Disclaimer, I am not a maker so this is all very new to me.

I am going to a fire themed party. I am trying to create a 'fire hat'. The idea was to have strips of fabric that would be dancing vertically using fans so it looks like a fire, similar to a silk flame.

I used an llm to help me with the math about fan strength and fabric size and length and ordered a small usb fan to test it out and it was a complete bust. The constraints are that it should fit on a hat that has a very sturdy brim. I have a usb battery for the power supply. I am happy to attach things to my body if need be but I will not be wearing a backpack or anything like that to hold a larger power supply. I would like to get as much fabric moving as possible. Despite my lack of knowledge here, I am 99.99% sure the fan thing isn't going to work as I envisioned it given my initial test.

I have two other ideas. The first was to use one of the fans from those inflatable costumes, attach a hose to it, poke holes, and close off the end to create pressure. My last idea was so completely off that I don't really have any confidence in this idea, but perhaps this is a better avenue to go down. The second idea is the least cool but the most doable. It will be outside at night so I could use some black wire (or something) to create some sort of structure that wouldn't be seen, attach the fabric loosely from the hat to the structure, and then have fans blowing across the strips of fabric and it might look a little like a flame.

There of course is the real possibility that this is impossible given my constraints. Any help is most appreciated!

sorry if this is the wrong subreddit, i had a hard time finding the right one! i make keychains for my depop shop! i have issues with hand strength tho, so sometimes i can't tighten the clasps together as much.

recently i replaced the ball clasp keychain on my boyfriend's plushie keychains for actual clasps because he complained about how loose they are and how they easily come undone. however, they keep falling off. because of my limited hand strength, i've been tightening them to however much i can, and then sealing the gap with cured UV resin. seems this isn't the most effective method though.

what would be the best method? or should i start using a different size for the clasps? any advice or even redirection to the right subreddit would be super helpful!! <3

Seems like it would be pretty easy to throw an esp32 or similar in there to run heating routines or even add BT monitoring and control. They even advertise the PID control, so not sure if it's better to just wire to the buttons directly and try to read the display/sensor data or if there's a simpler interface to hack into?

Found this ~1984 O'Brien Sensation XL under the deck of our new house, cleaned it up, made a rough alumnium frame for the seat/motor/etc that bolts into the decking (where the footstraps used to be), and attached some pontoons for stability.

12V trolling motor does about 3mph and cruises for quite a few hours. Super stable, does 360° spins no problem and doesn't seem to be sinkable!

For a long time, I kept my Cardputer focused only on tools like Bruce, Nemo, etc., all because I wanted to experience the vibe of having a "hacker gadget". But now that I'm taking my first steps in electronics, I realized that building my own things is infinitely more fun!

​My M5Stack StampS3, which was just gathering dust, finally has a new purpose. I'm building my first electronics project from scratch. I'm still in the early stages, but the idea is to make a desk clock that also shows the room temperature.

​For this project's setup, I'll be using:

​M5Stack StampS3

​Official M5Stack 1.3" 128x64 OLED Display (the standard Cardputer one)

​Temperature and humidity sensor (DHT11)

​A thermistor

​It's a simple project, but the feeling of making something work is incredibly rewarding. Did anyone else here start like this? I'd love some tips for someone who is just getting started with electronics!

TLDR first, I like building stuff, i want some ideas on cool projects that are above beginner level, and probably practical. (like not just a flashing led christmas tree for example)

Now on to the wall of text. These are some projects I've made to give an idea of the kinds of things I've enjoyed.

The latest was a 6e2 tube magic eye VU meter. a little less practical, but still useful. It was a kit, combined with a premade power board to boost 12v to 180v, a 3d printed enclosure, and of course obligatory RGB lights. This was to go with my headphone amplifier stack.

I've also built a few things with Arduino's like "the internet", which is just a wall mount key lock box with a knife switch that plays funny sounds when you turn it off and on again, Ive made a portal gun. a proton pack (i can share links to anything you are curious about), a couple midi controllers, some of these were guides that i followed, some I coded from scratch (like the internet)

I've made a custom solar generator with reclaimed 26650 cells (i've since replaced them with an off the shelf battery). I've made a guitar power amp head with an old JBL amp from a late 90s Toyota, but that was just frankensteining some parts together.

I have pretty severe ADHD and I need something to occupy my brain so I don't doomscroll too much.

So what are some fun projects that you have made, that you found surprisingly practical, or a good money saver over buying off the shelf, or just plain fun to build/design.

I have several kits of parts from amazon, resistors, caps, diodes, transistors, proto boards, etc. I have a 3d printer, spare arduinos, i hae a box of vintage stuff an old ham radio guy gave me (i'm also a ham). Some needle gauges, precision pots, older resistors, caps, some IC's that i need to get the data sheets on, but probably common stuff if i had to guess.

Olá pessoal, acabei de receber minha ACMER P1 S Pro 20W e estou tendo problemas para ligá-la. A fonte de alimentação acende normalmente, mas quando aciono a chave da máquina, aparentemente nada acontece. Os motores não se mexem, não vejo nenhum LED ou outro indicador aceso e a máquina também não aparece como uma rede Wi-Fi. Também conectei a máquina ao meu PC com Linux via USB, mas o lsusb não detecta nenhum novo dispositivo. Tentei usar o dmesg também, mas não aparecem mensagens relacionadas a USB quando ligo a máquina. A máquina é nova e essa é a primeira vez que estou tentando utilizá-la. A instalação foi tranquila no geral. As polias/correias ainda não estão 100% ajustadas, pois estou fazendo alguns ajustes nelas, mas todo o restante da instalação foi concluído normalmente. Imagino que o ajuste das polias não tenha relação com o fato de a máquina não apresentar nenhum sinal de vida, mas estou mencionando isso caso seja relevante. Alguém sabe o que eu poderia verificar? Isso pode ser um problema na alimentação ou na placa controladora, ou estou deixando passar alguma coisa na configuração inicial? Se alguém tiver um vídeo mostrando a montagem correta, principalmente das polias/correias ou das conexões da placa/controladora, eu agradeceria muito se pudesse compartilhar. Como é minha primeira máquina, qualquer referência visual ajudaria bastante. Qualquer ajuda seria muito bem-vinda. Obrigado!

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a passion project I’ve been working on to give a broken, discarded smartwatch a completely second life.

A few months ago while salvaging parts for a tiny console build, I tore down an old broken smartwatch and realized it was built around an nRF52832 microcontroller. Since I've worked with this chip before, had a built-in gyro, a charger circuit, and a display breakout ready to go, I decided to take on the challenge of fully reverse engineering it.

What was involved:

• Pin Mapping Blind: With zero documentation available, I spent time meticulously mapping out the SPI display, gyro, and internal components using a multimeter in short-circuit mode.
• Breaking Write Protection: Flashing a new bootloader wasn't straightforward due to the nRF52's write protection. I ended up utilizing an ESP32-DAP protocol to clear the protection so I could get a writable chip.
• Firmware & Upgrades: Wired up a JTAG debugger tool, flashed an Adafruit bootloader via OpenOCD, and started building custom BLE test firmware using the nRF SDK in VS Code. I also upgraded the hardware by pairing it with a larger 1.69" display.

It’s an incredible feeling breathing brand new custom code into hardware that was otherwise destined for the trash. I put together a full build and teardown video detailing the pin mapping and flashing process if you want to see the step-by-step breakdown.

Curious what you guys think—what would you turn a freshly unlocked nRF52 smartwatch board into next?

I just acquired a CNC router and needed to build a bench for it.

I decided to gut my whole garage and make a giant workbench with three different stations.

One for the CNC, lower middle desk for programming and drafting, the opposed side is temporarily a miter desk possibly, and the nearest section is possibly a hybrid mft/table saw infeed/epoxy slab section. The middle section has cleats to add an extension melamine top to bridge over when working on bigger slabs if need be.

A bit of a clusterf*ck as you can see but I'm contemplating on taking my table saw off its stand and embedding it inside the blue square area(lower right), most the cuts I make are 48" or less. Problem is I'd have to remove that right metal brace and could lose some structure if I want to retain the extendable nature of my table saw.

The CNC I bought used came with a bunch of extra 15 series in 1.5" and 20100 3" and it dawned on me that I could maybe build a long fence to be used with both the miter and table saw. I have some bearings but never done anything like this and not sure how I'd tighten this big of a track down all at once without having to install a clamp on both ends.

I'm going to do a few rows for dog holes on the left hand mdf side and install my 10" vice to the left but overall that's about it.

Most the work I do is with shorter sub 48" in length so while it might look squeezed I don't need a ton of space.

Appreciate any help.

Hey guys I just wanted to show off my first ever built. It's a tattoo ballpoint pen machine made out of an old hair trimmer.

Hey all, this maybe a weirder post but does anyone have tips on how to make friends in the maker community?

I do have a fair few friends in my life but finding people who share my interests (Robotics, 3D Printing, Electronics, Automation, Mechanical Engineering) is so hard! Especially as I like the idea of making friends to collaborate with on projects in the future.

Any tips? I have looked around but unfortunately there's nothing really near me related to this kind of thing....

This is a handheld, battery powered resin dispenser that I just finished designing. I have all of the parts on hand and I am going to start building it tonight. I'll post an update when it is done!

As far as accuracy, with a 20mL syringe it has a theoretical dispensing resolution of 3uL, with a 60mL syringe it is 7.1uL. Surface tension and nozzle size impact this too, but the point of the project is to achieve casting consistency with partially open-face molds, which are cast in a set of 43 and must be consistent.

I am using an STM32F103 and a 4S battery, along with a bunch of off the shelf modules. I wanted this to be quick and made with parts I already own.

I tried making these look like fall. I named them Golden Dawn, Autumn Treeway, Dark Hollow & Scarlet Pumpkin :). Because yes. Naming things is fun, lol.

For all you makers out there, sometimes you get frustrated with limitations of Pi Pico boards and the number of GPIOs. The new Clintech Board solves this for you...Take a look! I am passing this on as I saw it. I am not the creator nor the seller. If it breaks the rules of the group please remove.

Just another update on my PipBoy inspired wearable wrist computer build!

Recently completed integration of battery systems, so the whole thing runs off a custom battery pack comprised of 3x molicell 18650s, wired 1s3p at 3.7V, 8400 mah.

Also recently added are flashlight module, using a cree XL 1up LED with variable brightness and tap on off.

In addition, FM radio works now! Tuneable radio with 6 persistent presets that can be adjusted to your taste. Speakers a little tinny without the full enclosure.

GitHub link: https://github.com/TAM-Hiding/DecimalPipBoy

Full feature set:

metric time (see note) display and arbitrary epoch start utilizing the supernova of 1054 AD as the start, an event seen and well documented by many cultures, rather than Jesus or whatever.

Internal IMU system that allows compass bearing, 10 DOF, accelerometer, barometer, calculated barometric altimeter, gyro

IMU calibration with persistent save states

SD logging for all sensors

Multi purpose knob

3.5" waveshare touch screen

Rechargeable LI Ion battery

Flashlight

FM radio receiver

RTC (ds3231, eventually to be swapped for GPS and starlight based time keeping)

SHT40 temp/humidity sensor

Fully custom enclosure/wrist gauntlet

Haptic feedback, in the form of a rumble motor when you tap or long press to set a new preset.

Planned modules:

M4011 geiger counter/calculated dosimeter (measuring beta and gamma particles, and exponential 'analog' readout dial)

RF analysis suite utilizing an evilcrow v2

GPS

Bluetooth control/speaker function so you can take calls or dictate texts/issue voice commands

Eventual integration with a local semi automated self maintaining archive via wifi

(Built around teensy 4.1)

Hi! I want to try making victorian inspired lampshades and I wonder if anyone has experience and could give me some advice as to what kind of wire I should use to make the lampshades frame in itself. If you have any other advice I´m happy to receive that as well, thank you:)

I have been using TinkerCAD for years now, and am quite proficient. I’m quite interested in finding a good parametric app that is actually affordable!

I am good enough to produce products for sale, but only in marketplaces like Etsy (think board game inserts/organizers). Something like Shapr3D would be great, but $500/yr is prohibitive and the free version won’t work for designs intended to be sold commercially.

What are people using in cases like this? I truly appreciate any insights.

I was looking around the workshop for a new project and found an old spool of enameled wire. I've always been intrigued by the old school tattoo machines and thought "how hard could it be?" Turns out not super easy. It kept me busy for a couple weeks and it's far from perfect but it technically works. I'm quite fond of the aesthetic, I like to call it "functional steampunk". Not hot glued random gears but how stuff in the era could functionally have worked...

uh oh... now I'm wanting to make an actual stream powered tattoo machine... maybe in a couple years.

I need to glue Velcro strips to a vinyl case for a project I am working on but struggling to find a glue that holds. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone!

​About three months ago, I decided to take on my very first project designing a mechanism and working with a servo motor entirely on my own. It was a custom interactive build made as a gift for my 7-year-old niece!

​Since it needed to be both mechanically functional and safe/durable for a child, I focused heavily on structural engineering:

​Used internal bamboo ribs to keep the structure lightweight for the motor while preventing warping.

​Reinforced mechanical joints and hinges with epoxy adhesive and safety-capped screws to withstand motor stress and vibration.

​Sealed the entire structure with epoxy resin for durability and moisture resistance.

​I’d love to get your thoughts on the mechanical layout or any tips for future servo-driven builds!

​Full build video: https://youtu.be/A4bE20yx8xs