Archive for October, 2016

Maker Tip: Invest in a Hot Glue Gun

Posted: October 27, 2016 in Maker Tips
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Hot glue is a maker’s best friend. Regardless if you’re creating a costume for Dragon Con or mounting some electronics, hot glue is an essential tool. Recently my hot glue gun died and it was time to get a new one. I found this inexpensive glue gun on amazon for around 20 USD and it arrived today!

My old hot glue gun was a simple low temperature model that took small glue sticks. However, it came in handing in securing cables (FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition  teams know what I’m talking about!) and holding electronics in place. This time I decided to upgrade to a variable temperature model that can take larger glue sticks.

There is something to be said for high temperature glue guns. Experimenting with this new tool, I discovered that higher-temperature glue seems to be more durable and hold better. I am really interested to see how this affects attaching electronics to 3D printed parts. The glue temperature is not warm enough to melt ABS or PETG plastic. More experimentation is needed to fully understand how I can best utilize my new hot glue gun. I am far from an expert in hot glue, but it is an important to have a hot glue gun handy when making. You never know when it might come in handy!

PSA: Major LEGO MINDSTORMS Software Update!

Posted: October 20, 2016 in Engineering, LEGO, News
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If you have launched EV3-G recently, you probably discovered that there is a new update! LEGO has released version 1.2.2 to address the “VM Program Instruction Break” bug. Be sure to update your software to the latest version. The bug did not affect the firmware on your EV3, just the compiler in EV3-G.

The Seshan Brothers, over at EV3Lessons.com, have an excellent overview of the bug.

You can download the latest versions of the LEGO MINDSTORMS programming software here!

LEGO at World Maker Faire

Posted: October 19, 2016 in LEGO, News
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LEGO was all over World Maker Faire! Besides FIRST LEGO League, LEGO was a common sight. LEGO provides a flexible building platform and Makers love LEGO. While it might not ship in a final project, the iconic, modular bricks provides an unmatched ease of use for prototyping. This has been one of my favorite posts to write, showing off all the awesome creations of the community! Follow me after the break to check out more of the LEGO sights of World Maker Faire 2016!

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LEGO MINDSTORMS Aerial Camera Bot

Posted: October 13, 2016 in Engineering, LEGO, Robotics
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As I mentioned last week, I want to share a really fun robot. Sorry for the delay in this post, but I needed to make a quick video of the footage for Youtube. The Maker movement is all about fusing different mediums to create something unique. For this ROBOT MAK3R, that means mixing 3D Printing, LEGO MINDSTORMS, Spider Wire, and a GoPro action camera.

Capturing events is always a challenge for me. While I am displaying, I am typically very busy answering questions and meeting everyone. I really wanted a way to document these awesome events that still allowed me to be social. Sounds like a robot to me! With some on-site programming I was able to achieve this goal! While the bot needed a bit of tuning, movement along its wire was smooth and pan and tilt controls worked as designed! Not bad for a quick build! Check out the footage from World Maker Faire 2016 and learn about this awesome bot after the break!

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World Maker Faire 2016

Posted: October 5, 2016 in News
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This past weekend was World Maker Faire 2016 in New York. Maker Faire is a celebration of creativity, technology, and invention. I was lucky to attend the event again this year, showing off some LEGO robots at the ILUGNY booth. While the booth was constantly busy, I was able to explore and see some truly amazing projects. Follow me after the break for more photos from this incredible event!

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