Axiom, A 100+kW Motor Controller for Making Big Motors Move

We’ve seen a lot of motor driver boards for robots and the odd electric skateboard. What we haven’t see a lot of is one big enough to drop into an electric vehicle. 

The Axiom motor controller was a winner of the bootstrap contest and is a Finalist in the 2019 …read more

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Build Your Own Plasma Ball

The simple plasma ball – it graces science museums and classrooms all around the world. It shares a place with the Van de Graaf generator, with the convenient addition of spectacular plasma rays that grace it spherical surface. High voltage, aesthetically pleasing, mad science tropes – what would make a …read more

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Light Emitting Logic Gates Built From Scratch

What’s the weirdest computer you can think of? This one’s weirder.

[Dr. Cockroach] figured out a way to create an inverting NOT gate from just one LED and two resistors (one being a photo-resistor). The Dr. has since built AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR and XNOR gates, as well as …read more

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Daisy Chained Seven Segment Art Display

This seven segment art display makes use of a 81 seven segment red common cathode LED displays. The LEDs are arranged onto 100x100mm boards that each contain an Arduino Nano and 9 seven segment displays, daisy chained through three-pin headers located on the sides of the boards. The pins (power, …read more

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Building A Laser Head With High Speed, High Resolution

Typically, when it comes to scanning a laser, it’s done with galvos or a rotating mirror assembly. However, these methods can be slow and cumbersome, or restricted due to existing patents. [Rick] aimed to find an alternative solution with the Hexastorm project, using a rotating prism to build a high …read more

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A DIY Retrocomputer Programmed in Pure Rust

Can you generate VGA and handle a PS/2 keyboard with a Cortex-M4 in Rust? That’s precisely what [theJPster] wanted to find out with Monotron, a 1980s style home computer programmed in pure Rust.

In order to run embedded Rust without a working operating system, some tools are necessary: an LLVM …read more

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Navigating the Dark Side: Controlling Robots With Zero Radio Communication

While autonomous robots have been the subject of some projects in the past, this particular project takes a swing at building a robot that can teach children about controls and robotics.

The idea is to mimic a space mission on the dark side of the moon, where radio contact is …read more

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Beam Me Up to the PCB Space Ship

This project would fit in perfectly with #BadgeLife if someone could figure out a way to hang it from their neck. Inspired by Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise, [bobricius] decided to design and assemble a miniature space ship PCB model, complete with 40 blinking LEDs controlled by an ATtiny85.

While the …read more

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Replacing the 3D Printer and Router: A Tool for Manufacturing Human-Scale Forms

The purpose of Geometer becomes apparent when you realize its simplicity: [David Troetschel]’s project is to create an easily understandable design tool that encourages goal-oriented design. The kit comes with physical components and digital counterparts that can be combined in a modular way. They each have a specific geometry, which …read more

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