WHAT: i want to make a kite, that spins in the wind. And i want to hook that up to a lightweight brushless dc motor, and charge some caps! Bam! stored energy by nature. i need to somehow make this stored energy in a user-friendly useful way.
OBJECTIVE: make a kite that spins, hook it up to relatively rigid wire/cabling, hook THAT up to a motor, and capture it's back emf to charge batteries/capacitors. no real power goals here - just want to see how much i could feasibly get.
HOW: hmm. i have a stash of tent nylon ripstop. i also have access to spools of ABS wire (it's from an FDM printer - dont ask). thatll be the two primary ingredients. and i have a range of dc motors. that should be enough to start.
APPLICATION: wind! maybe enough to tune in and run a radio outside on a windy day. maybe can be staked to the ground at a campsite, or strung to trees. whenever you need some power.
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
April Maker Challenge #28/30 : catLounger 2.0
WHAT: i have a cat. his name is Felix. this is him.
he likes cardboard, and he likes to lay on things. (a lot of things). about a year ago, i made him a cardboard lounger - which took WAY too long. this was catLounger 1.0:
Since work is throwing a whole bunch of cardboard away - i figure it's time for 2.0
OBJECTIVE: make a cardboard lounger than Felix will enjoy. minimize new materials used. no adhesives (if i can help it). and something that will take me less than a half day in the shop.
HOW: cardboard. lots of it. bandsaw (better than a boxcutter), macrame string (i have a spool) to bind the thing together.
APPLICATION: Felix gets to sit on his duff while i make stuff or draw, and he doesnt feel left out! (he often likes to sit on my lap - which makes drawing/soldering difficult)
he likes cardboard, and he likes to lay on things. (a lot of things). about a year ago, i made him a cardboard lounger - which took WAY too long. this was catLounger 1.0:
Since work is throwing a whole bunch of cardboard away - i figure it's time for 2.0
OBJECTIVE: make a cardboard lounger than Felix will enjoy. minimize new materials used. no adhesives (if i can help it). and something that will take me less than a half day in the shop.
HOW: cardboard. lots of it. bandsaw (better than a boxcutter), macrame string (i have a spool) to bind the thing together.
APPLICATION: Felix gets to sit on his duff while i make stuff or draw, and he doesnt feel left out! (he often likes to sit on my lap - which makes drawing/soldering difficult)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
April Maker Challenge #19/30: petMelter
WHAT: yes. the title "petMelter" sounds a little dubious. but it should be PET (polyethylene teraphtalate) melter. This is the thermoplastic that is typically labelled PET or PETE on your soda bottles. wayy too much of this stuff ends up in the landfill.
OBJECTIVE: i want to be able to melt plastic bottles, and press them into "manageable" sheets. sheets suitable for vaccuforming. i should be able to take a bottle, split it in half, place it into this press/melter - and i should have a handy dandy piece of (close to uniform thickness) PETE, ready for heatforming.
HOW: And i wont so much "melt" this stuff. i dont require this to be shot into a injection mold - so i dont require a full melt. if i dont want to mess with crystalline composition too much (which would affect opacity quite a bit), i could float it just safely above PETE's crystallization(glass) temp of 75 C and apply a steady load to hopefully reflow. If that doesnt work, i could crank this stuff up to its Vicat temp (170 C), and just squish this stuff into a sheet or "ingot". experimentation will determine the ultimate method.
APPLICATION: this wont yield any readily useful blobs of plastic. but in future projects - where i intend to shape/mold blobs of plastic, this should proove ultra handy. might even feed in to Michael's (@uptownmaker) REPscRAP project.
OBJECTIVE: i want to be able to melt plastic bottles, and press them into "manageable" sheets. sheets suitable for vaccuforming. i should be able to take a bottle, split it in half, place it into this press/melter - and i should have a handy dandy piece of (close to uniform thickness) PETE, ready for heatforming.
HOW: And i wont so much "melt" this stuff. i dont require this to be shot into a injection mold - so i dont require a full melt. if i dont want to mess with crystalline composition too much (which would affect opacity quite a bit), i could float it just safely above PETE's crystallization(glass) temp of 75 C and apply a steady load to hopefully reflow. If that doesnt work, i could crank this stuff up to its Vicat temp (170 C), and just squish this stuff into a sheet or "ingot". experimentation will determine the ultimate method.
APPLICATION: this wont yield any readily useful blobs of plastic. but in future projects - where i intend to shape/mold blobs of plastic, this should proove ultra handy. might even feed in to Michael's (@uptownmaker) REPscRAP project.
April Maker Challenge #18/30 : flatpackMobile
WHAT: a flatpack mobile. for babies. I am about to be an uncle for the first time (due November)!! However, my sister and her as yet unborn child live in Australia. thats why the mobile will be flatpack.
OBJECTIVE: make a relatively "green" mobile out of high density cardboard. has to fit within a standard USPS tyvek mailer. has to look cool for the kid and the parents.
HOW: lasercut cardboard and some thread. i'd like to use the negative space between the cutouts as additional components and the outer card areas to be assembled into the frame of the mobile.
APPLICATION: for nephew development!
OBJECTIVE: make a relatively "green" mobile out of high density cardboard. has to fit within a standard USPS tyvek mailer. has to look cool for the kid and the parents.
HOW: lasercut cardboard and some thread. i'd like to use the negative space between the cutouts as additional components and the outer card areas to be assembled into the frame of the mobile.
APPLICATION: for nephew development!
Friday, April 10, 2009
April Maker Challenge #11/30: ThirstyNoMore!
WHAT: a "simple" system indicating whether or not my plants need water. Visual feedback only.
OBJECTIVE: cheap little stake modules that can be entered into the soil - measuring moisture. can be tuned to different "trip" moisture levels for different ones. should turn an LED on when my plant(s) are thirsty.
HOW: hoping to use some fancy pantsy opAmps! would help in my understanding of them - and should be cheaper than having a digital read in each one (i think?). hopefully just run off a AAA or a watch battery for a long time.
APPLICATION: my plants are thirsty! and different ones have different needs. and i am sometimes quite absent minded about keeping them alive.
possible developments: pH measurement would be nice to implement into the same stake, pending on cost and complexity. if the plan doesnt prove cost effective (less than 10 bucks per) - then i might just make a plant probe meter. like a multimeter - but for plants (moisture and pH). i could also then sample several spots in the soil and use it to double as a mini aerator.
OBJECTIVE: cheap little stake modules that can be entered into the soil - measuring moisture. can be tuned to different "trip" moisture levels for different ones. should turn an LED on when my plant(s) are thirsty.
HOW: hoping to use some fancy pantsy opAmps! would help in my understanding of them - and should be cheaper than having a digital read in each one (i think?). hopefully just run off a AAA or a watch battery for a long time.
APPLICATION: my plants are thirsty! and different ones have different needs. and i am sometimes quite absent minded about keeping them alive.
possible developments: pH measurement would be nice to implement into the same stake, pending on cost and complexity. if the plan doesnt prove cost effective (less than 10 bucks per) - then i might just make a plant probe meter. like a multimeter - but for plants (moisture and pH). i could also then sample several spots in the soil and use it to double as a mini aerator.
April Maker Challenge #10/30: wormBox
WHAT: make an in-kitchen composting box for food scraps, with worms!
OBJECTIVES: build a box (or source a non-leaky bin) that will be large enough to take a couple weeks worth of food scraps. There should be a reasonable rate conversion from scraps to compost. at least quarter my current rate of organic waste by the 2nd month of vermicomposting. i know that worms dont like certain things - which is why i plan on only quartering landfillable materials.
HOW: instructibles are up online for such things i believe. will have to do more research on worms. will probably resort to a commercial plastic (repurposed) bin for leak-proof-ness.
APPLICATION: i want to be able to run my kitchen, without generating much organic waste at all. I also want to have nice nutritious soil for some my plants!
OBJECTIVES: build a box (or source a non-leaky bin) that will be large enough to take a couple weeks worth of food scraps. There should be a reasonable rate conversion from scraps to compost. at least quarter my current rate of organic waste by the 2nd month of vermicomposting. i know that worms dont like certain things - which is why i plan on only quartering landfillable materials.
HOW: instructibles are up online for such things i believe. will have to do more research on worms. will probably resort to a commercial plastic (repurposed) bin for leak-proof-ness.
APPLICATION: i want to be able to run my kitchen, without generating much organic waste at all. I also want to have nice nutritious soil for some my plants!
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