Laser machines are very useful pieces of gear. You can send a very precise file to it and it will cut or etch it perfectly and accurately as many times as you like. The entire machine is built with accuracy and repeatability in mind, so what if you want to have some analog fun with it? You would need to do some hacking just like our friend Martin Raynsford
   There are lots of simply boxes to test servo motors but there is a bit of a void when it comes to stepper motor testers. Kenneth Weiss has built the Easy Stepper Motor Controller to fill the need. By plugging in some power and the stepper, you will be able to start testing in seconds instead of writing some sample code, building up a driver circuit etc. When
Lucy Matchett, Nicole Yi Messier, and Joselyn McDonald used Spacebrew to make this Remote Flower Watering Project. This fun little project uses a photoresistor to detect when a watering cup has been lifted off the base and sends this information to the remote unit, the remote unit then pours the water that has been prepared onto the plant using a small servo motor.The only issue is that someone on
When leaving a parking garage have you ever wondered how the gate knows how to close only after you have pulled out? The magic lies below the concrete, there is an inductive loop in the ground under the gate arm. It sensed the presence of your car and lets the gate close only once your car can no longer be detected. You can also see these loops used in
If you want to know when your network is having issues and have some Arduino gear kicking around this Uptime Monitor Project by www.hackshed.co.uk allows you to get instant Twitter updates as soon as there are problems. Thanks to Steve for sending this in. “It was actually surprisingly easy; we had the Twitter posting code from the previous project and we found an Arduino ICMP library so that we
 Smart Watches are taking quite a while to catch on. I think when the price comes down to the $50 range or they are included with your smart phone I think we will see mass adoption but until then I think they will remain rare. But if you want one now and have time for a new project why not build your own! With a few well chosen
This Open Bitcoin ATM might be a simply way to distribute Bitcoin in establishments that want to use it for sales. Just make sure no one walks away with the big box of cash. “Open Bitcoin ATM is the worlds first open-source automated teller machine for education and experimentation. Want to make one? Here’s a step by step tutorial. It takes about 7 – 10 hours to build with
