Mearm Gets Supersized For A Super Secret Project
Had a really strange phone call and did the thing I’m trying to do less of, I said “yes”. Frankly it would have been silly to say no. The result is that I’ve just spent two days dusk till dawn hacking together a #meArm Grande. It only moves back and fowards as the axial rotation wasn’t needed. It was packaged up yesterday and sent off for testing. The results of which I eagerly await!
Should it pass I’ll be getting some feedback and building two more polished versions on a similarly tight deadline.
Fingers crossed!
Files of course are up. Open is everything for the #meArm project.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:404062
Read moreMearm Update 3d Printed Version Spotted In Poland
The twitter #meArm vanity search is working well for keeping track of what’s happening with the #meArm around the world. The latest wild arm has been built in Poland by the mepi.pl team. It took them about half a day to print the #meArm, compared to about 21 minutes on a 40W laser cutter on a summer’s day. They built it pretty fast after the print and seem to have some plans to build “an app for that” which is another exciting development.
Check out their video and the funky colours
Welcome to the project guys!
Read moreMearm Update Now Available In Peru
Famed for Machu Picchu, lamas and roasted rodents on sticks Peru isn’t the first place you think of for open hardware. However through a quick vanity search on twitter we’ve discovered a rather excellent Peruvian website selling our super #meArm under the open hardware licence.
Kool Mechatronics are cutting and etching what looks to be the v0.3 of the MeArm and selling it on the OpenHardware.pe website. It’s really fantastic to see the project spreading around the world like this. I’d like to thank the website and Kool Mechatronics for supplying all of the license information and links to our site so people can get involved with the #meArm project.
So if you’re in South American and you’re looking for a robot arm please check out their site!
Also love their addendum
“Important
Note that is a model of precision and delicate, it is the user management and make adjustments as necessary to complete the project in all packages some acrylic pieces of the most critical parts are included. Checks and always respects the characteristics and diameter of the screws find these installation instructions, however, note that the instructions may be for a previous version to the received, there is usually not much difference, but remember is a project Open Hardware, you are responsible to keep the production line.”
Read moreMake. Hack. Do at the Science Museum, London.
At the beginning of this month I had a great opportunity to run a workshop at the stupendous Science Museum in London. Admittedly this was my first time to the museum that I can remember. School always favoured the Natural History Museum next door, because dinosaurs. I could write another blog on my my love of the Natural History Museum, it was a really special pleasure to walk past it on my way to work for five days.
It’s a beautiful building that still gives me chills thinking about its contents and my childhood geeky wonderment.
The Science Museum was going to have to be pretty special to compete and oh my gosh it really is special. As I was there to work I wasn’t able to enjoy the exhibits quite as much as I would have liked but it was something quite special to walk past items like Stevenson’s Rocket, a Rolls Royce Merlin Engine and a full sized Lockheed Electra airliner as I meandered my way to the Make. Hack. Do event.
Make. Hack. Do was set out to allow people to create electronic instruments from vegetables, build and program robots and get hands-on with 3D printing in a free festival. Where participants could design, hack and program in a series of workshops and meet the artists and inventors using electronics and 3D printing in innovative ways. It opened with a “Lates” event where grown ups with beer came along to find out what we were up to. It was a great way to start the festival as it was possible to test my plans of how to run the workshops, with an understanding, relaxed yet enthusiastic crowd.
The next four days were advertised as suitable for ages 10 and above, in reality as long as a child was able to be attentive and hold a screwdriver they got to build robots! One lad came over and told me he was only five but he was “very good” and proceeded to build his claw faster and better than a group of 12 year olds that built along with him! Other workshops and activities included exploring creative uses of electronics and 3D printing, creating colourful 3D printed sculptures, helping stitch a tapestry made of electronic thread and sculpting circuits with special electronic playdough. It’s possible we’ll be copying the squishy circuits workshop locally in August.
It was quite incredible to be among some fantastic artists and inventors from across the UK at Make.Hack.Do demonstrating how electronics and 3D printing can be used for art and music. Musical objects hacked together by Royal College of Art students were on show and along with some intricate 3D printed art by Tobias Klein. LiveCodeLab showed how anyone can create live music using computer coding and Ototo turned furniture, toys and even vegetables into musical instruments using electronics.
One of the many highlights of the festival was meeting this young man and his father who were visiting from Switzerland. In the last week he’d downloaded the files of our #meArm robot arm and cut his own from balsa wood using a CNC milling machine. He had me sign a flier! It was fantastic meeting someone who had built their own arm, one of the many reasons we support open hardware. I think he wrote this in the guest book too. Really made my day!
The festival was supported by Airbus Group, Renishaw, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the University of Nottingham. Two of whom supported my PhD, so extra thanks to EPSRC and the University of Nottingham. There are thanks for all of the organisers and volunteers. It was really well run and I was even able to take a break for lunch, that’s really special in an event like this!
Overall it was an amazing five days and a spectacular event in a world class venue. It was great to be a part of it.
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