Around The Web

The Isolated Engineer

crash bang prototyping and Andrew Retallack
[guestpost]This week I am moving! So I asked Andrew from Crash-Bang Prototyping to fill in. While not a tutorial, he has a very unique perspective on engineering, being that he lives in Africa. After reading his outstanding post, make sure you take a look at the excellent AVR/Microcontroller tutorials on his blog.[/guestpost]

James and I were talking over e-mail the other day, and he said that he felt isolated living in South Florida. Isolated? You should try living in South Africa, James – Then you’ll know what isolation is!

Not only do we spell “neighbour” incorrectly and watch sports matches that take five days to complete, but we also don’t have overnight shipping from the Digikey or Mouser, or Maker Faire NY, or Solid Con or… a whole lot of other things. So just how lucky are makers who live in the States or Europe or China, and what’s it like living 10,000 miles from Silicon Valley?

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Around The Web

Learn the difference between laser types

via Make:

One of the most versatile tools in a shop or makerspace is a laser cutter. The recently funded Glowforge makes having one in your garage a possibility.

With so much exciting around laser cutters, you might be wonder what is a laser anyway? There are two primary laser types: Gas and Diode.  Jordan Bunker goes into detail in the Make: Skill Builder article, about the difference.

The pictures and diagrams alone are worth the look. The diagram on how a laser diode emits light is one of my favorites. (Actually, I think it is a good general purpose “led/diode diagram.”

Check out “Learn the Difference: Gas and Diode Lasers,” via Make.

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Around The Web

Print your own Graph Paper

Ever need graph paper for a project, but can’t wait for Amazon Prime? No problem, this free online tool lets you generate graph paper on the fly. Multiple types of graph lines are available and each are fully configurable. Once done, you get a clean PDF of graph paper to print.

Here’s a short run-down of the graph paper types available:

  • Squares
  • Triangle and Hexagons
  • Circular and Polar (Think Smith Chart)
  • Asymmetric
  • Note Taking

Check out the free graph paper generator at incompetech.com.

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Arduino

Proper Larson Scanner with Software PWM (Repost)

Last week I had a detailed Arduino tutorial on software pulse width modulation using millis() and micros(). Why? Because I wanted to create a Proper Larson Scanner, with persistence and at least 8 LEDs.

From Amazon

Even though it is a popular project for the Arduino Uno, most Larson scanner tutorials, like my first one, have a few flaws. First, there is no persistence, or tail, to the LED as it moves back and forth. Persistence could be solved by using pulse-width-modulation. The Uno and other 328p-based micros only have 6 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) pins. And let’s be honest, every project is made better by adding more LEDs. 🙂

If you look at this cover shot of KITT from Knight Rider you will see there isn’t just a single light source. It appears multiple lights are turned on, as well as fading effect. This fading effect creates a tail. Of course, the reason is probably that standard light bulbs were being used back in the 80s. Traditional light bulbs don’t turn on or off nearly as fast as LEDs.

Presenting the Proper Larson Scanner

Knowing that a popular Halloween hack is to add Cylon (or KITT) lights to your pumpkins, I thought it was time for a Proper Larson Scanner. This code example does a couple of important things.

  1. It implements my “software pulse width modulation.”
  2. Can be used on all 20 I/O pins of an Uno (or other 328p Arduino)
  3. Does not use any delay()s!

So if you want to make your pumpkin even more Cylon-like this Halloween, check out this full tutorial on a proper Larson scanner.

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3D Printing

Additive Manufacturing (aka 3D Printing) Infographic

While I was attending a material science conference, I learned the value of listening to something new. The paper I came to see was finished, and the next was about to start. It was titled, “Additive Manufacturing.”

I almost left!

What a dull phrase, right? Well, I was stuck in the middle of a row with four people on either side of me. So I decided, it was a good time to catch up on Reddit. What I didn’t realize is “additive manufacturing” is what almost everyone else in the world calls “3D Printing.” Plus, this presenter was talking about doing it with metal!

When you think about it, most extrusion-based 3D printers are laying down material one layer at a time. In other words, they are manufacturing an object by “adding” material. See the connection? Most people probably lump 3D-printing into rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing into a “real” production process.

One more story.

At SXSW one year, I attended an event held by Shapeways. Objects they made were all over the venue, and they looked incredible. Plus, some were for sale. My favorite? Super Mario Bros related stuff. Do a search for “Mario” in Shapeways marketplace for some neat things to add to your desk.

 

 

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