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[clarii_d] is currently finishing up her thesis project on thermochromic pigment to silkscreen receipts. The idea behind it is that when a receipt is touched, part of it fades revealing a hidden message.

As yous tin guess, thermochromic paint is a type of substance that changes color when introduced to heat — or in this example, fades altogether. Call back when mood rings were all the rage? Aforementioned matter.

In her project she is using silkscreening to transfer text onto the back of receipt paper using regular ink. One time dried, she silkscreens an prototype over top of the message, this time using a thermochromic paint. The result is a slightly obscured paradigm, but afterward holding it for a few seconds, it disappears and only the text remains.

Color-changing anything is a bit contemporary, just we think [clarii_d's] project is a pretty cool and unique awarding of it. A few years ago we shared another interesting project utilizing thermochromism; a color-changing clock face that utilized the heat given off by resistors!

printering

Octopodes and useless plastic baubles begone. It's time withal again for some other installment of learning how to make a thing with 3D design tools. This week, we're making something with AutoCAD. It's an amazing piece of software that costs $4000per seat. Hilariously expensive for whatever home tinkerer, merely if you get to a university with an technology program, at that place'due south a estimator lab with machines running AutoCAD somewhere on campus.

Last week we took a look at making something with OpenSCAD. AutoCAD is much, much different. Where OpenSCAD is sorta, kinda like programming, AutoCAD is only a digital version of t-squares, triangles, straight edges, and people getting uppity when you don't call their drawing device a 'pb holder'.

I've cleaved this tutorial down into two parts: right now you're reading the tutorial on drawing 2D objects in AutoCAD. This weekend I'll publish the transformation of second objects into a 3D printable function. Read on for how to create a 2D object in AutoCAD.

Proceed reading "3D Printering: Making A Thing With AutoCAD, Part I"

We've seen FPGA dev boards out the wazoo—even some following the current trend of putting an FPGA and an ARM processor on a single board. Have one proficient idea and mix it in with a few one thousand thousand Linux/ARM boards already piling upwards on workbenches the earth over and you go LOGi: an FPGA designed to plug into the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone.

Both the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone versions of the LOGi feature a Spartan half dozen FPGA with 9152 logic cells, sixteen DSP Slices, 576KB of RAM, and 96 I/O Pins. There's besides 256 MB of SDRAM and a SATA connector. The Kickstarter has a few demos for this board, namely a machine vision, Bitcoin mining (though don't expect this board to make render-on-investment with mining), and an democratic vehicle control demo. The LOGi's hardware is comparable to the Papilio Pro, then potential projects may include generating NTSC video, adding a VGA out, and a few retrocomputer emulations via OpenCores.

For what this Kickstarter asks for the Pi or 'Bone version of the LOGi—$89 USD for either—y'all'll get a surprisingly capable FPGA dev board that's a bit cheaper than comparable offerings. Certain, you won't salve whatsoever money ownership a Pi and a LOGi, but if you accept a few Raspberries lying near, yous could exercise much worse for a starter FPGA board.

Cheers [hamster] for sending this one in.

fubarion-contest-christmas-morse-code

Fubarino Contest entries are starting to roll in at a faster charge per unit. If you lot're working on ane you only have a few hours left! Submissions are due before 12:00am Pacific Time! This bit of inspiration is a 2-fer. Both entries decided to use Morse Code to spell out the Hackaday URL.

First up, [Tariq] is getting into electronic pattern because his friend's viii-yr-old son [Yago] is really interested in Math and Science. The device he was working on is a little portable Morse Code message flasher (don't miss part ii). The thought is that [Yago] can behave it effectually and pretend it's a spy device containing a secret message. It might as well exist since your average Joe probably wouldn't notice the irregular flashing and if they did they wouldn't be able to decode it without some assist. The device is congenital around an ATtiny85. Normally it displays a Christmas greeting for [Yago]. Simply at the end of the cycle, or at power-up, information technology flashes the Hackaday URL at an farthermost rate. Tin anyone really decode this without putting it on a logic analyzer?

The second offering is in the form of a blinky Christmas tree. [Jim] built the Arduino-compatible ornament for the holidays. It does a neat job of flashing a bunch of different patterns, and it wasn't also much work for him to make information technology wink the URL.


This is an entry in the Fubarino Competition. Submit your entry before 12/19/13 for a chance at one of the 20 Fubarino SD boards which Microchip has put up as prizes!

analphabeticscale

[January] works with both physically and mentally disabled individuals, some of whom cannot read, making many of their tasks more hard. Although [Jan] is not in a position to teach reading or writing skills, he was able to build an add-on device for the scales used in repackaging sweets to provide uncomplicated feedback that the user tin interpret.

The device has three LEDs—red, green, and yellow—to indicate the package does not weigh enough (ruddy), weighs too much (yellowish), or lies inside an acceptable range (green). The industrial scales at [January's] workplace each accept a serial output to connect to a printer, which he used to send data to the device. An ATMega8 controls the lights and an attached LCD, with the usual trimpot to change the display's dissimilarity and a rotary encoder to adjust the device's settings. Everything fits snugly into a custom-made frosted acrylic enclosure, laser-cutting at a local hackerspace.

[January] provides a rigorous guide to approaching each step on his Instructables page, along with source code and several pictures. Run across a video overview below, so enjoy some other scale hack: building one from scratch.

Go along reading "Hacking Digital Scales For The Disabled"

paintballsmac

[Spider!]'s contribution to the pantheon of paintball markers is the SMAC: a unique revision to one of Airgun Design's ever-popular Automags. We needed our tipster, [Russell] to provide some context on the Automag'south evolution, because the brand has served every bit a popular hacking platform for about xx years. The nigh frequent is a "Pneumag" modification, which converts the original, fully-mechanical trigger pull into a version where the trigger actuates a pneumatic cylinder to fire the gun.

Co-ordinate to [Russell], the Pneumag's trigger must completely release betwixt each shot to properly recharge the firing bedchamber. Without a full release, the gun tin can load extra balls into the barrel and lead to gloppy consequences. Electronic controls solve this trouble, but [Spider!] favored an analog solution that captured a "less is more" mentality over a pre-fab microcontroller board. He built the circuit around a 556 timer used every bit a delayed re-trigger, but with a few modifications.

Swing by [Spider!]'southward forum postal service for additional details, a cluster of pictures and a bill of materials. Microcontroller alternatives? We've got you covered.

mooltipass-schematic-featured

The Hackaday writers and readers are currently working manus-in-hand on an offline password keeper, the mooltipass  (click to see the project description).

Side by side in our Developed on Hackaday serial, we present the first version of our schematics. There's already been a lot of discussions going on in our defended Google group, mainly about the project's basic functionality. Considering our firmware developers wanted to become to piece of work, we decided to send the starting time version of our hardware into production a few days agone. Earlier going through the schematics, let'due south review the required listing of the mooltipass's cadre components:

  • an easily-readable screen
  • a read-protected smart-bill of fare
  • large flash memory to store the encrypted passwords
  • an Arduino-compatible microcontroller with USB connectivity

We've been drowning in component suggestions from motivated hobbyists, so nosotros figured we'd make the mooltipass v1 as simple every bit possible and and then motility from in that location. Given this device is developed on Hackaday, we also wanted future users to modify information technology, building completely new projects based around these main components. Go on reading for our schematics…

Go on reading "Developed On Hackaday: First Version Of The Hardware"