Conductive inks have a myriad of different interesting applications. As a quick, additive construction method for electronic circuits, they are especially intriguing. Unfortunately, for a long time they have been just out of reach of the hobby market. They are too expensive to buy in decent quantities, too complicated to make, too resistive to be practical, or require high annealing temperatures (which would ruin many of the materials you’d want to put traces on).
There will be an intro-level Arduino class next Sunday 2/19/12 from 3-5pm in the big room. The emphasis is on understanding circuits and hooking stuff up.
This will be a 4-part series or so. There are 10 seats available, but observers are welcome after the 10 seats are filled.
I’ll have a kit for sale on site to get people started. Price is $29.00. It has a board, chip, USB adapter, LED’s, and a couple of other things to get you started. Because I’ll be packaging the kits for the occasion, I ask that if you attend, you purchase the kit.
I’ll take reservations by email and payment for the kit on site or by Paypal.
The first session (2/19) basic description is:
How to Solder: Solder up an Arduino workalike.
How to run the Arduino development application on your laptop.
Basic Arduino program structure. Run an LED. (Hello World blinky).
Show where the built-in examples live in the IDE. Run an input example and an output example.
For inspiration, demo a couple of circuits with an Arduino and some connected hardware.
That’s probably all that will fit in two hours.
Future sessions may discuss Arduino-compatible accessories, motors, simple sensors, and so on. There are many possibilities.
Who: everyone (members and non-members are welcome), seating is limited to 10 people
Cost: $29 for the kit. Email ed at kineticsandelectronics dot com to reserve and to arrange payment.
When: 2/19/2012 3-5pm
Where: Pumping Station: One 3354 N Elston Ave Chicago, IL 60647
UPDATE: I previously copied 2/8 as 28. Ooops. the event takes place on Wednesday, Feb 8!
Monthly DIY CNC night is upon us again!
Are you interested in automated manufacturing? Do you like 3D printers, laser cutters, automated mills, router tables, and other awesome automatons? Then this is the night for you!
DIY CNC night is an ever-growing group of enthusiastic amateurs and professionals in the field of do it yourself automated manufacturing (ie 3D printers, CNC mills, laser cutters, cake frosters, etc) hardware and software.
Please come if you’re interested in learning more, already have a CNC tool at home, want to show off your latest build, or just want to meet locals who are into this exciting technology!
Who: Open to the public
Where: Pumping Station: One, 3354 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL
When: Wednesday, February 8th, 7pm
Cost: Free ($5 suggested donation for non-members to help us pay the rent)
Typical Schedule:
7-7:10: people show up
7:10-7:25: introductions round-robin
7:25-9pm or so: schmoozing, machine assembly and show off, discussion of tools and techniques
Image: Quantum ORD Bot by Thingiverse user (and friend of PS:One) bdring
UPDATE: I can’t read a calendar – this event takes place on December 14, not december 7 as this post originally stated.
It’s almost time for December’s DIY CNC Night, a growing group of enthusiasts of automated manufacturing: 3D printers, laser cutters, automated mills and routers, plus all the software and hardware tools that enable automated manufacturing technology!
Please come if you’re interested in learning more, already have a CNC tool at home, want to show off your latest build, or just want to meet locals who are into this exciting technology!
Who: Open to the public
Where: Pumping Station: One, 3354 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL
When: December 14, 7pm
Cost: Free ($5 suggested donation for non-members to help pay the rent)
Typical Schedule:
7-7:10: people show up
7:10-7:25: introduction round-robin
7:25-9pm or so: schmoozing, machine assembly and show off, discussion of tools and techniques
Interested in automated manufacturing, laser cutters, 3D printers, or automated routers and mills?
Come join us for DIY CNC night #5 on Wednesday November 9 at 7pm!
The general schedule:
7-7:20pm: introductions
7:20-7:45pm: discussion: tuning and calibrating a RepRap printer (we’ll be tuning PS:One′s own 3D printer, and certifying members to use it)
7:45-9pm: machine demos, schmoozing, repair work, machine assembly, discussion, what have you
Who: This event is open to everyone
When: 7-9pm
Where: Pumping Station One, 3354 N Elston Ave, Chicago
Cost: Free, but donations encouraged
DIY CNC nights are evenings for Chicago area automated manufacturing enthusiasts, hobbyists, professionals, and the merely curious to meet and discuss the state of the art in both open source and proprietary technologies. They occur the second Wednesday of each month at Pumping Station One, and are open to the public.
Image: PS:One′s 3D printer, a RepRap Mendel Prusa, printing a calibration object.
The third installment of DIY CNC night will be Wednesday, September 14th at 7pm!
DIY CNC night is a monthly (second Wednesday of each month) event held at Pumping Station: One, 3354 N Elston Ave, for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and professionals to celebrate and explore Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) tools such as laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC mills, lathes, plotters, and more! Attendees are encouraged to bring along any machines or work examples they wish to show off.
The usual schedule is as follows:
7-7:15 introductions / show off stuff you brought along
7:15-7:45 brief presentation
7:45-9-ish mingling, discussion, tour of Pumping Station: One, general schmoozing, and machine repair/assembly/upgrade
This month Bart Dring of MakeSlide and buildlog will be talking about his projects.
Miniature Taj Mahal designed and printed by thingiverse user tc_fea.
If you’re like me, the RC aviation hobby is as fascinating as it is costly. In the two videos below that we produced for element14 though, we cover how to convert a $10 foam glider into a great training flier and then get even more bleeding edge with a cheap-but-good-for-the-price setup for flying UAV style with a pistol grip camcorder mounted to the plane that transmits to a screen on the ground. Dan Meyer with the help of Ken Zinnen walk you through some of the many exciting facets of radio controlled airplanes.
The second edition of PS:One′s DIY CNC night (Automation Station: One) is this Wednesday, August 10 at 7pm. All 3D printing, CNC mill, laser cutting, and any other CAD/CAM tool enthusiasts are welcome (members and non-members alike).
The desktop manufacturing revolution has been gaining traction at PS:One over the past few months.
We had the recent reprap build event, and now the hacked vinyl cutter, makerbot, PS:One′s own RepRap Mendel, and the brand new CNC tool (it’s extremely cool, but I’m not allowed to announce it on this blog yet) have taken over half of the electronics work area.
To complete the CNC takeover, PS:One will hold a monthly Automation Station: One event where people are encouraged to bring their in-progress projects for building in a communal atmosphere and completed projects to show off.
All CNC tools are welcome: additive, subtractive, mills, lasers, printers, frosters, plotters, RepRaps, and even egg-bots. There will be an emphasis on open source hardware/software tools, but not exclusively so.
This first event will be on July 20th at 7pm at Pumping Station: One. Non-member CNC enthusiasts (and any projects they wish to share) are welcome to attend.
Update (2): run time clarification – this workshop runs from 10am to 6pm (or really, until the machines are complete). These are complex machines – expect for this to take a while.
Update: just to be completely clear: this event is open to anyone who signs up via Eventbrite. PS:One membership is not required.
We’ve got a fever, and 3D printing is the cure!
On June 18, PS:One member Chris Jansen will be holding a build-your-own RepRapMendel Prusa 3D printer workshop. Workshop cost will be $100 (for materials).
If you don’t know what it is, a RepRap is a 3D printer that can print many of it’s own parts. A REPlicating RApid Prototyper. If you have one RepRap, you can make more RepRaps, and even give them to your friends!
At the workshop, we will receive the parts and support to build the X-Y-Z gantry for a RepRap Prusa – all the plastics, mechanicals, belts, pulleys, MDF build platform, etc. At the end of the day you will have a fully-built XYZ body and build platform that just needs electronics installed and programmed to get up and running.
PLEASE NOTE: To complete the build, you’ll need to purchase another $200-$300 worth of electronics and stepper motors and hot ends (price varies depending on the bells and whistles you choose). Please see the wiki page for a listing of electronics not included in this workshop. If you bring your own electronics along with you, assistance may be available to get your electronics installed (no promises).
What: Build your own RepRap Mendel Prusa X/Y/Z gantry and build platform
Where: Pumping Station: One 3354 N. Elston Ave, Chicago, IL
How much: $100 per person (Limit 20).
A great introduction to 3D printing and the RepRap Mendel Prusa we’ll be building on 6/18:
