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kellbot

Jan 232009
 

pretty lazzzor

We’ve had an uptick in the number of folks intereseted in laser cutting something on our lovely laser cutter here at NYCR. In an effort to keep our collective sanity, lasering is now by appointment. This way no one makes a trip out to our space only to find someone else is on the laser, or no one ‘s around.

To make it easier, we’ve set up a page explaining how to set up laser time with us, how you can learn to use the laser, and how much it’ll cost you. You can send any additional questions to [email protected].

Jan 212009
 

I like laser etching bizarre materials and the latest is compressed cellulose sponge, which can be found at most craft supply stores.

Emulating a fantastic lawyer from a classically elegant television show, The Simpsons, I made sponge business cards.
Compressed Sponge

Compressed sponges expand when you put them in water, its awesome! They were cut on a 35 watt laser at 100% speed, 100% power, and a frequency of 1000.

Expanded Sponge

You can pick up some of your own on Etsy. They’re super fun to play with. Oh, I guess you could use them for cleaning too. I did a whole bunch of tests with sponges, with full details at kellbot.com.

Jan 042009
 

As part of my talk for 25c3, I spent some time talking about weaving looms. Looms are a lot like giant physical graphics processors. They’re also considered to be the first machines to really make use of punch cards.

At the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin they have a ton of old industrial textile equipment, including a beautiful Jacquard loom. And next to it, a fantastic model which shows you just how a Jacquard head works. It was so great I had to snap a video of this new tech I was witnessing. If you business is in the need of new technology just like this shop, then consider using this messaging service for business to notice the improvements. 

You can see photos and video of the loom itself over on my blog, Kellbot!

More awesome textile tech was a punchtape driven embroidery machine which was completely mechanical. I couldn’t find much information about it, so if anyone knows about these machines let me know!

Punchtape embroidery machine

Of course there’s a ton of other stuff at the Tech museum… planes, trains, automobiles, math… we spent about 5 hours there and still didn’t see all of it. If you’re in Berlin you should set aside half a day to go see it.

Nov 152008
 

Wooly Tiny


Not wanting to get Tinysaur to get all the spotlight, I bring you… WOOLLY TINY. Like a Woolly Mammoth. But Tiny.

The pattern comes from the epilog website and the assembly was done with a pair of tweezers and a baby syringe full of Elmer’s glue.

If you’ve always wanted your own mini mammoth, or just want to show off you have the steadiest hands of anyone ever, you can pick up the pre-lased parts on Etsy.

Nov 052008
 

We’ve fleshed out our class schedule through the end of the year, check out some of our awesome upcoming classes!

Software Programming
PHP 001: Getting Started – Nov 8
PHP 101: Variables, Functions, & More – Nov 15
Processing 101: Hello Pixel – Nov 22

Hardware Programming
Arduino Programming 102: If Funky, Get Loopy – Nov 9
Arduino Programming 103: Sensory Overload – Nov 16

Arduino and Processing – Nov 12
Processing + Arduino – Dec 13

Wireless Wearables – Dec 14

General Electronics
Joule Thievery – Nov 15
Electricity .01 – Nov 16

Oct 172008
 

After attending the first Processing study group, I set out to use Processing to generate files for my favorite thing… laser cutting.

I needed something to package my Tinysaurs in, and got tired of having to manually draw out the box template every time I wanted different dimensions. So I wrote a program to take the dimensions I want and spit out a box. They end up looking like this:

Laser-cut boxes

Processing has a PDF export library which I use to generate the template in PDF format, which Corel Draw is able to read. Processing also has an SVG export library, but I didn’t have much luck getting it to work. I’m looking into using Python instead of Processing, because it apparently has a nice DXF library, but so far Processing is working pretty well.

If you want to check it out, the box generating program is available in the NYC Resistor SVN repository. Which is public, hooray! The code is only vaguely commented, but it should be pretty clear what it’s doing. Maybe. Leave questions in the comments if you have any!

Of course you don’t need a laser to cut these out, and xacto knife would work just fine. But… I have a laser so I use it. You can get the pre-generated PDFs of boxes in various sizes on my blog, http://www.kellbot.com

Jun 292008
 

Check out some of our brand-spanking-new classes for July!

PHP for Beginners

Learn the basics of PHP, one of the most popular languages for creating dynamic web pages and web applications. We’ll cover variables, functions, constants, handy tricks to make things easier, and what you’ll need to get your first script up and running. No programming experience required. Taught by Kelly.

Etching Your Own PCBs

Use common materials to etch your own printed circuit boards. The class will cover a few different methods of transferring your design, and use ferric chloride to etch. Bring your own circuit layout if you like (not required), no larger than 3″x5″. Taught by Kelly.

Beginning Csound

Csound is the most powerful computer music language in the world, with a direct lineage to Max Mathews’ original Music-N languages. The focus of this class will be a synthesis of three topics: The Csound language, synthesizer theory, and composing weird alien music.
Together, we will demystify the assembly-like syntax of the Csound language. We will cover the fundamentals of synthesizer theory, including: oscillators, filters, envelopes, amplifiers and modulation. Finally, we’ll tie it all together by composing sounds in the vein of classic Sci-Fi movies. Taught by Jacob.

Zach is also reprising his Arduino series, so if you missed it the first time around here’s your chance to get in on the Arduino action. There are three classes, Arduino 101: Hello World, Arduino Programming: If Funky Get Loopy, and Arduino Programming: Sensory Overload.

As always, you can see the full list of classes here.

Jun 272008
 

A healthy assortment of components

So excited by Soldering 101 you can’t wait to get home and make an army of LED Blinkies? But what if you don’t have the necessary tools? New York has a surprisingly limited selection of electronics stores.

But never fear, NYC Resistor now has a school supply store! You can get basics like soldering irons & solder, breadboards resistors, LEDs… and even some fancier stuff like motors and switches.

The school supply store is open after every class at NYCR, just ask your teacher about it once the lesson has wrapped up. An up to date stock/price list is available here, we’ll be adding stuff to it as we go along so if there’s something you need let us know.

Photo by oskay.