Dec 192018
 
Making a fairly simple bike dashcam with Raspberry Pi – “Live project blog” pt4

In part 3 the hardware and software were all working and attached temporarily to the bike. So now it was time to have a quick test ride up and down the street. Having shot some trial footage, I realised immediately that I needed to change the angle to point the camera down more. Once that was done by shoving a piece of foam in between the saddlebag and Pi (at the top) it became usable. The 4.2″ screen is a decent size and is easy to see while riding. You can clearly see what’s behind […more…]

May 182018
 
Dremel Table Saw Trimming RasPiO GPIO Rulers

In HackSpace Magazine issue 5, I wrote an article on how to “Make a Dremel Table Saw” This week I took delivery of a new batch of RasPiO GPIO Rulers and in QC checking these, I found that they needed a little bit more processing before release. There was a little ‘spike’ in one corner of pretty much all of them, so this needed removing before these could be shipped. I decided this would be an ideal opportunity to make a video of the Dremel Table Saw in action, so here it is. Enjoy… If […more…]

Feb 262018
 
How to tap a thread in acrylic Perspex, Lucite, Plexiglass using your cordless drill driver

I recently bought a laser cutter (running on a Pi) and started working with acrylic (Perspex). I’ve sawn, routed and drilled Perspex before. It machines beautifully as long as you’re not too ‘greedy’ with your cuts (and if you’re too greedy, it cracks). In exploring the material, I wanted to investigate thread tapping as I’d heard it was possible and it opens up new design options. So I watched a few videos about thread tapping. Some people use a CNC machine on an industrial scale, but others use a small hand tapping set in the […more…]

Feb 192018
 
Run a K40 Laser Cutter from Your Raspberry Pi with K40 Whisperer

I bought a Chinese K40-style laser cutter about three weeks ago and I’ve been spending quite a bit of time playing with it learning how best to use it. It’s an eminently hackable design, and while mine could cut 3mm acrylic OK ‘straight out of the box’, there are many things that can be done to make it better, easier to use and more user-friendly. I’ve had great fun doing a whole host of upgrades and improvements to it, but that’s not what I’m focusing on today. Last week, Les Pounder published a blog article […more…]

Jan 082018
 
Cutting Female Pin Headers with a Hacked Together Dremel Jig

I have an occasional need for 13-way female headers. Actually they are a component in both the RasPiO 7-seg kit and the RasPiO Breakout. But 13-way headers are not as easy to get hold of as other sizes, e.g. 15-way, unless you want to order eleventy-billion of them imported directly from China. If you only want a couple of hundred or less, it’s better to buy 15-way and cut them down to size. It’s certainly quicker if that’s what you already have in stock. It’s rather an unpleasant job, but to do it well with […more…]