Meet the Makers Festival hits NYC

Writing for DNAInfo, Emily Frost reports that the upcoming Meet the Makers Festival at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan will invoke a DIY spirit by celebrating the use of handmade objects over mass-produced items.

“We hope that kids come away with a different understanding of careers they could have in the world and what they can do in the world,” Leslie Bushara, the museum’s deputy director of education, told DNAInfo. “Makers work with old materials and recycled materials and [are] coming up with these innovative and sometimes crazy ideas.”

Indeed, Ricardo Cid, a Mexican engineer and artist living in Brooklyn, says he routinely incorporates the Maker philosophy in his work.

“I can explain how electronics work through telling a story,” he said.

“[And] if you ever wonder why mathematics is important, it’s to create robots like this.”

Cid wants to create an atmosphere where kids can ask “weird” questions – while disabusing themselves of the notion that artists and engineers work in separate spheres.

 As such, the artists will be showcasing a wooden robot he made during the festival and offer participants a chance to tinker with their own creations.

Bushara predicts Cid’s sessions will likely be a big hit.

“When kids can make things and they have movement, it’s very exciting for [them],” she added.

“And when Maker sessions aren’t in progress, kids of all ages can hang out in the lab, finding inspiration and running with it.”

The festival, which runs from April 12-22, will be hosted inside the museum’s new lab which is specifically devoted to science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

According to Bushara, the new ground-floor lab was inspired by various MakerSpaces and features a wide-open space with chalkboard walls, along with blocks for tinkering.

Interested in learning more? The festival schedule can be accessed here. Tickets are priced at $11 each, with children under 1 invited to attend for free. The museum is open Tuesday-Friday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m on Saturdays.

Developing high-resolution resins for 3D printers

Polymer maven Jemmel Belkacem has over 10 years R&D experiences in UV curing polymer, 3D printing and material characterizations. Currently, Belkacem is working to develop high-resolution resins for 3D printers using UV curing technology known as stereolotography (laser and DLP systems).

“[Over] the last [few] years I developed a new photo-polymer resins for 3D printing,” Belkacem explained in a recent Indiegogo post. “I succeeded [in] creating the first photo-polymer resins formulation, [with] the [goal] to make 3D-resins for everyone. I want to [market] an affordable resins with high-resolution and good mechanical properties.”

Belkacem says he focused on producing acrylate resins, which he prefers due to its polymerization characteristics (curing-speed), mechanical properties (tough and flexible) and post-processing ease (iso-propanol cleaning and short UV post-curing).

“For this, it is important that the spectral emission profiles of the UV-Visible light curing unit match with the absorption characteristics of the photoinitiator. We will adapt the photoinitiator to the wavelength emitted by UV light source of all 3D-printers on the market using Laser & DLP systems,” he continued.

“Our resins will have an optimal deep penetration with the lowest energy to avoid the stress polymerization and reduce the shrinkage of the parts. From my experience in the 3D printing field, it seems that a good viscosity is less than 700 cPs to avoid losses and problems processing. Therefore, I plan to start with a low viscosity resins around 400 cPs.”

Interested in learning more? Belkacem’s next-gen resin project is on Indiegogo where he is seeking crowd-sourced funds to complete the initiative.

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

Be sure to join us at the 2013 World Maker Faire in NYC, where Makerbot’s 3D printers will be showcased in Atmel’s official booth along the Arduino pavilion. Additional demos and exhibits in the Atmel booth include Hexbug, Pensa (DIWire), Infinity Aersospace (Ardu Lab), Fuzzbot, Evil Mad Scientist and Colorado Micro Devices.

Come see Atmel @ the 2013 World Maker Faire!

The long-awaited 2013 World Maker Faire kicks off September 21st in the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI). We’ll be there at the Atmel booth in the Arduino pavilion. Will you? Don’t worry if you can’t make it to out to the Big Apple, because you can still follow all the goings on via Twitter – just look for the hashtags @makerfaire, @atmel and @arduino.

For those of you attending the Faire, Atmel’s booth will be taking center stage at the show with a number of uber-cool exhibits and demos including:

• Hexbug/hovercraft hacking: Watch Atmel employees hack traditional Hexbugs and hovercrafts using Arduino boards.
• MakerBot: We’ll be showcasing the wildly popular AVR-powered 3D printer and providing 3D samples over the weekend.
• Pensa: This company uses Arduino boards to make their flagship DIWire, a rapid prototyping machine that bends metal wire to produce 2D and 3D shapes.
• Infinity Aerospace: The ArduLab – powered by Atmel’s versatile ATMega 2560 microcontroller – is a highly capable experimentation platform ready for space right out of the box. Sensor mounting is straightforward, with unique functionality addressing the technical challenges of operating in space.

Additional exhibitors at the Atmel World Maker Faire booth include Fuzzbot (robots), Evil Mad Scientist and Colorado Micro Devices. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the Atmel booth, so don’t forget to follow us at @makerfaire, @atmel and @arduino!

Atmel is also slated to host a public media/industry analyst panel on Friday, September 20th, on the maker community and education. Members of the panel include Atmel’s Reza Kazerounian, Co-founder of Arduino Massimo Banzi, Atmel maker and Hexbug guru Bob Martin, university engineer professor Annmarie Thomas, EDN’s Executive Editor Suzanne Deffree, 12-year old CEO and maker Quin (Qtechknow), and MAKE Books Senior Editor Brian Jepson. The panel will be moderated by Windell H. Oskay of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.

Tune into our live Twitter feed of the panel starting at 11:30 am ET on September 20th under #Atmelmakes or visit our recently launched microsite for more details. Interested in attending? Please email pr@atmel.com. Also, be sure to join us when Bob Martin presents Prototyping is as Easy as Uno, Due, Tres.

The Ardruino Uno is an excellent lab tool for technicians and h/w engineers who have a specific design in mind. In this presentation, we will show how Atmel’s MCU apps lab uses the Uno to test harnesses for LED lighting stress testing, SBC reset response and power supply stress testing on a regular basis for the weather station prototype.

When: Sunday, September 22, 2013, 12:30PM – 1:00PM ET
Where: Make: Electronics Stage

World Maker Faire 2013: 70,000 attendees and 650+ Makers

The long-awaited World Maker Faire will be kicking off September 21st in the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI). According to Sherry Huss of Maker Media, the best of DIY invention, creativity and resourcefulness are expected to be showcased at the Faire.

“World Maker Faire at NYSCI has become an anticipated experience for New Yorkers and, really, folks from all over the world to see, learn, and do more in the world of making,” Huss explained.

“This year we expect to have more than 70,000 Faire goers over the course of the weekend engage with 650-plus makers who will be exhibiting their amazing projects. As usual, there will be makers representing all types of projects around engineering and technology, health and science, food and sustainability, fashion, crafting and so much more.”

World Maker Faire New York 2013 is slated to bring back some Faire favorites as well as showcase new makers and their DIY ingenuity. For example, attendees can meet more young Makers, get the latest on 3D printing (MakerBot, RepRap) and experience the best of Maker start-ups. Makers will also be offered hands-on experience with various boards, including various Atmel-powered Arduinos.

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the rapidly growing Maker Movement is a passionate one, and Atmel is quite passionate about being a part of it. Atmel, of course, makes the microcontroller (MCU) that powers the incredible open source Arduino board and is therefore at the very center of the whole Maker revolution. For many makers, Atmel-powered Arduino boards are the easiest and fastest way to go from platform to prototype. The best part? As with most of the Maker hardware, you don’t have to be an engineer to use it. Like Arduino’s Massimo Banzi says, “you don’t need anyone’s permission to make something great.”

Larry Magid, a technology journalist who writes for the San Jose Mercury News, recently expressed similar sentiments by noting that we are all Makers to a certain extent, even if some of us don’t know it yet.

“All of us – even Leonardo da Vinci – were late comers as far as the Maker Movement is concerned,” he opined. “Our prehistoric ancestors millions of years ago, figured out how to turn stones into tools so that they could make things. Only they didn’t have fairs, books and websites to document the process.”

Will.i.am, the technophile founder of The Black Eyed Peas, also offered a ringing endorsement of the Maker Movement and related culture a few weeks ago on Facebook.

“Every young person is going to be inspired to be a maker from now on,” said Will.i.am. “It’s like how everyone used to want to be a musician, an actor, an athlete — but a maker is what people are going to want to be.”

If you can’t make it to World Maker Faire in NYC and visit Atmel in the Arduino pavilion, no sweat. You can follow all the goings on via Twitter. Just look for the hashtags @makerfaire, @atmel, @arduino.