Designing an Open Source Micro-Manipulator

A camera-based microscope is on a stand, looking down towards a slide which is held on a plastic stage. The stage is held in place by three pairs of brass rods, which run to red plastic cranks mounted to three stepper motors. On the opposite side of each crank from the connecting rod is a semicircular array of magnets.

When you think about highly-precise actuators, stepper motors probably aren’t the first device that comes to mind. However, as [Diffraction Limited]’s sub-micron capable micro-manipulator shows, they can reach extremely fine …read more Continue reading Designing an Open Source Micro-Manipulator

2025 One Hertz Challenge: A Flaming Oscillator and a New Take on the Candle Clock

On the left side of the image, three lit candles are positioned next to each other, so that the flames merge. On the right side, an oscilloscope screen is shown displaying an oscillating waveform.

Candle clocks were once an easy way to build a clock without using complex mechanical devices: just observe how quickly a thin candle burns down, mark an identical candle with …read more Continue reading 2025 One Hertz Challenge: A Flaming Oscillator and a New Take on the Candle Clock

Coping with Disappearing Capacitance in a Buck Converter

A pink sine wave is seen against the black background of an oscilloscope display.

Designing a circuit is a lot easier on paper, where components have well-defined values, or lacking that, at least well-defined tolerances. Unfortunately, even keeping percentage tolerances in mind isn’t always …read more Continue reading Coping with Disappearing Capacitance in a Buck Converter