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"Making lemonade with lemons" or "Reworking your bad PCBs"

I've been working on a large project for a few months now. It's a DC power distribution unit, and as you can imagine it has need for relays. I've got the thing setup to accept cards to can perform many uses both input and output. One of the many cards I've designed for this system (dual low-side switching relay, 5V, 12V, audio sensor etc..) is a dual high-speed 12V solid state relay card. Rendering of PDU and fresh pile of PCBs from Circuitmart This is a photo of the relay on a breadboard.  single channel of dual high-speed 12V solid state relay on breadboard This is the card from both sides. The "empty" space is used for thick and wide traces to carry current. These will be built with 6oz copper and can source 23A @ 330W in theory. I've only pushed them to 100W so far but they showed no meaningful rise in temperature so I think I am on the right track. By the numbers, they are right where they should be. Because these cards are small and

Bench power supply project

I found myself needing a 480W power supply to test a high current project I was working on. A 500W bench/lab power supply will set you back $100s so I figured a PC power supply was the cheapest bet. For $80 you can get a Wonhunglow brand. I checked ebay and found Dell 500W server power supplies CHEAP. Like $2 cheap. I acquired a couple and figured out how to turn the thing on by shorting 3 pins together. Then I designed a simple little 4 rail power supply PCB and had it built by OSH Park. This power supply outputs 12V and 5V and 4V. I didn't have any use for the 4V so I skipped those pins but did add a 500mA 3.3V LDO to my board so I have 3.3V, 5V, 12V, and GND rails available. I left a large section of the solder mask missing so I could solder on some more current carrying capacity and called it done. I used a DPDT switch to short out the 3 pins required to turn on the 12V rail and added a little LED to indicate that the 3.3V regulator was running and put a small current limitin

Successful Launch of Classes on Meetup

A little over 2 weeks ago, we at Freeside Atlanta launched a series of classes on Meetup on everything from Linux to 3D Printing. They've been a huge success so far! Our 3D Printing class, shown above, was taught by 3D Printing Expert Anthony Aragues. We had 11 students sign up for the first class, where they covered the recent iterations of hardware and software and how to use them. In fact, every single class that we launched filled to capacity. Intro to Linux, Intro to Electronics, Intro to Arduino, CNC, and 3D printing. Thank you to all of the Teachers and Students that made this little experiment such a success! Because of how well this first round went we'll be launching more classes and workshops soon, so stay tuned!

Sharp Memory LCD - Arduino Library

This post extends the previous post . Source Code Released! http://code.google.com/p/arduino-sharp-memory-lcd-gfx-library/ I've got a little reflow oven simulation running on the LCD. I think its going to be great for the reflow oven project. The source for the sketch in the video is attached below. The library now does vectors in addition to text and bitmaps. I am now extending the Adafruit GFX library so I can use those vector drawing routines in addition to my PGM space bitmaps. I still need to clean up the unnecessary banging I am doing on one pin. I'll post up the code on the interwebz for all to use once that is cleared up. I need a darn oscilloscope to inspect that pin! If you need an early copy of the library and you don't know how to contact me, PM me from the youtube video. #include #include "SharpMemoryLcd.h" SHARPMEMORYLCD lcd; void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); lcd.LcdInitialize(); lcd.LcdAllClearMode();

Sharp Memory LCD - Musings

Update: Arduino Library Released If any of you guys were at Freeside this weekend, you would have seen me staring into the oscilloscope trying to make heads or tails of its output and comparing that to a couple of datasheets. One of those datasheets was for the Atmega328P microcontroller that is on the Arduino UNO, the other was the Sharp Memory LCD . These are cool because the are ultra low power 6uW and have extremely high contrast. The Sharp datasheet isn't what I would call straightforward, at least for the uninitiated (whom I count myself among). The power up sequence was pretty clear but once it came to pushing pixels it got a little vague. Really it was just a bunch of waves on the sheet. One of the waves is a constant 5-60Hz pulse. That is the sort of thing that would be very irritating to create if you are bit banging on the main loop of your program, so I needed to get the AVR to pump that out in an automatic way. Researching the interwebz and reading the Atme

ISP Programming Jig w/ pogo pegs

During one of the last projects I was working on, I found that the first programming jig I made had a serious draw back. It could only put the #1 pin of the programmer in two of the four corners. That meant that I could only program my board from one side. That was fine until I assembled the project in it's case. At that point, reprogramming was a difficult task that required disassembly, something I never considered when I designed the item and as it turned out it was almost impossible to do without destroying it. Annoying! Three weeks ago I decided I wanted to flash some new firmware on my motorcycle remote so I could use it to put a GPS on my Kindle Fire. That meant I needed take it apart and risk destroying it. Not an exciting prospect. Then I thought, why don't I just build another programming jig like the last one only upside down. That seemed like a winner, because it was fast, but I didn't have any more 2x3 ISP headers. Bah! Since I needed to wait on a shipm

Simple Chemistry

Inspired by THIS !SAFETY! This is some dangerous stuff. It will mess you up.   Zn + 2 HCl          > ZnCl 2  + H 2

SCYTHE OF DOOM!

This giant masonry blade has been sitting around Freeside forever: Rust and dust are indicators of abandonment. Please make use of the rusty and dusty. Note the diamond tipped edge I KNOW!  Let's make a giant scythe for my Halloween costume!!  (Never too early to plan)

Thingiverse: Anatomic Human Foot

Freesider's are evermore professional printistas of sorts.  As our sprints are ramping up, there seems to be a growing interest in "organic modeling".  Things often found in nature fall into this category for CAD artists. Here is a recent Thingiverse upload, which was made from some very simple modeling techniques in Newtek's Lighwave 3D application.  A little goes a very long way, indeed. per Thingiverse.com: There are 26 proper bones in the human foot; 28 if you consider the sesamoids of the 1st metatarsal phalangeal joint complex. That's over 25% of your body's total musculo-skeletal anatomy, hitting the ground every time you go for a walk or run! Quite impressive, really. Read More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot learnbones.com/foot-bones-anatomy This anatomic foot model was designed in Newtek's Lightwave 3D, as part of the podcast @ YouTube.com/DrGlassDPM Anatomic study models can be quite expensive, search.anatomywarehouse.com/

Freesiders Hackers Collaborate in Medical / Surgical Research

Published in the May issue of the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery : " A Novel Combination of Printed 3-Dimensional Anatomic Templates and Computer-assisted Surgical Simulation for Virtual Preoperative Planning in Charcot Foot Reconstruction ." This collaboration of specialties represents an undertaking by members of Freeside Atlanta , Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance , and The Podiatry Institute .  Charcot foot reconstruction remains on of the most challenging procedures in foot and ankle surgery.  These procedures are often lengthy procedures which can be riddled with complications. With the help of Freeside Atlanta Members, institutional researchers used open source Osirix Image viewer and 3D Software such as Newtek's Lightwave or Blender to create simulated surgical reductions as well as 3D printed templates.  Freeside Atlanta members assisted in providing 3D printing solutions and know-how to the project. Experimental test prints were done on a M

Red Bull Soapbox Derby

OH look! A package! I wonder who it is from? Maybe it is something about the Soapbox race? Looks like it Oh Man! Red Bull and a note card saying "thanks but no thanks."   Don't they know I prefer diet?!?

Onboard Firmware of the Human Brain

Freesiders are continually tinkering with robotics and other such machinery .  Many of these embedded processors and firmware are becoming open source and every-more diversified in the wake of the modern Maker movement . One notable boost to the hackerspace arsenal is the Arduino (an like platforms).  This offers designers an incredible power to devise not just individual devices but even the emergence of complex, integrated systems . This evolutionary pace of modern technological systems may be significantly faster the biologic system development, but there may be a few well learned tricks yet to be mastered.  It seems that studying how nature has managed to solve many development challenges will aid in designing robotics, where efficiently counts just as much. One  challenge, that is particularly interesting, is data processing.  Artificial intelligence is labored with processing data and producing a meaningful and useful output.  When considering the increase in sensory

3D printing in action.

After seeing Joshua Oster-Morris with this little box I asked him to write a post for us on how it came it to being. Worth the read. Dateline: San Francisco, May 10 2011: Google I/O 2011 opens up with much fanfare and I, a lowly “software guy”, sit down to listen to a couple of sessions on Google Web Toolkit. I have been using it to develop a motorcycle navigation website ( http://www.dualsportmaps.com ) and its always good to try to pick up a few new tricks of trade. These are mainly esoteric talks about development tools, but there is also one about a new API called RequestFactory that allows state aware communication between client and server characterized by its low bandwidth. They discuss how it might be handy to use as a protocol for communicating with Android devices. To that, my ears perk up and I make my best impersonation (imdogination) of Scooby-Doo. I have been doing a little Android development for personal projects, I have an extensive craft cocktail recipe book that

My First Tool Box

I was looking for ideas for tools to put in the little blue tool box I have been refinishing. I am giving this to a kid I have been working with and I was wondering if people had ideas for what tools a teen should have. What tools would you have wanted when you were a kid? What tools are you always needing? Here is what I have so far: Small hammer Metric and standard socket set Metric and Standard Allen Wrenches standard screwdriver bits and small screw driver. Small hand saw with switchable blades. Three different types of pliers.

Entrepreneur Discussion Group update

In the last meeting of the Entrepreneur discussion group, we talked about business plans for our different ideas. Most businesses (Profit/Non-Profit, Product/Service...) that require some level of investment, fit into a similar planning pattern. We looked over one planning tool that I developed in Excel as an example of that pattern, which is then reflected in the example business plan that I posted to out Dropbox share (email me if you'd like access). The model works by developing the product and estimating it's price and market potential ( revenue projections ). Next, you develop the cost model ( bill of materials, equipment, facility, labor, administrative ). These costs are allocated by product (or service) and together, the revenue and cost projections form the key financial data ( Annual Operating Expenses, Pro-Forma Income Statements, Cash Flow Analysis, Breakeven Analysis By Product, Working Capital Requirements ). All of these are based on research and best-gues

Intorduction to Arduino Class

Join us a Freeside next Thursday for an Introduction to Arduino Class. The class will be aimed at the basics of Arduino Programming, so some programming experience in any environment would be preferred, but is by no means necessarry. We will even have a limited number of Arduinos and Computers, however if you have the ability, please bring your own laptop and Arduino to work with. Location: Freeside Atlanta Time: 7:30 - 10:00 pm E-Mail: freesideatlanta@googlegroups.com

Pictures from the Welding Class

Just finished the Saturday series of welding classes at My Inventor Club. Matt from Freeside taught this one, but Shane from MIC does a series too. Here's Newt on the MIG while Charlie and I are playing around with aluminum on the TIG. Gloves and trendy jacket belong to the house, I just had to bring the glasses. Ear plugs may be a good idea too. Here I am, grinding down a piece for an ugly, abstract sculpture to practice on. All in all, we learned and then got to play with Oxy-Acetelene welding and cutting, grinding, portable band saws, MIG, Stick, TIG, and cut-off wheels. I came in with no experience and left with at least enough knowledge to not burn my own eyes out. According to Matt, they do the classes as 3 weeklies on Wednesdays, Thursdays, or Saturdays with 2-4 person groups. Drop a line on the Freeside mailing list if you're interested and they'll put together a class.

Next Buildout March 3!

Next buildout is scheduled for March 3, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM. For those not in the know, Buildout is when Freeside's members get for the purpose of making the space better, socializing, and eating food. Incidentally non-freesiders are more than welcome to show up, help, socialize, and then *maybe* become members afterward. Buildout's a great time for anyone to show they care for the space. If you have an idea for what needs worked on, please add it to the task list here: https://sites.google.com/site/freesideatl/build-out/to-do If you need something for said task, such as a ladder, please feel free to add it to the list here, and we'll try our best to see it shows up. https://sites.google.com/site/freesideatl/build-out/shopping-list Incidentally you might notice that many of these items don't have a responsible person. If you can please try to take ownership of at least one task. If you don't know what the task involves, it's possible no on else does either. Take

Stanford University Online Courses

Stanford University will be offering free online classes this semester in a variety of fields. Students will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the class too. We at Freeside are forming a study/discussion group to help people through these classes and kick around ideas related to the subject matter, with a focus on the Technology Entrepreneurship classes. any of the classes are open for discussion, so feel free to grab what interests you. The group will meet on Saturdays at 6pm. Classes still haven't opened yet, so it's not too late to sign up for one. You can find the main class here - http://www.venture-class.org/ and the links to the other classes are at the bottom. The following classes will be offered this semester: Entrepreneurship      Lean Launchpad      Technology Entrepreneurship Medicine      Anatomy Civil Engineering      Making Green Buildings Electrical Engr.      Information Theory Complex Systems      Model Thinking Computer Science      CS 101