Category Archives: Arduino

Another CDROM CNC plotter

Posted on December 8, 2015 by robertwilkie

OK I know, there have been lots of these builds, and you can even “buy” one for $100ish these days.  But this is one of the cleanest looking builds of a CDROM CNC I have seen yet. http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Mini-CNC-Plotter-Machine-from-dvd-drives/

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Building a laser engraver on the cheap.

Posted on December 4, 2015 by robertwilkie

And cheap it is.  The Y is an old printer carriage, X is an old flatbed scanner.  An arduino with homemade motor controllers is controlling everything.  Hold on, I think he is using stepsticks…it seems to switch.  The laser is … Continue reading →

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Make an automated cat toy

Posted on December 4, 2015 by robertwilkie

Too funny, the author built a cat toy that moves the motor when motion is detected.  He is using an arduino like device called WIZWiki (New one on me).  It does with ethernet build in.  My 2 cents, I think … Continue reading →

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Build your own Arduino Laser Scanner

Posted on November 30, 2015 by robertwilkie

With a scanner shield that runs $20 of course.  Its a nice build and I put this under the “cheapish” catagory since 3D scanners are NOT cheap. http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Arduino-3D-Laser-Scanner/

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Simple Power Supply hack for arduino

Posted on November 25, 2015 by robertwilkie

Pretty simple hack.  Take an old barrel plug and break it open, then solder on the terminals. http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Power-adaptor-for-Arduino/

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ESP8266, an arduino killer?

Posted on November 19, 2015 by robertwilkie

I have heard of the ESP8266 before, but mostly as a WiFi interface system.  Turns out they make great little embedded systems boards for under $10.  With WiFi built in.  I haven’t tried these out myself yet, but its on … Continue reading →

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Using Eclipse with Arduinos

Posted on November 13, 2015 by robertwilkie

Write-up on using eclipse with arduinos.  My 2 cents, I’ll stick with arduino’s IDE, its lighter wieght and dedicated.  I have had too much pain in the past setting up Eclipse for cross compiling. http://hackaday.com/2015/10/30/code-craft-using-eclipse-for-arduino-development/

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Alarm clock that slaps you awake

Posted on November 13, 2015 by robertwilkie

This was just too odd to no post up.  The author basically takes a haloween arm prop, puts it on a motor that spins around above her head when the alarm goes off.  Its affective, as long as you have … Continue reading →

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Use a small CD Motor for Rotary Input

Posted on November 12, 2015 by robertwilkie

As the author points out, light based encoders work but they are not cheap (think $20 each).  So an alternative is to take an cheap small DC motor an voltage divider and the analog input on an arduino to determine … Continue reading →

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A small and simple 3D printer

Posted on November 12, 2015 by robertwilkie

Interesting build.  The author did the standard convert CDROMs into a mini CNC.  Thenk put a 3D printing pen (looks like a generic 3Ddoodler) on it.  I guess you can get generics for $50.  toss in the arduino and controllers … Continue reading →

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