Practice While You Work
This week, I had to do something I haven’t done in a long, long time: make myself a custom PCB the old-fashioned way, with laser toner and etchant. The reason? …read more Continue reading Practice While You Work
Category Archives: precision
Precision Reference Puts Interesting Part to Work
Interesting parts make for interesting projects, and this nifty precision voltage reference has some pretty cool parts, not to mention an interesting test jig. The heart of [Gaurav Singh]’s voltage …read more Continue reading Precision Reference Puts Interesting Part to Work
Retrotechtacular: The Tyranny of Large Numbers
Although much diminished now, the public switched telephone network was one of the largest machines ever constructed. To make good on its promise of instant communication across town or around …read more Continue reading Retrotechtacular: The Tyranny of Large Numbers
Misleading GPS, Philosophy of Maps, And You
The oft-quoted saying “all models are wrong, but some are useful” is a tounge-in-cheek way of saying that at some level, tools we use to predict how the world behaves …read more Continue reading Misleading GPS, Philosophy of Maps, And You
The Case Against Calibration Cubes
Calibration cubes have long been a staple for testing and adjusting 3D printers, but according to [Stefan] of CNC Kitchen, they’re not just ineffective—they could be leading us astray. In …read more Continue reading The Case Against Calibration Cubes
Over-the-Top Programmable Resistor Looks the Part and Performs
Every once in a while we get wind of a project that we’re reluctant to write up for the simple reason that it looks too good to be true. Not …read more Continue reading Over-the-Top Programmable Resistor Looks the Part and Performs
Learn How Impossibly Close-fitting Parts Are Actually Made
Most of us have seen those demonstrations of metal parts that mate together so finely that, once together, they have no visible seam at all. But how, exactly, is this …read more Continue reading Learn How Impossibly Close-fitting Parts Are Actually Made
Metric and Inch Threads Fight it Out for Ultra-Precise Positioning
When you’re a machinist, your stock in trade is precision, with measurements in the thousandths of your preferred unit being common. But when you’re a diemaker, your precision game needs …read more Continue reading Metric and Inch Threads Fight it Out for Ultra-Precise Positioning
The Inner Machinations of the Arduino are an Enigma
Arduinos have been the microcontroller platform of choice for nearly two decades now, essentially abstracting away a lot of the setup and lower-level functions of small microcontrollers in favor of …read more Continue reading The Inner Machinations of the Arduino are an Enigma
Animate Arcane Protocols With Interrupt-Backed Bitbanging
We often take our “SoftwareSerial” libraries for granted, and don’t investigate what goes on under the hood — until they fail us, at least. Would you like to learn how …read more Continue reading Animate Arcane Protocols With Interrupt-Backed Bitbanging