Programming station
By Andrew Gregory. Posted
The more ideas we have, the more stuff we buy to test those ideas. So far, so good. But when shiny new toys arrive and we don’t use them immediately, they begin the process of transmutation into junk. A useful component that never gets used is junk. A tool for a job that you never do is junk. And a component or tool that you can’t find instantly becomes junk – it’s just taking up space, somewhere, with the even worse second-order effect that it makes your workspace smaller and less useful, and thus makes everything else harder to use. Oh no!
Program a robot arm, with Raspberry Pi and Python code
Fighting against this cycle of doom is Reddit user and electronics tinkerer Wake-Of-Chaos. They’ve been learning electronics with microcontrollers, and decided that there must be a better way than keeping all your components in the bottom of a shoebox. And so they’ve come up with this portable system that integrates breadboards, storage, and power supply.
The shell is the unused case of a power tool, with some of the ribs cut out to make space. There’s a 5V and 12V power supply, and a battery power supply. Switching options include two momentary push-button switches, a toggle switch, and a 10kΩ potentiometer, with breadboards and everything else held in place with 3D printed brackets. Just be careful when you’re taking it through airline security…
Features Editor Andrew trawls the internet for Cool Stuff while keeping the magazine running smoothly.
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