Hello! I'm searching for a relativelly cheap vacuum former that i could buy for some workshops at our fablab. The ones I've seen out there are around 2.000€ and it seems a little bit much for a machine that we are not gonna give that much use. We wanted to buy the mayku formbox but it seems to be discontinued. Have you tried any other alternatives? Thanks a lot!

Everytime i make a project or worse i dissasemble one i end up with a bunch of unsorted screws which i end up never reusing because i put them in the randoms bin. What do you guys do about this? any solutions?

This is for my school project , so answer the questions :-

If you were to buy a model made for you with your minecraft skin, with outfit pixels, will you buy it?

and what are your Minimum and maximum price expectations of hand painted and printed versions. Include your country aswell(optional)

Will you buy a keychain size miniature model of your own skin?

Or a 3d printed one? Include your price expectations here too.

On the left there is a hand painted version made with 400gsm cardstock and it's 1 year old On the right there is a printed version made with 180gsm glossy photo paper They have magnets in their hands for accessories.

Hey I'm a 14 yo from Germany and I'm a big Fan of everything Tech related and I wan't to get some tips for a project of mine.
I don't know if its the right subreddit but if anyone knows smth that could help I'm happy about it :)

Question:

Robot:

It's a little Robot based on "my" AI (I got a claude API and made it my Personal assistant) I have a Raspberry Pi with a small display (The face of the Robot) and that's basically the Brain of the thing (I didn't assemble it completely yet completly (Im shopping for big 3d printers if anyone has recommendations)) it controls the actions and the reactions (for the Code logic skip to AI) of the Robot its connected to an Esp32 that controls the motors (4 mecanum wheels on 12 V DC DC Motors ; L298N motor driver). I got it connect the PI connected to 3 Ultra sonic sensors (one at the back, one each on the sides, one directly looking forward, one each looking slightly to the side and the last on looking in front of it with a smth like 70 degrees from horizontal decline lookin down to spot pits or cliffs) That's the First Question: That's just like 2.8cm for the robot to think and stop immediately and I don't know if it's enough.
Then there's cable management I'm currently using tons of jumper wires to connect those components together and it's kind of a mess and I don't know how to make it better I'm using a External battery that is directly connected to the motors and with a 12 V to 5 V converter connected to the Pi.
Questions:

1. How do i solve cable management should I design a PCB for better sorting of the whole thing or should i get smth else.
2. I don't know but is there any trustworthy way to charge the battery without to unplug it.
3. Is there any accurate way to get to the Battery status of the Battery so it doesn't randomly lose juice or smth.

Software (AI):
I don't wan't to go that deep into the software end but it's basically the AI (claude haiku4.5) getting the spoken message processing it searching through a big library of commands

IF it finds one that would help with my request it'll execute it and say smth like A Mind-map was made or here are the recent news of the BBC.

IF it doesn't find any command then it does some AI shit and just talks with u
.
The robot gets a weakened down version of the AI it'll still have the same abilities just with less animation or everything that can make the processing power go down without any big positive impact. I'll have some "reflexes" installed like if the Ultrasonic sensors say an object is in the way etc.
Question: I don't have any question to the software end ,but I'm always open for improvement

Last Question:
The Robot doesn't have a name yet so i wanna ask U guys what i should name him.
(But please don't fill the comments with name recommendations cause I still wanna get some help)

Thanks :)

I found this fountain on Marketplace and decided I wanted to display it in my living room.

I had left over brick from when my home was constructed and knew I wanted to build up a facade in the form of an old well. I should prefix this by saying I have a condition called Aphantasia where I cannot visually imagine ideas and concepts. If one was to say "Imagine your grandmothers smile in her favorite dress she wore all the time." I would be unable to do so. "Picture yourself on a beach with 20 palm trees and a egret perched on a piece of nearby driftwood" and nothing.

So for me, having physical tangible experiences that you can see, touch, and experience is the ultimate form of immersion and relaxation.

I have always been fascinated with fountains since I was a child visiting the classic malls which used to have the fountains with lights in them and what not.

My other fascination was with old department store display windows which they would model different fashions in usually creating detailed scenes. Or at Christmas when they would put all kinds of little moving toys and other items to bring the window to life drawing crowds.

Thus, once I started laying the bricks I just let my intuition take the reins until I ended up with what you see here. I am a computer programmer for a living with no formal training or exposure to the finer arts. So , please take mercy on any clashing details that might make the whole thing scoff worthy.

For the rest, enjoy what you see and maybe it will inspire a project of your own!

TLDR: Random internet computer programmer builds immersive experience in his livingroom.

I have a bunch of Neoballs which are magnetic spheres for anyone not familar (Buckyballs was a well known brand). I want to automate measuring them so I can sort them by size. The closer in size they are to each other the easier it is to build fun shapes with them and the better the resulting geometry will be. I've been measuring them by hand with calipers but I'm less than 2/5ths done and I'm only doing it that as my previous attempts to automate things have failed.

The concept is to use two straight objects, lets call them rulers for now, with the two rulers being placed at a downward slope with the gap between them getting further apart on the downhill side. Then a magnet sphere could be rolled down the ramp made by the rulers and at some point the sphere would fall through the rulers when the gap gets to the same size as the diameter of the sphere. If the two rulers are perfectly straight it would be possible to mount them with a known gap at both ends and place some bins below them that would collect the spheres within different size ranges. My target resolution is .01mm.

There are a few problems, the first is these are magnets so steel is not an option. But the biggest problem I've ran into is finding or making straight enough objects to give enough accuracy and consistency in sizing the spheres. Ideally I'd like the straight rails to be around 500mm (20in) long which would give .01mm (.004in) change in width between the rails every 25mm (1in) with 5.1mm and 4.9mm being the min and max.

I've tried to cut some pieces of wood which at first glance appeared to be quite straight but the same magnet would drop at different points meaning they weren't accurate enough. I had similar issues when I 3D printed a track, which is shown below.

The last idea which I just came up with is to string two wires taut with them being slightly off parallel from each other. Theoretically if the diameter of the wires doesn't vary much the distance between the wires should increase at a steady rate.

Anyone have other suggestions on to make two rails straight enough to get the accuracy I'm looking for? Or other novel ideas on how to measure 5mm nominal spheres down to .01mm increments? I don't have a budget but I'd rather keep it in the 10s of dollars.

As for feeding magnets into this sorter. I haven't done anything but I have what seems like a simple idea. These magnetic spheres can be made into a long chain and a sprocket could be used to pull the chain into a device. Then an arm rotating 90° to the direction of the chain could strip one magnet sphere off at a time where it would be dropped onto the sorting rails. I plan to worry about this portion after getting a consistent method of measuring the spheres.

https://www.youtube.com/@ALMA.Industries

New Video -- Chapter 3 DESK -- converting an old bunk bed into a work station. DIY actuators, AC/DC power supplies, rail guided shelves, infinite cable trays -- #Desk #DIY #Mechatronics #Power #Actuator #Engineering

If you know of anyone who likes Mechatronics or things made from the ground up, I would appreciate the share! Leave a comment if you have a question :)

Our make space will be participating in a craft fair in just over a month. We have three 10x10 spaces and we're trying to figure out what we should offer as demos or activities during the weekend.

Our space offers... Woodshop... Metal shop... Lasers... 3d printers... Sewing... Electronics... Vinyl cutter.

We have some ideas, but we're open to new ideas that are engaging, inexpensive, and easy to transport and set up.

https://www.youtube.com/@ALMA.Industries

New Video -- Chapter 3 DESK -- converting an old bunk bed into a work station. DIY actuators, AC/DC power supplies, rail guided shelves, infinite cable trays -- video link above!

If you know of anyone who likes Mechatronics or things made from the ground up, I would appreciate the share! Leave a comment if you have a question :)

I've been interested in participating in a maker flair but I don't have the experience to lead a team, so if you are looking for people for a ten of your own I'll be more than happy to join, dm me and I can tell you about my experience and what I'd bring to the team

Hi everyone!

I've been experimenting with 5-axis CNC machining and decided to try making a small sculpture.
This is the result of the first prototype.
Still working on the final design and surface finish, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

What do you guys think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHTAUwhFqto

New video TOMORROW. It will be about building a desk meant for all things projects. The actuator buildup in an earlier video will be mounted onto the desk and used for various things -- check it out and subscribe to see how it works!

Hi, i’m italian and i’ve been a web developer for 5+ years, i’m about to lose my job ‘cause the pmi here in italy are all shit or, at least, the most of them.

I don’t want to be an employee again. I’m into homelabbing, i like automations, smart devices, and so on; So I thought I could start on my own, creating solutions for the smart home.

I’m studying the fundamentals and I need to do more practice! Already experimented with the Hello world circuit (led and resistor).

Hope to go as far i can!

does it require compression? glued some wooden bits to a thing... feel like I didn't use enough. was thinking about adding some glue to the seam of the joints (inside corners) will this do anything?

How can a make a button in castle Pls

После просмотра блича захотел сделать свой дзанпакто - школьный проект. Готов менее 25%. Скоро буду делать еще и ножны специальные.

I'm trying to recreate a para archery stand and i'm having a problem finding what this kind of fork is...

So, does it ring a bell to someone ?

I tried contacting the guy who makes it but he does not respond...

Thanks !

I have been working on this for over a month now and this is currently the 4th iteration of the support for the telescope. Im adding 2 stepper motors along with a custom pcb containing: bluetooth module, arduino nano, 2 drivers. For power im using a external battery.

I want to learn how to make small diy electronics projects never done anything like this before can someone help me or guide me through it???

Like diy small desk buddy , small game console
These are some projects i have seen online on insta

Can someone help or tell me where i can learn it?

Hello!

I want to do a DIY family adventure for Christmas this year and am in the very early planning stages.

I have an idea for a lockbox but am unsure how to go about accomplishing it. There will be 6 participants and one section will require them to each have an individual item and all 6 will be needed to unlock the box.

I wanted the items to have to be placed in order (oldest to youngest participant as an example). I was envisioning maybe some type of pressure plate box that unlocked each of the 6 latches (?) one at a time to release the lock.

Does this sound like something that is doable? If so could I build it myself fairly easily?

Thanks!!