Tag Archives: arduino

This Mini Robot Arm can be built in Under $100 Using Arduino Nano and 3D Printed Files

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reating a mini robotic arm with Arduino and 3D printing is an exciting way to merge electronics and design. This project invites enthusiasts into the world of robotics, blending creativity with hands-on technical work. It’s ideal for those eager to dive into the realms of motion control and automation, using accessible components and open-source technology. The core of the project is the Arduino Nano, a compact microcontroller that coordinates the movements of four SG90 servo motors. These motors are controlled through potentiometers, offering precise adjustments to the arm’s motion. By adjusting the position of each potentiometer, you can direct the servo to move in a specific direction, making the control feel intuitive and satisfying.

Designer: FABRI Creator

To build this arm, you’ll need several essential components. Beyond the Arduino Nano, four SG90 servo motors serve as the muscles of the arm, providing the torque required for smooth movements. These motors are driven by the signals from potentiometers, which read user inputs and translate them into specific positions for the servos. The project also requires electronic parts like resistors and capacitors for the PCB, ensuring stable and efficient operation. A DC jack connector allows for easy power connection, supporting a 5V 3A adapter or a standard PC power supply, ensuring the arm has a reliable power source. With a breadboard for prototyping and a custom PCB for permanent assembly, you can seamlessly organize all connections, creating a clean and efficient setup.

But here’s where the magic truly happens: 3D printing. Using software like Fusion 360, you get to design the structural parts of your robot arm, optimizing the form and function to your specific needs. It’s not just about the technical specs—it’s about bringing your vision to life in a tangible, tactile way. The parts, printed with durable PLA filament, take shape layer by layer, transforming digital models into physical components. The design smartly minimizes the need for supports during printing, making it efficient and less wasteful. The result is a sleek, lightweight arm that looks as good as it functions, embodying the intersection of art and engineering.

Programming the Arduino is where the project gains its soul. With a bit of code, you can teach the arm to follow your commands, offering both manual and automated control modes. In manual mode, the potentiometers give you direct control over each servo, letting you guide the arm’s movements with finesse. Automated mode, on the other hand, takes it a step further—allowing you to record sequences and replay them, turning the arm into a precise tool for repeating tasks. This duality of control means you can create everything from a delicate touch for small tasks to a mechanical memory that runs on its own.

As you bring it all together, the assembly process becomes a meditative practice in precision and patience. Soldering each component onto the PCB, carefully routing wires, and securing the servos in place requires focus, but the reward is a beautifully crafted piece of tech that feels like a personal accomplishment. The attention to detail in organizing cables and ensuring smooth motion paths doesn’t just keep things tidy—it elevates the overall aesthetic and functionality of the arm. It’s a reminder that design is as much about what you don’t see as what you do.

By the time the project is complete, you’ll have a fully functional mini robotic arm capable of manual and automated control. The combination of 3D printing and Arduino brings a level of customization that lets you adapt the design to your needs, making it a perfect entry point into robotics. This DIY project is less about building a one-time gadget and more about being an entry-point into the world of STEM and Design. It demonstrates how accessible and versatile modern technology can be, offering a fulfilling way to explore the world of robotics, whether you’re a seasoned maker or just starting out… and once you’re done you can quite literally pat yourself on the back with your new robot arm!

The post This Mini Robot Arm can be built in Under $100 Using Arduino Nano and 3D Printed Files first appeared on Yanko Design.

Clever PCB Module Lets You Power Nixie Tubes on Arduino PCs with Ease

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Nixie tubes, also known as “cold cathode displays,” were once commonplace in electronic devices, particularly in the mid-20th century. These glass tubes, filled with a noble gas like neon, emit a warm, orange glow when an electric current passes through them. They were used to display numbers, letters, and symbols in an era before LED and LCD screens took over.

In recent years, nixie tubes have experienced a resurgence in popularity, captivating the hearts of enthusiasts and designers alike. Keen-eyed enthusiasts will remember seeing these tubes in Oppenheimer, in the limited HBO series Chernobyl, and even briefly in Netflix teen drama Wednesday. There’s something just beautiful about how steampunk these tubes look and it isn’t surprising that people are looking to bring them back (at least culturally!) However, it isn’t as easy as plugging a Nixie tube into a USB port – the old technology requires high voltage and needs to be used rather delicately to work flawlessly. Enter EasyNixie, an Arduino-compatible low-voltage nixie tube driver module designed to make integrating nixie tubes into your creations more accessible than ever.

Designer: Aleksei Karavaev

Click Here to Buy Now: $26 (Single PCB Module) Hurry! Only 36 hours left!

EasyNixie serves as the conduit between the vintage allure of Nixie tubes and the contemporary convenience of Arduino compatibility. It’s a thoughtfully designed module that invites creators of all levels to dive into a world filled with inventive possibilities. At the core of EasyNixie’s appeal is its stackability feature, a clever solution that provides a much easier alternative to the confusing maze of wires that most Nixie tubes have running behind them. By allowing multiple Nixie displays to connect using a minimal amount of data pins, EasyNixie paves the way for intricate and creative designs without the hassle of tangled wires… and while traditional Nixie tubes are known for their high-voltage demands, EasyNixie takes a step in a new direction by operating efficiently at low voltages, as low as 3.3V to be precise. It takes on the complexities of voltage conversion, simplifying the power supply setup, which is a breath of fresh air for many creators.

The user-friendly design makes the EasyNixie perfect for Arduino-enthusiasts looking to get in on the steampunk action. Providing an Arduino library along with a suite of examples, it streamlines the process of interfacing with nixie tubes, making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users. This feature shifts the focus squarely onto creativity, ensuring a smoother journey from idea to execution. Moreover, the compatibility of EasyNixie is a robust highlight, designed to mesh seamlessly with various popular Nixie tube models including IN-12A, IN-12B, IN-15A, IN-15B, IN-17, and more. This versatile attribute opens up a realm of possibilities for projects, giving you the freedom to choose the perfect tube to align with your vision. The PCB module is also designed keeping safety in mind. High voltages can often lead to high heat, which is why EasyNixie has features like thermal shutdown protection and safety fuses, ensuring the smooth and secure operation of your projects.

EasyNixie is the brainchild of Aleksei Karavaev, an electronics enthusiast deeply passionate about microcontroller programming. “I have been fascinated by nixie tubes ever since I discovered what they are,” Karavaev mentions. “So strange, so old school, so ‘warm’. Unfortunately, they are also hard to control and can be dangerous if not handled properly.” EasyNixie was born as a means to help make working with Nixie tubes easy again. Technology either becomes consumer-friendly or becomes obsolete and for the longest time, Nixie tubes sat in the latter category. The $26 PCB module changes that perception, allowing you to hook your vintage Nixie tubes to tiny Arduino PCs and make a variety of fun gadgets, from clocks and multimeters to funky displays that show your YouTube or IG subscribers in real-time… or if you’re still on the crypto train, the current price of Bitcoin!

Click Here to Buy Now: $26 (Single PCB Module) Hurry! Only 36 hours left!

Click Here to Buy Now: $26 (Single PCB Module) Hurry! Only 36 hours left!

The post Clever PCB Module Lets You Power Nixie Tubes on Arduino PCs with Ease first appeared on Yanko Design.

This DIY digital hourglass delivers a retro feeling without the messy sand

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It’s almost difficult to imagine, especially for the maker and modding communities, that it wasn’t until only a few years ago that it was possible to create decent-looking “hacks” and electronics projects right at home, whether in your garage or your bedroom. Single-board computers or SBCs like the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi made it super cheap to put decent computers inside those DIY contraptions, while 3D printers made it possible to dream up your own designs. Sure, you might still need to be comfortable using a soldering iron for some projects, but the end results often make it worth the singes. You can, for example, easily create digital versions of analog tools that retain most of the design, just without the messy parts.

Designer: Engineercly

Everyone has a smartphone these days, and all smartphones come with some sort of timer app. That fact alone almost makes having an hourglass impractical and inefficient, but the old-school tool still has its charm, just like many non-digital artifacts today. That said, creating a sand clock is more trouble than it’s worth for a hobbyist, so it’s fortunate that we can now recreate an hourglass in a more precise and more digital form.

No, this isn’t about having a screen that displays a sand clock, which would be boring and too easy to make. This DIY project actually tries to mimic the experience of using an actual hourglass, including turning it upside down or sideways, as well as watching the “sand” drop little by little. Naturally, it doesn’t use any sand at all but utilizes LED lights to convey the same visual effect.

This project will require a bit more familiarity with electronics, though, as it involves multiple parts that need to be soldered and put together properly. All those parts can be bought online or even off-shelf, though you still need access to a 3D printer to craft the parts. Fortunately, the engineer behind the project provides the pattern that you can feed into any 3D printer or send to a printing service.

The Digital Sand Clock isn’t just a hardware project, though. There is also a bit of coding involved, especially in animating how the LEDs light up to mimic falling sand. That part is actually what makes the entire endeavor rather impressive, given how it can use motion (technically an accelerometer) to control the “movement” of the sand, and the lights adjust accordingly as if they were actually movable solid objects.

DIY projects like these often make people raise their eyebrows, especially after seeing all the components and work involved in making them. Beyond being an enjoyable pastime for hobbyists and makers, it is also a demonstration of how far we’ve come in enabling such creations without being at the mercy of large companies and production plants. It’s not only an enabler but also a source of inspiration for budding designers and engineers who want to take a whack at this more democratic way of creating things.

The post This DIY digital hourglass delivers a retro feeling without the messy sand first appeared on Yanko Design.

Hubless DIY ‘hollow’ clock uses rotating rings and an Arduino chip to tell the time

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It tells time like a traditional clock, but looks far from anything even remotely traditional. Designed to operate similar to how hubless wheels do, Saul Emmet Quinn’s Holo Clock is deceptively hollow through the center, and uses a series of rotating rings to tell the time.

The Holo Clock’s design is characterized by its beautiful hollow design. While traditional clocks use a set of rotating hands pivoted at the center of the clock’s face, the Holo Clock uses a set of rotating rings with hands on them. The rings are controlled by a stepper motor at the bottom of the clock, and the entire clock comes with a flat base, allowing you to keep it on a tabletop surface and admire ever so often.

While the principle behind the clock is pretty simple, it relies on a handful of precisely designed and assembled tiny parts (as is common with most clocks). The rotating gears which operate the timepiece are exposed and can be viewed on the side of the device, and the entire setup is powered by an Arduino Uno microcontroller that hides in the Holo Clock’s base.

The designer of the Holo Clock goes by the name of saulemmetquinn, and he’s been gracious enough to document his entire process and make all the CAD parts available on his Instructables page. That unfortunately means that the Holo Clock isn’t for sale, although you’re more than welcome to build one of your own. Maybe you could experiment with colors and 3D-printed materials too, to create something even more captivating. I just wish there was a video of this beauty in action!

Designer: Saul Emmet Quinn

Want to build your own folding phone? Royole’s DIY flexible display kit lets you experiment with foldable tech

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From the company that created the world’s first folding phone comes an open-source kit to help anyone build their own products with flexible displays!

Royole has shown an incredible ability to find the right niche and pivot at the right time with their technological offerings. The company arguably built the first-ever flexible smartphone – the FlexPai – outpacing even Samsung, and their RoKit now aims at helping democratize the fully flexible display (FFD), so creatives and designers can tinker with it, building their own products too.

This means you could practically build your own folding smartphone (like how Scotty Allen’s been trying make his own folding iPhone). Royole’s even showcased an example of what they would make and it looks rather impressive. A baton-shaped device with a rolled-up on the inside and a massive camera facing outwards. Sort of like unscrolling a parchment, the display rolls outwards. It isn’t a folding phone in strict terms (it’s more of a rolling phone), but the idea Royole is getting at is that with their kit, you can now prototype something absolutely absurd; something that even Apple, Google, Samsung, or Microsoft is too scared to make!

The RoKit comes packaged in a pretty impressive aluminum briefcase (scroll for the images below), containing everything you need to bring your unique tech idea to life. The upper part of the briefcase houses Royole’s 3rd Generation Cicada Wing 7.8-inch fully flexible touch-sensitive display, while the lower half of the briefcase contains a development motherboard running Android 10, an HDMI adapter (in case you want to connect your flexible display to an existing computer like a Raspberry Pi, smartphone, laptop, or any other gadget), and a bunch of power cables for good measure.

The idea behind the RoKit, says Royole Founder and CEO Dr. Bill Liu, is to “invite every industry to imagine and design with flexibility in mind, unfolding new possibilities for creators and accelerating the development of flexible solutions in all walks of life.” Envisioned as the world’s first open platform flexible electronics development kit, the RoKit allows other creators to do exactly what Royole did with the FlexPai in 2018 – create electronic products that the world has never seen before.

For now, the RoKit is available for purchase on the Royole website in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and China. Priced at $959, it definitely isn’t cheap, although one could make the case that it’s just about affordable for being able to test out and prototype a product before you actually develop it with mass-produced flexible displays.

Designer: Royole

Royole just launched a DIY ‘Flexible Display Kit’ to help anyone build and prototype folding tech products!

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From the company that created the world’s first folding phone comes an open-source kit to help anyone build their own products with flexible displays!

Royole has shown an incredible ability to find the right niche and pivot at the right time with their technological offerings. The company arguably built the first-ever flexible smartphone – the FlexPai – outpacing even Samsung, and their RoKit now aims at helping democratize the fully flexible display (FFD), so creatives and designers can tinker with it, building their own products too.

The kit comes packaged in a pretty impressive aluminum briefcase, containing everything you need to bring your unique tech idea to life. The upper part of the briefcase houses Royole’s 3rd Generation Cicada Wing 7.8-inch fully flexible touch-sensitive display, while the lower half of the briefcase contains a development motherboard running Android 10, an HDMI adapter (in case you want to connect your flexible display to an existing computer like a Raspberry Pi, smartphone, laptop, or any other gadget), and a bunch of power cables for good measure.

The idea behind the RoKit, says Royole Founder and CEO Dr. Bill Liu, is to “invite every industry to imagine and design with flexibility in mind, unfolding new possibilities for creators and accelerating the development of flexible solutions in all walks of life.” Envisioned as the world’s first open platform flexible electronics development kit, the RoKit allows other creators to do exactly what Royole did with the FlexPai in 2018 – create electronic products that the world has never seen before.

To show how limitless their flexible displays can be, Royole’s even created a few conceptual products that highlight exactly how folding screens can make products sleeker, smaller, and better. The examples include (as shown below) handheld gimbals/cameras with slide-out displays, a slick monolithic computer that transitions magically from keyboard to screen (I wonder where they got that idea from), and even a helmet with a rear display that contours perfectly to the shape of the head, allowing you to communicate efficiently with drivers behind you.

For now, the RoKit is available for purchase on the Royole website in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and China. Priced at $959, it definitely isn’t cheap, although one could make the case that it’s just about affordable for being able to test out and prototype a product before you actually develop it with mass-produced flexible displays.

Designer: Royole

This Measuring Tape Measures Both Time and Distance

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If you want to know the time, you use a clock, a watch, or a smartphone. If you want to measure the length of an object, you use a tape measure. But it appears this tape measure didn’t get the memo, as it’s actually a clock.

Alex Fiel and Anna Lynton made this unusual timepiece that uses its measuring tape to indicate the current time. They built it by ripping apart an ordinary tape measure, then installed a custom 3D-printed enclosure, along with an Arduino Nano controller, a stepper motor, and some ball bearings to move the measuring tape in and out of its shell.

While it’s first and foremost designed to work as a clock, I see no reason why you couldn’t use its tape to measure things – assuming it’s late enough in the day to fit the object you’re measuring, and you work fast enough that the time doesn’t change time on you.

You can check out the full build log for the Measuring Time clock over on Instructables.

This Mechanical 7-Segment Clock Tells Time with Servos

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When it comes to digital clocks, they typically use segmented or dot-matrix displays in order to tell the time. But one thing most of these displays have in common is that have no moving parts. Not so with this unusual timepiece, which looks like a digital display, but is actually mechanical.

Michael Klements of The DIY Life built this cool clock that uses 28 micro-servo motors to move its segments into place.

The brains of the operation are an Arduino Uno controller and a DS1302 clock module to keep time. As the minutes tick away, the circuit and code instruct the servos to rotate back and forth. In the back position, it hides the segment on its side, while in the forward position, the segment is visible. By 3D printing the segments with a brightly-colored translucent green filament, they look kind of like they’re illuminated. You can see the clock in action in the video below:

If you’d like to build your own mechanical 7-segment clock, you can check out all of the details over on Instructables or on The DIY Life. You’ll need some basic electronics skills, along with access to a 3D printer.

Daisy is a tiny $29 computer for building custom musical instruments

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Coding your own musical instruments just got a lot more convenient. Music tech company Electrosmith has launched the Daisy, an open source microcomputer packed with everything you need to code your own pedals, synth, modules and instruments -- and it...