LED Strips and Other Club Business

We had a good meeting last night. Discussed:

• 3D modeling PhD thesis, presented by Peter, who promised to provide a link
• laser harp progress - Sauyon has the stepper motor stepping, Nathan has a good idea about the MIDI configuration, Cosmo is thinking about the 3D printed chassis, and Peter volunteered to research low mass mirrors
• The Tech Challenge - yes, we want to participate
• strip LEDs

We investigated a strip LED that cost under $5.

The strip can be cut at every third LED, so each maker took home about a meter in length.

To power it up, the makers had to look up the operating voltage, found a 12V power supply, measured the pinout, and then wired it up.

Alas, Peter left before we took photos.

NOTE: Follow this blog with the link to the right →

Keyboards, Steppers, The Tech Challenge, and Keyboard Pong

Maker Club 2.0 had a productive meeting Friday, November 21.

1. The Tech Challenge

The Makers agreed to pursue this year's The Tech Challenge, which involves building a structure that survives earthquakes. To read about it, start here, Choose the first link under Rules, and scroll way down in the document. (The document is presented backwards, describing how it is tested before it tells you what to build.)


2. Laser Harp - Stepper Motor

On our way to making the Laser Harp, the Makers need to program Arduino to drive a stepper motor. The Arduino is connected to a stepper motor controller, which is then connected to the stepper motor.

The Makers present the assembly in the photo above. (Sauyon, Nathan, Cosmo, Chris)

Assignments:

Sauyon - Arduino programming
Nathan - MIDI interface
Cosmo - 3D printed jig
Chris - focusing on The Tech Challenge


3. Keyboards

The Makers had expressed interest in building their own keyboards. For example, Sauyon envisions a keyboard wrapped around the back of a sphere, so you can rest your hands on the sphere and reach the keys with your finger tips.

To better understand how keyboards are made, we destroyed several perfectly functional keyboards. (Thanks to our sponsor MRH Electronics for providing the keyboards.) Turns out the keyboards are very simple, and a custom design is quite possible. Ask the Makers.

By the way, the new guy in the middle is named Other Chris.


4. Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

Maker Club 2.0 isn't all about exercising the mind. To keep the bodies honed to perfection, the Makers engaged in a healthy round of Key Pong.

Maker Club 2.0 - First Meeting This Friday!

Maker Club 2.0

The SIL Maker Club is returning for the 2014-15 school year, and its first meeting is

Friday, Nov. 14, 5:00 PM

in the big classroom. Everybody is welcome, no experience necessary.

We will use this first meeting to discuss projects. I believe there is a lot of interest to continue designing the laser harp. Also, there is a MeetUp making robots, which might be a good place to participate.

Thanks to Cosmo for the new name, Maker Club 2.0.

Questions to Tim, timkay@sileducation.com.

Note: originally, this point listed Nov. 7 as the first meeting, but the first meeting was pushed back a week.

Intel Science Talent Search 2014 Now Accepting Applications

Who is Society for Science & the Public?

Society for Science & the Public (SSP) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC.  SSP has run the Science Talent Search for more than 7 decades, including the application process, judging, finalist week in Washington DC, processing awards, and keeping in touch with alumni.  SSP works actively with Intel Corporation, who has been a generous title sponsor for the program since 1998.  

Who can enter the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS)?

Any student who is enrolled in and attending his or her last year of secondary school in the US and its territories may apply. Also, students who are US citizens living abroad may qualify.  Please read the Rules and Entry Instructions for more information.

See the FAQ

Rockets Launched (and Lost)

The Maker Club chose the windiest possible day for the rocket launch. The rockets flew, of course, but they didn't return.

It started with Mini's light weight rocket and a C engine. We lost visual contact when the rocket reached the cloud layer.

The rocket shown on the launch pad is (was) a two stage rocket. Unfortunately, we didn't have any zero-delay engines. The first stage lifted the rocket just fine. It's delayed charge allowed the rocket tipped over first, before the charge fired to ignite the second state. That second stage then fired the rocket downward into a nearby neighborhood.

The team's search and rescue operation met with failure after many minutes and at least one scaled fence.

Here's another launch that didn't impress:

Time for Rockets!

SIL Maker Club met Wednesday to discuss its next projects. The makers agreed to build laser harps and robots.

During the discussion, the makers built Estes rockets. We even launched one from the back parking lot. Despite using a 1/4A size engine, the launch went fast and far, and the rocket has not been heard from since.

Maker Club will meet again Wednesday May 7, 2014 to continue building rockets. Plan to walk to Egan for a launch. All are welcome.

The Tech Challenge!

The Makers participated in The Tech Challenge on April 12th!

Alas, the device disappointed and didn't pump as much water as expected. Never the less, the team deserves kudos for seeing it through!

The Tech Challenge is HERE!

Thanks to Chris's heroic final sprint, the SIL Maker Club has an entry in The Tech Challenge that PUMPS WATER!!!

The Challenge is this weekend. Our bracket (high school) runs

Saturday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

The Awards Ceremony is at 5:30 PM. See the Event Schedule.

Will you be there? Tim can take anybody who needs a ride. Send email to timkay@sileducation.com.

Makers Makeover

The Maker Club Team has a new look, thanks to a Tech Challenge requirement. The equipment will be homemade and spinning at high speed, and they require all team members to wear safety glasses.

  

     

3D Printer Now At SIL!

The QU-BD Revolution XL 3D Printer 

It's a long story, but somehow we ended up with 3 3D printers on our dining room table. The "Type A Machines" printer has always worked very well, so Cosmo and I use that one. The XL is promising but never quite worked right. Sitting next to one that worked very well, the XL never got any attention.

The Makers wanting a 3D printer, I told them the XL could be relocated to SIL, but only if they fix it. Great! It took Peter, Mini, and Chris some effort (a few hours over a few days), and I am happy to report that the XL now works!

They even modified the XL hardware. Peter chose to replace a certain part (a component of the Z-axis end stop switch) with a completely different design, which Cosmo printed on the Type A Machines printer. (Why does anybody need more than one 3D printer? Ahh!) After a few more hours of adjustments, the XL works!

More still to do. Rod brackets (shown at right) need to be mounted on the wall to hold a dowel that holds spools of filament. In 3D printer parlance, it's called a "Top Hat". As well, we will need to install a vent hood, so that we can print in ABS plastic without smoking everybody out. Short of better ventilation, we have switched to printing PLA plastic, which does not smell so bad. (ABS is made from petroleum, while PLA is derived from corn starch.)

If you want to use the 3D printer, make arrangements with one of the Maker Club members for a training session.

The Tech Challenge Info Clinic This Saturday 10:30 AM

The Tech is having an Info Clinic this Saturday, Feb. 8, at 10:30 a.m. I plan to attend, along with any Makers who would like to join me. If you like, I can pick you up around 9:30 a.m.

To join me, please fill out the form.

REMINDER: The Club meets tomorrow (Wed. 2/5) at 5 p.m. We will be programming Arduinos. Please bring your computer with you.

3D Printing and Other Making

The SIL Maker Club convened at the Kay house today, where numerous 3D printers adorn the dining room table. The goal was to print the housing for the peristaltic pump, which is to move the water in The Tech Challenge.

Of course, with any 3D printing project, set up the print job, and then wait, wait, wait. Of course, the Makers are always ready to make. Today, in their spare time, they made a hole. Picks, shovels, and pneumatic chisels were employed.

The pump housing seems to have printed successfully.

Bridge Design Contest

  

One of the most common high school engineering traditions is the Bridge Building Contest. I participated in back in 1978, with balsa wood, xacto knives, and glue.

The modern age has a new twist, called the Bridge Design Contest: download the software, design a bridge, and simulate it. The strongest computation wins, just like a video game. No wonder bridges fall down. It has something to do with babies and bath water.

See the latest high school scoreboard.

If you would like to participate, "teams can have no more than two members." Get started at http://bridgecontest.org/enter/how-to-enter/.

Meeting Dedicated to Planning The Tech Challenge

Club members agreed to participate in The Tech Challenge. The meeting was spent discussing how to harness the wind to move water. Members reviewed the rules. For example, it is required to keep a journal/notebook, and any solution should be scalable.

Next meeting: SATURDAY, January 18, 4:00 PM

Georgia Tech "Linear Circuits" Starts This Week

Georgia Tech is running their "Linear Circuits" class again, starting this week. The class provides an excellent introduction to electronics (voltage, current, resistors, capacitors, etc.). If you have time, I encourage you to take this class. I will be available to support you however you need.

As it progresses, the course makes use of differential equations. If you don't know this mathematics, don't worry. They tell you what you need to know to do the computations.