TWANG32 – An ESP32 Port of TWANG
I ported the TWANG game over to ESP32. I wanted to do this for several reasons. Cost: The ESP32 is generally lower cost than the Arduino Mega Speed: The ESP32 has a dual core 80MHz processor vs. the...
View ArticleGame Audio for the ESP32
I have been working on some games for the ESP32 and needed some decent quality audio with a minimum number of additional components. I was bouncing between using the DAC and using the I2S bus. The...
View ArticleESP32: Step Pulse Experiments with Timers
(Edit: Also check out my better “RMT” way to send the pulse) I have been playing with the ESP32 microcontroller to see how well it would perform as a small scale CNC controller. The low cost and high...
View ArticleUsing the HC-05 Bluetooth Module
In a previous post I showed how to use the HC-06 Bluetooth module. In this post we will be using the HC-05. They are very similar, but the HC-05 has more features. The ability to be a master is the...
View ArticlePolar Pen Machine Kinematics
When you have a round work piece like a drink coaster, it makes sense to have a round work area. A round work area works best with a polar coordinate system. A polar coordinate system uses an angle...
View ArticleStep Pulse Extender – PSoC Style
The TB6600 stepper drivers I have in the X-Controller have a “Torque” feature. You set the motor current with a reference voltage and the torque feature allows you to easily switch between that...
View ArticleX-Controller-Controller (X-Controller minus controller)
I am very happy with the X-Controller. It packs everything you need to run Grbl into a clean little package. It is super easy to hook up and move between machines. With that said, I had a quite a...
View ArticleYet Another Way to do the Kinematics
Paul Kaplan, originator of the Easel project, came up with another way to do the kinematics for the Line-us Clone. My method used intersecting circles. His method uses the Law of Cosines. The Law of...
View ArticleHobby/RC Servo Control in PSoC
The PSoC family is my go to line of processors for prototyping. It is like having a breadboard full of digital and analog circuits that you can wire up on the fly. I have been doing some stuff with...
View ArticlePSoC 5 Port Of the Grbl 1.1 CNC Controller
Image from Cypress Grbl Grbl is a high performance CNC controller. It is used on a lot of small scale CNC machines and is the motion control code behind a lot of 3D printers. It was originally...
View ArticleThe Delta Router + 4th Axis
Overview Every year I make a new thing for ORD Camp. This year I made a delta router. The ORD contraptions I make, have one primary function; to spark conversation. This means they have to be...
View ArticleCamera Slider Controller Hack
I have been having fun with my camera slider controller. It is a cool, little, general purpose motion and camera controller that will soon to go on sale at Inventables. Taking a picture is very easy....
View ArticleAlibre is Now Geomagic
3D Systems recently acquired Geomagic. Several years ago they acquired Alibre. Alibre is a parametric CAD program. It appears that they are simply re-branding the existing version of Alibre as...
View ArticleIntro to V Carving
In a couple weeks we are going to do a CNC V Carving night at Pumping Station One. We hope to fabricate a number of designs on the CNC router. This blog post will serve as a basic introduction to...
View ArticleWeb Page G-code Viewer
Try this Web Page G-code Viewer I met programmer and maker, Joe Walnes, through a few local Chicago maker groups. He showed me a really cool web based G-code viewer he wrote to preview his 3D...
View ArticleGetting More Power and Cutting Accuracy Out of Your Home Built Laser System
I have developed an inexpensive control system (less than $70) that can be used to both get more cutting power out of a DC discharge laser and significantly improve cutting accuracy for home built...
View ArticleMakerSlide Camera Slider Control Program
There has been a ton of interest in camera slider applications for MakerSlide. A while ago I decided to make a very simple reference design for a motorized slider. This design only required...
View ArticleMach3 Via VNC?
A guy I met at WorkShop 88 is putting together a Maker Faire like event through the local ASME group. It is called the “AMSE Open Source Microcontroller Workshop“. He wants to get a bunch of local...
View ArticleUsing a ShuttlePro as a Laser Pendant
I have been using a ShuttlePro as a pendant for years on my router. A pendant is basically a hand held remote control for your CNC. It allows you to control a set of functions right at the machine....
View ArticleUsing Vectric Cut2D With A Laser
Cut2D is 2D CAM program from Vectric. It is designed to quickly and easily import DXF plus several other vector formats and create G Code for CNC cutting. It is primarily designed for traditional...
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