Before PCBs, wiring electronic circuits was a major challenge in electronics production. A skilled person could make beautiful wire connections between terminal strips and components with a soldering iron, but it was labor-intensive and expensive. One answer that was very popular was wire wrapping, and [Sawdust & Circuits] shows off an old-fashioned wire wrap gun […]
Hackers have been building their own basic oscilloscopes out of inexpensive MCUs and cheap LCD screens for some years now, but microcontrollers have recently become fast enough to actually make such ‘scopes useful. [NJJ], for example, used a pair of Raspberry Pi Picos to build Picotronix, an extensible combined oscilloscope and logic analyzer. This isn’t […]
Attributed to Picasso was the notion that when art critics get together they talk about content, style, trend, and meaning; but that when painters get together they talk about where to get the best turpentine. We can extend that sentiment into the digital age by saying that when philosophers get together they talk about ideas, […]
3D scanners rely on being able to identify physical features of an object, and line up what it saw a moment ago with what it sees now in order to build a 3D model. However, not every object is as distinct and visible as others at all angles, particularly in IR. One solution is reflective scanning […]
Syringes are pretty ergonomic, but when manually dispensing flux and solder paste it doesn’t take long before one wants a better way. [Elektroarzt]’s flux and solder paste dispenser design uses 3D-printed parts and minimal hardware (mostly M3x20 screws, and an optional spring) to improve handling and control. The operating principle is very similar to how […]
Over on YouTube [Kiss Analog] reviews the New Zoyi ZT-QB9 Smart Clamp meter. If you’re putting together an electronics lab from scratch you absolutely must get a multimeter to start. A typical multimeter will be able to do current measurements but it will require you to break the circuit you’re measuring and interface it to […]
A common task in a laboratory setting is that of sampling, where a bit of e.g. liquid has to be sampled from a series of containers. Doing this by hand is possible, but tedious, ergo an autosampler can save a lot of time and tedium. Being not incredibly complex devices that have a lot in […]
EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) is one of those specialised manufacturing processes that are traditionally expensive and therefore somewhat underrepresented in the DIY and hacker scenes. It’s with great delight that we present EnderSpark, a solution to not one but two problems. The first problem is how to perform CNC operations on hard-to-machine materials such as […]