Author Archives: mechatronicsguy

I recently came across these fascinating old Roman artefacts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_dodecahedron Several hundred of them have been found, all around Europe, and what the purpose of them is is considered a mystery. Some things to note about the dodecahedra: They all … Continue reading →

Like most people, I’m stuck at home right now. Trapped, in an environment which is under my full control, and I’m surrounded by my books and technical resources, and free to do whatever I choose, whenever I choose. Which, it … Continue reading →

So, masks have been in the news a lot recently for some strange reason. Probably most interesting; in the Czech Republic masks were made mandatory, but as there wasn’t enough existing masks in the supply chain, people had to create … Continue reading →

This is a lasercut version of the Bessel Functions, as a handy desk ornament: The helical diffraction theory, (and hence the Bessel functions) were the major key to solving the structure of DNA. In 1952 (well before the DNA structure … Continue reading →

Here’s a project I made almost accidentally on the way to a later design. I’ve wanted to make my own watch for a while now. It’d allow me to pick and choose all the features I really want, and it’s … Continue reading →

This is the ‘Confuse-O-Scope’, a device which allows you to enjoy all the fun of having mis-aligned RGB in real life! Guaranteed to cause both confusion and irritation in anyone that’s worked in TV, printing or theatre lighting! It uses … Continue reading →

This is a quick project I made to explore dichroic filters. I just love the colours that can be produced, and wanted a way to display it easily. In the last few years, these dichroic cubes have appeared on eBay. They’re used … Continue reading →

I recently saw this amazing idea from Darren Schwenke on Hackaday.io: https://hackaday.io/project/164732-mprt-modified-planetary-robotics-transmission Which is (so far as I know) a brand new type of gearbox, inspired by a well known concept called a  “Harmonic-Drive“. Harmonic drives have been around for … Continue reading →

This is a quick and dirty way to get a whole bunch (up to 17) small stepper motors working off a single arduino, with no extra circuitry whatsoever. Why would you want to do that? Maybe you want to make … Continue reading →

Unintentionally I’m going to continue my tradition of making projects involving rulers. I saw this picture online: https://imgur.com/t/aiko/mu96ohu and I thought it was too cute a technique not to try out for myself. I did a couple of minutes sketching in … Continue reading →