This week on Maker Update, a plotter painter, a vintage camera flash clock, a rotary cellphone, a breadboard bender, and foaming filament.

++Show Notes [Maker Update #162]++

-=Project of the Week=-

PaintBot by Alexander Leiser
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4164851
https://vialps.com/tag/paintbot/
https://hackaday.com/2020/02/22/paintbot-does-the-art-for-you/

-=More Projects=-

Vintage Flash Clock By lonesoulsurfer
https://www.instructables.com/id/Vintage-Flash-Clock/

Rotary Cellphone by Justine Haupt
http://justine-haupt.com/rotarycellphone/

-=Tools/Tips=-

Hackspace U.S. Subscription half-off
https://hsmag.cc/mpl

A sneak peek inside Make: magazine vol. 72
https://youtu.be/8WUJ5V3-lPk

Breadboard Wire Helper by moononournation
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3862775
https://hackaday.com/2020/02/23/3d-printed-breadboard-helper-makes-wiring-neater-and-easier/

ColorFabb’s new LW (Light Weight) filament tested by CNC Kitchen
https://youtu.be/2tmgzwgi2UI

Japanese Framing Square
https://youtu.be/9_8HGJSpFps

Adam Savage’s Favorite Tools: Automatic Wire Strippers
https://youtu.be/dvFS_ZEzwKg

Gareth’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales – Issue #36
https://www.getrevue.co/profile/garethbranwyn/issues/gareth-s-tips-tools-and-shop-tales-issue-36-226691

-=Digi-Key Spotlight=-

Fan Basics – Another Teaching Moment
https://youtu.be/f4iA1hV7_U0

Transcript

This week on Maker Update, a plotter painter, a vintage camera flash clock, a rotary cellphone, a breadboard bender, and foaming filament.

Hey I’m Donald Bell and welcome back to another Maker Update. I missed you guys last week. I hope you’re all doing great. There’s plenty to catch up on, so let’s get started with the project of the week.

Alexander Leiser created this art plotter that uses common acrylic paint to create these cool works of art. 

The instructions recreating this are posted on Thingiverse, and what’s cool is that it’s possible to adapt any 3D printer to do the same thing. But to paint bigger images like this, you’ll want to use a plotter or create something custom like Alexander.

The magic is really in creating the g-code, which not only requires some image processing to simplify the artwork and figure out what colors go where, but also builds in a paintbrush cleaning between colors, dipping the brush in water and wiping it across a sponge or towel.

It reminds me a lot of the WatercolorBot plotter made by Evil Mad Scientist, only this one is geared for a different type of paint and uses a different software for the processing called PaintCam, that you can also download from Alex’s Thingiverse page.

I love it when robots get artsy, so I’m excited to see another paint plotter project out there. It’s also just inspiring when you get to catch someone right in the grip of their creative obsession. I’m excited to see where this goes.

Now for more projects. On Instructables, Lonesoulsurfer made this cool retro desk clock from an old camera flash. 

Apparently he has a nice little collection of these, so he went shopping around for an inexpensive 7-segment clock module that would fit inside. It’s a fun little hack to know about and opens up some possibilities for other vintage collectible things that you could repurpose as clocks. Just put a clock in it!

For another wonderfully retro project, check out this rotary cellphone made by Jutine Haupt. 

The phone uses a custom circuit board with an Arduino-compatible ATmega2560v chip as it’s main brain. An Adafruit Fona 3G board provides the cellular connection. There’s also some fun use of e-paper on the back that you can program to display whatever you want.

While you can use the rotary dialer to make calls just for fun, Justine also includes a few buttons you can use to store frequently dialed numbers. 

You can find instructions on her website, as well as a DIY kit that you can buy to skip over the whole business of ordering and programming the PCB.

Now for some tips and tools. First, just another reminder that Hackspace magazine has slashed their US subscription prices in half to just $60 for a 1 year, 12 issue subscription, plus a free Adafruit Circuit Playground Express board. They’re not paying me to mention this, I just think it’s a great magazine and I’m excited to see that it’s finally affordable for us.

That said, I still have love for Make: magazine. They have a new issue out with a focus on taking IoT privacy under your control. Executive Editor Mike Senese has a video up that offers a quick overview of what’s inside.

Via Hackaday, I found this 3D printed jig from Moon On Our Nation that helps you perfectly form solid core wire to fit neatly on your breadboard. 

You insert one stripped end of wire in a hole that matches the desired length you need, bend it over to the end, and then cut and strip that end for a perfect fit. It’s turns out to be kind of old school tool, but I haven’t seen one before, so maybe it’s a treat for you too.

On YouTube, CNC Kitchen takes a look at a new light weight foaming PLA filament from Colorfab. The filament includes what’s called a blowing agent that creates uniform microscopic bubbles in the material as it prints. 

This effect can be exaggerated or toned down by adjusting the temperature of your extruder. For the right project, it looks like a good option for minimizing weight and adding some flexibility, without sacrificing strength. 

On the Cool Tools channel, I’ve got a new video up with woodworker Palo Coleman, who explains why prefers Japanese style framing squares, also known as Sashigane. They’re light and have enough give to them that they’re more adaptable than a traditional square. Worth a look.

Adam Savage has another favorite tools video out that talks about an inexpensive set of automatic wire strippers he enjoys. 

And in Gareth Branwyns Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales newsletter, he’s got a great one from Emory Kimbrough on finding the highest point on a cylinder or pipe or even a sphere using a drill press, a spade bit and a ruler. It’s a neat concept I hadn’t seen before.

In this week’s Digi-Key spotlight, they have a video out on the basics and types of DC fans you may want to use in your projects. Axial, case fans, blower fans, squirrel cage blowers, impellers — you get a sense of each type and what they might be able to do for you. Check it out.

And that does it for this week’s show. Next week, one of my favorite makers–one of my favorite people–Sophy Wong is guest hosting the show again, giving me a chance to get some real work done on my cocktail robot. So be sure to give her warm welcome, and be sure to subscribe here or get on the Maker Update email list so you don’t miss that show. 

Also keep an eye out early next week for the Adafruit edition of Maker update hosted by equally excellent Tyler Winegarner over on the Adafruit channel. Those are always a treat. Until then, thanks for watching, and I’ll see you soon.