HackSpace #67

Got a comment, question, or thought about HackSpace magazine? get in touch at hsmag.cc/hello GET IN TOUCH hackspace@raspberrypi.com hackspacemag hackspacemag ONLINE hsmag.cc https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hackspace-magazine/id1315673274?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hackspace-magazine/id1315673274?mt=8 Does open source matter in 3D printers and, if it does, what should we do to defend it? It’s a question that Josef Průša posed to the community alongside the launch of the MK4. Hobbyist 3D printers started with the RepRap movement, where open source was key to a worldwide community being able to rapidly modify and improve designs. We’re now in a post-RepRap era when most 3D printer designs aren’t open-source (though they might run open-source software). At HackSpace magazine, we’re not open-source purists, and we recognise that commercial reality can make opening your design difficult. However, we view open source as a significant and…

hsmag.cc/ESP32-PlantMonitor We’ve seen plant monitors many times before now, but this one, by self-taught electronics tinkerer Ovidiu, is worth a closer look. First of all because its creator is self-taught: if you can imagine it, you can build it; the only downside of being self-taught is that it’ll probably take you longer than it would if you knew what to do/where to look. Ovidiu’s used an ESP32 and an e-ink display to create a plant monitor with an impressive eleven days battery life (longer if you run it without the display), and kept electronic components off the soil probes so that they are cheap to replace should they break/get stolen by foxes. The machine monitors temperature, soil moisture levels, humidity, light levels and more, and shares data via Wi-Fi or…

hsmag.cc/LegoSewingMachine We take our collective hat off to anyone who can sew: by hand, it’s fiddly, slow, and frustratingly difficult; with a sewing machine it’s even harder, as the mechanisation element only means that we can go wrong more quickly. So, we’re extremely impressed by The Brick Wall’s sewing machine build, which uses Lego (plus one small rotating handmade part to hook and release the thread) to assemble a working, hand-powered sewing machine. And yes, it produces a perfect chain stitch.…

hsmag.cc/PicoRobotDog We’ve seen a few robot dogs over the years, most notably James Bruton’s openDog and Boston Dynamics’ terrifying Spot hunter killer. Here’s one with a twist, created by computer engineering student Halid Yildirim. Halid’s big breakthrough has been to separate the electronics from the robot chassis, enabling different electronics modules to be swapped in and out. Because it’s modular, there are key features, and non-key features that can be added or removed to keep the cost down. Core features include the computing unit, battery and power management units, remote control, GPS, gyroscope, and pressure sensors on the legs. Swappable capabilities include Lidar and gas detection modules.…

hsmag.cc/FurbyBorges In 2018, Roni Bandini hacked a Furby to turn it into a Jorge Luis Borges-quoting animatronic. He left as many components in situ as possible, only bypassing the audio, to create an effect that worked, but wasn’t as good as it could have been. Five years later, the JL Borges Furby is reborn. Roni has removed the original electronics that controlled the Furby’s mouth and eyes, opting to replace them with an Arduino Nano and an H-bridge. He’s got rid of the original sound effects equipment, replacing it with a DFRobot DFPlayer Mini MP3 player. He’s also used a passive infrared sensor, so that whenever someone walks past the furry they’re treated to a snippet of the great Argentinian writer’s work.…

hsmag.cc/Persist-o-meter Practice makes perfect. But real life gets in the way of practice. To solve the problem of pesky reality intruding onto his valuable ukulele playing time, Yurko Tymchuk has developed a progress tracker using 3D printing and magnets to record his daily goals. It looks a lot like a calendar, and every time you fulfil your goal for that day, you add a magnetised cross to the board indicating success. The text describing the goals is printed on detachable labels, so if you were to get bored with the ukulele and want to learn the piano instead, you’d just print a new label. This is a 3D-printed model, but with some special instructions: first, it uses 0.2mm layer heights, to get the best fit with the magnets he’s used.…