March 2013

Light Play

3D Printed Delta Prototype : Jeden

The last working delta robot I created was completed last August, nearly six months ago. I didn’t have access to a metal shop, so I relied on my dremel to do all the work and because of this it was made entirely out of hangers and tupperware. I hacked a multitude of plastic household objects and to-go boxes into actual moving robots… which was how I had expected to create the whole army of such deltas. That is until I met everyone at the budding hackerspace last summer and learned that 3D printers are now desktop sized. I’ve come a long way since then. Now having figured out how to make 3D models of the parts I need, I’m printing my robots like a more civilized maker. I’ve also departed from relying on hobby parts for the joints due to my friend Mark’s ingenious idea to implement ball bearings into…

Goggles

Theremin Goggles

Blinking, fading, and color changing lights are a standard for eye catching goggles. This being said, I decided to change it up a bit and make a set that would engage the wearer in the production of sound. As always I wanted my goggles to be interactive. When it comes to audio, I figured there was no better way to achieve this than with some sort of theremin which would invoke hand waving and finger wiggling from the wearer and anyone near by. Now, I realize that traditional theremins are quite complex in their inner workings and tend to run quite large, so I poked around the internet until I found this simplified optical theremin that requires a hand full of basic components and two 555 timers.This particular design also creates a very unique, annoying sound which in this application is perfect! Here is the link to the circuit I…

General Stuff

DIY Bellows

I decided last week that my next set of goggles will be Polkamatic. Previously I had been mulling over the notion of creating a radio themed pair, but that was less quirky and less interactive than the recent Theremin goggles I have finished… and I can’t allow myself to digress. ‘Polkamatic’ goggles? What the hell is that? Well, my interest in sound and the fact that I am a blazing Pollock have intersected into this lovely idea of an interactive sound mixer consisting of polka riffs and the like. These goggles will look like they were carved from wood, will have floral babushka fabric for straps, and no less than two bellows to simulate working accordions. Silly? YES. Very silly… I have the image of a one man band contraption with moving parts and knobs in my head… the only problem I’ll face is running out of surface area on…