Non-contact technology? No problem! | DefProc Engineering
Now more than ever, we need non-contact technology. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies everywhere to reconsider the ways we interact with the world around us. Over the years, [...]
October 2021
January 2019
Decoding Nerf Laser Ops
Every so often, I try to do some short projects that don't take too long, but let me learn something new. When the new Nerf Laser Ops range [...]
March 2017
Sensing Nerf Darts
If you're going to build a foam dart range, then at some point you're going to have to build a some kind of sensor to be able to [...]
September 2013
Shrimp-on-a-Shield
I've been describing Arduinos as a "gateway microcontroller" a lot while introducing them to new users. They're great to get started with, you build your first project include [...]
February 2013
Laser-Cut Elastic-Clipped Comb-Joints
During a makerday, I saw a someone struggling to put together a Raspberry Pi box that they'd laser cut, and were trying to hold together: two pieces [...]
January 2013
Second Lattice Hinge Samples
As part of my first week as the new Technician-in-Residence at DoES Liverpool I've found time to photograph the acrylic test samples. From the earlier posts, this second [...]
November 2012
Lattice Hinge Design — Choosing Torsional Stress
The first set of lattice hinge tests I generated were a little fragile, with the maximum stress in the torsional links set to be 60MPa (the yield stress [...]
Lattice Hinge Design — Minimum Bend Radius
The last set of hinge tests that I showed used a cut out a rectangle of material to form the links. By re-arranging a formula that calculates the [...]
June 2012
Go Technical Innovation
The 24 Heures du Mans (Le Mans 24 Hours) traditionally has a garage reserved for a vehicle that doesn't fit the current rules. Though the car [...]
April 2010
The Golden Rule of Trike Design
My investigation into the "golden rule of tricycle design" (having 66% of the weight on the front axle and 33% on the rear) showed that this was more restrictive than necessary, and that following a set of three design guidelines would better and allow greater innovation.