We have seen lots of these word clock builds. Our friend Muris has just completed his word clock build, he is using a ATmega328P microcontroller to command the 248 LED matrix to show the time and a little something special (watch the video at around the 32 second mark). Atmel AT42QT1011 touch sensors add a nice way to interface with the clock and I am impressed by the professional
Check out this cool tour through a speaker manufacturing plant. I am quite surprised to see how much manual labor is involved and how much wasted movement of parts and pieces goes on. With some thought behind the production line I think the process could be greatly simplified. Although with a high end, high price product I guess you don’t need to be as fast and efficient as other
Youtube user TopCityGear has really gone all out in this PVC Nerf Air Gun project. A used cordless drill provides the ergonomic handle for the gun, the trigger of the drill activates a sprinkler solenoid which releases the air and propels the projectile down range. I have always been surprised how well sprinkler valves work with high air pressures since it isn’t what they were designed for. The video
 John Baichtal from Make shared this cool Cocktail Making Machine that is based on the Arduino. Enjoying a great drink is one thing but watching it being made by this machine would be just as fun. The Inebriator isn’t open source as mentioned by John but I don’t think everything needs to be. It is nice when something is since everyone can see how it was done and
If you shoot video with a small pocket camcorder you might wish you could get some depth of field like you can get from a DSLR. Dan Colvin sent in his latest project that solves that problem with a pair of cheap binoculars and a home made bracket. The binoculars held up to the small lens of the camcorder gives you the depth of field that you have been
Instructables user bennelson shows us how you can make a Smart Grid using an old UPS. This allows him to charge his 48 volt electric motorcycle using a discarded UPS. When the power fails he can also backfeed his garage or house using his UPS system which would then draw current from the motorcycle battery to generate AC power. He unplugs the UPS AC power from the wall, connects
Friction Welding Friction Welding is an exotic type of welding that needs some large precision machines to handle the forces involved in performing the process. One piece of metal is spun and then forced into a secondary piece of metal. This causes intense heat and fuses the two metals together. Thermite Welding Thermite Welding is when you harness the insane heat generated by burning
