then definitely grab a copy!

Step 1: Video Tutorial

To get started, just watch the video. For a materials list, step-by-step instructions, and inspiration for improving the grabber, keep going!

Step 2: Tools & Materials

For each grabber you'll need:

Step 3: Create the Handle

Build the handle! Overlap the paint stirrers by about 4" (10cm), and wrap tightly with masking tape in at least 2 places.

Step 4: Cut the Cardboard

Cut the cardboard. Cut 10" (23cm) pieces of cardboard that are about 1.5" (3.8cm) wide. An adult may need to prep this step with a utility knife and cutting mat.

(Picture 1) If kids are doing this step, then you can make it easier to cut by scoring the cardboard with an open scissor blade first, then cut using scissors normally (Picture 2).

(Picture 3) Tip! For the strongest grabber possible, make sure to cut along the corrugations as shown.

(Picture 4) Each grabber needs three 10" (23cm) and two 5" (12.5cm) pieces.

Step 5: Poke Holes Into the Cardboard

(Picture 1) Use a sharpened pencil to poke hinge holes into the cardboard as shown.

(Picture 2) The holes should be at least ½" (1cm) from the edges, and they don't need to be very big. Note that one piece isn't poked at all. Keep your pencil sharp by placing a scrap piece of cardboard behind the area you're piercing.

Step 6: Assemble the Grabber Mechanism

(Picture 1) Take the piece that doesn't have holes, bend it in half, and tape it to the end of the handle as shown. Overlap most of it with the handle, but leave about 1" (2.5cm) of the folded side not overlapped with the wood. Poke a hole through that part of the cardboard.

(Picture 2) Assemble the cardboard as shown using a metal fastener. On the other side, fold the fastener tabs completely flat, and secure in place with a piece of tape. This step is important! If the fastener tabs are not folded and taped, the grabber will come undone!

(Picture 3) Attach the two 5" (12.5cm) pieces as shown. Remember to fold and tape the fastener tabs.

Step 7: Attach the Rubber Band and String

(Picture 1) Attach the rubber band! This will help automatically open up the grabber. Start by stretching the rubber band with both hands, and slipping it under the middle fastener as shown, then repeat with the other middle fastener. (Picture 2)

(Picture 3 & 4) Tie a piece of string to the fastener as shown. The grabber is ready to test! Give the string a tug, and your grabber should close.

Step 8: Improve the Grabber's Grip

Time to really start innovating! The basic grabber mechanism probably isn't working that well. It's up to you to use your available materials to figure out how to improve your grabber's grip. Check out the pictures above for some inspiration.

For parents and teachers: Don't hand out an unlimited amount of materials for improving the grabber. Assign a specific number of materials per child, such as 2 craft sticks, 1 small piece of cardboard, and 1 small rectangle of foam. Limiting the materials prompts children to use their available resources more creatively. Otherwise, they may try to solve their problems by simply adding on more and more materials, rather than thoughtfully testing and redesigning.

Step 9: Conquer Your Challenges!

Find 3-5 objects of different shapes, weights, and sizes. Try to pick them all up easily! You'll probably find that your first grabber design doesn't work perfectly. Be Determined! Don't settle for a grabber that works just sometimes. Be willing to take apart your first idea and try something new until your grabber can pick up just about anything with ease!

Once you've conquered those challenges, look for other things to test your grabber's design. What about simple tasks, like pouring objects from one cup into another? Or can you grab a marker and write your name? Catch a ball mid-air? Keep finding new ways to push your design to the next level!

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Articulated Grabber - Engineering Project for Kids

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Articulated Grabber - Engineering Project for Kids: Have you ever dropped something behind the couch and couldn't get it? Or perhaps your parents keep the best snacks on the top shelf, out of reach? If so, this project is perfect for you! This'll extend your reach by over 30" (76cm)!

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Introduction: Scrambled Eggs - Still in the Shell !

Notice how the egg under that shell is a delicious shade of yellow rather than the typical white? In Japan this is called a Golden egg.

That's a nice name, but a more descriptive one would be " Scrambled egg still in the shell". This is a simple egg trick my Sensei told me about; it's easy and fun and makes a tasty hard-boiled treat.

**UPDATE** I've done some research. The actual name in Japanese is�rD�gu � or MD�D�g_~T which means Yellow Boiled Egg. Pretty straight forward name. I guess Golden egg is just the poetic version. (Instructables apparently doesn't support non-roman characters, so the Japanese didn't show up.)

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Step 1: Getting Started

All you need to make a Golden egg is:

1. a raw egg

2. one leg cut from a pair of nylons

Slip the egg into the nylons and place it half way between the toe and the opening. **EDIT**
**EDIT #2**Apparently the type of stocking / tight / legging / nylon may play a larger role than I knew. The stockings I use have a relatively low level of stretch. If the material is too stretchy then it won't spin properly. Also, it took me 4 eggs before I finally got a Golden egg (before I figured out the flashlight check in Step 3), so hang in there if it doesn't work on the first try! It's been suggested that what I'm really using here is one leg from a pair of stockings. This could very well be true, as I know literally nothing about nylons or stockings. If so, just replace each instance of "nylons" with "stockings", and go at it!

Step 2: Scramble Time

Step 3: Is It Golden Yet?

To check if your egg is properly scrambled, go to a dark room and shine a flashlight through your egg. An unscrambled egg will appear bright and yellow, and you may even see a shadow inside cast by the (still intact) yolk. A properly scrambled egg will be a much darker red color, since the yolk is now mixed with the albumen.

Step 4: Boil and Bubble

Of course, now that your egg is scrambled in the shell, you can cook it anyway you desire. I like to hard boil them, myself.

Put the eggs in a pot of lukewarm water until they are just covered. Heat. Once the water reaches a rolling boil set a timer for 6 minutes. When the timer rings, turn off the heat and soak in cold water to stop the cooking (and keep your hands safe).

**EDIT #3** People have commented on something I forgot to mention, which is that hard-boiled Golden eggs are harder to peel than regular hard-boiled eggs. For whatever reason, the scrambled egg grabs to the shell a bit stronger than usual and can make for an ugly peeled egg. (My first four eggs were hideous. Tasty, but hideous.) To solve this problem, and produce the not-ugly egg you see in this instructable, I used the back of a spoon to gently break the shell into small pieces, and then peeled it while submerged in a pot of cold water. It helped alot.

Step 5: Now What?

Now that you can make Golden eggs, what can you do with them? Well...

Just eat it. Hard-boiled Golden eggs taste good by themselves, but a little sprinkle of salt never goes amiss. Or you can chop them up and throw them over a salad for some delicious protein.

Mix it into a batch of regular boiled eggs. Like the old English tradition of hiding a coin in the pudding, whoever gets the golden egg gets good luck for the week. If it's Easter eggs we're talking about, then the Golden egg can grant good luck for the whole year. This throws a whole new twist into the Easter egg hunt tradition.

Put a raw scrambled egg back in the carton as a harmless prank. The next time someone goes to make a sunny-side up they'll get a scrambled surprise.

Hollow it out. Traditionally when hollowing out eggs you must break up the yolk with a long needle before it can be blown out. Golden eggs already have scrambled yolks, so just poke two tiny holes and blow it all out.

Like I said, I usually just eat them. But I'm sure you creative folks can think of more uses for Golden eggs. Go nuts!

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Scrambled Eggs - Still in the Shell !: Notice how the egg under that shell is a delicious shade of yellow rather than the typical white? In Japan this is called a Golden egg. That's a nice name, but a more descriptive one would be "Scrambled egg still in the shell".

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Introduction: LED Chaser Circuit Without IC

In this Instructable I show you how to make a simple LED chaser circuit. The special thing about this circuit is that it does not use an IC ( Integrated Circuit).
Video tutorial
By using different resistors, capacitors and transistors, I succeeded in this project to make a circuit that lights the LED lights one by one. The base of both the transistors are connected to + connection through resistor. Any one transistor will get activated first. (this is because no transistor is exactly similar to other one). Lets assume transistor 1 turns on first. When the transistor turns on the collector pin gets grounded and led at its collector lights up. Also the capacitor starts to charge through ground provided by 1st transistor and the 4.7 K resistor at the base of 2nd transistor. Since the 1st capacitor is charging it is taking current from the 4.7 K resistor which is at the base of 2nd transistor. The base of 2nd transistor has no current to activate its led. At some point 1st capacitor will charge up. And when it does so, there is no more current flowing through it. Now there is enough current that can flow through base of 2nd transistor. The 2nd transistor gets activated. (Including the led connected to its collector). The process repeats and when the 2nd capacitor is charged the third transistor is activated. Then the first, second and so on.

Supplies:

3 x 3 LED lights (any color you want)

3 BC547 transistors

3 330 Ohm resistors

3 4.7 K resistors

3 100 uF capacitors

Electrical wire (small pieces)

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Step 1: ​Connecting the Transistors

For this project I used BC547 NPN transistors. In the attachments is an image with the pin assignment to keep it clear. Bend the collector and base connections of all 3 transistors to the left. Bend the emitter pins to the right and solder them together.

Step 2: Mount the Capacitors

As described in the introduction, capacitors are placed between the transistors to "control" the circuit.

Solder capacitor 1 + to the collector of transistor 2

Solder capacitor 1 - to the base of transistor 1

Solder capacitor 2 + to the collector of transistor 3

Solder capacitor 2 - to the base of transistor 2

Solder capacitor 3 + to the collector of transistor 1

Solder capacitor 3 - to the base of transistor 3

Step 3: 4.7K Resistors

Solder a 4.7K resistor to all 3 base connections of the transistors. Connect the other ends of the resistors together.

Step 4: 330 Ohm Resistors

Solder a 330 Ohm resistor to all 3 collector connections of the transistors. Connect the other ends of the resistors together with the ends of the resistors from step 3.

Step 5: Prepare the LEDs

Because I like it looking I chose to mount the LEDs in a kind of star shape. Of course this can also be done in a straight line or another shape.

Solder the LEDs together per group of 3. Note that the anodes and cathodes are in the same direction.

Then solder the cathodes (-) of the three groups together.

Step 6: Connect the LEDs to the Circuit

Solder a red wire to the 3 plus connections of the LEDs. Solder a black wire to the joint minus connection of the LEDs.

Solder the other ends of the red wires to the collectors of the transistors. Sequence determines whether the sequence of the LEDs is left or right (reminds me or switching phases XD)

Solder the other end of the black wire to the connected emitter terminals.

Step 7: Connecting the Battery

Solder the red wire from the battery connector to the connected ends of the resistors. Solder the black cable from the battery connector to the connected emitter terminals of the transistors.

Step 8: Ready

Ready! Just click on the battery and the LED chaser will work!

The electrical diagram is in the appendix.

With the last few Instructables came the question for an electrical schematic of the circuit. Since I have no experience with drawing diagrams, I am very curious about what you think of this! Is this scheme well drawn and is it useful to you?
Video tutorial

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LED Chaser Circuit Without IC: In this Instructable I show you how to make a simple LED chaser circuit. The special thing about this circuit is that it does not use an IC (Integrated Circuit).Video tutorial By using different resistors, capacitors and transistors, I succeeded in ...

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Introduction: Simple Flip Flop Circuit

In this Instructable I show you how to make a Flip Flop LED circuit. The special thing about this circuit is that it does not use an IC ( Integrated Circuit).

By using different resistors, capacitors and transistors, I succeeded in this project to make a circuit that lights the LED lights one by one.
I will explain how the circuit works in the last step. Video Tutorial
Supplies:

2 LED lights (any color you want)

2 BC547 transistors

2 470 Ohm resistors

2 10K resistors

2 100 uF capacitors

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Step 1: Prepare 470 Ohm Resistors

For this step you need 2 470 ohm resistors. Bend one pin of both resistors 90 degrees. Then solder the bent pins together.
It doesn't matter how a resistor is placed, it works the same in both directions.

Step 2: ​Mount the 10K Resistors.

For this step you need the 2 10K resistors. Cut a piece off the pin on one side of both resistors. Then solder the resistors to the 2 resistors from the previous step.
The resistors from this step do not necessarily have to be 10K. As long as they are anywhere between 10K and 50K it is fine. (speed of changeover is therefore also different)

Step 3: Mount the First Transistor

Bend the collector and emitter terminals of the BC547 transistor 90 degrees. Solder the Collector to the 470 Ohm resistor and the Base to the 10K resistor.
The last image is the pinout of the BC547 transistor.

Step 4: Mount the Second Transistor

Bend the collector and emitter terminals of the BC547 transistor 90 degrees. Solder the Collector to the 470 Ohm resistor and the Base to the 10K resistor.

Step 5: Mount the LED Lights

Bend the connectors of the LED lights so that they are at an angle of 90 degrees. Solder the anode (+) of the first LED to one of the pins that are still free from the BC547 transistors (emitter).

Then solder the anode of the second LED to the other transistor.

Connect the cathodes (-) of both LED lights together by soldering them.

Step 6: ​Mount the Capacitors

For this project I used 100 uF capacitors. Between 10 uF and 100 uF works in any case (interval of the LED lamps changes with it)
Mount the first capacitor with the + connection between "transistor 1 and the 470 Ohm resistor" and with the - connection between "transistor 2 and the 10K resistor".

Mount the second capacitor with the + connection between "transistor 2 and the 470 Ohm resistor" and with the - connection between "transistor 1 and the 10K resistor".

Step 7: ​Mount the Power Supply

The circuit is finished so far. Only the power supply needs to be connected. I used a 9V battery for that.

Connect the + connection of the battery clip to the connection of the 4 resistors.

Connect the - connection of the battery clip to the connection between the 2 LED lamps.

Connect the 9V battery to the connector.

Step 8: Ready

The Flip Flop circuit is ready!
How it works
The base of both the transistors are connected to + connection through resistor. Any one transistor will get activated first. (this is because no transistor is exactly similar to other one). Lets assume transistor 1 turns on first. When the transistor turns on the collector pin gets grounded and led at its collector lights up. Also the capacitor starts to charge through ground provided by 1st transistor and the 10k resistor at the base of 2nd transistor. Since the 1st capacitor is charging it is taking current from the 10k resistor which is at the base of 2nd transistor. The base of 2nd transistor has no current to activate its led. At some point 1st capacitor will charge up. And when it does so, there is no more current flowing through it. Now there is enough current that can flow through base of 2nd transistor. The 2nd transistor gets activated. (Including the led connected to its collector).
Video Tutorial I am curious about your creations, comments and additions! See you soon. New Pew

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Simple Flip Flop Circuit: In this Instructable I show you how to make a Flip Flop LED circuit. The special thing about this circuit is that it does not use an IC (Integrated Circuit). By using different resistors, capacitors and transistors, I succeeded in this project to ma...

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Introduction: Labyrinth Puzzle Box

Like many other people, I came across this puzzle box on Thingiverse by SneakyPoo (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:201097) and after printing it out and playing with it I was struck with how much fun it was, and wanted to see how to make one from scratch.

Instructable-er adena2 has an excellent instructable ( https://www.instructables.com/Labyrinth-Puzzle-Box/) which shows a similar process. The main difference between that instructable and this one, is that rather than having the maze hidden inside the cap, this one has the maze on the outside of the inner core. The method used to create the maze is a little different as well, so between these two instructables you should get a clear idea how to go about making one of these fun puzzles.

Supplies:

Step 1: Create and Flatten a Cylinder in Fusion 360 - Part 1

In a new design in Fusion 360, create a new sketch on the XY plane. Using the circle tool, create a circle with the diameter sized to the inside of the cylinder. In this case I want the inner diameter to be 25 mm

In order to unfold our cylinder, we will need to have a small cut in the geometry. Draw a line that intersects the circle, and then create an offset of that line at a distance of 1 mm

Using the trim tool, trim the small piece of the circle between the two lines. You can also turn the two lines into construction lines, just to make them easier to distinguish

Click finish sketch, and click the Sheet Metal tab in Fusion 360

Step 2: Create and Flatten a Cylinder in Fusion 360 - Part 2

Step 3: Create and Flatten a Cylinder in Fusion 360 - Part 3

Step 4: Create and Flatten a Cylinder in Fusion 360 - Part 4

Step 5: Create the Maze

Create a sketch on top of the exterior side of the flattened cylinder and this is where we will create the maze

If you like, you can edit the grid settings to help make things line up and by turning on the snap to grid. note that in this case I want to use a groove that is 3 mm deep, and has a 45 degree angle on the sites. This means the width of the path at the surface needs to be 6 mm so I set that to the grid size to make it easier.

Create the 'right' path that will allow you to unlock the cylinder. Starting at the top edge create your path using a series of lines.

I've also included a small horizontal length at the bottom which will help lock the box together I'm keeping the last path 6 mm from the bottom of the cylinder to account for the fact that the pin will be below the top edge of the cap

At this point you can go ahead and add all the false paths, or even a second 'right' path if you wanted to have that option.

Remember that we added a 0.5 mm flat plane to allow us to unroll the cylinder, so make sure that any lines that cross the edges are extended so they go right to that edge

Step 6: Create the Grooves in the Cylinder

To create the grooves in the cylinder face, we are going to use a simple extrude command, and using an angle in the cut will give us a triangular profile for the groove. The reason I want a triangle shaped groove is that you will get the cleanest 3D print with 45 degree overhangs without having to use any supports

Since our groove will be 6 mm wide and 3 mm deep, we will create the extrusion profile by offsetting the paths by 2.9 mm each side of each path and then joining the ends. Note that the reason we are using 2.9 and not 3 mm for the offset, is that in the case where two paths are right next to each other, there needs to be a tiny amount of material between them otherwise the area will be combined together.

Using the offset tool, select a path and create two offsets at + 2.9 mm and - 2.9 mm. Once the paths are created, to make things a little clearer I change the style of the original line in the middle to construction

Using this basic technique work your way around the paths until they are all offset. Note you may have to do some trimming / extending lines to get everything right. Don't forget to close the paths anywhere they touch the outside of the plane, or where a path ends

You should end up with one or more fully connected paths you can use to extrude into the cylinder surface

To create the grooves, use the Extrude command. Extrude a distance of -3 mm, and in the Taper Angle field use a value of -44.0 degrees (normally we'd use -45 degrees, but since we made the paths slightly narrower, you need a steeper angle to avoid any errors)

To check if everything is working correctly, in the design timeline, roll the marker right to the end and you should see the grooves wrap around the cylinder

Step 7: Extending the Grooves Across the Edges

Step 8: Finishing the Bottom of the Inner Cylinder

Create a new drawing using the bottom face of the cylinder as the reference plane

Create a circle from the centre of the cylinder to the exterior. Create an offset of that circle equal to the wall thickness you plan for the cap (3 mm) plus a small amount of clearance for the cap (1 mm)

Extrude the entire face on the drawing to create an area you can grip when you are solving the puzzle. It can be whatever you want, 8 mm seemed to work well for me

You are done with the hard part! Next, we'll create the pin that rides in the groove and then mesh that with the top cap

Step 9: Creating the Guide Pin

Locate the area at the bottom where the pin will be located in the closed position. Use the Offset Plane tool to create a plane that intersects the cylinder in the middle of the groove

To make it easier to see, select Section Analysis from the Inspect menu, and click the new construction plane

Create a new drawing on the same construction plane to start to create the pin

Draw a circle from the centre of the drawing that is 1 mm wider than the exterior of the centre cylinder (this accommodates for the clearance on the inside of the cap)

Draw a line from the centre to outside the edge of the larger circle, intersecting the section where the pin would rest

Using the line tool, create 1/2 the shape of the pointer, making sure that the shape crosses the circle which represents the inner surface of the cap. Click Finish Sketch

To create the pin, we will revolve the triangular sketch around it's center axis. Select Revolve from the Create menu, select the triangular area as the profile, and the line running to the center of the circle as the axis.

Hide the section analysis to show the entire pin to make sure it still fits in the groove

Step 10: Create the Outer Shell

Using the drawing you created to form the base of the inner cylinder, create another offset from the centre circle by .5 mm. This w ill give you the clearance on the inside of the cap

Extrude the outside of the cylinder to the top of the inner core. Make sure that New Body is selected in the Operation field to create a separate body

In order to give a little clearance for the top of the lid, extend the height of the cylinder by 1 mm using either a Push/Pull or Extrude operation

Create a new drawing at this new top edge and create a circle the diameter of the exterior of the cap. Extrude the top cap to the same thickness as the walls

Combine the outer cap and the pin together into one 3D printable object by selecting Combine from the Modify menu, and selecting the cap as the target body, and the pin as the tool body. Make sure that Join is selected, and click OK to combine. Tip: select the two bodies to join by clicking on them in the Browser Tree on the left side of the screen. It's much easier than trying to tumble the model around to find the bodies

If you hide the inner core and look inside the cap, you should now see the pin on the inside surface

That's it you are done! If you want to do things like add a chamfer, or a logo in the top of the cap etc, now's the time to do it and you are ready for 3D printing

Step 11: 3D Printing Your Parts

These parts have been designed to be printed on any FDM type printer without needing any supports. You can see from the section analysis, that all of the features are created using a 45 degree overhang which allows you to print without needing supports

Of course you can also print this using a SLA printer, which would mean you can make the walls of the grooves steeper or even square

The main challenge I've found with some of these parts is making sure that they are firmly on the printer bed as they can come off when you are printing tall skinny things. I've found using a raft gives me the best results, but as long as you have a well dialled in printer you should be fine

FYI settings I used for the examples you see in here:

Printer: Craftbot Plus

Material: matte PLA from Overture, silver and copper silk PLA from Eryone

Temperatures: 199 / 70 for hotend / platform

Layer Height: .2 mm

Print Speed 55 mm/s

That's it - using this same approach and steps you can design any kind of labyrinth box, easy or hard, with the maze on the inside or outside of the cylinders, even do the nesting variations where you have multiple mazes nested inside each other. Hope you found this useful, having fun making your labyrinth boxes

Step 12: STL Files

If you just want to skip straight to the print and play part, here are the STL files for the parts that were produced as a result of this instructable.

UPDATE: I've made some small tweaks to the original STL files to make the cap fit a little more snugly (basically increased the size of the pin in Step 9). In addition, I've also created a version with a smaller size groove for the maze which means the maze is a little longer and more of a challenge.

The process is the same, but I set the grid to 4mm, created the maze as before, and then offset it by 1.9mm each side of the line. When extruding the maze into the cylinder, it was extruded 2 mm instead of 3, with a k-43 degree angle to form the groove. Repeat step 9 to size the pin to the new groove size and end position and those are all the changes you need.

The STL files for both size of maze are below, and I've included a small insert that fits into the design at the top of the cap which may help you along if you get stuck :¬D)

Step 13: Circle Version!

When looking at making the maze pattern, it struck me that there's probably no reason you have to stick with horizontal and vertical lines, so I thought I'd try a version that includes some circles. So I came up with the random pattern you see here, and are ready to print it off. I have no idea whether it's going to be easier or harder to do, but it sure looks interesting.

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Labyrinth Puzzle Box: Like many other people, I came across this puzzle box on Thingiverse by SneakyPoo (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:201097) and after printing it out and playing with it I was struck with how much fun it was, and wanted to see how to make one from ...

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Introduction: Wireless AC Current Detector

While making my previous Instructable ( easy infrared proximity sensor) I figured out a few things about using 2 transistors in a row to amplify a very weak signal. In this Instructable I will elaborate on this principle which is also called the " Darlington principle".

In this circuit, an antenna (spring) is connected to the base of first transistor. When we place this antenna near an object that is AC energized, a small current gets induced into the antenna due to electromagnetic induction. This current triggers the first transistor. Output of the first transistor triggers the second. The second transistor switches on the LED indicating that AC voltage is present.
Video tutorial
Supplies:

2 BC547 transistors

LED

220 Ohm resistor

Spring (ballpoint spring or copper wire)

9V Battery

9V Battery clip

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Step 1: Connecting the Transistors

Describing this step is very laborious. The images make it a lot clearer!

Bend the collector of transistor 1 ninety degrees

Bend the base of transistor 1 all the way over the transistor

Bend the collector of transistor 2 ninety degrees

Connect the emitter from transistor 1 to the base of transistor 2

Connect the collector from transistor 1 to the collector of transistor 2

Cut off the protruding ends

Bend the protruding end where the collectors are connected 90 degrees

Step 2: Connecting the Resistance

The second transistor controls the LED. A resistor must intervene here to protect the LED. In this circuit I am using a 220 ohm resistor.

The resistor can be placed in front of or behind the LED and works the same in both directions. To keep the whole compact so that it can be placed on the battery connector later, it comes directly after the transistor.

Solder the resistor to the emitter (output) of the second transistor.

Bend the other pin 90 degrees and cut it shortly after the bend.

Step 3: Connecting the LED

Bend the anode (+) of the LED 90 degrees and cut it to a few millimeters.

Solder the anode to the resistor.

Cut the cathode (-) to the same length as the pin protruding from the connected emitters.

The 2 protruding pins should have about the same pitch as the 2 connectors of the battery connector. This is because the whole can be mounted on the battery connector later.

Step 4: Prepare the Connector.

The whole is mounted on the connector in the next step. For this, the connector must first be adjusted a little.

Cut the wires coming out of the connector.

Drill 2 small holes of about 2 millimeters through the connector.

Step 5: Mount the Connector

Slide the 2 protruding pins through the connector.

Solder the pins to the connector.

The pin of the collectors to the + connector, the pin of the cathode of the LED comes to the - connector.

Step 6: Install the Spring

A spring is attached to the base connection of transistor 1. This will function as an antenna to receive the electromagnetic induction from the AC circuit.

Slide the feather over the base and solder the connection.
If you don't have a feather, you can also make a spiral from, for example, a piece of copper wire.

Step 7: Ready

The Wireless AC Current Detector is ready! You only have to click it on the battery and you can use it.
Note that this is a hobby project to understand how transistors work! Always use approved tools when working on an electrical installation!
Update: User raddevus made a schematic of the circuit, it is included in the pictures of this step. Thanks raddevus!
Video tutorial:

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Wireless AC Current Detector: While making my previous Instructable (easy infrared proximity sensor) I figured out a few things about using 2 transistors in a row to amplify a very weak signal. In this Instructable I will elaborate on this principle which is also called the "Dar...

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Introduction: Wood Arch Blocks in 5 Minutes!

What do Rome, McDonalds, and The Rock's eyebrows all have in common? Arches! Big friendly semi-circles that humans have used for thousands of years in architecture, art, and facial expressions due to their aesthetic and physical properties. Humans and nature have done so much with them from a giant bridge over the Yangtze to nature-made wonder to arch-nemeses. These forms got function!

Now you can build your own in under 5 minutes out of a single board of wood. Lots of them! And they're amazing not only for the pre-school construction worker, but for the advanced physics and math student as well. So arch those eyebrows and get ready for the quickest arch humanity has ever built.

What: Wood Arches in 5 Minutes

Time: (oh you know)

Cost: ~free, just scrap wood used

Concepts: physics, architecture, forces, compression, tension, geometry, angles, math

Materials:

Any piece of wood

Sandpaper (optional)

Tools:

Saw (bandsaws work great)

Hot glue gun (optional)

Let's build!

Step 1: Steps Toward Arch-dom!

Building your arch is as simple as 1, 2, 3....well, 4! And mostly just the last three steps repeated.

Here's the system. First, make an angled cut in your wood (see angle chart in next step). You flip the wood over, and measure some distance on the top edge (I chose 1" for my first arch). Then you cut the same angle from that mark, making a wood trapezoid. After that, repeat the marking and cutting, and before you know it, you'll have all the trapezoids you need to build your arch. Huzzah!

You can reference the drawing in this step, and we'll go through step by step below. Let's go!

Step 2: Choose Your Angle and Cut

The first thing to choose is what angle you want to cut your wood at. If you want to get mathy here, you can. Neatly, the angle you choose for each cut will determine the total number of pieces you need to make for your arch. I started with 15 degrees (off of 90), set my sled, and cut an angled piece of wood. 15 degrees means I will need six pieces for my first arch. How do I know this? Math!

An easy calculation is that 2*(degree of cut)*(number of pieces)=180 degrees. Then you can solve for the variables from there. Or use my handy-dandy chart!

Step 3: Flip and Cut Again

Now flip your piece of wood over and measure along the top edge. I chose to measure 1" for each of these pieces. I then kept my sled at the same angle, and cut again, making a trapezoid.

You'll find that if you want to vary these measurements to make different sized blocks, you can (see Step 6). The important thing is to make sure that you make at least a pair of each measurement, so your arch can be symmetrical on both sides. However, you'll see in Step 6 that you can break that rule, too! :)

Step 4: Repeat for Arch!

Once you get going, you simply flip wood, measure, and cut again. You can make an arch in no time!

To speed it up, you can even make a jig so you don't have to measure each time. This cuts your 5 minute arch time down to about 90 seconds. Take that, Ancient Rome!

Step 5: Add Friction to Base

In arch construction, you'll find a number of solutions for supporting the base (also known as "abutments"). All of the force of the arch acts as a compression force on the two bases, which pushes outward as well as down. Builders have come up with many solutions from buttresses, pinnacles, and more. PBS has actually built a neat physics engine with arches to demonstrate these.

For ours, add a little sandpaper to the bottom of both bases for extra friction. Choose two pieces to be your base, and trace the bottoms on the back of the sandpaper. Cut them out and hot glue them on for some extra friction to keep your arch together. Easy!

Step 6: Build TONS OF ARCHES.

Oh there's just so much you can build! First, try changing the angle you cut, or the distances between each cut. For example, in the first photo, I cut a pair of pieces starting at 3" each, then decreased by 0.5" for each progressive pair of blocks. You'll find that you can even make wonky (but in their own ways purdy) arches by putting them together out of order. You can experiment with forces by applying pressure in different places, and even see the limits of when they fail.

After you've got a bunch of arches, simply keep the blocks in a pile and leave it to your creative builder to make new forms previously unimagined.

If you want to read more about the tension, compression, and physics of arches, here is a great video on the concept.

I'd love to see what you build below! And your comments, questions, and thoughts, too! Have fun, keep exploring, and keep m-arching on. :)

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Wood Arch Blocks in 5 Minutes! : What do Rome, McDonalds, and The Rock's eyebrows all have in common? Arches! Big friendly semi-circles that humans have used for thousands of years in architecture, art, and facial expressions due to their aesthetic and physical properties. Humans a...

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Introduction: Pyramid Marble Run

Have fun making this simple 'Pyramid Marble Run'

Supplies:

1. Cardboard

2. Hot glue gun

3. Scissors

4. Pen

5. Sticky tape

6. Ruler

4 People Made This Project!

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Step 1: Cutting the Cardboard

Cut 5 triangles from the cardboard

Cut 4 equilateral (all sides the same) triangles I cut mine 18cm

Cut the fifth triangle 1 cm larger (used later for the marble ramps)

Step 2: Joining the Triangles

Take the four small triangles and place them together with all the corners at the top

As shown In the picture

Step 3: Tape Them Together

Take some tape and tape the triangles together

Step 4: Making the Pyramid

Fold the right side triangle down and then fold the left triangle down

The tape on the right triangle will join the two triangles together

Open it out to make the pyramid

Then take some tape and tape the top to secure the pyramid

Step 5: Making the Base

Take a sheet of cardboard and put your pyramid on it

Then take a pen and trace around the pyramid

Once you have finished tracing all sides take a pair of scissors and cut it out, this will be the base of the pyramid

Turn the pyramid on its side and put the base in line with the bottom triangle

Then take some tape and tape them together

Then fold the base up and tape the rest of the sides

As shown above

Step 6: Making the Ramps

Now take the biggest triangle and draw the marble ramps using a pen and ruler, make the ramps 1.5cm or a bit bigger depending on the size of your marbles

Once you've finished drawing the ramps take some scissors and cut them out

You should have at least seven ramps

If you want a shallow marble ramp you might need to make some more ramps

Step 7: Attaching the Ramps

Take a ruler and draw an angled line on the pyramid

This is the mark of where the ramp will be

Now, using a hot glue gun stick the smallest ramp into place

Now take the second ramp and glue it onto the pyramid

Make sure the end of the second ramp is lower than the first ramp

This will let the marbles roll down

Step 8: Finishing Off

Carry on glueing your ramps onto the pyramid until you get to the bottom.

Congratulations you have now finished. You can enjoy rolling your marbles down the ramp.

you can personalise your marble run by painting or colouring it in.

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Have fun making this simple 'Pyramid Marble Run' Cardboard Hot glue gun Scissors Pen Sticky tape Ruler 4 People Made This Project!

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Introduction: Customizable Nut & Bolt Using Tinkercad Codeblocks

We all tinkerers need various sizes of nuts and bolts and sometimes its hard to find the particular size you are looking for so here's the solution for it, why don't we make our own customised pair of Nut and Bolt for our particular needs.
So in this Instructables I will show you how you can make your own pair of Nuts and Bolts with just few lines of codes. All you need is just a computer with a reliable internet connection and access to https://www.tinkercad.com/codeblocks.

If you want to follow along with the steps on Tinkercad you can go to the link below to access the tinkercad Codeblocks project.
https://www.tinkercad.com/codeblocks/0vWvfpBUPHQ

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Step 1: Parameters Involved in Bolts

We have some variables in our Codeblocks sketch which act as the base parameter for the model we are trying to make i.e. the Bolt and the same parameters will be followed for the Nut as well.

Length: Length determines how long will our bolt will be.

Diameter : It determines the Diameter of the bolt and also the inner diameter of the Nut.

Nut Tolerance : It is used to set the tolerance of 3D printed Nut and Bolt and will vary according to the printer tolerance level. I have used 1.05 as for AnyCubic I3 Mega.

Note: Pitch is also a parameter for any Bolt but in the followed project we have chosen the standard pitch angle for the Bolt to be 5 degree.

Step 2: Explanation of the CodeBlocks : Object Helix Sub Part

To make a bolt we are first going to make a helix which will then be subtracted from the cylindrical body to make the structure of a bolt.

To create a helix we are using quarters of a toroid and rotating across the joining point with the pitch angle of 5 degree and rotating it across the Z-Axis with 90 degree so with 4 such quarters we will get our basic structure which can be replicated further to create a full helical structure.

To Create the Quarter of a toroid we first create a toroid then two subtracting cuboid of little more than half of the toroid and move one across Y and another across Y by the distance a little less than the radius then group then all.

Now this quarter toroid is rotated by 5 degrees and a copy of it is rotated across 5 axis which then is moved up by the distance of (Sin(5º)*diameter)

Step 3: Explanation of the CodeBlocks : Object Bolt

As we have the basic structure of the helix now we will replicate it appropriate number of times to cover the full length of the cylindrical body to cut out from. i.e. it would be replicated (Sin(5) X diameter X 4) +1) number of times.

The subtractive conical objects are added to provide a chamfer to the bolt which is good for easy penetration in the Nut or similar object.

As the replication is done we will create a group and there by subtracting the helix and conical objects and thereafter we can add the hexagonal top of the Bolt by adding a 6 sided polygon object and scaling it down. And moving up by length of the bolt.

Step 4: Explanation of the CodeBlocks : Object Nut

After knowing all the basics making the Nut object would be pretty easy as we have the required Helix Sub Part (scaled appropriately to Nut Tolerance parameter) first we have copies of subtractive Helix Sub Part object thrice at appropriate Z Heights and moved adjacent to the bolt along with we create a new 6 sided Polygon i.e. the Nut Body with a subtractive cylinder of diameter equals to (diameter*Nut Tolerance) to complete the Nut Structure by grouping all of it together.

Step 5: 3D Print It

The Bolt Body is rotated 180 degrees around the middle so that both the Nut and Bolt are flat for 3D printing.

Now the Design is complete we can Export it using the Export Button on the Top Right corner of the Tinkercad Codeblocks into .STL or .OBJ Format and send to any 3D Slicer like Ultimater Cura or Simplfy3D to get the GCODE for 3D Printing.

If you have any queries regarding the codeblocks or the project in general then do comment below I will try to help you out.

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Customizable Nut & Bolt Using Tinkercad Codeblocks

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Customizable Nut & Bolt Using Tinkercad Codeblocks: We all tinkerers need various sizes of nuts and bolts and sometimes its hard to find the particular size you are looking for so here's the solution for it, why don't we make our own customised pair of Nut and Bolt for our particular needs.So in this...

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A transistor is a device mostly used for switching purposes. As one of the sizable semiconductor devices, the transistor has found use in great digital applications such as embedded systems, digital circuits, and control systems. In both digital and analog domains transistors are substantially used for exceptional utility usage like amplification, logic operations, switching and so on.

In this project we use the transistors as a switch. A transistor conducts current across the collector-emitter path only when a voltage is applied to the base. When no base voltage is present, the switch is off. When base voltage is present, the switch is on. To provide the LED with sufficient voltage, we use the first transistor, which is controlled with the signal from the photodiode, to control the second transistor. This gives the LED power directly from the battery.

Solder the emitter of transistor 1 to the base of transistor 2.

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How to Make a IR Proximity Sensor at Home

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How to Make a IR Proximity Sensor at Home: In this Instructable I show you how to make a simple infrared sensor for hobby projects and to learn how an infrared sensor works.I used an infrared sensor with one of my previous Instructables (the automatic hand sanitizer dispenser) but I didn't k...

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Introduction: 3d Maze Game Using Arduino

Hello friends , so today we are going to make a maze game using ARDUINO UNO.

As Arduino Uno is the mostly used board it is very cool to make games with it. In this Instructable lets make the maze game which is controlled using joysticks .

Don't forget to Vote and this is MY FIRST INSTRUCTABLE.

Supplies:

1.Cardboard(MDF Board)

2.Joystick Module*2

3.SG90 Servo Motor*4

4.Arduino Uno

5.Breadboard

6.Nuts

7.Nail pins

8.Jumper wires

9.Connecting wires

10.Some cardboard pieces

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Step 1: Joining the Joystick

Firstly we are going to make a remote controller to control our gaming setup.
This is done easily by using joystick module. Place the joystick module on the cardboard and add two side cardboard pieces to make it like a jostick arm. This wo controllers are help to control the 4 servo motors effectively and it makes the control very cool even. Even though if you want to increase the difficulty of our game you can do connections of servo with jostick module in opposite manner easily.

Step 2: Pieces

Take cardboard and make some pieces according to the size of the servo motors.

This cardboard pieces can connect the servo motors perpendicular to each other.

Step 3: Joining the Servos

Take the two servo motors and connect them perpendicular to each other so that they can control the X and Y axis turning of the maze when controlled with the joystick.

Place this two pairs on the cardboard piece to hold the maze over it.

In order to make the base strong we can also use the MDF board rather than the cardboard.

Step 4: Connecting the Parts

Place the breadboard and Arduino Uno on cardboard and connect it with the joysticks using glue gun.

Step 5: Cuttings

Take the cardboard and make a difficult maze over it.

Then use the cardboard pieces to make a 3D maze easily and surround it with borders.

Step 6: Connections

1.Connect s1,s2,s3 and s4 to the arduino digital pins (any according to you)

2.Connect the jostick modules to analog pins A0,A1,A1 AND A3 consecutively .

NOTE:-

1.Remember while uploading the given program into arduino that your connected pins and analog pins must be same otherwise the project doesn't works.

2.Change the pin no. in the programming code according to your connections.

Step 7: Programming

Step 8: Result

Our 3D MAZE GAME is ready to be played.

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3d Maze Game Using Arduino: Hello friends , so today we are going to make a maze game using ARDUINO UNO.As Arduino Uno is the mostly used board it is very cool to make games with it. In this Instructable lets make the maze game which is controlled using joysticks .Don't forget...

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Introduction: VERTICAL X-Y PLOTTER || DRAWING ROBOT || ARDUINO PLOTTER

In this instructable, we will learn to make XY plotter/ Vertical plotter drawing machine using Arduino. With this very efficient Vertical Drawing machine, We can draw images on different paper sizes, wall or whiteboard along with printing texts, generating arts and graffiti. Vector images(SVG) are fed to them as input, for printing jpeg and png files, use a converter so as to convert the file to SVG file format. We will be using Arduino, l293d shield and IC, servo, 3-D printer as basic requirement for printing the parts required. Along with these hardware ,MAKELANGELO jar file will also be used as software for feeding instructions. Physics plays an important role for proper and efficient working of this project, so we should keep an eye on the functioning of tension and friction throughout the time we are working on this project.

Step 1: REQUIRED PARTS FOR PLOTTER:

Step 2: 3D Models:

Applications that I used:

Autodesk fusion 360 for preparing the 3-D model of the required files

Ultimaker Cura 4.8.0 for slicing the file and converting it to g-code file format.

Step 3: ASSEMBLY OF HARDWARE:

Connect the rubber belts on the central marker holding 3d printed part. (Adjust the length of the belts as per the size of your whiteboard.)

Connect your servo motor to the central marker holding 3d printed part such that its head faces upward.(For pen lifting servo, use one capacitor across VCC and GND(470uf or above),
it will avoid jittering issues of servo.)

Assemble the Nema 17 stepper motors on the mounting brackets that you have printed.

Make sure to attach weight around both sides of the motors so that the tension between the connected belts are maintained.(I used old iron rods and old lipos of around 200 grams each on both the sides.)

Don't forget to attach a weight to the central marker holding 3d printed part so that the marker draws efficiently.

Step 4: CIRCUIT CONNECTIONS:

UPGRADING MOTOR SHIELD DRIVER FOR HIGH TORQUE NEMA-17 STEPPER MOTORS:
In the link mentioned below, you will get to know how to use a high-torque stepper motor(in this case we are using Nema 17 having torque of 4.2 kg-cm) with the L293D motor driver. Since, using high torque stepper motors with motor driver generates a lot of heating issues, using two IC's one above another reduced overheating and efficient working of the plotter. The cause is high current requirement. So, he modified the L293D Motor driver shield to solve this problem.

After mounting IC's , make all the connections as mentioned in the picture shown above.

Step 5: SOURCE CODE AND MAKELANGELO:

Install Arduino IDE .

Download the following compressed file for Makelangelo and its libraries from any of these two links:

Software link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dpYN3MvAzodpJ1D5Gcl-Q_iCNZoIiZjE/view?usp=sharing

Unzip the .rar file and save the files and folders onto any of your local disks.

Now open Makelangelo folder and go to makelangeloFirmwareAMS-2 folder, open the Arduino sketch file and make desired changes in the code according to your hardware setup and upload the code to your Arduino Uno R3. (remember the COM port used for communication with Arduino for using the Makelangelo file.)

Come back to the parent folder and open the executable jar file(Makelangelo-7.11.0-with-dependencies).

Go to Settings inside Makelangelo-7.11.0-with-dependencies file and make desired changes in machine, paper, pen settings according to your whiteboard dimensions.(You can also change the page size from 4A0,A1,A2,A3.......ARCH E1. )

Make sure to use proper machine dimensions and paper settings and leaving 10-20% margin towards each edge of the paper size you choose.

Now click on CONNECT option and select the COM port whichever port you are using for your communication with Arduino.(Now, communication is established between the jar file and the Arduino.)

Now once the connection is done, Set Home the marker to your desired location(mostly preferred to set the marker 0.35 of the length of the whiteboard. )

Use Open File and Generate Art to insert different images of SVG type(Find any vector drawing image. Convert image to the SVG format from any converter platform like inkscape) and generate different arts pre-installed and text of your own choice.

Finally, press Start to start plotting amazing drawings and texts of your choice .To stop the plotter, use Pause and Halt.

Step 6: SOME AWESOME PROJECTS:

HAVE A LOOK ON SOME OF THESE AMAZING PROJECTS .
Copyright © 2021 The Makelangelo. http://www.makelangelo.com/

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VERTICAL X-Y PLOTTER || DRAWING ROBOT || ARDUINO PLOTTER

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VERTICAL X-Y PLOTTER || DRAWING ROBOT || ARDUINO PLOTTER: In this instructable, we will learn to make XY plotter/ Vertical plotter drawing machine using Arduino. With this very efficient Vertical Drawing machine, We can draw images on different paper sizes, wall or whiteboard along with printing texts, gen...

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CARDBOARD Robotic Hydraulic Arm: Hello Instructables!In this Instructables we will be showing you how to make your very own Hydraulic Arm! This project focuses on the principles of hydraulic movements. To do that we made a small scale demonstration of a Robotic Hydraulic Arm. We m...

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Introduction: Self-regulating Watering System

In short: this method uses the technology of some bird water bottles (like this). Additionally, you'll also use some communicating vessels.

The basic idea is drawn in pic #1.

To make it, you'll need:

- plastic bottle with cap
- pot plate
- tubing (about 3 to 5 mm of internal diameter)

How to do it
1. Drill a hole (about 1 cm wide) at the bottom of the bottle (pic #2). The hole must be below the rim of the plate.
2. Fill the bottle through the hole. Then put the bottle inside the plate (pic #3).
3. Fill the tube with water and use it to connect this plate to other plates (pic#4; more on this later).

How it works
A1. Water will fall off the bottle until its level (outside) reach the top of the hole.
A2. When the level of water (outside) goes down, some air will enter the bottle through the hole, and more water will fall off.

B. The tubing will transform the two (or more) plates in communicating vessels. The water level will be the same in all plates (relative to the ground).

Notes
1. You can connect several plates to the main plate.
2. Make sure all the plates are in adequate level. You can easily level them with chopsticks or folded newspaper under any plate, for example.
3. The pot size and soil type may interfere in the success of this method. Also, be aware of watering needs of your plants.
4. Make sure there are no air bubbles inside the tubing. Due to the small diameter of the tubing, air will probably clog it.

Advantages
1. It is really self-regulating. (Some other methods depends on climate, watering needs and dripping rate.)
2. No need for electrical devices. No powering needs.

Drawbacks
1. It only works with pot plates or something like it (i.e. good for indoor use, but almost useless outdoor).
2. May not work with large pots (if soil capillarity is not sufficient to pull water from plate to the plant roots).

(P.S.: English is not my first language. Please, correct me if there is something wrong. Also... this is my first Instructable, so... please let me know if it lacks something.)

Step 1: Self-regulating Watering System: Alternatives

Alternatives

1. You can use a large tray to put the water bottle and a lot of pots. (See pic #1 in this step.)

2. If you don't have tubings, and you can place the bottle near the plants, then you can connect the plates using some cotton string or cloth. (See pic #2.)

3. You can adjust this idea in many ways. (See pic #3.)

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Self-regulating Watering System: In short: this method uses the technology of some bird water bottles (like this). Additionally, you'll also use some communicating vessels. The basic idea is drawn in pic #1. To make it, you'll need: - plastic bottle with cap - pot plate - tubin...

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Introduction: Spiral Ramp for Wooden Train Tracks

Here's how I made custom supports for my son's wooden train track set, to make a spiral ramp that goes 3 'storeys' high (in toy train terms, that is). This project was an exercise in combining 3D printed precision parts with wooden bases, to complement the wooden aesthetic of the overall train set.

This design is compatible with BRIO, IKEA and Thomas the Tank Engine wooden train set parts.

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Step 1: Inspiration: Basic 3D Printed Track Supports

The various brands of compatible wooden train tracks come with simple wooden piers to raise up the tracks to bridge height. But one bump from an excited kid and the whole setup will come tumbling down. I came across this design of a clip-on track support by user sir_indy on thingiverse. Link here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2025414
The whole idea is that these plastic piers will clip on tightly to the wooden track pieces, and won't fall easily. I customised a set of these for my son's train set (see the blue plastic piece in the foreground), and it works like a charm.

Step 2: Designing Supports for a Spiral Ramp

To create a spiral ramp, each of the supports needs to be a different height. The 'easy way' to do this would have been to just 3D print different height supports. However, I didn't like the look of having tall plastic columns all over this lovely wooden play set. And the tallest columns wouldn't fit the printable area in my 3D printer anyway, and even if they could be printed, it would take days to print all of those tall supports individually.

I realised that really only the 'clip' portion of the piers needs to be 3D printed, to be an accurate and tight 'snap fit' to the tracks. The rest of it can just be a simple timber block. So I just drew up some single clips and double stacked clips in Sketchup, and printed those out in batches. It is so much faster this way - a plate of 8 single clips could print out in about 2 hours.

The 3D files are attached here, if anyone is interested. These should fit all the typical compatible train tracks.

I measured the height of the existing bridges and basic single-tier track supports in the set, which are at 65mm high (base of the track). Let's call this bridge level L1, and the real floor level L0. I wanted to create a spiral that would go up 1.5 turns, starting from L1 up to L3.

The calculated desired heights of each support are as follows:

L0 = 0mm (Floor level)
L1 = 65mm (Bridge level / Single-tier supports)
L2 = 130mm (min 2 sets)
L3 = 195mm (min 1 piece)

A = 70mm
B = 80.4mm
C = 90.8mm
D = 101.3mm
E = 111.7mm
F = 122.1mm
G = 132.5mm
H =142.9mm

(A-H: 1 piece each)

Step 3: Cut the Support Blocks

I cut the support blocks for the various piers out of some pre-finished pine planks I had lying around. (Old IKEA bed slats, I believe!) Be sure to measure 5mm shorter than the desired finished height, to accommodate the thickness of the 3D printed clip part.

I used masking tape to prevent tear-out, when using my mitre saw.

The ascending blocks (A-H) should form a perfect ascending set of steps as shown. Each one ~10.4mm taller than the previous one.

Step 4: Round Off the Blocks

These pine planks were a bit wider than the tracks, which is good for stability. However the squarish corners at the top bugged me, so I rounded them off.

First, I clamped a few blocks together, and used a 15mm round-over bit on my trim router to round off the 'shoulders' of the blocks. Then, I switched over to a 5mm round-over bit to round off the edges.

Finally I sanded the blocks and gave them a coat of mineral oil and let them dry.

Step 5: Join the Clips and Blocks

The beauty of 3D printing is that your parts can be as detailed as you need. In this case, I designed the parts to have the counter-sunk screw hole as part of the model.

I pre-drilled a hole at the top centre of the wooden blocks, then glued the plastic clips on with hot glue before screwing them in place with flat-headed screws.

Step 6: Assemble and Play!

To assemble the spiral, you'll need 12 curved track pieces, 4 S-ramp track pieces, and a bunch of straight tracks. This is in addition to the customised piers.

See the attached labelled photo to see how it all comes together.

Once the tracks are all in place, the whole system becomes quite strong and stable. But best of all, it can be disassembled and packed away flat anytime.

Hope you guys like this, make your own, and have lots of fun! My son was so excited to play with the new "Super Ramp" as he calls it.

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Spiral Ramp for Wooden Train Tracks: Here's how I made custom supports for my son's wooden train track set, to make a spiral ramp that goes 3 'storeys' high (in toy train terms, that is). This project was an exercise in combining 3D printed precision parts with wooden bases, to complem...

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Introduction: Logic Gates Demonstration Kit

When teaching a Math Circle, I was discussing with the students various logic operations and logic gates. We went from basic AND and OR gates to constructing flip-flop circuit and full adder - using software simulation. I wanted to show them real electronics gates, so I started looking for a demonstration kit which would be

functional: enough pieces to build something interesting such as flip-flop or adder

easy to use

clean-looking - breadboard with a rat's nest of wires doesn't make a good demonstration kit

large enough so that it can be shown to a group of several students

not too expensive: under $50 for the whole kit

I couldn't find such a kit; the closest I found was this one from Sparkfun, but is still fails on several counts. So I decided to make my own, which meets all the requirements above and more. Here are some features of my kit:

It uses custom black PCBs; to make it look nicer, I used surface-mounted components placing most components on the back

contains 5 types of gates (AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOT) plus a separate 3-bit input board

is powered through USB-C connector

each board is relatively large - 48x72mm - only slightly smaller than a credit card, with high contrast white on black marking and bright blue LED to indicate states

boards are connected by a common 3-wire connectors, commonly used for servos and widely available

boards have stick-on magnets on the back, allowing one to place them on a magnetic whiteboard or blackboard or any other magnetic surface - even refrigerator door!

Using surface mounted components makes it more difficult to solder, but in this case, the components are few and not too small, so this makes a nice first SMD soldering kit for those wishing to learn SMD soldering. Unlike many other kits, it also serves a useful purpose!

Full list of necessary pars is listed in Step 1 below. With delivery to US, it will cost you about $90, but will give you enough materials for 10 gates of each kind. If we take the basic kit to have 2 boards of each kind, plus one 3-bit input, you will have enough for 5 kits.

You will also need a decent soldering iron, a hot air reflow station (basically, temperature controlled heatgun), solder paste (I used this low-temperature one), tweezers, flush cutters and other basic tools.

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Step 1: Getting the Parts

You will need the following parts:

PCBs. There are 6 kinds of PCBs (5 types of gates and input). The design files (Eagle's schematics and board files and Gerber files) are available from my github repository under open source license; feel free to use them. I ordered my boards from JLCPCB, which I highly recommend. I selected black soldermask (in JLCPCB, black soldermask is matte, which looks better than glossy). Ordering 10 board of each kind cost me $35+ shipping - altogether, about $60.

Electronic components. I ordered mine from lcsc.com; full bill of materials (BOM) can be found in github repository. Feel free to replace passive components (resistors, capacitors) by other brands as long as the value and package match. I had opted for higher quality parts (e.g., using 1% tolerance for resistors), even though it is completely unnecessary for this project - but since the passives cost so little, it makes sense to order them in multiples of 100 and use leftovers for other projects, where you might need higher precision.

Other components:

Breakaway male headers. To make the board look nicer, I used surface-mounted headers, which are not common. I found mine on Aliexpress (we need the single-row ones) and had to wait 3 weeks for delivery. You will have to break the strips into 3-pin pieces, using flush cutters.

Connectors: I used 3-pin servo male-to-male cables from Amazon. I recommend getting at least four 10-cm cables and two 20cm cables for each kit. Amazon sells them in packs of 10.

Magnets. I used 18-mm diameter, 3mm thick ceramic magnets from Amazon.

Step 2: Assembling the Boards-1

Once you have all the components ready, the next step is assembling the boards. We begin by assembling the back side of the board (where most electronics is).There are hundreds of tutorials on SMD assembly, so I will be brief.

arrange the boards, back side up (not more than 2-3 at a time) on silicone mat or other heatproof material

use the syringe to place small beads of solder paste on each pad (except the long ones for headers). DO not place too much - this is the most common mistake. If you put too much paste, do not try to remove the excess with toothpick or tweezers - instead, wipe this pad (and nearby pads if necessary) clean, using a paper towel and rubbing alcohol, and then start anew.

use tweezers to place components

set the reflow station heat gun temperature to 180C (for low-temperature solder paste) or to 220C (for regular lead-based solder paste). Hold the heat gun vertical (angling it makes it easy to blow small components away). Heat each component from the distance of 1-2 cm; the solder paste first liquefies, then starts bubbling, then becomes molten metal; at this moment, move to next component.

If you had too much paste, the excess will probably be balled up somewhere around your components. Use a toothpick to remove it.
Inspect the logic chip to make sure there are no solder bridges between pins. If there are, remove them using a soldering iron and braided wick.

Step 3: Assembling the Boards-2

After soldering the electronics, add the headers. I had chosen to solder them using the regular solder and soldering iron, instead of paste and heatgun - it gives a stronger connection; also, the plastic of the headers can be melted by the heatgun. I used small chisel (D-type) soldering tip, with the temperature set to 370C (using regular lead-based solder)

use flush cutters to divide long strips of headers into 3-pin pieces

use soldering iron to tin middle pad of each group of 3 pads for a header

put the header on the pad; holding the header with one hand, solder the middle pin to the pre-tinned pad. Make sure to press the pin firmly to the pad

one the middle solder joint solidifies (it takes a couple of seconds once you remove the iron), solder the remaining pins, using solder and iron

After soldering the headers, turn the board over and solder the LEDs to the front side of the boards. If you - like me - have difficulty remembering which side of LED is cathode (negative), here is a nice reference sheet: https://lighthouseleds.com/blog/polarity-guide-of-...
For the LEDs in my BOM, the cathode is marked by green markings on both sides, as in this image: https://lighthouseleds.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/w...

Finally, attach the two magnets to the back side of the board, in positions marked by circles. Try to keep polarity of magnets on all boards the same - it will make it easier to pack your boards in a box.

Step 4: Using the Boards

Usage is pretty obvious: arrange you boards on a horizontal or vertical (magnetic) surface and connect them to create circuits, then use USB-C cable to power it. Here are some tips:

Each connection header provides 3 pins: ground, 5V (middle pin), signal. This matches the usual servo connectors we use; typically in these connectors, ground is black, 5v is red, and signal, white or yellow. When plugging the cables, make sure to plug it in correct orientation. To make it easier for you, there are small labels on the boards' face over the headers: S stands for signal, G for ground.

Each board provides two output headers - in case you want to split output; this allows you to avoid using additional cable splitters. Both outputs are connected to the same signal.

When placing the boards on a metal surface (such as your refrigerator), be careful that the unused headers do not touch the surface - otherwise, you can short 5V and ground. It is recommended that you place a sheet of paper between the boards and metal surfaces (magnets are strong enough to hold the boards through regular paper).

Step 5: Further Plans

I plan to expand the kit, adding several more boards:

"Mystery board": a 3-input board containing two elementary gates - leaving it to students to figure what is inside

D-latch

1-bit adder with carry - connecting several such together, students would be able to create adder circuits

Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

I also plan to sell these as a kit through my Tindie store: tindie.com/stores/irobotics/, with tentative price of about $30-35 for a kit (3-bit input gate and 2 of each of 5 kinds of gates, plus the connector cables and magnets). If you are interested, please leave the comment below and I will let you know once it happens! Needless to say, leaving a comment doesn't put you under any obligation.

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Logic Gates Demonstration Kit: When teaching a Math Circle, I was discussing with the students various logic operations and logic gates. We went from basic AND and OR gates to constructing flip-flop circuit and full adder - using software simulation. I wanted to show them real el...

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Does your kids love Space, Rockets and 3D printing? Then this tutorial how to make Night Light for kids DIY project is for you! Our Rocket Night Light is super easy to make. What we need for that? Almost nothing. We built a Rocket Night Light using seven grommets, eleven LEDs, can from beer (I think Dads will appreciate this part of project), and 3D printer.
What we like most of all in this project - it is our Rocket Night light doesn't require soldering at all!
Most time consuming part is 3D printing. To print seven parts of Rocket Night Light it takes about 7 hours. The rest is quite fast and easy. It takes about 15 minutes. Dads can make this project together with kids. You can have fun together. I would not allow children to cut foil, it can be a bit dangerous. The rest of project is absolutely safe and easy.

All STL files can be downloaded from our website: Catsonamission.com
Lets Get Started!
If you like our project and want to see more of what we get up for you please follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
We would be happy to receive your likes on Youtube. It can help our young Channel.

Supplies:

7 grommets d2.5mm l=10mm

11 leds d=4.8mm of any color you like (we use blue)

1 can from beer (any brand you like)

about 45 ramm of Filament for 3d printing (we used CoPET. Its is easy printable, strong and flexible enough)

2 battaries AAA

1 piece of sand paper

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Make Your Night Light Rocket for Kids DIY

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Make Your Night Light Rocket for Kids DIY: Does your kids love Space, Rockets and 3D printing? Then this tutorial how to make Night Light for kids DIY project is for you! Our Rocket Night Light is super easy to make. What we need for that? Almost nothing.

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The 3D Printed Marble Machine #3 by Tulio

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The 3D Printed Marble Machine #3 - Designed by Tulio Laanen Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzHpN0FxvqU&ab_channel=TulioLaanen Read more about the design choices on:https://www.behance.net/gallery/108139725/The-3D-Printed-Marble-Machine-3 Made one yourself and want to share your photos and videos? Please mention my name as the original designer in your title or description. That way you can easily support a designer!

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Cute mini Octopus, articulated and printed without additional supports.
It’s designed so it can be printed at once. No assembly or supports required.
Many different STL files, with straight or spiral tentacles, both with and without included support.
UPDATE!! v6 fixes some mesh errors, improves bed…

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Hi Everybody,

My name is Asray and I am a 15 year old who has a keen love of making projects out of cardboard.

Today I will show you all how to make a 3D Labyrinth Maze made out of cardboard.This project is simple to make and super fun to play with. Traditionally, mazes are 2D and super boring to play with but I made a maze with a twist so that it is challenging and fun to play with.

(P.S. This is the first instructable I'm ever writing and I'm submitting this to the Instructables Toys and Games Contest. Pls vote for me :) )

You can see how this works in the youtube video I made:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl4KByf-p64
Supplies:

Cardboard (Thickness: 3mm [preferred])

Hot Glue/Superglue

Blade/Paper Cutter

Pen/Pencil

Ruler/Scale

This is a really easy project to make and as you see, very few materials are required. Materials are easy to obtain and very cheap.

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3D Cardboard Labyrinth Maze: Hi Everybody,My name is Asray and I am a 15 year old who has a keen love of making projects out of cardboard. Today I will show you all how to make a 3D Labyrinth Maze made out of cardboard.This project is simple to make and super fun to play with.

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Introduction: Homopolar Motor

In this Instructable I show you how to make a simple homopolar motor. In the previous YouTube project I made a Maglev train. For this I purchased a number of Neodymium magnets. While searching for what else is possible with these magnets, I came across a number of homopolar motors. They are often very simple but I continue to find them fascinating to see.
How it works:
The homopolar motor is driven by the Lorentz force. As it moves through a magnetic field, the conductor is pushed through a magnetic field by opposing forces. This force induces a torque around the axis of rotation. Because the axis of rotation is parallel to the magnetic field, and the opposing magnetic fields do not change polarity, no commutation is required for the conductor to keep turning.
Video tutorial: For this simple project you need the following parts:

Step 1: The Copper Wire

I have chosen to use the spiral shape as an example in this Instructable. Many more shapes are possible, in the last step I show a few more that I have made. For the motor to function properly it is important that the weight of the copper wire is well distributed. One end of the copper wire comes on top of the + pole of the battery, the other part must balance on this.

To make a nice spiral I looked for an object that has a slightly larger diameter than the battery. A permanent marker pen has the ideal diameter. Wrap the copper wire around the marker a few times.
The copper wire I used has no protective layer and therefore conducts well. Copper wire with protective coating can also be used, but the layer must be removed from the contact points.

Step 2: The Top

As indicated in the previous step, one end of the copper wire comes on the + pole of the battery. Bend the end so that it is centered on the + pole, the spiral must still have slack on all sides of the battery.

Step 3: ​The Magnets

Mount the magnets to the - pole of the battery.
Neodymium magnets are very strong! watch out that no skin gets in between ...
Now bend the other end of the copper wire so that it touches the magnets and completes the circuit. You can already feel that the copper wire wants to turn.

Step 4: Ready!

The homopolar motor is ready! Place the battery with the magnet down on a level surface and put the copper wire on it. As mentioned, you can make many different shapes. It is important that the copper wire is well balanced, if this is not the case, it will run off the + pole and stop spinning.

My personal favorite is the triangle shaped one. This is where electronics, magnetism and gravity come together, I love it.
Video tutorial

7 People Made This Project!

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Homopolar Motor: In this Instructable I show you how to make a simple homopolar motor. In the previous YouTube project I made a Maglev train. For this I purchased a number of Neodymium magnets. While searching for what else is possible with these magnets, I came acr...

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Introduction: 4-Wire Horizontal Plotter

This instructable explains how to make a 4-wire plotter using the wheel-rims from a toy car, four stepping motors, a scrap of sheet aluminium, some pulleys, and an Arduino UNO R3.

Unlike 2-wire vertical plotters the drawing surface for this plotter is horizontal.

Construction is simple:

the "base" requires a ruler, a few drills and a saw.

the "gondola" requires an electric drill, a set of circle cutters, and a sharp knife.

Features include:

an on-board interpreter that recognizes the g-code output from "Inkscape".

accurate ... approximately 1mm with nylon

scaleable ... just increase the cable lengths

easy to make

low cost

The estimated cost of parts, excluding the power supply, is less than $100.
Images

Photo 1 shows a close-up of the plotter

The video shows the plotter in action

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Step 1: Parts List

The following parts were obtained from https://www.aliexpress.com/

1 only Arduino UNO R3 + USB cable

1 only SG90 servo

4 only 12VDC Nema17 17HS3430 stepping motors

4 only NEMA 17 Motor L-mount stepping motor brackets with screws

4 only 2A per phase Big Easy Driver v1.2 A4988 stepper motor driver board

4 only 65mm RC Car wheels with tyres on 50mm drums (see photo 1)

4 only hexagonal brass couplings with 5mm bore to fit the motor shafts and a 4mm hole for attaching the wheels. The short ones in photo 1 are satisfactory.

4 only miniature V624ZZ pulleys with V-groove size 4*13*6mm

Optional:

1 only CPS-3205 Compact Mini Variable Adjustable DC Power Supply 0-32V 0-5A AC110-240V (not required if you already have a 12 volt 2 amp DC power source)

The following parts were obtained locally:

1 only sheet of 6mm composition board approx. 800mm x 600mm

1 only length 60mm x 20mm timber for corner supports

1 only reel of 0.5mm diameter nylon fishing line

1 only switch

1 only MBR735 diode for reverse voltage protection

1 only pkt of assorted Arduino jumper cables

1 only scrap of thin acrylic sheet for gondola annular ring

4 only M3 threaded Nylon spacers for supporting the acrylic annular ring

1 only scrap of thin sheet aluminium for pulley mounts

4 only M3 x 9mm tubular spacers for pulleys

12 only wood screws for assembling corner supports

assorted M4 nuts and bolts to suit your particular build

assorted M4 nuts and biolts to suit your particular build

The estimated cost of parts, excluding the power supply, is less than $100.

Step 2: Circuit Diagram

Photo 1 shows the circuit diagram of the 4-wire plotter.

The Big Easy Driver "direction" lines are on Arduino PORTC pins A0, A1, A2, and A3

The Big Easy Driver "step" lines are on Arduino PORTB pins D8, D9, D10, and D11

The SG90 servo "control" wire is connected to pin D3

The MBR735 diode provides reverse voltage protection.
Motor Wiring
It may be necessary to reverse the two center wires from each of the 17HS3430 Nema17 12 volt stepper motors as the Big Easy Driver v1.2 A4988 stepper motor driver boards expect the wires from each of the coil-windings to be adjacent.

The default color sequence for the 17HS3430 cables (for my motors) is red, blue, green, black. The color-sequence following the modification is red, green, blue, black.

The red, green winding is connected to the "A" terminals of the Big Easy Driver.

The blue, black winding is attached to the "B" terminals of the Big Easy Driver.
Big Easy Driver Current Limits
The current-limit on each of the Big Easy Driver must be set to 400mA (milli-amperes) .

To achieve this:

Switch off the power [1]

Unplug your Arduino

Unplug all motor cables

Turn each of the current-limit potentiometers on the A4988 Big Easy Driver Boards fully clockwise

Insert a motor cable into its designated Big Easy Driver

Apply 12 volts to the Big Easy Driver

Rotate the current-limit potentiometer counter - clockwise until the supply current reads 400mA .

Turn off the 12 volt supply [1]

Remove the Motor cable.

Repeat the above steps for each of the remaining motors

Plug all motor cables in to their respective controllers.

The total supply current will be approximately 1.6 amps when power is applied

Note [1]
NEVER plug, or unplug, a stepping motor with the power applied. The inductive "kick" (voltage spike) is likely to damage the controllers.

Step 3: Theory

Photo 1 shows the general equations for a 4-wire plotter.

The white square represents a sheet of paper with dimensions x,y. The Inkscape (0,0) coordinate is shown as (0,0)

M1, M2, M3, M4 represent four motors ... one at each corner of a (virtual) box. The motors are offset from the sheet of paper to maintain a pulling force on the pen at all times.

D1, D2, D3, and D4 represent the cables from each motor to the diagonally opposite corner of each (virtual) box to meet at Inkscape coordinate (x,y).

If a line is drawn from the (x,y) coordinate to the point immediately below each motor we get four vertical right-angle triangles. The hypotenuse of each triangle represents each cable length and may be calculated using the 3D formula for Pythagoras.
hypotenuse = sqrt (X^2 + Y^2 + Z^2 )
The formulas for distances D1, D2, D3, D4 are given in photo 1.

The cables need not meet at the pen if we reduce the Z-axis to zero and attach them to pulleys free to run around an annular ring as shown in photo 2.

Nylon cable has a small amount of stretch which, when the Zoffset is zero, provides strain relief should a cable wind unevenly on a drum.

Alternately a small amount of Zoffset will provide strain relief in the form of a lifting force.

Calibration is explained further on.

Step 4: Gondola Construction

Images

Photo 1 shows the assembled gondola

Photo 2 is a close-up of the annular rings and pulleys

Photo 3 shows a side-view of the pen-lift

Photo 4 shows is a close-up of the plastic pen attachment

Photo 5 shows the concentric circle cutters

Annular Rings
Two discs were cut using a set of concentric circle-cutters (photo 5). The actual disc sizes are not critical ... mine are 100mm.

The annular ring was cut from a sheet of white acrylic ... the base was cut from 6mm composition board.

Before drilling, attach your material to a piece of wood using two wood screws close to the drill-hole. This will prevent your work from spinning. The wood must be larger than the diameter of your discs.

Cut the outside diameters first, change blades, then make the inner cut. The rings will spin when the final cut is completely through. Don't be alarmed ... they can't come off.
Pulleys
Cut some 10mm strips from a scrap of aluminium sheet using the method described in https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Cut-Fold-She...

Press lightly downwards with the knife and cut away from your body when scoring the metal. Watch that your fingers don't protrude over the edge of your steel rule !!!

The pulley holes are 4mm in diameter

The holes for the tubular spacers are 3mm

I drilled one set of 3mm and 4mm holes then folded the aluminium strip around the edge of a scrap of 6mm composition board using finger pressure. The strip was then placed in a vice and the 3mm and 4mm holes used as "templates" for drilling the others.
The Pen-lift
The pen-lift in photo 3 and photo 4 was fashioned from a 25mm strip of aluminium. The strip should be long enough so the bends fit your gondola.

Drill the two pen-holes and the two 3mm mounting holes before bending.

Mark 5mm from the edge of one pen-hole towards the other and repeat for the other.

Use the edge of a vice and finger pressure to bend the aluminium at each of these marks ... your pen will now stand vertical.

The measurements are not critical apart from the pen-holes which should be a sliding fit. A round file, or taper reamer, is helpful if your pen diameter is not a standard drill size.

Use a pencil to mark the mounting hole positions on the gondola base when the pen-tip is centered

The pen is raised when the SG90 servo horn makes contact with a plastic disc attached to the pen.

The brass center in my disc (photo 4) is from a radio knob that has been drilled out. The grub-screw prevents the disc from sliding up and down the pen.

Step 5: Base Construction

The baseboard

Mark a rectangle out on a sheet of 6mm composition board. The dimensions are not critcal ... mine were 600mm x 500mm.

Drill a 1mm diameter hole in each corner.

Position your drawing paper in the center of the rectangle and mark the X-axis and y-axis edges.

Record your XMS, YMS, Xoffset, and Yoffset distances ... we will use these later

The support legs
The legs were made from eight pieces of 60mm x 20mm timber ... two pieces for each leg. The lengths are not critical.

The legs are attached the baseboard using three wood screws as shown in photo 2.
The motor mounts
The L-shaped motor brackets shown in photo 3 are mounted beneath the baseboard

Each motor is positioned such that a nylon cable passed through the 1mm corner holes winds onto the center of each wheel-rim.

Step 6: Assembling the Plotter

Pass a length of 0.5mm diameter nylon through one of the baseboard corner holes and through the hole that is in the center of each wheel-rim.

Tie the nylon end to a 3mm nut using any fishing knot that won't unravel.

Attach a hexagonal wheel coupler to the motor.

Attach the wheel-rim to the hexagonal wheel coupler.

Pull the nylon tight and stretch it past the opposite corner by approximately 300mm before cutting.

Tie this free end to the closest gondola pulley using a fishing knot.

Position the gondola over the (0,0) coordinate

Now wind the nylon on to the wheel-rim by rotating the wheel-rim such that the nylon winds on to the side of the wheel-rim furthest from the baseboard as shown in photo 1. Apply a slight tension to the nylon while doing this.

Repeat for all motors.

Step 7: Software

Download the attached file "four_wire_horizontal_plotter_V2.ino"

Copy the file contents into a new Arduino sketch.

Enter the XMS, YMS, Xoffset, Yoffset, and Zoffset dimensions into the software header [1]

Save your sketch as "four_wire_horizontal_plotter_V2" without the quotation marks and upload it to your Arduino.

Note [1]
The Zoffset is the point you see on your pen when you look along the nylon from the corner-hole in the base.

Step 8: Calibrating

Calibration is fairly simple.

Place a sheet of A4 paper at the (0,0) coordinate

Position the gondola over the (0,0) coordinate

Set your Arduino Serial Monitor to 9600 bauds

Tension the cables using menu option T4

Now send the following commands:

G00 X50 Y50

G01 X50 Y200

G00 X0 Y0

Measure the resulting line

Change your K value in the Arduino header to read 150/measured-length

Recompile and upload your software

Step 9: Sample Plots

Photo 1 shows a 100mm square target using menu option T5. The slight trapezoid is due to my camera angle.
Large file handling
A scribble image (photo 3) was sent to the 4-wire plotter using CoolTerm.exe available from https://freeware.the-meiers.org/

Some 27000+ coordinates later I got the image shown in photo 4 which, when viewed at a distance (photo 5) looks remarkably similar to the original image (photo 1).

When this plot finished the cables still had the same tension and the pen was back over the (0,0) coordinate.

Step 10: Summary

This instructable explains how to make a 4-wire plotter.

The plotter is able to handle large files

Features include:

an on-board interpreter that recognizes the g-code output from "Inkscape".

accurate ... approximately 1mm with nylon

scaleable ... just increase the cable lengths

easy to make

low cost

The estimated cost of parts, excluding the power supply, is less than $100.

Click here to view my other instructables.

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This instructable explains how to make a 4-wire plotter using the wheel-rims from a toy car, four stepping motors, a scrap of sheet aluminium, some pulleys, and an Arduino UNO R3. Unlike 2-wire vertical plotters the drawing surface for this plotter is horizontal. Construction is simple: the "base" requires a ruler, a few drills and a saw.

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Introduction: Terraforming Mars With 3 Stages | Tinkercad Scene Design

Recently, I ran a 3D design & 3D printing zoom summer camp themed around space from June 22 - June 26. We met online via Zoom for around 2 hours every day.

From Day 1 through Day 4, I led the students to finish specific projects, so students learnt the basics of using Tinkercad. Day 5 was different - instead, I gave them a topic with loose instructions, letting the students figure out how to design on their own. The topic was "Terraforming the Red Planet - To Mars".

I checked their work periodically, pointing out errors, answering questions, making sure the design is 3D printable, etc. The task was to make hexagonal tiles, with each representing a resource or environment on Mars. The tiles could be made into lakes, volcanos, forest, early settlements, underground gardens, mining sites, cities, and more. Students would use Tinkercad's scribble and extrusion tools to generate organic shapes.

My repeat student Joshua Yang (10th grade) found the project truly engaging. He tackled the task in his unique way, and the work he finished is beyond my imagination. When Joshua told me he wanted to enter Distance Learning with Tinkercad Contest with his Day 5 project after he saw a notice on Tinkercad.com, I supported his decision. Joshua's work is original, imaginary and quite artistic. It shows that you can do very challenging, complex 3D designs with just Tinkercad. Joshua has participated and helped out in our 3D Design & 3D Printing classes for a few years.

The following writeup is from Joshua. I hope you guys enjoy his work and get inspired.

[Edit] Here is the link for the Mars terrain that Joshua created (link was hidden away in the comments)
https://www.tinkercad.com/things/j3Hd4C85rT3-joshu...
Feel free to build and design your own Mars city with it. The terrain was the most time consuming portion of the design, so he was willing to share it. There's lots of other places to get building designs if you don't want to create them yourself. We'd love to see what you do with the base!

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Step 2: Building the Terrain (Creating the Curves)

So how did I use extrusions to create curves? I first used a pair of extrusion shapes, adjusting their shapes with the handles and control points found in the inspector panel. These would serve as the base shape I was creating.

Next, I created a crescent-shaped extrusion and positioned it so that it would "complete" the curve between the two previous extrusion shapes.

Afterwards, I used two hole boxes to cut away the excess of the crescent-shaped extrusion.

Finally, I grouped everything together.

Step 3: Building the Terrain (Cont.)

The hexgrid was constructed from 7 carefully positioned hexagons (Polygon in Basic Shapes).

In the images above, each layer of the terrain is displayed in both ungrouped and grouped forms. You can see all the individual extrusion pieces that were used to create the smooth curves. I used the same technique discussed in the previous step to achieve this. The layers were clipped to the base hexgrid shape with an inverted hole hexgrid. The colors are from a custom burnt orange gradient.

With so many shapes in the model (all the countless extrusion shapes), Tinkercad was already lagging. My solution was to export each layer as an STL and importing them back into Tinkercad. This cuts back on the editor lag significantly and is a great tip for those who are working on large projects. Don't forget to have backup copies of the original objects!

Step 4: Establishing Terrain Variants

The second scene depicts early terraforming on the original Mars terrain. Temperature of the planet will be brought up, and the canyon could be filled with water. To achieve the "water" look, I used a duplicate of the hexgrid base but colored it blue and made it transparent. Using two transparent duplicates deepens the shade of the water. The color of the terrain's top layer is also shifted.

Step 6: Filling the Original Colony

The original colony is located mainly within a canyon. Terraforming has yet to begin. Infrastructure must fill the canyon and have connections to the outside. There are four categories of buildings in my theorized colony: residential, agricultural, industrial, and infrastructure. These features will be discussed in greater detail in the next four steps.

Note: all the buildings are constructed out of 4 basic shapes: Box, Cylinder, Half Sphere, and Round Roof.

Step 10: Original Colony: Infrastructure Buildings

First, there are bridges that span the canyon which allow for transportation from one canyon side to the other on the surface. There are buildings on both sides of the canyon that need access.

Second, there are a multitude of massive elevators which transport people, vehicles, material, and more up and down the canyon. Many elevators are located throughout the canyon to provide for the growing flow of things that need to be transported.

Third, large tunnels connect all the different buildings together in the colony. They are large enough for both vehicle and humans to travel through.

Finally, the entire colony is nuclear powered. A nuclear power plant is located off to the side, away from the colony.

Step 12: Filling the Early-Stage Terraforming Colony

One of the first steps of terraforming is raising the planet's temperature to the "goldilocks" range which is suitable for life. This will allow us to fill the canyon with water to create a body of water. The atmosphere is still insufficient to support human life, so the entire colony still must be enclosed.

Infrastructure must all be moved out of the canyon and into the surrounding land. Again, there are four categories of buildings in the second stage of my theorized colony: residential, agricultural, industrial, and infrastructure. These are essentially the same as in the original colony. These features will be revisited in greater detail in the next three steps.

Step 14: Early-Stage Terraforming Colony: Industrial Buildings

The colony's industry will obviously expand. As technologies improve and resources become more readily available, industrial buildings will grow larger and more complex to suit the needs of the colony.

Step 15: Early-Stage Terraforming Colony: Infrastructure Buildings

First, bridges and pathways again connect the parts of the colony.

Second, the nuclear reactor has been moved up to the surface as well, a little distance away from the rest of the buildings. It is accessible across the body of water via a bridge.

Finally, airlocks are all around the colony and connect the industrial and agricultural/residential sections together via vehicle.

Step 17: Filling the Late-Stage Terraforming Colony

By late-stage terraforming, the atmosphere is suitable for life. There is no longer a need for a closed network of buildings sealed off from the outside. Thus, less infrastructure is needed. Expansion and building now have new-found freedoms.

Again, there are four categories of buildings in the later stage of my theorized colony: residential, agricultural, industrial, and infrastructure. These features will be described in greater detail in the next four steps.

Step 21: Late-Stage Terraforming Colony: Infrastructure Buildings

First, bridges are still needed to cross the body of water. The nuclear reactor remains unchanged. Overall, there is less infrastructure since the outside climate is no longer a problem to deal with. Roads, however, are a new factor to think of.

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Terraforming Mars With 3 Stages | Tinkercad Scene Design

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Terraforming Mars With 3 Stages | Tinkercad Scene Design: Recently, I ran a 3D design & 3D printing zoom summer camp themed around space from June 22 - June 26. We met online via Zoom for around 2 hours every day. From Day 1 through Day 4, I led the students to finish specific projects, so students le...

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Introduction: Cardboard Mechanical Wave Toy

Here is a quick and easy toy that you can make in an evening. It's a great way to help children (and adults!) practice spatial awareness and modelling, and its a super cool toy that people will be wowed when you tell them you made it!

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Step 1: You Will Need...

Cardboard

A cutting knife or scissors

Ruler

Pencil

Wooden kebab skewers or similar

Paint

Glue

Step 2: Making Waves

Cut a piece of cardboard that is 10 cm by 14 cm. Make sure that the corrugated parts of the cardboard are running perpendicular to your wave length, so that you can skewer them later on (hopefully the pictures show what I'm talking about).

Draw lines 1 cm apart to segment your wave pieces for cutting later.

Paint your ocean! Let your creativity run wild, and create your ideal water pattern.

Slice up your waves using the lines you drew earlier.

Skewer the waves! Use your wooden kebab skewer to poke through the corrugated parts of your cardboard, and loosely hold the waves. They should flop around easily - if they don't, wiggle the skewer in the hole until they are loose.

Make a little origami boat and glue it to one wave. Make sure it is thinner than one wave so it doesn't get stuck. There's lots of easy origami boats on the internet.

EXTEND YOUR PROJECT: I used 14 pieces to make my waves, but feel free to use more if you would like a wavier wave. However many you do, make sure you use the same number of pieces for your helix!

Step 3: Construct a Helix

Cut a piece of cardboard slightly shorter, but the same width, as your waves. I used 8 cm by 1cm. Again make sure your corrugation is perpendicular to the length.

Slice them into 1 cm pieces.

Skewer the helix! This time put your skewer in exactly the middle of your pieces. Make sure you leave some skewer empty at each end.

Spiralise! Turn your pieces of cardboard so that they are stepped in a helix. I spaced them out by about a centimetre each time. Use your judgement, it doesn't have to be exact.

Glue! Smother the centre with glue to hold the cardboard in place. You could also put some glue on the skewer first, or just use better glue than I did (which was PVA). Still, PVA worked fine.

Leave to dry.

INTERESTING FACT: My grandmother used to hate it when people used the term 'spiral staircase' (which was, of course, all the time). It should actually be called a 'helical staircase' because spirals are 2D, and helixes are 3D. So there you go, go on out there and call it a helical staircase and wait for the strange looks.

Step 4: All Your Base

Cut some cardboard pieces for your base. I used a 18cm by 10cm base, and 10cm by 10 cm ends.

Slice some handy slots 5cm into the ends and base so they stand up nicely.

Poke some holes to hold your helix and waves. I did mine about 2cm in for the waves (which corresponded with where I had put my skewer in the waves), and about 8cm for the helix. Make sure your helix hole is more than 4cm above the bottom, or else the helix will catch and get stuck!

Step 5: Put It All Together!

Slot the ends onto your waves and helix. Make sure your waves sit nicely on top of the helix, and line up piece to piece.

Slide the base into position.

Grab the end of your helix skewer and twist!

Behold! The glory is yours.

Note: If your cardboard is a bit wobbly, or it gets a bit stuck, use small squares of cardboard as washers where the skewers go through the ends of the base. It helps.

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Cardboard Mechanical Wave Toy: Here is a quick and easy toy that you can make in an evening. It's a great way to help children (and adults!) practice spatial awareness and modelling, and its a super cool toy that people will be wowed when you tell them you made it!

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Introduction: Rubber Band Bullroarer

This is a rubber band bullroarer, modeled after the one film composer Heitor Pereira plays here to generate drone sounds.

Supplies:

2 x large rubber bands (size #107)

2 x 1/2" diameter dowels, 18" long

1 x 1/2" diameter dowel, 6" long (for handle)

2 x wooden ball caps with 1/2" holes

2 x 1x1" blocks, 6" long

2 x 1x1/8" shims, 5" long

Add Tip Ask Question Download

Step 2: Drill Holes

1. Cut the 1x1" square block so you have two 6" lengths.

2. Mark lines 1" from either end on both 1x1" blocks.

3. On one of the blocks, mark the center on an adjacent face to where the 1" lines were drawn.

4. Take a 1/2" spade drill bit and some masking tape. Use tape on the bit to mark the depth so the bit doesn't go all the way through the 1x1" block.

5. Holding the block in a table vise, drill four 1/2" diameter holes, all 1" from the outside edges. If possible, use a drill press for perfectly straight holes.

6. Drill one 5/8" diameter hole through the center of one of the 1x1 blocks, on an adjacent face to where the half-depth holes were drilled.

7. Mark the centers of the two 1x1/8" shims, both 5" long.

8. Using a table vise, drill a 1/2" hole through the center of both shims.

Step 3: Put Everything Together

1. Put the short 1/2" dowel through the 1x1 block and glue the wooden ball knobs on either end. Use a clamp or rubber bands to hold it in place while it dries.

2. Slide the shims onto the long 18" dowels. They will need to be adjustable.

3. Put the long dowels into the holes in the 1x1 blocks. Then stretch the long rubber bands over the length of the instrument to hold it all together. Gluing the long dowels into the blocks is optional since the tension of the rubber bands will hold it all together.

4. Stretch the rubber bands over the top and bottom of the shims to create a rhombus shape. Make sure the bands are all on a single plane, not twisted.

5. Spin for a drone effect.

6. Adjust the placement of the shims so the two bands generate different tones.

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This is a rubber band bullroarer, modeled after the one film composer Heitor Pereira plays here to generate drone sounds. 2 x large rubber bands (size #107) 2 x 1/2" diameter dowels, 18" long 1 x 1/2" diameter dowel, 6" long (for handle) 2 x wooden ball caps with 1/2" holes 2 x 1x1" blocks, 6" long 2 x 1x1/8" shims, 5" long Add Tip Ask Question Download Cut the 1x1" square block so you have two 6" lengths.

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Introduction: Arduino Tinfoil Piano

In this Instructables I will explain how to make this Arduino Tinfoil Piano.

Supplies:

Arduino

Breadboard

10MΩ Resistor x8

Piezo Buzzer

Jumpers

Double Sided Tape

Tinfoil

Cardboard

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Step 1: Cut the Cardboard

To make the bottom of the piano I used a piece of cardboard that I cut to 18 x 7.5 cm. Since the tape I'm using is around 2cm wide I can easily fit 8 keys on the piece of cardboard.

Step 2: Make the Piano Keys

To make the piano keys I first cut one end of a jumper cable and strip it. This will make sure the tinfoil won't rip.

After stripping the jumper you need to do is to cut a piece of around 7cm of double sided tape and stick the stripped side of the jumper on the tape.

Next stick the tape on tinfoil and cut the key out.

Repeat this step until you have the 8 keys.

Step 3: Assemble the Piano

Once you have all the keys ready you need to stick the otherside of the tape on the cardboard. Also make sure the keys dont touch each other.

Step 4: Assemble the Circuit

Assemble the circuit as shown in the image above.

You can change the sensitivity of the sensors by changing the resistor value:

You can use a 1 megohm resistor for absolute touch to activate.

With a 10 megohm resistor the sensor will start to respond 4-6 inches away.

With a 40 megohm resistor the sensor will start to respond 12-24 inches away (dependent on the foil size).

More info about Capacitive Sensors here.

Step 5: Upload the Code + Demo

Upload the attached code to the arduino. You may need to change the treshold for the sensors if they aren't responsive enough.

And you're done!!!

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In this Instructables I will explain how to make this Arduino Tinfoil Piano. Arduino Breadboard 10MΩ Resistor x8 Piezo Buzzer Jumpers Double Sided Tape Tinfoil Cardboard Be the First to Share To make the bottom of the piano I used a piece of cardboard that I cut to 18 x 7.5 cm.

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Introduction: DIY Mason Jar Solar Lantern

In this Instructable, I am going to show you how to transform a glass jar into a piece of decorative solar lantern. I have designed a custom PCB for this project, so people with minimal electronics skills, can make it easily within an hour. The PCB can support a variety of LEDs to get different effects. This is an inexpensive and easy way to add charm to any outdoor space which gives off beautiful light well after the sunsets.

The Solar Jar depends wholly on the sun for power, which ultimately means it saves you more energy, and you don't have to worry about unplugging once it is fully charged because the battery automatically stops charging once it's full, and as long as the solar panel is facing the sun, you can rest assured that it will charge and ultimately give your garden a colorful illumination. The Solar Jar Lantern is equipped with inbuilt sensors. Once the sun begins to fade into the horizon, it automatically switched on leaving your garden with colorful rainbow light.

Supplies:
Components Used:
1. Solar Panel -2V ( Aliexpress )

2. Controller QX5252F ( Amazon )

3. 47 uH Inductor ( Amazon )

4. RGB LED ( Aliexpress )

5. Sliding Switch ( Amazon )

6. 1N4148 Diode ( Amazon )

7. 0.1uF Ceramic Capacitor ( Amazon )

8. AAA Battery ( Amazon )

9. AAA Battery Holder ( Amazon )

10. JST male-female connectors ( Amazon )

11. Double-sided Tape ( Amazon )

12. Mason Jar ( Amazon )

13. Candle Flickering LED ( Aliexpress )

14. Fairy String Light ( Amazon )

15. PCB ( PCBWay )
Tools Used:
1. Wire Stripper ( Amazon )

2. Nipper ( Amazon )

3. Hot Glue Gun ( Amazon )

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Step 1: How It Works ?

The heart of this light bulb is a very small 4 legged IC QX5252F. It works very similar to the "Joule Thief " circuit.

But the advantage of using this chip is that it does not require a bulky and heavy toroid. It does the same job using only a simple inductor, a single AA / AAA battery, and a LED.

It requires only an external inductor is required for making the Circuit. The LED current can be changed by using a different value inductor. The chart is shown in the above picture. I have used 33uH Inductor in this project.
Connection :
Pin-1 -> Solar panel positive terminal

Pin-2 -> Battery positive terminal and one leg of Inductor

Pin-3 -> All ground ( Solar panel, Battery and LED negative terminal)

Pin-4 -> Another leg of Inductor

Step 2: Modifying the Circuit

Step 3: PCB Design

I have designed a custom PCB for this project. You can download the Gerber Files from PCBWay

Note: When you place an order from PCBWay, I will get a 10% donation from PCBWay for a contribution to my work. Your little help may encourage me to do more awesome work in the future. Thank you for your cooperation.

Step 4: Solder the Diode

For Soldering, you will need a decent Soldering Iron, Solder and a Nipper. It is good practice to solder the components according to their height. Solder the lesser height components first.

Solder the diode ( 1N4148 ) in place of D1 on the PCB. The black strap on the diode indicates the negative terminal, which is also indicated on the PCB.

You can follow the following steps to solder all the components :

1. Push the component legs through their holes, and turn the PCB on its back.

2. Hold the tip of the soldering iron to the junction of the pad and the leg of the component.

3. Feed solder into the joint so that it flows all around the lead and covers the pad.

Once it has flowed all around, move the tip away.

Step 5: Solder the Inductor

Step 6: Solder the Capacitor

Solder a 0.1uF Ceramic Capacitor in place of C1 on the PCB. This type of capacitor does not have polarity, so you can solder it anyway, it will work.

After soldering the capacitor trim extra legs.

Step 7: Solder the IC QX5252F

The heart of the solar lamp is IC QX5252F. It comes with a TO-94 package, the 4 legs are very close to each other.

So I have given space between the legs during designing the PCB.

Hold the IC QX5252F in one hand and stretch the legs a little apart as shown in the above picture.

Insert the IC into the holes labeled as " QX5252F " on the PCB. Be sure you are inserting in the right direction. The outline of QX52525 is drawn on the PCB to avoid confusion.

Then finally solder it and trim the extra legs.

Step 8: Solder the JST Connectors

Step 9: Solder the LED

You can now solder a 5mm LED onto the PCB directly. But to test a different kind of LED, here I have soldered a two-pin female header. By using this, I can easily swap between different kinds of LEDs one by another.

In the next few steps, I will test with the following LEDs:

1. Strawhat LED

2. Colour Changing RGB LED

3. Candle Flickering LED

4. Fairy String Light

Step 10: Slide Switch

The last step is to solder the slide switch. Insert it into the PCB where it is labeled " SWITCH ", then solder it.

Trim the extra legs by a nipper.

Step 11: Drill a Hole in the Lid

You have to place the solar panel over the jar lid. To pass the solar panel wires into the mason jar, make a hole by using the drill.

Pass the JST connector wires through the holder made in the lid.

Step 12: Mount the Solar Panel

Solder the red wire to the positive terminal and black wire to the negative terminal of the solar panel.

Then mount the panel on the top of the lid by using double-sided tape.

Step 13: Mount the Battery Holder

First solder the battery holder terminal with the battery JST connector.

Insulate the soldering joint by using the heat-shrink tube.

Mount the AAA battery holder just side to the circuit board.

Finally, connect the battery connector to the circuit board. Insert the battery into the battery holder.

Step 14: Mount the PCB

Step 15: Charge the Battery

Now slide the solar lamp switch to ON position and then place the Jar in the bright sunlight.

The solar cell will charge the battery.

Step 16: Test the Lamp

Step 17: Adding More Effects

You can use your creativity to produce a various attractive effects to the lamp.

I have filled the jar with acrylic pebbles to get the glittering effect.

Step 18: Adding Rainbow Effect

Step 19: Adding Candle Flickering Effect

Step 20: Adding Fairy String Light

Initially, I was not sure, whether the PCB will support a fairy string light or not. But when I tested it, I was really amazed that it works with charm. But I will recommend you not use too long string, because it may exceed the current handling capability of the IC QX5252F.

First I cut the fairy string light from the battery box. Then stripped out the insulation from the terminal wires.

Then insert it into the female header to connect the LED. Place the string light inside the Jar and it's done.

You can make a few similar jars and place them in your garden or lawn. Now enjoy your new solar jar.

If you enjoyed this article, don't forget to pass it along!

Follow me for more DIY projects and ideas.

Thank you !!!

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DIY Mason Jar Solar Lantern : In this Instructable, I am going to show you how to transform a glass jar into a piece of decorative solar lantern. I have designed a custom PCB for this project, so people with minimal electronics skills, can make it easily within an hour.