DIY curved display with an Arduino Mega

A Maker by the name of Marin Davide has designed a DIY curved display with an Atmel-powered Arduino Mega (ATmega1280), nichrome wire and thermochromic liquid crystal ink.

According to James Hobson of HackADay, the current prototype uses a sheet of plastic coated in thermochromic ink – curved on an MDF frame.

“To display digits, Davide created tiny segments of the 7-segment display by wrapping the nichrome wire around pieces of cardboard, which then have been glued to the back of the display,” Hobson explained.

Meanwhile, Davide noted that although the prototype shows a 7-digit display, the detailed build guide can be easily modded to create a small dot-matrix display.

“The working prototype uses a sheet material printed with thermochromic liquid crystal ink,” Davide wrote in an official Design News description.

“It changes color (bright blue) when heated above 27C. Nickel-chrome wire is used to heat the segments and everything is controlled by an Arduino Mega board.”

The DIY curved display was made with 4mm Mdf, cut with a CNC, although this can also be done by hand. In addition, Davide used a 24V DC power supply, converted to 20Vdc with a KIA7820A. A 1000uF capacitor reduces noise on the 24V line, while a 220uF reduces noise on the 20V line. Last, but certainly not least, the Atmel-based Arduino is USB powered from the PC.

Interested in learning more about building a DIY curved display with an Atmel-based Arduino Mega? You can check out HackADay’s coverage here, the Design News article here and a detailed build tutorial (PDF) here.

Video: Atmel’s Bob Martin talks CES and Makers

Atmel MCU Applications Manager Bob Martin recently went on camera in Las Vegas to discuss the evolution of CES over the years, with a specific emphasis on the Maker Movement and DIY community.

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, Atmel’s 8- and 32-bit microcontrollers have been the MCUs of choice for Arduino since the boards first hit the streets for DIY Makers way back in 2005.

Another cool Maker technology to surface in recent years is 3D printing, an industry expected to be worth at least $3 billion by 2016. We are at the center of the 3D printing revolution, as almost every major desktop 3D printer on the market today is based on Atmel silicon.

In addition, Atmel powers a number of wearable tech platforms for Makers and engineers, such as Adafruit’s Gemma, Trinket and FLORA.

Wearable tech also ties into the Internet of Things (IoT), which refers to a future world where all types of electronic devices link to each other via the Internet. Today, it’s estimated that there are nearly 10 billion devices in the world connected to the Internet, a figure expected to triple to nearly 30 billion devices by 2020.

As Gartner notes, 50% of companies expected to help build the rapidly evolving Internet of Things have yet to coalesce. This is precisely why Atmel views the Maker Movement as one of the primary tech incubators for future IoT companies and devices, many of which will undoubtedly use Atmel microcontrollers (MCUs) to power their respective platforms.

Video: A phenakistoscope with an Arduino twist

The phenakistoscope (also spelled phenakistiscope or phenakitiscope) can probably best be described as an early animation device that relied on the persistence of vision principle to create an illusion of motion.

According to Wikipedia, the phenakistoscope used a spinning disc vertically attached to a handle. Arrayed around the disc’s center was a series of drawings showing phases of the animation, with a series of equally spaced radial slits cut around it. 

The user would spin the disc and look through the moving slits at the disc’s reflection in a mirror. The scanning of the slits across the reflected images kept them from blurring together. Meaning, the user would see a rapid succession of images that appeared to be a single moving picture.

Recently, the Barcelona-based Playmodes crew decided to kick off a modern-day DIY electronic remake of the stalwart ‘scope.

The team obtained a recycled stepper motor from an old printer as the motion source and attached a CD clip to rotate discs with phenakistoscope patterns at a stable velocity.

“By synchronizing the strobe frequency of a white led stripe with the motor rotation, we accomplish the image-in-motion effect on the eye,” the team explained on the project’s official page. “We used an [Atmel-based] Arduino Nano (ATmega328) for the overall control of the pots, the motor [and] LEDs.”

Interested in learning more about the Arduino-powered DIY phenakistoscope? You can check out the project’s official page here and download the full code here.

Christmas lights with an Atmel-based Arduino

Thanksgiving may be over, but Christmas and twinkling holiday lights are headed our way. And really, what could be more appropriate for Makers than strings of artfully strung Christmas lights controlled by an Atmel-based Arduino?

One such DIY LED array recently came to our attention, courtesy of the folks at HackADay.

Indeed, a Maker by the name of Anx2k created permanently mounted Christmas lights using LEDs left over from another project. More specifically, the RGB pixels are mounted underneath the tiles on the roof, three per tile, two facing up on either side of the tile and one facing out at an angle in the middle.

“All the wires [run] into his attic where he has an electrical box serving as the main control hub. He uses an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) to control them and a 460W computer power supply to provide the juice,” explained HackADay’s James Hobson.

“The LED modules themselves are Adafruit RGB pixel strings. There’s actually three of the LED modules per tile – two shining up to illuminate the tile, and one shining out.”

As you can see in the video above, Anx2k configured a number of slick patterns for the Arduino Uno to run, including color drop, blended Christmas, spectrum chase, Christmas alternate, random stars and rainbow.

Yes, 3D printing will change the world

Writing for the AFP, Helen Rowe notes that 3D printing is predicted to transform our lives in the coming decades as dramatically as the Internet did before it.

“I have no doubt it is going to change the world,” researcher James Craddock told Rowe at the two-day 3D Printshow in Paris which wrapped up this past weekend.

Meanwhile, conference attendee Cosmo Wenman described how he has used thousands of photographs taken in some of the world’s biggest museums to produce exact plastic copies using 3D printing technology – including the ancient Greek statue Venus de Milo housed in the Louvre.

“If you look at the small print at museums in terms of taking photographs, they say that you cannot put them to commercial use,” he explained. “But from a practical point of view that is not enforceable and for antiquities there is no intellectual property issue.”

Image Credit: RepRap.org

Similarly, Jim Kor told Rowe he used 3D printing tech to design and manufacture a car out of plastic and stainless steel. Dubbed the 3D Urbee, the futuristic three-wheeler is primarily electric, but still capable of running on gasoline at higher speeds.

“We want it to be the Volkswagen Beetle for the next century, low cost and long-lasting too,” he said. “It should last 30-plus years. Our goal is that it should be 100 percent recyclable.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has been using Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

Indeed, the meteoric rise of 3D printing has paved the way for a new generation of Internet entrepreneurs, Makers and do-it-yourself (DIY) manufacturers. So it comes as little surprise that the lucrative 3D printing industry remains on track to be worth a staggering $3 billion by 2016 – and $8.41 billion by 2020.

How 3D printing empowers Makers

Chelsea Schelly, assistant professor of social sciences at Michigan Tech, says 3D printing can be used to help empower individuals.

“When you produce something yourself instead of purchasing it, that changes your relationship to it,” Schelly explained. “You are empowered by it.”

As Dennis Walikainen of Michigan Tech News notes, the principle might sound simple at first, although its ramifications are wide ranging, especially for middle and high school educators. In fact, that’s where Schelly’s 3D printing research began – at a teacher workshop coordinated by 3D printing guru Joshua Pearce.

During the workshop, one local high school teacher designed and printed a snowblower part that typically retails for $200.

“Instead, he made it himself and saved the money. And he saved the hassle of bringing the machine to the shop to get it fixed,” said Schelly. “The early feedback from the teachers is that the students are more engaged. They take pride in making these things for themselves. This could be seen as part of the larger ‘Maker’s Movement,’ where people are doing their own production processes.”

Joshua Pearce concurred, noting that more individuals are likely to begin designing and creating their own products as 3D printer prices drop significantly.

“As 3D printing [is] open-sourced, the costs plummeted from tens of thousands of dollars to $1,600 for assembled printers today, and the new RepRap printers are down to $500 in parts. As the price drop continues, they will become household items, like desktop printers. This has the potential to disrupt the way we manufacture,” he explained.

“The number of designs is exploding. There are a lot of helpers out there. Give us what you’ve got, and we’ll build on it and give you what we’ve got—and we all benefit. [For example], an open-source Chinese smartphone, made with a 3D printer, was [recently] posted online for $130, and 100,000 sold in 90 seconds.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has been using Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing has clearly entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

Indeed, the meteoric rise of 3D printing has paved the way for a new generation of Internet entrepreneurs, Makers and do-it-yourself (DIY) manufacturers. So it comes as little surprise that the lucrative 3D printing industry is on track to be worth a staggering $3 billion by 2016.

This school library is now a Makerspace

Recently, Bits & Pieces ran an article about how the Xinchejian crew constructed a “Pop Up” DIY space in a shipping container as part of Make+, a non-profit art and technology program headquartered in Shanghai, China.

We also took a closer look at the city of Baltimore which is filling up with DIY spaces for Makers, hackers and modders to share ideas, tools and projects. Besides the Hackerspace (founded in 2009), there is The Node in the Station North Arts District, Fab Lab, Unallocated Space and the Baltimore Foundery.

As we’ve previously discussed, the wildly popular Maker Movement isn’t limited to adults, with DIY culture appealing to people of all ages, all over the world. Unsurprisingly, the Grand Center Arts Academy (GCAA) has decided to join in on the DIY fun by creating a Makerspace in part of the school library. MakeZine describes the GCAA Makerspace as a drop-in space for students to maximize their creative genius.

Indeed, students have access to the space before school, during study hall, at lunch and after classes. The library Makerspace is already stocked with a variety of electronics and workshop tools, including Arduino boards and the MakerBot Replicator 2, both of which are powered by Atmel MCUs.

“[The] Makerspace provides GCAA students with unique opportunities to meld left-brain critical thinking skills with right-brained creativity and innovations to create solutions to real world problems,” said parent & LEED Green Associate Dr. Katie Belisle-Iffrig who has been leading the effort to establish a Makerspace Booster Club to help raise funds and gather supplies for the space.

According to Makezine, additional support is still needed for the crowdsourced Makerspace Grant Program where GCAA students can apply for $30 mini-grants to fund materials for their projects. Click here for more information on how you can help the GCAA Makerspace grow.

Xinchejian builds a Makerspace in a shipping container

Recently, Bits & Pieces ran an article about how the city of Baltimore is filling up with DIY spaces where Makers, hackers and modders can to share ideas, tools and projects. Besides the Hackerspace (founded in 2009), there is The Node in the Station North Arts District, Fab Lab, Unallocated Space and the Baltimore Foundery.

Unsurprisingly, the international Maker Movement is also taking China by storm, with the Xinchejian crew constructing a “Pop Up” DIY space in a shipping container as part of Make+, a non-profit art and technology program headquartered in Shanghai, China. The DIY Pop Up recently made its first successful appearance at the Creative Faire in Shanghai.

According to the Xinchejian team, the ‘space attracted numerous visitors interested in 3D printing, robotics, Atmel-powered Arduino boards and Maker Culture. The Xinchejian Makerspace won’t be dismantled, however, as it is slated to kick off a tour around China after the Shanghai Maker Faire on Oct 19-20.

Check out some of the pictures below to see more of the ‘space built in a re-purposed shipping container.

Video: Let’s make an Arduino!

Distributors estimate that over one million Atmel-powered Arduinos have been sold since 2005. And why not? As DesignBoom notes, the DIY Arduino community is among the most resilient and inventive in the Maker Movement.

Recently, the DesignBoom crew visited a number of Arduino production facilities in Piedmont, Italy.

The circuit boards themselves are manufactured at System Elettronica in Strambino, with further assembly work conducted at BCA and SmartProjects staff in Scarmagno preparing the boards for shipping.

At System Elettronica, owner Ludovico Apruzzese escorted the DesignBoom team around the factory, where many of the production machines are driven by control circuits that Apruzzese himself designs and produces in-house.

Next up is SmartProjects in Scarmagno where employees compile Arduino’s starter kits, assemble boxes and package the wildly popular boards.

“Tested throughout their construction, Arduinos are loaded with the firmware and subjected to a final examination by hand before ever being sent to the packaging floor,” the DesignBoom crew explained. “Such rigorous testing puts the probability of a malfunctioning device at less than 1%.”

Interested in learning more about how Atmel-powered Arduino boards are built, from start to finish? Be sure to check out the full text of DesignBoom’s article here.

Atmel’s ATtiny85 powers this Tap Tempo Trinket

Last week, Adafruit launched the Trinket, a tiny microcontroller (MCU) board built around Atmel’s versatile ATtiny85. This week, Adafruit’s Phillip Burgess is showcasing the Tap Tempo Trinket, a DIY beats-per-minute calculator project powered by Atmel’s ATtiny 85 and the Trinket board.

“This beats-per-minute calculator is a quick and easy project,” Burgess explained in a recent Adafruit post. “You tap the button in time with music [and the] Trinket reports the corresponding beats-per-minute.”

Required components include:

• Adafruit Trinket (either the 5V or 3.3V variety)
• 7-segment LED Display Backpack (any color, 0.56″ size, not 1.2″)
• Momentary “normally open” pushbutton
• Breadboard, jumper wires, USB cable (A to mini B)

“If this is your first time using Trinket, work through the Introducing Trinket guide first; you need to customize some settings in the Arduino IDE first,” Burgess continued. “Once you have it up and running, you’ll then install the following libraries: TinyWireM (a Trinket-compatible alternative to the Arduino Wire library), Adafruit_LEDBackpack and Adafruit_GFX (required by Adafruit_LEDBackpack).”

According to Burgess, the simple DIY project is one where Trinket really shines, with the largest section of the code simply flashing “TAP BEAT” at startup.

“Button input is debounced, time between button taps is then calculated using the micros() timer, and BPM is figured by dividing 600,000,000 (10X the number of microseconds in 1 minute) by this time interval. The 10X figure is just so we can look extra geeky by then adding a decimal point,” he added.

Be sure to check out Adafruit’s detailed tutorial here for additional information on how to build your own Tap Tempo Trinket.