We all know that power can be transmitted wirelessly, whether through an exotic arcing setup like you might have seen many years ago in Nikola Tesla’s lab, or with the more modern (yet less spectacular) use of an inductive charging pad used for smartphones. To really understand this inductive charging principle give this wireless power kit from Electromechreation a try.
The device uses a powered coil of wires to wirelessly light up a 1 watt LED, or it can be configured to power an electrical motor. While fun for experimenters, this would also make a really excellent teaching tool for classroom use. You can see an earlier version in action in the video below:
As with some other products found here, this device started out as a Kickstarter campaign. Now it’s on Tindie. Listing here is as simple as making a blog post. If you’re looking for a place to list your crowdfunded items, or even somewhere to boost sales of an established product, why not give selling on Tindie a try?
Motors01CJC by C_J_Cowie via Wikimedia Commons CCA-SA 3.0
If you like to make things—and you’re reading Tindie’s blog so that seems like a fair assumption—at some point you’ll want to make one of your creations move, likely with a motor of some sort. We can help you decide which kind of motor best fits your application. Read on!
DC Motors
DC motors are the simplest rotary motion devices on this list, as movement is started when sufficient voltage is applied between the positive and negative poles. Speed can be controlled by varying this applied voltage, and direction is changed by reversing input polarity. By default, there is no feedback to tell you how fast this type of motor is going. If needed, an encoder can be added to sense speed, and gear reduction can be used to increase output torque at the expense of rotational speed.
While easy to control, they need more current than an Arduino or similar dev board can generally provide. For an easy way to integrate a motor with this type of control, just do a search for Arduino “motor shield” for lots of options, many of which will also work with the other motor types discussed here.
Stepper Motors
Sometimes confused with servo motors, stepper motors operate by energizing certain coils to make a shaft turn one step at a time. This requires more thoughtful control than a simple DC motor, but also gives it the ability to move in a precisely controlled fashion. While there are many uses for this type of device, one notable use is in CNC equipment. For a great illustration of how one of these work, check out the video above of YouTuber Proto G’s 3D-Printed Stepper Motor.
For CNC control options, if you’re interested in driving one in a laser or plotter project, this board looks interesting. It’s meant for use with the Grbl software package, which has become the de facto CNC control standard for Arduino boards. Alternatively, this shield gives a more general Arduino/Grbl implementation, including a connection point for your Z-axis.
Servomotor
Servomotors, or just servos, come in all shapes and sizes, but feature a feedback loop. This means that if there is an error in the motor’s position, the controller knows about it and can take the proper corrective action. Steppers, while generally extremely accurate, don’t have this ability, and if your system somehow misses a step, all further actions from there on out will be inaccurate until it’s re-homed. For many Tindarians, “servo” is synonymous with the hobby servos that are seen in model airplanes and the like. While these work well in many applications, other models are available that can cost thousands of dollars, many of which can rotate continuously with feedback.
Incidentally, you’ve likely heard that you can modify a servo for continuous rotation. After doing this myself, calling these modified motors “servos” is a bit of a misnomer, as there’s no longer any positional feedback. They are simply DC motors in a convenient format with a modicum of speed control. That being said, if you do need positional feedback, then you can add a Mocoder encoder to one of these modded devices, restoring a sense of control to your system!
Of course there are other electro-mechanical options, such as AC motors, solenoids, and variations of the motors listed here. Hopefully this gives you a good place to start if you’re considering building a new robot or other moving device!
Makernet Knob’s makes the point that “Rotary encoders are cool but hard to wire into your projects.” Having wired up a custom input device for my computer using an encoder, I can attest to both of these statements. In my case, it took me quite a bit of time simply to figure out how each encoder pin was used!
To help alleviate complicated wiring issues, this custom knob features a built-in I2C interface, which allows several (even hundereds) of knobs to be chained together without issue. Additionally, the top of the encoder can be depressed as a pushbutton, and it even has an RGB LED integrated inside of it to give you feedback right on the knob!
While this device looks very interesting (especially the integrated RGB output), if you’re new to encoders, check out this “Rotary Input Battle” post. Encoders are certainly extremely useful, but sometimes an inexpensive potentiometer will get the job done nicely!
Little robot friends are, as described, “connected toys for learning code and electronics in a fun way.” They include a capacitive touch sensor, RGB LEDs for eyes, an accelerometer, and several other components to allow them to interact with their environment. They’re powered by what appears to be an ESP WiFi module, and can be programmed via a custom app or via the Arduino IDE.
With three fun designs: Spikey, Ghosty, and Curvy, you have to give Little Robot Friends a ton of credit for making a device that will be interesting to hackers, as well as a more general audience. They’re available assembled here, or for a little less money if you want to solder things together yourself.
One neat feature of these boards is that kids (or adults) can make accessories for them using paper, cloth, and the included stickers. You can even 3D print costumes for them. As engineers and tinkers we tend to think in terms of “does it work?” Putting a little more thought into how things appear, or even how they can be decorated, can really make your device stand out!
While Tindie has thousands of unique products for you to peruse, for even more, head over to the Flea Market. While less refined customers might see some of the items there as junk, others see surplus items as inspiration for their creativity! Here’s a few interesting items for sale this month:
As-Is Toy Truck with Combustion Engine
“As-is” implies that the machinery doesn’t work, but given the components shown, including an internal combustion engine, this could provide the parts for something very interesting!
Bank Note Validator
Ever wonder how change machines know if you’re stuck a dollar bill in or just a piece of paper? You could try to find the documentation, or for a more hands-on experience, you could take this slot machine unit apart!
15 PSI Pressure Transducer
Need to transmit a pressure reading to your electronics? If you only need to measure up to 15 PSI, here’s just the device for you!
Rainbow Light Show Kit
This no-solder kit allows you to blend RGB LED elements via three proximity sensors. Words don’t really do this device justice; check out the video to see the lighting effects that it can generate.
Whether or not you see something to buy, you may have an item or two languishing in your garage that other Tindiarians would appreciate. Why not list it and make room in your workshop for the next project?
Of the many innovative clocks that hackers and makers have designed and built, word clocks, which feature a series of letters that light up to literally spell out the time, have to be one of the best combinations of interesting technology and usability. The LEDs underneath each letter give them a nice technical base, while the clever arrangement of letters to form the proper words would make any English teacher proud.
You can see a great example of this type of clock in the video below. Lots of cool ideas for effects and functionality are featured here, such as blinking, letters dropping in, and even an audible voice:
For those of us that are more electrically-minded than mechanical, or if you simply don’t have the tools or time to make a really excellent face, here’s a 40 x 40cm option to get that taken care of. “All” you have to do is supply the electronics and program it. It’s available in Dutch or English depending on your preferred language, and it could even make an excellent instructional tool for a foreign language class.
The fact that data and power can be supplied via a single USB connection is generally a very good thing. However, PCs are only going to provide 500mA over a USB port unless your device negotiates for more.
A powered USB hub can be a solution to this problem, but for total independent control of power and data lines, this USB Data/power Merger device allows you to plug in the power independently of the data connection between host and device.
The power side comes in the form of a pair of screw terminals, and data is input via a Micro-B USB input. This would be extremely useful in testing scenarios (like brownout testing), and could serve to isolate a charging device from any possibility of data transfer if just the power lines are used.
If you attended the World Maker Faire in New York this year, I hope you were able to stop by the Tindie booth. I personally enjoyed meeting everyone, and while it can be exhausting to talk for hours on end, it’s a lot of fun discussing a website/service that you sincerely find interesting. If we didn’t answer the big question of “what is Tindie?” well enough, check out this blog post for further explanation!
Of course, much more was going on in the wider world of the events than just the Tindie booth. I got to visit two Tindie sellers, including Tiny Circuits, which was absolutely packed. They had a gigantic version of their handheld game cabinet set up to play Flappy Bird.
Lumen was also at the Faire showing off their solar powered jewelry. The products are really interesting both from an artistic design perspective, and because they run on a tiny amount of power from a solar cell and capacitor. Tindie the dog was also seen at this exhibit, cleverly hiding himself in the mirror meant for customers to view themselves wearing this jewelry.
The event was definitely a great time, and if I met you there I’d love to connect on Twitter @JeremySCook. For that matter, if you have a creation that involves Tindie that you’d like to see featured here, please get in touch. You can also contact Tindie’s official Twitter account with any questions, comments, or concerns.
Limor Fried (aka ladyada) visiting with Jasmine and Brian at the Tindie Booth
Most of the time, the power grid works well, but sometimes a weather event or other glitch reminds us that having power isn’t a sure thing. You’ll be able to stumble around by the light of your smartphone for a night or two after an outage, but what are you to do afterwards?
Hopefully, the answer is that you have enough batteries, flashlights, candles, and other provisions to carry through until power is restored. If needed, one way to stretch the supplies you have out as far as possible is to “revive” used batteries with a Joule thief.
A Joule thief uses an inductor and a transistor used to boost a lower voltage to a higher one. This means “dead” batteries and still have some life squeezed out of them, especially when paired with low-power LEDs. Those with a well-stocked workshop can make one themselves using instructions found here, which could be very useful if you find yourself unprepared.
Alternatively, you could order a ready-made Joule Thief from Sdp8483. This Tindie seller offers two variations on this device, a single-LED electric candle that is meant for decorative use, and a multi-LED device that would be very useful for emergency lighting. Both of these items are capable of producing light from a used battery for days on end, and wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep around just in case!
The seller is also currently offering a deep discount on a few devices with cosmetic damage. Head over to his store to see what’s available.
The LittleBot’s page say: “Every inventor has a story from their childhood where they ruined their Mom’s vacuum cleaner or their own toys trying to ‘Find out how it worked.'” I can attest to that fact and it’s likely most of the people reading this can too. The reality is that when young inventors take apart appliances just to learn how things work it can get expensive. The LittleBot robot has been created to encourage that sort of exploration as a robot that can be easily assembled and disassembled.
As shown in its video, it—along with the included gripper—can be remote controlled with a Bluetooth app, or can wander around autonomously, avoiding obstacles with an ultrasonic sensor. Even more exciting, is that since the ‘bot is 3D-printed and Arduino-based, young (or old) inventors can create new modifications and expansions for it, such as allowing it to do line or wall following tasks, or adding new aesthetic accessories.
On a visual note, the brightly printed cubic body of the device looks particularly inviting. With a smiling expression, including ultrasonic sensors positioned to look like eyes, it would be a great way to introduce those that are initially less-than-excited about the concept of robotics to this fun hobby and/or profession!
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Of the many innovative clocks that hackers and makers have designed and built, word clocks, which feature a series of letters that light up to literally spell out the time, have to be one of the best combinations of interesting technology and usability. The LEDs underneath each letter give them a nice technical base, while the clever arrangement of letters to form the proper words would make any English teacher proud.
