This week Make Maker Update Bringing your own baby Wall-E to life,
Hackaday’s Op Amp Challenge, A new twist on the video synthesizer
and adding animations to backlit panels.
Hey, I'm Donald Bell and this is Maker Update,
the show where we update you on cool things makers are making.
I hope you're doing well. I've got a great show for you.
Let's get started with the Project of the Week.
By way of the Make: blog,
I found this 3D printed baby Wall-E robot build by Professor Boots.
It's a small scale, remote controlled Wall-E with a dash of animatronics
and even a built in speaker for sound effects.
There's a lot to love about this project,
but I think what really does it for me is how approachable everything is.
But the payoff is so awesome.
There's nothing pricey here.
He's using a generic Arduino Nano, a cheap Bluetooth module for remote control,
basic motors and servos, and a little voltage regulator to smooth it all out.
The only intimidating bit for me are the tracks.
He's printed them in a flexible TPU filament, which makes sense
because you're not going to find something that looks like this off the shelf.
I've never printed in TPU and I don't keep it handy because I know
it's fickle, but I think I might take the plunge for this little guy.
And hats off to the professor here for squeezing
so much out of the Arduino Nano.
Without much else,
He has it playing sound, controlling the motors, responding to Bluetooth input
and opening and closing the compartment and nodding the head with servo control.
It's a real achievement.
And let's talk about that head nod
for both simplicity and as a way to conceal the servo,
He's using a pulley of dental floss to create the movement.
Simple but effective.
And I love an unexpected item on the bill of materials.
From his video show notes.
You can find links to everything you need
to recreate the project, including the code and 3D files.
He also has a separate video that goes through the build process step by step.
Check it out.
Now for some news,
Digi-Key is sponsoring an Op Amp project challenge on Hackaday.
You just need to post a hack on a project that uses or abuses an op amp
in some way.
The top three projects will get $150 Digi-Key shopping spree.
You can find a link to all the details in the description.
Also, a reminder that there's still a call for makers out for the
Open Sauce event in San Francisco, July 15th and 16th.
Do you have a cool project to show off?
Do you want to rub elbows with Mark Rober, Hacksmith and Becky Stern?
This is your chance.
I'll leave the application link down below.
More projects!
Two amazing projects on Adafruit.
First, check out this video synthesizer by Liz Clark.
Just like an audio synthesizer electronically generates an audio signal,
A video synthesizer uses electronics to generate colors and patterns
directly to your stream, which you can manipulate using buttons and knobs.
What's particularly interesting is that Liz is pulling this off
using the RP 2040 chip, which isn't typically associated with visual output.
The project is made a whole lot easier by a unique board
from Adafruit the Feather ARP 2040 with DVI output port.
This gives you a common digital port that you can connect or adapt to a monitor or TV.
There are definitely some resolution limitations, but that's kind of part of the charm.
Another project tapping into my eighties nostalgia is this Star Trek Next Generation
LCARS display from John Park.
And video doesn't quite do this one justice because it's easy
to mistake this as a video display with some kind of custom UI.
But this is an actual panel from the set of Star Trek
Picard gifted to John.
The panel itself was just a dark piece
of acrylic, though, so to make it interesting and recognizable,
John had to create his own custom animated, backlit display.
That's what this guide is really about.
Whether you're making your own prop spaceship panels
or maybe some kind of interactive exhibit piece,
John shows you how to cut and layer the sandwich of elements
needed to block and diffuse the light to the panel.
In this case, the light is coming from a pair of led matrices,
allowing him to program light patterns right where he needs them.
Very cool.
Now for a few tips and tools
via the Make: blog, I found this video from Teaching Tech that details
some techniques for recreating obsolete connectors using 3D printing.
Too often, a lost proprietary cable is the only thing
preventing a piece of vintage gear from working properly.
But with some detective work, some patience and a good eye for design
details, it's possible to create a functional connector from scratch.
On Instructables r570SV.
has a guide that can save you from another kind of obsolescence:
broken gear from Harbor Freight
just because it was manufactured on a budget doesn't
mean it's destined for the landfill.
You can order replacement parts from Harbor Freight,
but you need to know where to find the assembly guide,
where to find the part number and who to call to get it ordered.
This short guide has all the details.
If you're like me and you had some Maker FOMO, looking at all the fun photos
from the recent Open Hardware Summit in New York, there's some good news.
All of those talks have been archived into a single YouTube playlist.
Talks on community robotics, open source fashion, PCB art,
integrating agricultural sensors and tons more.
It's all there for you to catch up on.
For this week's Digi-key spotlight, check out Becky Stern's advice
on troubleshooting errors on your Arduino projects.
It's always disappointing when a project doesn't work,
but that disappointment quickly turns to frustration and self-doubt
when you can't quite figure out why it's not working.
Becky's video will help you switch into detective mode
and sort out your hardware issues from your software issues,
along with strategies and common fixes to get you back on track.
And that does it for this week's show.
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Big thanks to Digi-Key Electronics for making this show possible.
And thank you for watching. I'll see you soon.