Putting More Tech Into More Hands: The Robin Hoods of Hackaday Prize

Many different projects started with the same thought: “That’s really expensive… I wonder if I could build my own for less.” Success is rewarded with satisfaction on top of the money saved, but true hacker heroes share their work so that others can build their own as well. We are happy to recognize such generosity with the Hackaday Prize [Robinhood] achievement.

Achievements are a new addition to our Hackaday Prize, running in parallel with our existing judging and rewards process. Achievements are a way for us to shower recognition and fame upon creators who demonstrate what we appreciate from our …read more

Continue reading Putting More Tech Into More Hands: The Robin Hoods of Hackaday Prize

Putting More Tech Into More Hands: The Robin Hoods of Hackaday Prize

Many different projects started with the same thought: “That’s really expensive… I wonder if I could build my own for less.” Success is rewarded with satisfaction on top of the money saved, but true hacker heroes share their work so that others can build their own as well. We are happy to recognize such generosity with the Hackaday Prize [Robinhood] achievement.

Achievements are a new addition to our Hackaday Prize, running in parallel with our existing judging and rewards process. Achievements are a way for us to shower recognition and fame upon creators who demonstrate what we appreciate from our …read more

Continue reading Putting More Tech Into More Hands: The Robin Hoods of Hackaday Prize

Easy-Peelzy Makes 3D Prints Stick And Not Stick

We have a friend who has always been obsessed that he didn’t invent the Weed Eater. After all, it is just some fishing line and a motor. We might feel the same way about Easy-Peelzy, which [Maker’s Muse] reviews in the video, below. The idea is very simple. Two squares of material that have magnets in them and one surface is something similar to BuildTak. You mount one square down on your print bed and then put the other square down so that it magnetically sticks. Print, and then pull the top square off and pop your print off.

Judging …read more

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Gyrotourbillion Blesses The Eyes, Hard to Say

Clock movements are beautifully complex things. Made up of gears and springs, they’re designed to tick away and keep accurate time. Unfortunately, due to the vagaries of the universe, various sources of error tend to creep in – things like temperature changes, mechanical shocks, and so on. In the quest for ever better timekeeping, watchmakers decided to try and rotate the entire escapement and balance wheel to counteract the changing effect of gravity as the watch changed position in regular use.

They’re mechanical works of art, to be sure, and until recently, reserved for only the finest and most luxurious …read more

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3D Printed Tourniquets are Not a Cinch

Saying that something is a cinch is a way of saying that it is easy. Modeling a thin handle with a hole through the middle seems like it would be a simple task accomplishable in a single afternoon and that includes the time to print a copy or two. We are here to tell you that is only the first task when making tourniquets for gunshot victims. Content warning: there are real pictures of severe trauma. Below, is a video of a training session with the tourniquets in Hayat Center in Gaza and has a simulated wound on a mannequin. …read more

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Makerbot Printer Reborn As PCB Engraver

Makerbot 3D printers were among the first to hit the market, so it makes sense that old and broken ones now litter the shelves of hackerspaces and home workshops alike. Rather than throw his one out, [Foaly] saw an opportunity to convert it to some sort of CNC machine. Given its lack of inherent rigidity and relatively weak motors, he opted to make a low-impact circuit board engraver which he appropriately calls the MakerbotCNC. We like the thought he put into this project, and it was clearly backed by plenty of experience.

Fortunately, his Makerbot Replicator 2 stemmed from a …read more

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The Tantillus, Reborn

In the beginning, around 2011 or thereabouts, there was an infinite variety of designs available for anyone to build their own 3D printer. There were Mendels, some weirdos were actually trying to build Darwins, and deltas were starting to become a thing. In the years since then, everyone just started buying cheap Prusa clones and wondering why their house burnt down.

One of the most innovative printers of this era was the Tantillus. It was a small printer, with the entire frame fitting in a 250mm square, but still able to print a 100mm cube. You could print the entire …read more

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3D Printing Air Quality Study

You’ll often hear about some study in the media and then — on examination — find it doesn’t really apply to your situation. Sure, substance X causes cancer in rats, but they ate 8 pounds of it a day for a decade. That’s why we were glad to see [Chuck] post a series of videos about 3D printing air quality based on his practical experience. You can see the summary video, below.

[Chuck] is quick to point out that he isn’t a doctor or even a chemist. He also admits the $100 meter from IGERESS he is using isn’t necessarily …read more

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3D Printed Bicycle Tire Not Full of Hot Air

To show off its new TPU filament called PRO FLEX, BigRep GmbH posted a video showing a 3D printed bike tire that uses a flexible plastic structure instead of air. The video shows them driving the bike around Berlin.

According to the company, the filament will allow the creation of a large number of industrial objects not readily built with other types of plastic. Their release claims the material has high temperature resistance, low temperature impact resistance, and is highly durable. Applications include gear knobs, door handles, skateboard wheels, and other flexible parts that need to be durable.

The material …read more

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3D Printed Tank Scores Suspension

Tanks are highly capable vehicles, with their tracks giving them the ability to traverse all manner of terrain at speed. An important part of a tank is its suspension setup, without which its treads are far less capable. When [Ivan]  began work on his 3D printed tank project, he couldn’t ignore the comments. His tank would need a suspension system.

The tank build itself is impressive, consisting almost entirely of 3D printed components held together with off-the-shelf bearings and threaded rod. [Ivan] retools the tank from the beginning to fit a pivoting suspension system which is surprisingly simple in its …read more

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