 Even before you send out your PCB for manufacturer you can have a realistic image of the finished populated board! Thanks to Ian at Dangerous Prototypes I think we will start to lots of Rendering 3D PCB even before a soldering iron has been used. Best of all it won’t cost you anything other than some time to learn a new skill. The engine used to render the
 This DIY Tin Electroplating process will come in handy if you ever want to protect some copper in a project from oxidizing. Green copper looks great on a roof but not in your projects. Dane from Transistor Man shows us how he electroplated some tin onto some copper buss bars. Other than some stuff you probably have around the house you will need some tin and muriatic acid.Â
This Automated Drink Fridge would be great in a business or roommate setting where you want to charge people based on consumption without needing a box to deposit money. All it takes is a swipe of a card to get your drink, an email at the end of the day will let you pay for your drinks using an online payment method. The fridge has ramps on the inside
 The prize this week is a credit card knife, it has a ton of features to get you out of a jam in a network closet or your next camping trip. This contest will run for one week (October 19 – 26, 2012). Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item above and what it can be used for. Please do not give
 If you enjoy drinking tea but forget to remove the tea bag when it has finished steeping this Automated Tea Maker project is for you. There is a tea timer that has been connected to an old CD drive mechanism, when the timer is done the tea bag is removed from the cup using the motor in the CD drive mechanism. I think this is just the beginning
Want to build some electronic devices that will literately self destruct? Many people say that is what electronics do already compared to electronics built 15 years ago. It wasn’t that long ago that devices were built like tanks and designed to last as long as possible. These days I think most devices are designed to just outlast the warranty period. Scientists are working on a method of building electronics
 Rob Hemsleysent in this great hack that he did using the Crayola ColorStudio HD Pen. By swapping our the stock Microchip PIC 16F505 controller with a Attiny 44 (same pinouts) he is now able to make the $30 device operate as he would like. If you are interested in doing some hacking of your own have a look at the code which is available here. “The Crayola ColorStudio HD
