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hsmag.cc April 2020 Issue #29

FIGHTING
ROBOTS Arduinos
We test out Display
Testing els
a self-build kit

NeoPix
Recycliontgs
GAMES plant p
CONTROLLER Raspbesrry
Get your games
interacting with
Pi skill
the real world

BETTER
3D PRINTS
's
Top tips for perfect

e
M s n prints (almost)
every time

Shed Pick the right tools

Charlie Bethel
on tea, wellbeing
and why your
Master the materials AUTOMATIC
shed needs you

Build something useful

HEATING
Keep your
workshop at the
right temperature
Apr.2020
Issue #29 £6

PLAYING CARDS BUNNIES LITHOPHANES MUSIC

 WELCOME

EDITORIAL
Editor
Ben Everard

Welcome to
[email protected]

Features Editor
Andrew Gregory

HackSpace magazine
[email protected]

Sub-Editors
David Higgs, Nicola King

I’m not very good at woodwork. I just kind of muddle through, DESIGN
Critical Media
which is fine when you don’t have to make anything too criticalmedia.co.uk

strong. However, I really like the look of well-made wooden Head of Design
Lee Allen
items, and would love to have a few more personalised bits Designers
around the home. I don’t feel the need to throw myself into Sam Ribbits, Harriet Knight,
Ty Logan
fine woodworking (much as I envy those with these skills), but Photography
build well enough to show off the look of this natural material. Brian O’Halloran, Paul Carroll

This month we’re looking at helping people like me who want CONTRIBUTORS
Lucy Rogers, Drew Fustini,
to take the step beyond ‘bodging it together’, and start making Jo Hinchliffe, Norman Pirollo,
Daren Tarbard, Mayank Sharma,
things that look good. I’m looking forward to putting these Andrew Lewis, Glenn Horan,
skills to good use in the coming months. Now I think of it, it’s PJ Evans, Gareth Branwyn, Les
Pounder, Marc de Vinck
the perfect time to start work on some garden furniture – it
PUBLISHING
should be ready by the time the weather warms up. Publishing Director
Russell Barnes
Of course, we haven’t abandoned the electrons this issue, and [email protected]

we’ve got a great range of digital making, including fighting Advertising

Charlie Milligan
robots (page 128), 3D printing (page 92), and possibly the most [email protected]

illuminating bin in the world (page 52). Whatever form of DISTRIBUTION

making you enjoy, we’ve got something for you. Turn the page Seymour Distribution Ltd
2 East Poultry Ave,
for your monthly dose of inspiration, skills, and reviews. London EC1A 9PT
+44 (0)207 429 4000

BEN EVERARD SUBSCRIPTIONS

Editor [email protected] Unit 6, The Enterprise Centre,
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Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9PE
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GET IN TOUCH
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licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-
SA 3.0). ISSN: 2515-5148.

3
Contents 126
06 SPARK 33 LENS
06 Top Projects 34 Make with wood
Smart things, made by smart people Get started with the tools and the materials of woodwork

16 Objet 3d’art 52 How I Made: BinDayCator

Save the trees – make guitars from plastic instead Our favourite IoT computer-to-human interface yet

18 Cool build: paper plane 58 In the workshop: Lithophanes

The end-of-level boss of paper planes Shine a light through 3D-printed plastic

22 Columns 62 Interview: Men’s Sheds

How to replace (most of) your toolbox with a phone We chat well-being, making, and looking after yourself

24 Letters 70 Improviser’s Toolbox Playing cards

Schrödinger’s Python: both compiled and interpreted Mystical divination tool or maker material? You decide!

26 Kickstarting 74 NeoPixel voltages

Orange Crab: an FPGA in a Feather form factor Breaking all the rules with a multimeter

28 Hackspace Dundee Makerspace

Making in the home of jute, jam, and journalism
Tutorial
School of making:
Cover Feature Dividing

Make with

Take your first steps

82 The power of maths compels
you to work out correct angles

down the rabbit hole

of woodworking

34 26
4
 CONTENTS

122
Direct from Shenzhen
Endoscope 18
Interview
Charlie Bethel

128

114 Slip inside the eye of your

mind an electronics enclosure

77 FORGE 62 Why making is the therapy

that dare not speak its name
78 SoM CircuitPython
Add a text output to a CircuitPython device

82

SoM Dividing
It’s easy with a calculator; harder on a lathe 113 FIELD TEST 06
88 SoM LED displays 114 Direct from Shenzhen Endoscope
Make your build more informative with a screen Look into nooks and crannies with a 0.3 megapixel scope

92 Tutorial Maker tips 116 Best of Breed

Weird and wonderful ways to improve your prints The best cases to protect your Raspberry Pi

96 Tutorial Shed heater 122 Can I Hack It?

Build a thermostat IoT heating system Glory in the nostalgia as we hack an Xbox 360 controller

100 Tutorial 3D printing 124 Review Pimoroni Fan SHIM

Design and print a herb garden. Aslan is coming! Cool the molten core of your Raspberry Pi 4

106 Tutorial Air quality monitor 126 Review Kitronik :MOVE mini MK2
Use open data to protect your soft, pink lungs Accessible robotics on a micro:bit

110 Tutorial Level shifters 128 Review Totem Mini Trooper

Help different devices speak the same voltages A fighting robot kit to build at home

Some of the tools and techniques shown in HackSpace Magazine are dangerous unless used with skill, experience and appropriate personal protection equipment. While we attempt to guide the reader, ultimately you
are responsible for your own safety and understanding the limits of yourself and your equipment. HackSpace Magazine is intended for an adult audience and some projects may be dangerous for children. Raspberry
Pi (Trading) Ltd does not accept responsibility for any injuries, damage to equipment, or costs incurred from projects, tutorials or suggestions in HackSpace Magazine. Laws and regulations covering many of the topics
in HackSpace Magazine are different between countries, and are always subject to change. You are responsible for understanding the requirements in your jurisdiction and ensuring that you comply with them. Some
manufacturers place limits on the use of their hardware which some projects or suggestions in HackSpace Magazine may go beyond. It is your responsibility to understand the manufacturer’s limits.

5
Top Projects

REGULAR

6
 SPARK

Cassette scroller
By Martin Mander Kyliemander.com

M
artin Mander, aka Old Tech. New Spec, gives
life to obsolete technologies, usually by
sticking a computer in them and connecting
them to the internet. In this example of the
upcycler’s craft, he’s turned a cassette (an ancient,
rubbish way of recording music) into an IoT
notification reader.
The thing is powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero W powered by a
150mAh LiPo battery via a Pimoroni LiPo SHIM. There’s an Adafruit
Micro-Lipo in there to make recharging possible, and notifications
are displayed on an 11×7 LED matrix.
Software-wise, Martin’s used the IFTTT service to grab updates
from the internet, and Adafruit IO and a bit of Python to make
the notifications appear on the screen. It’s a simple project,
masterfully done.

Left
Finally! A use for
our obsolete Now
That’s What I Call
Music… collection

7
Top Projects

REGULAR

Charliewatch
By Trammell Hudson hsmag.cc/d1odGi

I
n the rush to digitisation, we’ve lost something
immediate about analogue interfaces. Numbers
need a moment to parse, dials have to be read and
understood, rather than just glanced at. That’s not so
with Trammell Hudson’s Charliewatch, based on Travis
Goodspeed’s GoodWatch21 schematic. It uses 72 surface
mount LEDs to tell the time, just like an analogue clock-face. It’s
so simple, we feel a bit silly explaining it: you can clearly see that it
has 60 LEDs instead of a minute hand, and twelve LEDs to denote
the hour hand. And the name? That comes from Charlieplexing,
which is how the LEDs are chained together.

Right
After a year of use,
the Charliewatch
has consumed two
CR2032 batteries

Credit
CC-BY Trammell Hudson

8
SPARK

9
Top Projects

REGULAR

Computer bugs
By Julie Alice Chappell hsmag.cc/qT0TUk

M
y love of nature and art coincide in my tiny
sculptures which I call, ‘Computer Bugs’. I find
art to be a free-flowing and abstract way in which
to consider the natural world.
Insects are the main subject of my work, but
also the genius of humankind’s technological
advances as seen in the ever-increasing leaps forward in computer
technology. The downside to this technology is capitalism’s
insistence in profits over limited resources, resulting in ‘planned
obsolescence’. Combining biology and computer technology as
sculptural artworks gives me a perfect way in which to express
my concerns about the problems of ever-increasing mountains of
e-waste, and its effects on the natural world, especially at ground
level where the waste is dumped.
The materials I use are obsolete computer gadget components. I
find these objects to be perfect, precise, and beautiful, with all their
intricate design and shimmering colours yet they are never meant
to be seen by human eyes, hidden inside metal casings until they
become obsolete, to be replaced by the newest technology. I like
to create my pieces so that the components can be recognised, but
as these objects are transformed into artworks, they become purely
aesthetic with a total loss of their former functionality.
I am inspired by artists Leonardo Ulian and Franco Recchia. Ulian
solders colourful electronic components to create ethereal looking
mandalas, giving a sense of spirituality to electronics, almost as
though to suggest a modern-day worship of computer technology.
Recchia creates stunning cities from circuit boards and the inner
components, and metal casings found inside old computers.
Both of these artists use the materials that I use and for many of
the same reasons, but with entirely different results. It is exciting to
see the creativity of other artists who see and admire what I see in
these unusual art materials.

10
 SPARK

Left
These are one set
of computer bugs
that we enjoy

11
Top Projects

REGULAR

12
 SPARK

Paper lanterns
By Vasili Lights hsmag.cc/1evYAZ

V
asili Lights is an art and design brand by
architect couple, Lidiya Koloyarskaya and Vasili
Popov. We co-founded our Amsterdam-based
design studio parallel to the architectural practice,
because now and then, we want to take a break
from the built environment, and turn our attention to
designing smaller items.
Making things by hand gives you a feeling. The one that
makes you calm, concentrate, and feel proud that you are
making something.
We want to share this feeling with creative people by supplying
our designs in the form of pre-cut paper templates, and step-by-step
illustrated instructions.
In this way, we enable them to make things – to turn a flat sheet
of paper into a beautiful 3D light, capable of bringing an ambient
mood at home.

Right
Paper craft can
be as simple or
as complicated
as you like

13
Top Projects

REGULAR

Rotary Phone
By Justine Haupt skysedge.us

S
martphones are objectively horrible devices.
They constantly demand attention, intruding into our
thoughts and emotions with their endless beeps
and bleeps. Unfortunately, once you have Google
Authenticator on there for your work email and
WhatsApp to keep in touch with family, you’re hooked.
However much you hate it, you’re always carrying it around.
Unless you’re engineer Justine Haupt that is. Justine, like us,
hates the smartphone, but she’s actually done something about
it, creating this pocket-sized rotary phone from scratch to create a
distraction-free, fully functional device.
“Why a rotary cellphone?”, says Justine. “Because in a finicky,
annoying, touchscreen world of hyperconnected people using
phones they have no control over or understanding of, I wanted
something that would be entirely mine, personal, and absolutely
tactile, while also giving me an excuse for not texting. “
“If I want to call my husband, I can do so by pressing a single
dedicated physical key which is dedicated to him. No menus. The
point isn’t to use the rotary dial every single time I want to make a
call, which would get tiresome for daily use. The people I call most
often are stored, and if I have to dial a new number or do something
like set the volume, then I can use the fun and satisfying-to-use
rotary dial.”

Right
A low-power
consumption
e-paper display
(on the back of the
phone) shows
relevant
information, such
as the most recent
missed call

14
SPARK

15
Objet 3d’art

REGULAR

Objet 3d’art
3D-printed artwork to bring more beauty into your life

S
ince Sir Les Paul attached
strings to a lump of 4×4 pine,
innovators have been finding
new ways to make electric
guitars. We’ve seen carbon
fibre, recycled plastic, graphite, softwoods
like cedar and pine, and hardwoods such
as maple and mahogany. Despite that,
we’ve never seen a 3D-printed bass guitar,
until now.
This object is the creation of Kenny
Verhoeven-Rappa, a maker and designer
from the Netherlands (you’ll find more of
his stuff here: hsmag.cc/wLONKU). An
earlier version was entirely 3D-printed, but
couldn’t withstand the tension of the
strings when tightened; Kenny’s got around
this problem by using a Yamaha neck. You’ll
be pleased to know that it works – Kenny
plays all sorts on it, “from pop covers to
heavy metal, and from small orchestra
arrangements in a band, to improv pieces
that just brighten the mood.”

16
SPARK

17
Paper plane

FEATURE

18
 SPARK

Paper plane
We’ve all made one… just not like this

E
veryone who has ever been bored has, at some
point, made a paper aeroplane. Bizarrely, as
powered flight was only invented a few generations
ago, it seems to be in our DNA. But one intrepid
maker has taken the instinctive art of paper folding
and elevated it to a level far beyond what we, as
bored school kids, would ever have dreamed possible. His name is
Luca Ionica-Stewart, and he’s a UX designer.
Luca started this project in 2008 as part of a school assignment.
Since then he’s been adding, removing, rebuilding, and refining the
build until it reached the state you see here – and he’s still not
finished. Notably, there are no wings, traditionally an essential part
of an aeroplane. These are still in production. Luca estimates there’s
a couple of years’ work until he’s happy with them, but as they
contain thousands of parts and have many, many articulating parts,
it’s a long process to get them right.
The toolkit is as minimal as it gets: two thicknesses of Manila
paper, glue, a cutting board, metal ruler, and a sharp knife are all
Luca’s allowed himself. Even a laser cutter is off-limits, as the cut
paper edges need to be cleaner than a burning laser can provide.
He works from photos and videos culled from the internet, or,
where possible, technical drawings. Then the hard part begins:
figuring out a way to turn a 3D part into a 2D slice that can be cut
out, glued, rolled up, and assembled. With cheap tools, cheap
materials, an endlessly patient nature, and impressive technical
skills, anyone can make their own 1:60 scale aeroplane. What’s
stopping you?

19
Paper plane

FEATURE

Below
Luca recently got to
fly on the plane that
this is based on: a
Boeing 777-300ER

20
 SPARK

Below
Catch up with Luca’s
progress here
hsmag.cc/yhkPbe

Left
The landing gear
retracts, complete
with paper tyres,
paper steering,
and paper dampers
as part of the paper
suspension

21
Lucy Rogers

COLUMN SPARK

Mobile multitool
Every tool’s (not) a hammer

W
e have probably all panic button or a hands-free trigger, such
seen the photo of as a tether that just needs to be pulled
what a smartphone from the headphone jack, so a request for
replaces, compared help can be sent without having to
to 1980s technology unlock the phone.
– stills camera, Something else I’d not come across,
video camera, audio recorder, calendar, and not something I need but I can see
diary, phone, TV, radio, etc. their advantage when having a lot of
But I had never really thought about it tools on-site, is Bluetooth-enabled power
replacing items in my tool-box. Until I tools. The Bluetooth is used for
saw people tweeting about a multimeter monitoring where each tool is on-site
Lucy Rogers that you could plug into a smartphone and how much battery life is left. Some
– and then the better idea (especially if even support wireless charging.
@DrLucyRogers you’re measuring high voltages etc.): a You can also get items that
Bluetooth multimeter. We all carry our either plug into your phone, or that
Lucy is a maker, an engineer, phones around with us, so why not let it wirelessly connect:
and a problem-solver. She is be the brain of our tools?
adept at bringing ideas to life. When I first got an iPhone, I was • Thermal imaging/infrared sensors
She is one of the cheerleaders mesmerised by the spirit-level, ruler, and • Moisture and humidity meters
for the maker industry, and is compass apps – although back in those • Inspection scopes
Maker-in-Chief for the Guild early days I did struggle with actually • Stud finders
of Makers: guildofmakers.org getting the compass to point in the • Clamp and infrared thermometers
correct direction. However, I have never • Thermal and vane anemometers
used them instead of ‘analogue’ tools. It • Laser distance measurers
never crossed my mind until after I’d got • Differential pressure meters
a spirit-level out that I could have used
the phone. You can also use your phone to measure
But now my interest has been piqued, – up to certain limits – audio power or
I’ve started investigating phone tools (it’s noise levels, vibration, and magnetic flux.
quite difficult to search online for – the Then there are augmented reality apps
results include a lot of tool-kits for that calculate slope, distance, and height.
dismantling a phone). And of course, there’s always the torch!
Probably one of the most useful is the Combined with all these, you can get
‘lone worker’ or ‘man down’ safety phones and cases that are waterproof
monitoring application that allows and even MIL-spec rugged – so they can
employees (and I assume friends/family) withstand drops, and extremes in
to quickly request aid when working on temperature and barometric pressure.
their own, and no one else is around to Still, I doubt it will ever replace
call for help. Some of these include a my hammer.

22
Drew Fustini

COLUMN SPARK

From the PDP-7

to your pocket
How UNIX took over the world

L
ast time I was in Seattle, I to write instructions in assembly code,
took a trip to the amazing put it onto punch cards, then hand those
Living Computers Museum cards to the computer operator to input
to see a restored PDP-7, the when the next batch processing slot was
iconic minicomputer from available. Depending on how busy the
the mid-sixties that my machine was, this could take hours, days,
Twitter handle pays homage to. Only five or even weeks. Bell Labs was part of an
are known to have survived over the years, ambitious project named Multics that
of which two are functional. The one I went aimed to create a time‑sharing operating
to visit at the Living Computers Museum system that could handle multiple users
has been restored to do something at once.
Drew Fustini extremely special: run UNIX Version 0.
Fifty years after Version 0, UNIX is
Bell Labs eventually deemed Multics
a failure, which left Thompson and the
@pdp7 everywhere. It is the rest of the team
root of the family without direction or,

Drew Fustini is a hardware

tree that gave us Only five are known to crucially, a computer.
macOS, Linux, and Undeterred, they
designer and embedded Linux
the operating system
have survived over the found an unused
developer. He is the Vice
President of the Open Source
for every single years, of which two PDP-7 in another
iPhone and Android department, who
Hardware Association, and a are functional
device. The impact were persuaded to
board member of the
UNIX has had on loan it out. In 1969,
BeagleBoard.org Foundation.
modern computing Thompson’s family
Drew designs circuit boards for
is impossible to overstate, and it all started went on a three-week vacation while he
OSH Park, a PCB manufacturing
with one borrowed PDP-7 at Bell Labs. wrote an assembler, a file editor, and a
service, and maintains the Adafruit
Bell Labs was the research division of kernel for the borrowed PDP-7. By the time
BeagleBone Python library.
AT&T, the only phone company in the USA his family returned, Thompson had created
at the time. AT&T’s monopoly meant that a multi-user time-sharing operating system:
Bell Labs had plenty of money for research, UNIX Version 0.
leading to inventions including the transistor, There is so much more to this story:
the laser, and the photovoltaic cell. It was the creation of the C programming
in this culture of innovation that a small language, the beginning of the free
team of computer scientists, including software movement, and the adventures of
Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, were Thompson’s pet crocodile. I’d recommend
attempting to solve the big computing the Command Line Heroes podcast
problem of the day: time-sharing. (hsmag.cc/PfhNL0), or you can make the
In those days, if you wanted a trip over to the Living Computers Museum
computer to solve a problem, you had and see it for yourself!

23
Letters

REGULAR

Letters ATTENTION
ALL MAKERS!
If you have something you’d
like to get off your chest (or
even throw a word of praise
in our direction) let us know at
hsmag.cc/hello

A BIT SLIPPERY
As always, I am loving my current issue of HackSpace
magazine. But I ran across a minor issue that might
confuse readers. It could, at least, use a little deeper
explanation from the author.
On page 23 in 'Python on hardware', Drew Fustini says
that Python is an interpreted language and is not
compiled. But Python IS compiled. It compiles just
before it runs. It compiles into binary bytecodes that
execute in a simulated processor (very much like Java).
This is true even for MicroPython.
The author probably meant that Python doesn't
compile into 'native' binary that runs directly on Below
Python seems to
the processor.
be everywhere
Why is the distinction important? This binary these days
compiled bytecode is much, much faster than a pure
interpreter would be. And the binary compiled-code is
kept on the device for the next execution (the compiler
only runs once).
Thanks again for your magazine!

Christopher

Ben says: Is Python compiled or interpreted? In

truth, it doesn't really fit into either category very
well. From the user's perspective, it runs
exactly as you would expect an interpreted
language to work. You change the code, then it's
one step to run it. From the computer's
perspective, it runs more like a compiled
language – the computer doesn't care that the
compiler and virtual machine are controlled by the
same command or action. We call Python interpreted
because that's how it appears to the user, but if you
progress with the language, it's useful to remember that
this is really a little white lie.

24
 SPARK

Left
What can you make
that goes beyond the
everyday?

Below
The data doesn’t lie.
Perimeters have a
better strength to
weight ratio than infill

BARREL OF LAUGHS
I loved seeing Josh Kroger’s whisky
barrel PC in issue 28. I’m a firm believer
in the fact that we should surround
ourselves with beautiful objects. Too long
have beige boxes dominated the office.
Yes, it might take a bit longer and be a bit
more expensive to make something this
eye-catching, but it’ll be in your eyeline
for years (decades maybe if you continue
to upgrade it), so why not spend a little
time and money turning it into an object
of art?!
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Keith I’ve been dutifully adding infill when I needed stronger
Norwich 3D-printed parts – turns out I might have been wasting
filament. It was good to see you experimenting with
Ben says: We couldn’t agree more. In a different options for making stronger prints – I’ll start
world of the ordinary, we stand shoulder adding more perimeters now!
to shoulder with people who believe in
the extraordinary. Everyone should have Paul
things that make them smile, and a New York
fantastic way of doing this is rolling up
your sleeves and making it yourself. Ben says: Infill is but one tool in the 3D printer’s
Josh’s PC is a great example of this, and armoury. It helps, but there are plenty more things we
we encourage everyone to have a think can do to strengthen our prints. Stay tuned for the next
about the objects they surround few issues, as we’ll be experimenting with more options
themselves with and think about whether to see if we can find even better ways of making our
they are as beautiful as they could be. If prints strong.
not, well, you know what to do.

25
Crowdfunding now

REGULAR

CROWDFUNDING
NOW
Orange Crab
Feather meets FPGA

Around $99 hackster.io/launch

Above
With an SD
card slot, you
can add as
much storage
as you like

26
 BUYER
BEWARE !
When backing a crowdfunding
campaign, you are not purchasing
a finished product, but supporting
a project working on something
new. There is a very real chance
that the product will never ship
and you’ll lose your money. It’s
a great way to support projects
you like and get some cheap
hardware in the process, but if
you use it purely as a chance to
snag cheap stuff, you may find
that you get burned.

F
ield Programmable Gate Arrays have that they manipulate the data in the right way, rather
been around for a while, but it’s only in than building a processing core that runs a program.
the last couple of years that they’ve That’s FPGAs but what makes the Orange Crab, in
become accessible to makers. The particular, special? Well, it’s in the Feather form factor
technology is a bit complex to get your which means there’s loads of add-on hardware
head around if you’re used to regular programmable already available; it comes with a whopping 128Mb of
electronics, like microcontrollers or computers. But in DDR 3 memory, 128Mb QSPI flash, and variants
essence, they’re a bit like those old electronics sets supporting the Lattice ECP5 25, 45, and 85. To help
where you got a lot of electrical components on a you get started, there’s a repository of example code
board and could arrange the wires to make different at hsmag.cc/mvQWwW.
projects. You could think of the locations of the wires For fans of all things open, the Orange Crab is
a bit like a program that you upload by placing wires. open-source hardware, and is programmable with an
FPGAs do a similar thing, but on a much, much larger open-source toolchain.
scale. They contain logic units that you can upload a At the time of going to press, the final price was
program to that dictates how they’re all connected. yet to be decided, but looked likely to be around $99.
This flexible nature means that you can do a lot of If you’re looking to get into FPGA development, this
different things with them, such as trying out could be an excellent choice. 
different CPU cores (e.g. the open-source RISC-V).
FPGAs are also well-suited to processing large
amounts of data, because everything doesn’t have to
go via one single CPU. You can connect Left
the logic units in such a way The Feather form
factor is compact,
but still leaves
enough room to
squash in quite a
lot of features

27
Space of the month

REGULAR

Space of the month:

Dundee Makerspace

D
undee Makerspace started in 2014,
and was founded by software
engineers who wanted a place to
play with electronics and practice
coding together – things have
changed since then!
Dundee Makerspace We have around 30 members at the moment.
We’re actively recruiting members as this is
dundeemakerspace.com currently the main way we pay the bills, but we are
dundeemakerspace also now branching out into teaching classes and
making products.
dundeemakespace
We have everything from a laser cutter and 3D
makerspacedundee printers, to an electronics workbench and even a
reasonably well-stocked woodworking shop. We also
have a lot of craft items, and lately, we’ve focused on
growing our textiles offering, with an area dedicated
to sewing machines, an embroidery machine, and a
new director, Jen, who is a professional knitwear
designer. My background is in philosophy and
psychology, but I have an interest in many subjects,
and I previously managed a ceilidh band, before
moving on to my current self-employment as a CAD

” We want to foster
growth of the creative
arts and sciences

”
in Dundee

modeller. And our other director, Kerry, is the editor

of Micro:Mag, a magazine covering the micro:bit
microprocessor and related accessories. She also
teaches Raspberry Pi workshops.
Our motto is ‘Make, Learn, Create’. We want to
foster growth of the creative arts and sciences in
Right
Dundee. The makerspace is about more than just Finally, we want to be
having a place to work; it is also a social hub and a a job creator, so when
we are in a position to
place of learning and skill-sharing. Although we run take on employees,
some educational classes (an area we are going to we certainly intend
to do so, at the real
grow a lot over the next year) we also maintain a Living Wage

28
SPARK

29
Space of the month

REGULAR

focus on peer learning and informal teaching between

members. Anyone who has something they want to
achieve, but lacks the skills to achieve it, can ask to
be put in contact with a member who has experience
in that field.
One of the nice things about the space is that we
get a complete mix of users, from university students
and lecturers from the two universities within five
minutes walk of the space, to seasoned industry
professionals in computer gaming and engineering. 
Our oldest members are well into their retirement
years and, during our planned classes, we welcome and still working (for demonstration purposes). So it is
perhaps fitting that we are continuing a strong textile

”
heritage in this building. 
Above We hope that…we can work We find most of the people who come to do
Dundee is also the
original home of with more local businesses, textiles here are younger, teens, uni students and so
DMA Design (now on, but we do have a few older people. 
Rockstar North) charities, and the council to

”
who designed the We probably lure in more older members with our
Lemmings series
whilst they were here
provide opportunities woodworking room than anything else. Though
(Dundee Makerspace Dundee is also home to Scotland’s largest Men’s
has a number of
3D-printed lemmings Shed, so many of the older men who might
as a result) secondary school students into the space. You really otherwise come to us are better served by that
Right don’t get access on such an even playing field to facility instead (they have a ridiculous amount of
Dundee Makerspace a mix of people quite like this anywhere else but lathes and other woodworking tools!) We are trying
was until recently
in the Blackness a makerspace! to work out better collaboration opportunities with
Industrial Estate,
surrounded by old
We also want to better integrate into the them so they can come and help teach lathe-work at
jute mills community, and we hope that in the future we can our space (we have one lathe bought from them).
work with more local businesses, charities, and the In the last couple of months, we’ve run the
council to provide opportunities to all willing citizens textiles courses, a build your own pollution sensor
of Dundee and the surrounding areas.  workshop (linked into the Luftdaten initiative and lead
Dundee was a textiles town 150 years ago, and so by Dr David Martin from Dundee University, who is
most of our industrial buildings are former jute mills, one of our most enthusiastic members) and a Build a
with a particular concentration in our area. The Planter workshop in our woodworking room, lead by
Dundee Verdant Works museum is right around the a local woodworking schoolteacher. We got a lot of
corner from us, and shows what it was like working the community in for that one, as it was targeted and
in a jute mill, and some of the old machines are there partially funded by a local community centre.

30
 SPARK

CONTACT US
We’d love you to get in
touch to showcase your
makerspace and the
things you’re making.
Drop us a line on Twitter
@HackSpaceMag, or
email us at hackspace@
raspberrypi.org
with an outline of what
makes your hackspace
special, and we’ll take it
from there.

31
LENS
HACK MAKE BUILD
Uncover the technology that’s powering the future
CREATE

PG
34
PG

52
Make with
HOW I MADE:
BINDAYCATOR
Never forget to take out
the bins again

PG Create beautiful objects with

58 this natural material

IN THE WORKSHOP:
LITHOPHANES
AND GAMES 70
PG

What we’ve been making in the

HackSpace magazine workshop
PLAYING CARDS
A surprisingly versatile construction tool
PG

62 PG

74
INTERVIEW:
CHARLIE BETHEL TESTING
Using sheds to tackle mental NEOPIXELS
health and loneliness Pushing these LEDs to their limits
Woodworking

FEATURE

Get started in

From furniture to
architecture, small to large
objects, cutting boards to
sculpture, woodworking
surrounds us
By Norman Pirollo

34
 LENS

ood is easily worked.

It can be squared
off and joined into
furniture, or used to
carve out an object.
Woodworking dates to the
Roman Empire, with several
hand tools used today having origins
in this early time period. Woodworking
can be done in a small space with a few
simple hand tools, or in a small workshop
if machines are part of your woodworking.
Technical schools introduce woodworking
through hand tools as it provides the
student a close bond to wood. Hand tools
are an enabler to woodworking. Machines
were developed to speed processes and
quickly churn out furniture and wood
objects – so if you’re just working on a few
pieces for yourself, you really don’t need
much. A few hand tools will get you going
and provide the immediate satisfaction of
creating a tangible object.

35
Woodworking

FEATURE

Right
Sharpening a chisel
on a water stone
using a sharpening jig
Joinery brings wood parts together. When creating
furniture pieces, precision is critical for strong joinery.
With learning in mind, it’s best to practice on
lower-cost woods (this will vary depending on where
you are – maple is a lot cheaper in North America than
it is in Europe, for example). After you are confident,
switch to more expensive woods.

With learning in mind, FROM START TO FINISH

All woodworking tools, hand or machine, have
cutters. Cutters will get dull, so it’s wise to spend a

it’s best to practice on

bit of time learning the art of sharpenning.
Understanding wood is another essential skill.
Wood is composed of grain, which is directional in
nature. Keep this in mind and you will soon learn that
lower-cost woods cutting with the grain is preferable to cutting against
the grain!
Woodworking develops your hand-to-eye
coordination where the eyes lead the hands. After
some time woodworking, certain movements
become second nature, and muscle memory takes
over. Until then, practice and repeat movements with
tools until you are at ease with sequences.

36
 LENS

Left
Fine paring work can
be achieved simply
using a chisel and a
woodworking vice

Below
A collection of the
different types of
wood finishes

We’ve already said that you don’t need machines,

and there are plenty of benefits to working with hand
tools: they’re quiet, for one, so they’re ideal if you’re
working where people live. Then there’s versatility:
you just need a solid workbench, and a few hand
tools to get started. A vice on the workbench holds
wood while you perform cuts.
Finishing is an important skill to grasp as it seals
and protects the wood, as well as making it look even
better than it does naturally. Finishes range from
organic to chemical. Chemical finishes are hard and
resist moisture and wear. Natural, organic finishes are
increasingly common and ideal if the project is not too
exposed to wear. Oils soak into wood and leave a
natural texture. Other finishes sit on the surface
obscuring the wood grain – the choice is yours.

37
Woodworking

FEATURE

The bare essentials

for your workshop

Drills
There are few woodworking projects that don’t involve
a drill. Drills are portable, and either cordless or plugged
in. Alternatively, get a manual or hand drill and skip the
need for power. Drills create pilot holes for screws,
through-holes for dowels, and holes for chair parts.
Once your woodworking progresses, a drill-press can
bring your work to the next level of precision.

Left
A group of hand
tools, including Above
hand plane, chisels, A commonly available
back saw, block cordless drill, suited to most
plane, mallet, ruler woodworking applications

38
 LENS

Workbench Below
Woodworking vice
attached to front
of a workbench
Unless doing light wood-carving, you will need a
workbench to work on. It should handle pounding
with a hammer and be rigid enough for hand planing
tasks. You can purchase a workbench or make your
own. Your first workbench need not be fancy; it only
needs to be sufficient to begin woodworking. As well
as providing a sturdy surface, a workbench also needs
a way of clamping a workpiece in position, most
commonly a vice. Vices are relatively inexpensive and,
in their simplest form, mounted to
a workbench surface.
The vice will be your most used tool. It prevents
wood from moving when shaping or creating joinery.
Woodworking vices are rugged, withstand heavy use,
and are available in several sizes. Purchase a larger
one than you currently need to avoid outgrowing its
capacity – this lowers the cost of replacing it with a
larger version early on in your woodworking.

Chisels Clamps
Chisels shape, remove wood, and create recesses. Fine Clamps are a large component of woodworking. They
work is achieved with chisels: they create mortises for brace wood together for gluing, hold wood while The jig’s
tenons or make a recess for installing a hinge. They using hand tools, and are used to assemble furniture a good’un
slice wood in a paring action or remove wood when pieces. Clamps come in various lengths and
Become familiar
struck with a mallet. Chisels are available individually or capacities depending on the application. Some clamps
with the term
as a set of commonly used sizes. operate with one hand; others need two hands to woodworking jigs.
tighten. Invest in clamps of different capacities early Jigs ensure that
in your woodworking. multiple, similar
Below parts have the same
You can never have dimensions. Jigs
enough clamps speed setup time,
and enable you to
easily recreate a
woodworking
project in the future.

Above
A set of fine
paring chisels

39
Woodworking

FEATURE

Hammers Levels
Hammers are available in several formats. Light Another valuable tool in the workshop is the level.
hammers drive small nails into wood, or are used for It tests if your work is perfectly horizontal or vertical
delicate assembly. Large, heavy hammers pound and is essential in furniture making. Levels are made
mortise chisels to create square openings. A mallet is a of wood, metal, or plastic, and range from two feet
hammer unique to woodworking, and is often found on to six feet in length. A bubble in a glass vial indicates
workbenches. A wood mallet is a good choice when whether plumb is achieved. A good level should
outfitting a first set of woodworking tools as they excel be one of your first woodworking tool purchases.
at fine, delicate paring when used with chisels.

Right
Common Above
woodworking Small torpedo level used to
hammers and level a board. The bubble in
wooden mallets the centre vial indicates that
the board is level

Marking gauge Saws

A traditional method to lay out lines to guide chisels You should own two types of saws; a ripsaw and
and saws uses a marking gauge, which speeds up crosscut saw. Ripsaws cut along the grain or parallel
identical, repeat operations. A simple tool, it consists to it, and crosscut saws cut perpendicular to the grain.
of a fence that slides on a beam and tightens with a In other words, a ripsaw makes a board narrower, and
thumbscrew. The etched mark or line is defined by a a crosscut saw shortens a board. The teeth
sharp pin, or in modern versions, a circular disk with arrangement and number of teeth per inch (TPI)
sharp edge. define the function of a handsaw. Coarse teeth (low
TPI) are used to rip wood, while fine teeth (high TPI)
are better at cross-cutting and fine work.

Above Above
Marking gauge used to Above, fine-tooth
create an etched line back saws for
across the end of a board sawing dovetails

40
 LENS

Rulers Hand planes

A ruler is a must in a workshop. Rulers measure board Hand planes address multiple woodworking tasks.
dimensions, mark where cuts are made, and ensure Wood must be smoothed, squared, and fitted, and
furniture parts are similar in dimensions. The different hand planes perform these tasks.
expression ‘measure twice and cut once’ applies. A Specialised joinery hand planes also create grooves
spring-wound tape rule is the tool for measuring and and rabbets in wood.
marking long lengths of wood. Hand planes consist of a blade set at a defined
angle in a metal or wood body. The blade protrudes
beneath the sole to create a slicing action. A knob
raises or lowers the blade to adjust the depth of cut.
Hand planes cut on the forward motion (pushed) and
are pulled back for the next stroke. They are used
with one hand on the front knob, while the other grips
the rear handle or tote. Several versions of hand
planes tackle different tasks. You should begin with
three planes: the jack plane, smoother, and low-angle
block plane form a good basic set. As you progress,
Right determine which hand planes you need next.
Metal ruler
laying out marks
Right
on a board
A collection of common
hand planes in different
sizes and functionality

Square
In furniture making, saw cuts and joints need to be at
right angles to each other (square). The metal square
performs this function when laying out work, making
saw cuts or preparing parts at a 90-degree angle to
each other. If all parts of your project are made square,
the final piece is certain to come out square with sides
at 90 degrees to each other. Ideally, two metal squares
are necessary in your woodworking.

• Combination square for small work

• 8 × 12 inches (200 × 300 mm) carpenter’s square
for wide boards and furniture-making

The combination square determines if your work is

square or not. A combination square has a sliding head
with 90-degree and 45-degree angled sides for mitres.
The head is removable, leaving the blade free to use as
a ruler or straight edge. Right
Combination square
laying out the face of
a board. The rule can
be separated from the
head. Note the available
45-degree angle. The
combination square is a
versatile measuring and
marking tool

41
Woodworking

FEATURE

Selecting the right type of

wood for every project

he wood that you select for a Trees have bundles of fibres and vessels running

T woodworking project often

determines the aesthetic.
Lumber is either softwood or
hardwood: softwood lumber is
along the trunk. Wood grain is formed by this bundle.
Oak, maple, and birch trees have straight grain. As a
tree grows, new fibre and vessels are added to form
rings that determine the age of a tree. Some trees
used in construction and grow faster than others.
woodworking. Softwoods such as pine, The outer, live layer is the sapwood. The sapwood
fir, and cedar are plentiful, and coniferous eventually turns into heartwood and a new sapwood
trees grow fast. layer is created. Behind the sapwood is the
Hardwood, or deciduous trees, grow slowly. heartwood. No longer conducting sap, it provides
Common hardwoods are walnut, mahogany, maple, strength and support for a tree.
birch, cherry, and oak, and are preferred in furniture Logs are cut in several ways. The simplest way to
making due to their durability. cut up a log is known as plain sawing. Plain-sawn

42
 LENS

Left Left
Cross-section of Cross-section of
softwood board. plain-sawn log
Growth rings are with boards sawn
distinct. Diagonal tangentially to
growth pattern is growth rings. This
rift cut, between is how most lumber
plain-sawn and is cut. Plain-sawing
quarter‑sawn introduces the most
movement and
warping in boards

boards are made by slicing parallel cuts through the

log. Plain-sawn boards can warp because of their
grain orientation.
A more involved way of cutting a log is to slice it up A knot in a board
quarter-sawn. Quarter-sawn cuts don’t warp because

is the beginning
they are cut perpendicular to the log.
The cross-sections of a log show circular growth
rings, the lines indicate plain-sawn or quarter-sawn
cuts. Plain-sawn boards are cut tangentially to growth
rings. Quarter-sawn boards are perpendicular to rings.
With quarter-sawing, horizontal expansion and
of a branch
contraction in boards is eliminated.

WOOD DEFECTS
Defects in wood detract from its appearance and SELECTING WOOD
strength. Good grades of lumber have few defects. A Oak is open-grain and rough; maple is closed-grain and
knot in a board is the beginning of a branch. In the smooth. Maple, birch, and poplar are white; padauk is
furniture industry, wood with knots is used in hidden red; ebony is black. Some woods fade (such as
furniture parts, unless a rustic aesthetic is desired. walnut), and some darken over time (such as cherry).
Consider this when choosing boards for a project.
Softwoods are used in construction and in the DIY
market. Hardwoods are used in cabinetry and
furniture. Hardwoods are more expensive than
softwoods and sold as rough lumber. Purchase boards
from a small supplier where they can be examined.
Bring a tape-measure to check dimensions, and ask
the supplier if they can cut your lumber to size.

MOISTURE CONTENT
When a tree is cut, it’s high in moisture. After
processing, the wood dries. Wood eventually reaches
equilibrium with its environment (or equilibrium
moisture content, EMC). The EMC of wood in a heated
Above room is 10 percent. Freshly cut logs can reach 100
A knot from a cut
branch in a log percent EMC. When moisture evaporates to within

43
Woodworking

FEATURE

Left
Joinery pieces
show colours and
tones of different
wood species

30 percent EMC, moisture in wood cells evaporates,

How lumber is measured and cell walls shrink. The wood then shrinks.
Kiln drying relieves stresses in wood
Hardwoods used in cabinetry and furniture are sold using a board foot and lowers EMC. Dry wood is strong, light,
measurement (UK, US). In the example below, T is the thickness (inches), W is stable, and ideal for furniture. Kiln-dried
the width (inches), and L is the length (feet). To calculate board feet of lumber:
wood is available at wood suppliers.

T × W × L / 12
PROCESSING WOOD
If board is 3 in. thick (T), 8 in. wide (W), and 5 feet long (L) this is: To dimension lumber, a mitre saw, table saw,
band-saw, planer, and jointer are necessary (that’s why
3 × 8 × 5 / 12 = 10 board feet (UK, US) most people get this job done at the lumber yard). In
my workshop, I dimension rough planks of wood into
The formula calculates board feet of rough lumber. Lumber is initially in a
manageable lengths and sizes using machines. The
rough state.
dimensions are defined in furniture plans.
1 bd. ft. (imperial) = 1 in. × 12 in. × 12 in. When processing boards from large planks,
1 bd. ft. (metric) equivalent = 25 mm × 300 mm × 300 mm acclimate the wood for several days between steps.
After reaching the EMC of your work area, the wood
will be stable and will warp less. If lumber is not

44
 LENS

Movement Left
Furniture component
Wood moves even after it is sliced into boards and boards sawn from
one plank. The boards
assembled into furniture or wood objects. Wood is not a are cut to dimensions
dimensionally stable medium. It absorbs and releases in the cabinet plan
and are then prepared
moisture depending on the environment it is in, causing for joinery
it to expand and contract. Wood moves along its width
but not along its length. In furniture making, frame and
panel construction was developed to house large panels
in a wood frame. A small gap surrounds the panel to
absorb expansion and contraction. Unless wood
movement is factored into your woodworking projects,
you run the risk of your workpiece coming apart.

Below
A cabinet panel
formed by gluing
together boards,
shown earlier

Right
A wood rack with
wood planks. Wood is
stickered where each
plank is separate
from the other. This
allows air to circulate
around a board
equalising EMC of
the wood. Stickering
minimises cupping,
twisting, and bowing
of rough boards

acclimated, tension forms when a plank is sawn and

exposed to air.

PLYWOOD AND ENGINEERED WOOD

Plywood consists of layers of veneers, or plies, glued
at right angles to the other. The outer ply is the face;
inner plies form the core. Inner plies make a panel
strong and dimensionally stable. Plywood sheets come
in standard widths and lengths.
Particle board, waferboard, or chip-board are
man-made woods. Wood particles, wafers, and fibres
are glued using resins. Particle board consists of
sawdust or planer shavings, with resin added to form
a panel. It is then pressed at a high temperature and
trimmed to the desired length and width.
It is in your best interests to buy good-quality wood
for projects. I have seen projects fail from improperly
Left
dried wood. I have seen warped door panels and Baltic birch plywood
(bottom two), MDF
cabinet frames caused by stressed wood. Storing above, chip-board
wood correctly with air circulation prevents warping. at top

45
Woodworking

FEATURE

Make a
bench hook
Create this useful
workbench accessory

n my woodworking journey, I fence, and hook. The fence is the business end; the

I soon realised that accuracy and

repeatability are critical to
precise joinery and mitres that fit
correctly. Trimming small parts to
hook attaches underneath, and keeps the bench
hook against the edge of a workbench. The fence
and hook are at opposite ends of a flat base, which
can be a small piece of plywood. Plywood is
precise lengths is important. Often, a dimensionally stable and lends itself well to a bench
band-saw or table saw are used. Although hook. The fence and hook are made of softwood or
precision is achieved using machines, the large hardwood. Hardwood is preferred as it wears.
capacity of a band-saw or table saw is better suited
to large wood parts. With small parts, the saw-blade
kerf can equal the amount to trim. In other words,
large machines are not conducive to working with
small furniture parts. Additionally, cutting small parts
on a machine is not safe, as your hands are close to
the blade.
A better solution is the bench hook. When used
with a fine saw, it provides accuracy when trimming
small parts. It has a fence for a small workpiece to
be held against, which is also the guide for the
handsaw blade, and the action of sawing the
Left
workpiece keeps it tightly against the fence. Bench hook with left
You can easily make a bench hook from scrap shoulder. The fence is
shorter than the base.
wood. It consists of three components; the base, Fine-tooth back saw

46
 LENS

Left
Bench hook with
adjustable stop
for repeatability

Right
Bench hook with 90-
degree straight and
45-degree mitre slot

BENCH HOOK VARIATIONS

There are two versions of the classic bench hook.
One has a fence shorter than the width of the base
(open-ended). A shoulder is created at the end of the
fence. A handsaw is used with the fence to make a
square cut. Another version has a fine saw-blade
housed in a narrow kerf in the fence. When sawing,
this introduces more control and accuracy, since
there is no way the blade can twist, so you can
achieve precise 90-degree and 45-degree cuts.
A back saw is used with a bench hook as it has a Repeated nicks make
rigid back. This keeps the blade from twisting,

the slot wider,

ensuring a straight cut. Back saws have either rip or
cross-cut teeth. Since bench hooks cross-cut pieces
to length, a cross-cut tooth pattern is ideal. Mitred
slots added to your bench hook increase the
versatility. Pre-cut mitre slots can be standard 30-,
45-, and 60-degree angles.
removing the precision
To create the mitre kerf in the fence, pencil marks
guide a saw-blade into the fence. Small workpieces
held against the fence are then cut at this angle.
The saw blade will eventually nick your bench
hook fence. Repeated nicks make the slot wider,
removing the precision. The slot can be filled in
and recreated, or a new slot made. When no
space remains, the fence can be replaced, or a
new bench hook created. The fence eventually
wears, and accuracy is compromised. Simply trim
the fence end to create a new edge. The bench
hook life is now extended!
Bench hook dimensions
depend on the size of the
components you trim. Small,
portable bench hooks are quickly
positioned. Larger bench hooks
occupy more workbench space,
which is something to consider.
Above Bench hooks don’t last forever, so
A selection of common
wood glues and applicators it’s wise to make your own.

47
Woodworking

FEATURE

Right
Saw a length of 2 × 2 in. (50 mm × 50 mm)
at 1 in. (25 mm) shorter than width of base.
This forms the fence. Apply and spread
glue to the underside of the fence

Left
Use (two) clamps to
attach fence securely
to base. Maintain
fence alignment using
large square while
setting up clamps.
Wait 1.5 hours before
removing clamps

Right
Align (left or right) the fence to front edge
of base. Use square to ensure fence is 90
degrees to side of base. Rub fence and base
together, creating a rub joint

Back saws
A back saw will see regular use in your woodworking.
Use it with a bench hook to trim wood. Razor saws are
fine-tooth back saws for detail work. I use razor saws to
make precise, clean cuts. A common razor saw is 6 in. Above
Side of bench hook
(150  mm) long with a 24 TPI, 1.5-inch (38  mm) deep blade.
showing fence (top)
A razor saw is an inexpensive back saw found at hobby and hook (below)
shops. It creates a thin kerf saw-cut to aid in precision. glued to base

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOOK

An addition to the bench hook is the stop. Often you’ll
need components of similar length. A bench hook
with a stop excels at creating identical small parts. An
adjustable stop ensures repeatability.
Bench hooks can be made narrow or wide, and
oriented for left- or right-hand use. The tools to
make your first bench hook will be used in every
woodworking project.
Start with a plywood base ½ inch to ¾ inch thick
(12 mm to 18 mm). Ensure the sides of base are square
or 90° to each other. We used a roughly 15 cm × 20 cm
piece of plywood, but this doesn’t have to be exact.
The fence is attached across the top end; the hook
is attached at the bottom of the opposite end. Fence
and hook attach to a plywood base using glue and
clamps. Two short lengths of 2 × 2 lumber (50 mm ×

48
 LENS

Above
Follow the same sequence
to accurately cut a
45-degree kerf in the fence

Use the shoulder

Above
Two saw slots are
created to precisely
saw a workpiece at a
90-degree or 45-degree
angle. Use the back saw
you intend to use with the
bench hook for this step.
to make open-ended
Mark a vertical slot 1-inch
from fence shoulder

cuts on a workpiece

Convert the hook into a fence with different angles, or

simply to minimise wear on the main fence. The hook
should fit over the edge of your workbench.
The fence has a shoulder used as a sawing guide.
The shoulder is narrower than the base, preventing a
saw from damaging the workbench surface. Use the
Above
Mark along the top to shoulder to make open-ended cuts on a workpiece.
create a saw line. Use
a combination square
to create the lines

50 mm) form the fence and the hook. Before gluing,

the fence is aligned to the base using a square. To
install the fence, use a square and orient it along the
side of the base. This becomes the reference surface.
The other leg of the square aligns the fence at 90
degrees to the base.
The bench hook fence should be 1 to 1.5 inches
(25 mm to 38 mm) tall, enabling a saw-blade to register
and create square cuts. Back saws have limited depth,
so consider saw-blade depth when creating your Left
A 45-degree mitre
fence. The hook can also be configured as a fence. being sawn in a small
The bench hook is flipped over, providing two fences. furniture component

49
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How I Made: BinDayCator

FEATURE

How I Made

BINDAYCATOR
Never forget to put the rubbish out again

By Darren Tarbard

A
rainbow of wheelie bins is due, providing you remember to, but I’d
is a common sight on our been toying with the idea of making
streets now. Recycling something to remind me for a while. Just
continues to grow in before Christmas, I forgot to put out the
importance, with cardboard and paper bin and, as more
councils cardboard accrued, it sat in
issuing multiple colour- a corner, taunting me
coded bins for us to over the holiday period.
separate our refuse. The obvious choice
Councils can’t collect would be a program
every bin every week, which sent me an
and so they are collected email or notification on
on a rota, one or two my phone, but it’s easy
each week. to miss yet another
Like most people, I notification in the
used the usual constant flow, and I had
‘algorithm’ of just seeing a more novel idea. The
what the neighbours put idea of a bin-shaped
out. It works, but there lamp intrigued me; it
have been times where would check the council’s
a couple of people put out data and change to the
the wrong bins, and the colour of the due bin,
rest of the street followed. pulsing on the correct day.
Crowdsourcing data is great, In a world where information,
but it isn’t always accurate, alerts, and indicators have been
and in the dark of winter, it’s absorbed into all-conquering
hard to make out colours. You touchscreens, I thought it would
might even totally forget, and be a pleasant change.
end up chasing the bin lorry in your
pyjamas at 7 am. HARDWARE
The correct thing to do, of course, is to Above When I have a new idea, I first try to prove
Never miss your
visit the council website to find out what bin bin colletion again the concept is sound. I start with the

52
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The idea of a bin-shaped lamp intrigued

me; it would check the council’s data and
change to the colour of the due bin

include a port for the USB connector, and 3D printing, I had my fair share of print
include a light baffle structure to help shape failures, but I tried to make use of failed
the lighting. Iteration was the name of prints too by patching them up and using
the game now, printing multiple versions them to test while the next version printed.
until I was happy with how the electronics Since this project would need WiFi
would fit inside, and perfecting the lighting connectivity, I switched from an Uno to an
and finish. ESP8266-based Wemos D1 Mini. These
Printing a single bin in its entirety at good boards are small, powerful, include WiFi, and
quality took seven hours, which is a long are relatively cheap. Their main downside is a
time to wait to get feedback. So, one limited amount of GPIO, but for this project,
technique I used was to only print part of I only needed one pin. A bonus feature of
Above
Designing our notifier the bin, depending on which aspect I was
changing. For example, I might just print the
least-known or most difficult feature first bottom quarter because it’s enough to check Below
and try the simplest prototype. Using this for electronics fit. Like everyone who does If only we knew when to take these bins out
approach, you can find out quickly whether
something is feasible or not rather than
spending a lot of time on up-front design
only to discover it won’t work later on. I
often make things out of cardboard or other
scrap so that I can quickly try ideas.
For this project, the aspect I needed to
explore was how good it would actually
look. In my head, I had an image of a bin
glowing a nice evenly-lit colour, but would
this translate to reality, or would it just look
like a few LEDs inside a box? Luckily for me,
there was already a bin model on
Thingiverse – it wasn’t the right size or
appearance for what I wanted, but good
enough to test with. I printed it using white
PLA, which was perfect for diffusing while
still allowing a lot of light to transmit
through. I soldered up a strand of NeoPixels
and breadboarded it up to an Arduino to try
out. Success, of sorts – the PLA produced
just the right kind of glow, but to produce
multiple colours, I would require more than
just a hollow bin shape.
I used Blender to start constructing my
own wheelie bin from scratch; now I could
tailor it to exactly the right dimensions,

53
How I Made: BinDayCator

FEATURE

Layer lines can be an interesting texture,

but I wanted a smooth finish because when
it glows, you can see every line. Every other
imperfection stood out clearly, too. You
can say goodbye to that seven-hour print
because of a single cat hair sandwiched
between layers during printing. Support
Above structures also left imperfections on the
A prototype in print. So, I spent a while trying a range of
progress
supports, from standard Cura supports
Left to the organic-looking, tree-like supports
The electronics is
quite simple that Meshmixer could produce. I tried
vapour smoothing to remove layer lines, a
having WiFi is you can reprogram them over discussion on the subject. People really liked technique normally used with ABS, but not
the network using the Arduino OTA library the idea and the issue resonated with them so much with PLA. ABS can be smoothed
– handy when your prototype lives in the on some level, even if it was just the novelty using commonly available acetone, but PLA
kitchen next to the bins, and far away from factor. A government department and media doesn’t react to it, and so I went through
your PC. outlets were interested too, and wanted a number of increasingly uncommon (and
I’d posted pictures of my device on social demonstration units, so now my focus was unpleasant) chemicals. The best solvent I
media, and it had really struck a chord – on producing a more high-quality finish and a found was called dichloromethane – it was
being shared widely, prompting much web interface for demonstrating. difficult to work with and hard to store since

54
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Left
A collection
of hazardous
chemicals

Below
Sanding the
indicator smooth

I tried vapour smoothing to remove layer

lines, a technique normally used with ABS,
but not so much with PLA
it has a tendency to slowly leak through or will see it is a sea of hard-to-read HTML –
melt most bottles. I still wasn’t happy with writing code to deal with this is challenging.
the result and gave up on vapour smoothing Luckily this problem has already been solved
entirely for this project. My experiments using a technique called ‘screen scraping’
weren’t a waste of time because I learned which allows a
a lot, including that this particular solvent computer to read
was useful for gluing parts together by information usually
melting them slightly – a technique called designed for humans to
‘solvent welding’. read. Using a screen-
I settled on old-fashioned wet sanding to scraping library will filter
be the best approach. Nobody likes sanding, out unneeded data and
but it worked well here, using increasingly let you extract just the
fine grits to polish it and then coating the bit you want.
surface with matt varnish. Despite the ESP8266
being a fairly fast
SOFTWARE microcontroller, it
The council publishes which bins are due for would still struggle
collection on its website, but the page was under the pressure
designed for people, not software, to read. of downloading and
If you view source on most webpages, you parsing large

55
How I Made: BinDayCator

FEATURE

webpages. I already had a Node-RED server drag and drop nodes. Nodes are building Modern browsers make this easy to find
running all the time, so it made sense for blocks with certain functionality, and you with their developer tools – you can click on
me to use that because a faster CPU would create logic by connecting them. I checked a part of a webpage, and it will tell you what
make development smoother. If I’d wanted through the node types it had, and I was in the selector is for on that area of the page.
to do it all on the same device then a luck – it had two nodes with the features I Armed with this selector, I plugged it into
Raspberry Pi Zero could have controlled the wanted. One node, the HTTP Request node, the HTML node, attached a debug node so I
NeoPixels and done the screen scraping on could retrieve the webpage, and the HTML could see the result, and deployed the flow.
one device, but it would make my enclosure node would do the screen scraping based This worked great, and it delivered me the
larger, and it would be harder to hide on a selector I gave it. I configured it with contents of that part of the page. The
the electronics. the council’s webpage URL and started council use a descriptive heading for the
Node-RED is a programming tool for looking for the correct selector. Selectors bins and not the colours, so I added a
wiring together hardware and services – it use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) syntax to JavaScript node which converts the name to
has a nice graphical interface that lets you specify which part of the page to extract. a colour.
I coded the BinDayCator device to
connect to Node-RED using the HttpClient
library, which would read the previously
stored colours and return them to the
device. A JSON library is then used to
process this string back into an array and set
the NeoPixels to the appropriate colours.
Having a constant ambient indicator had
advantages I hadn’t expected; it helped me
to plan ahead. For example, if it was garden

Left Below
Node-RED does Web pages
the heavy lifting weren’t meant
of the data to be read by
collection machines

56
 LENS

waste that week, I could prioritise gardening

since I knew it was due to be collected.
My post was shared widely, and people
asked if they could buy one. I’d only made it
for myself, but it seemed unappreciative to
ignore people’s interest. The cost of setting
up manufacturing was significant as I would
need to have moulds made for production
runs, and I also needed a critical mass to
make the server-side code worth creating. I
would need to create a BinDayCator server
on the internet that could process councils’
webpages, all of which had different
formats. I launched a Kickstarter as soon as
I could to prove the demand for this product.
If I had enough customers, it could work.
Unfortunately, the Kickstarter failed to meet
its goal, but I did learn an awful lot. I’d never
created a Kickstarter before, and that was
almost an entire project in itself.
Councils and companies were interested
in providing BinDayCators for their users,
but none have yet wanted a big enough
rollout for the critical mass needed for
manufacturing. Big organisations have a lot
of inertia because they have a lot of factors
to consider, something makers are not
encumbered with. We can just imagine it,
make it, and use it.

Above
Time to take a trip
to the pavement

Right
Dividers let us light
up our indicator
in sections

57
In the workshop: Lit lithophanes

FEATURE

IN THE
WORKSHOP:
Lit lithophanes
By Ben Everard Bringing an unborn child into bright 3D

T
his editor is about to become a Lithophanes are one of our favourite methods
father for the second time and, of displaying monochrome data. The basic idea
like many expectant fathers, he behind them is that they’re a material that varies
went to the ultrasound scan. At in thickness. When light is shone through, the
the end of which he got a little thicker parts appear darker, and the thinner parts
printout of the baby in utero. It’s a appear lighter. Traditionally, these are handmade
magical experience, but the printout leaves a little to out of ceramic, but we can 3D-print them using
be desired. It’s done by a thermal printer in translucent filament.
monochrome. Is there a better way of representing The key part of the aesthetic of lithophanes is how
an unborn child? Time to get to the workshop to see they’re lit. There are loads of options for this – some
how we can use the render. people turn them into lampshades, some mount
them in back-lit frames. We
wanted a small, evenly lit
option to add the image of our
unborn child to our workshop,
and we came across the ideal
solution in the form of LCD
back-lights. These are designed
to go behind LCDs and provide
illumination. They should give
even light across a rectangular
area, and some electronics
suppliers sell them. The
downside of these is that they
only come in the sizes of
common LCDs – these tend
to be a bit longer and thinner
than most photographs, but
are perfect for images of
Right reclining foetuses.
The final lithophane We got an 84 × 45 mm light,
at home in
our workshop so all we needed to do was

58
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crop our image to the same aspect resolution as this, We soldered these up, but needed a way to Above
The circuit on the
then upload the image to a lithophane generator. insulate the bare wires – after all, we didn’t want to back is just the power
There are a few available online, but we used the put it down on a metal surface and accidentally short connected to the LED
with a resistor
one at 3dp.rocks/lithophane. This provides some it out. We decided to use the hack-y option and
options of different shapes that might be useful if cover everything in hot glue. It’s not an ideal Below
If your aspect ratio
you’re trying to use your lithophane in different solution, but it does work. Fortunately, we’ve been isn’t quite right, you
ways, but we went with just a flat lithophane. able to hide all the glue on the back, and who looks can stretch it a little
when doing the
This generates an STL file that we can import into at the backs of pictures anyway? print scaling
our slicer as with any usual 3D print file. In the slicer
(we used Prusa Slicer, but any should work), you can
scale the object to exactly 82 × 45 mm. We had to
unlock the aspect ratio as it ended up being out by
The key part of
the aesthetic of
about 1 mm without this, but it’s not noticeable in
the final print.
Common wisdom dictates that you should print

lithophanes is
your lithophanes vertically, as this will give you
better resolution (a large brim will help it stay
attached to the print bed). We tried out a few ways

how they’re lit

of printing and for this style of image (where most
parts are either very black or very white), we didn’t
notice much difference between them printing
vertically and horizontally (other than they printed
much faster when lying flat to the print bed).
A few dots of superglue attached the lithophane
to the back-light (we put them in areas that were
dark so they didn’t affect the image in any noticeable
way). That’s the image set up – we just need a way
of providing power.
The back-light is basically just a white LED, plus
appropriate diffusers and reflectors, so powering it is
just the same as powering an LED (even down to
the fact that they have a long leg and a short leg).
Like many people, we have stacks of USB chargers
lying around, so this was the obvious choice for
sending electrons in. All we needed was a micro
USB breakout board (these are available cheaply
from a wide variety of vendors online) and a single
220 ohm resistor to limit the current.

59
In the workshop: Infinite Bunner game controller

FEATURE

Infinite Bunner
game controller
Control your character by tilting a Circuit Playground device

L
ast month, we had a look at how
to create an ultrasonic controller
for a version of Pong called Boing!
This month, we’re going to take a
step further forward through video
game history and look at the game
Frogger. In this classic game, you control a frog as it
makes its way across logs, roads, and train tracks,
avoiding falling in the water or getting hit.
The tribute to this game in the new Code
the Classics Volume 1 book (available from
hsmag.cc/VTTzPH) is called Infinite Bunner, and
works in much the same way, except you control a
bunny. All this hopping got us thinking about a
controller. Our initial idea was that since the animals
jump, so should the controller. The accelerometer
can detect freefall, so it shouldn’t be too hard to
Right convert those into button presses. However, it turns
Jump along the out that computer-controlled frogs and rabbits can
logs, dodge the
traffic, avoid the jump much, much faster than humans can, and we
trains, and keep really struggled to get a working game mechanic, so
your bunny alive for
as long as possible we compromised a little and worked with ‘flicks’.
The basic idea is that you tilt the controller left or Download ZIP. Unzip this somewhere. You’ll need
right to move left or right, but you have to flick it up to Python 3 with Pygame Zero installed. The process for
register a jump (simply holding it upright won’t work). this differs a little between different computers, but
We’ve used a Circuit Playground Bluefruit for this, there’s a good overview of all the different options on
but it will work equally well with a Circuit Playground page 186 of Code the Classics.
Express. There are two key parts to the software. Once everything’s set up, open a terminal and
The first is that you can read in accelerometer values navigate to the directory you unzipped the code in.
and use these to know what orientation the board is Then, inside that, you should find bunner-master
in, and the second is that the board can mimic a USB and enter that. You can then run:
keyboard and send keystrokes to any software
python3 bunner.py
running on it.
The first step is to get Infinite Bunner working Have a few goes playing the game, and you’ll find
on your machine. You can download the code for that you need the left, right, and up arrow keys to
all the Code the Classics Volume 1 games from play (there is also the down arrow, but we’ve ignored
hsmag.cc/w2LiEg. Press Clone or Download > this since we’ve never actually used it in gameplay

60
 LENS

– if you’re a Frogger/Bunner aficionado, you may

wish to implement this as well).
Reading the accelerometer is as easy as importing
the appropriate module and running one line:

from adafruit_circuitplayground import cp

x, y, z = cp.acceleration

Sending key presses is similarly easy. You can set up

a keyboard with the following:
time.sleep(0.3)
from adafruit_hid.keyboard import Keyboard keyboard.release_all()
from adafruit_hid.keyboard_layout_us import up=False
KeyboardLayoutUS if x < -7 :
from adafruit_hid.keycode import Keycode keyboard.press(Keycode.LEFT_ARROW)
time.sleep(0.1)
keyboard = Keyboard(usb_hid.devices) keyboard.release_all()
Then send key presses with code such as this: if x > 7 :
keyboard.press(Keycode.RIGHT_ARROW)
time.keyboard.press(Keycode.LEFT_ARROW) time.sleep(0.1)
time.sleep(0.1) keyboard.release_all()
keyboard.release_all() time.sleep(0.1)
The only thing left is to slot in our mechanics. The if jumping > 0: jumping=jumping-1
X-axis on the accelerometer can determine if the The final challenge we had was that there’s a bit of
controller is tilted left or right. The output is between wobble when moving the controller around –
10 (all the way left) and -10 (all the way right). We especially when trying to jump repeatedly and
chose to threshold it at 7 and -7 to require the user quickly. After fiddling with thresholds for a while, we
to tilt it most of the way. There’s a little bit of fuzz found that there’s a much simpler solution: increase
in the readings, especially as the user flicks the the weight of the controller. The easiest way to do
controller up, so having a high threshold helps avoid this is to place it inside a book. If you’ve ever held a
erroneous readings. copy of Code the Classics, you’ll know that it’s a
The Y-axis is for jumping. In this case, we require fairly weighty tome. Just place the board inside and Above
It doesn’t take
a ‘flap’ where the user first lifts it up (over a close the book around it, and all the jitter disappears. much CircuitPython
threshold of 5), then back down again. That’s all there is to the controller. You can use it to to convert a
microcontroller into
The full code for our controller is: play the game, just as you would any joypad. Start a games controller
the game as usual, then start flapping the book Below
import time
around to get hopping. Subscribe to
from adafruit_circuitplayground import cp HackSpace
magazine for twelve
import usb_hid months and you get
from adafruit_hid.keyboard import Keyboard a Circuit Playground
Express for free –
from adafruit_hid.keyboard_layout_us import you can make your
KeyboardLayoutUS very own Infinite
Bunner controller
from adafruit_hid.keycode import Keycode

keyboard = Keyboard(usb_hid.devices)

jumping = 0
up=False
while True:
x, y, z = cp.acceleration
if abs(y) > 5:
up=True
if y < 5 and up:
keyboard.press(Keycode.UP_ARROW)

61
 ha
Charlie Bethel

INTERVIEW

C t
HackSpace magazine meets…

Charlie Bethel
Putting making on the front line of mental health

Y
ou might have heard of
Men’s Sheds and assumed
quite reasonably, that
they are… sheds. Wooden
structures big enough to
store a lawn-mower and
some gardening equipment, with maybe
space left over for a chair and a radio.
There’s much more to them than that.
Men’s Sheds provide a place to work,
with tools (like a makerspace), a social
outlet, full of like-minded people sharing
expertise (again, like a makerspace),
and most crucially, they share a mission
to improve the well-being and mental
health of men around the world.
We spoke to Charlie Bethel, Chief
Officer of the UK Men’s Sheds
Association, to find out why sheds are
so important, what they offer that other
places don’t, and what the benefits are of
getting together and making things.

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t h e
Above
The UK Men’s
Sheds Association
has signed up to
the Manchester
Declaration, a
campaign that calls
for the right to repair
our own stuff

Images
Paul Carroll

63
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Charlie Bethel

INTERVIEW

C t
HackSpace Let’s start at the very That focus on achieving something shedders too much, said ‘hello’, did his
beginning: what is a shed? is the principal reason that we feel own thing, and after three months he
sheds give the well-being benefits they turned round to the leader and said, “Do
Charlie Bethel Sheds are basically safe do. They remove the obstacles you you know I was going to kill myself
spaces where men and women can make, would have in day to day engagement before I came here?” And the guy who
do, repair, or repurpose things. Shed with others. runs that shed said, “Job done”. If I do
members will do projects for themselves nothing else with my life, that’s a good
in the sheds, or for communities, HS Can you measure the impact on job done.
charities, or local schools and, as a result well-being that sheds make? Now that guy is working again; he’s in
of doing those individual things, it gives society, he’s got a house, he’s fully back,
the people going to those sheds (who are CB The stats are: 75% reduction in engaged having been disenfranchised
called shedders) a purpose. And it’s that anxiety, 89% reduction in depression, from life. We’re certainly not the
sense of purpose that is key. and 96% reduction in loneliness. The solution; but we’re part of the solution.
The shed has also been referred to as a act of doing something for somebody
form of therapy that dare not speak its else creates focus and purpose, and HS What goes on in a typical shed?
name, but that’s not why people go. that then has an effect on your wellbeing
People go to help somebody else, or to in terms of reducing depression CB Sheds, like makerspaces, are very
make something. But as a result of that, and loneliness, which can be so different from one another. You might go
you’ve got people working shoulder to interwoven anyway. to one where the majority of things
shoulder. Men don’t talk face to happening are to do with

”
face; we talk shoulder to shoulder. wood-turning. There will be other
Shoulder to shoulder, a man will Sheds are basically sheds that have sewing
share his feelings potentially machines, electronics, a whole
more than he would if he went to
safe spaces where variety of things.
the bingo hall or somewhere else. men and women A key observation is that the
Part of the problem we find can make, do, shed is doctrine-free. Each shed
with retired men is that men is autonomous, which is a
generally (and I must say at this
repair, or repurpose tremendous strength. It’s alive; it

”
point that it’s all generalisations), things can develop and grow in different
men will often go and live where areas. Some sheds are 200
their wife is from, and their shedders-strong in big industrial
friends at home are very often their If you take this impact further, we units. Other sheds may actually be in
wife’s friends or their partners. If their then have anecdotal stories of the sheds; others are in cargo containers,
wife passes away or there is another impact of sheds in terms of reducing some are in repurposed toilet blocks;
change in life circumstances, the guy suicide, or stopping people killing we’ve got sheds in morgues, sheds in
can end up quite lonely and isolated. The themselves by suicide. The statistics say railway stations – we work with the
shed can provide a social opportunity that suicide is the biggest single killer of Railway Heritage Trust on that. It’s a
and fill that gap. men under the age of 45. 75% of all symbiotic relationship: they want people
One example of why sheds work is suicides are men. It’s a massive issue, in their properties, to help maintain and
that if you put twelve men in a room and and one that we don’t talk about; one, keep the spaces safe and clean. We’ve
say “talk about your emotions”, six would because we’re men, and two, because we got one shed in a school where they
leave, and six would try to find a corner. don’t have the same exposure that other support the caretaker in the school, and
If you say to the twelve men, “There’s a groups that have been disadvantaged in as a result of that, they get their facilities
lawnmower, can you fix it?”, they’ll know society have. And so Men’s Sheds do at a peppercorn rent. I’m sure the shed
each other intimately. They’ll know how have to shout that, and that’s why we has saved the school thousands of
many children or grandchildren each keep the word ‘men’ in our name, even pounds, and the shedders are happy
person has, who’s going to see the though each shed is autonomous and to help.
doctor, everyone’s ailments, how they can accept whoever they like. The
take their tea… and you might get a fixed men-only session is really important for HS Who goes to a typical shed?
lawnmower. That’s the best way of men to be themselves and something
describing how a shed works. We’re we promote. CB These are guys who like to take
taken off-guard because we’re doing There was a guy who went to one things apart and put them back together
something else. shed, didn’t really engage with the other again. The majority of shedders are over

64
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t h e
Above
Sheds are a great
social leveller – you
get someone who’s
been long-term
unemployed working
with the mayor,
working with the
local dentist

65
 ha
Charlie Bethel

INTERVIEW

C t Above
Sheds are open over
200,000 hours every
year – that’s over
2m shedder hours
a year

66
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the age of 50. Some sheds have junior
sections, and one of our aspirations is
LENS

to get sheds into universities, so that it

becomes the norm to have somewhere to
go to let off steam, to relax. There aren’t

e
many places you can go to do that, if
you’re a man, that aren’t based on either
alcohol or sport.
Sheds will change and develop; some
sheds have an area for board-games. We
have some shedders with dementia who

h
will go and just sand a bit of wood or just
go there to talk. It provides an outlet that
you wouldn’t get in society normally.

t
HS When did the Sheds Movement start?

CB The first sheds started to appear in

the UK in 2009, and the UK Men’s Sheds
Association appeared a couple of years
later. The movement that we have in the
UK was founded by Mike Jenn. His son
was in Australia, saw the concept of
men’s sheds working over there, phoned
his dad, and told him about it. He
established his shed and as a result of
that we have UK Men’s Sheds.

HS It sounds like the well-being effect

was always the point, rather than being a
happy accident.

CB Yes. In Australia that’s why the

initiative was set up. It’s a concept
that has been around for a while, but
the modern movement is Australian.
Australian culture is slightly different
to the UK. There were a lot of farmers
living on their own, very disparate
geographically. Sheds were developed
to bring people together. There are
over 1000 sheds in Australia, open
and running. Some of them are
absolutely huge.
That concept was a positive well-
being piece. In Ireland, they concentrate
a lot on the health and loneliness
aspects. Here, we focus on getting people
into sheds because it’s making and
doing. We don’t shy away from the fact
that there are positive well-being
benefits to sheds, and to the people who
use them. But it is essentially about

67
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Charlie Bethel

INTERVIEW

C t Above
UKMSA is a small
team of three
and half people
– “We’re bubble-up
rather than bubble
down”, as Charlie
puts it.

68
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exploring your skills and helping others
through making, repairing etc. The other
thing that we do is put shedders and
charities in touch with one another.
Prostate Cancer UK, for instance, use us
HS What’s the growth rate been
like recently?

CB At the end of 2016, we had 320 sheds.

We celebrated 500 last summer, and we’re
put people in a safe environment, they’ll
open up. We see it in sheds, and you
probably see it in makerspaces, and you
see it in Morris Minor clubs, the
LENS

not a psychologist, but I know that if you

e
as a way of getting their messages out. fast approaching 600 in the UK. We don’t allotment… but you might not see it on the
We have an event called ShedFest do the making of the sheds. What we try to rugby pitch or a football pitch.
once a year, which we are looking to do is stimulate local authorities and local It’s interesting how we behave as
expand to twice a year. We were lucky groups to do that. We help facilitate with human beings in different environments,
enough to have Paul Sellers last year [if tools and fact sheets, but don’t have the with our bravado and everything else. So
you haven’t watched any of Paul’s capacity to set up each shed. that’s why we use the phrase ‘safe

h
woodworking videos on YouTube yet, do I have to admit, one of the challenges spaces’. It’s not safe in a mollycoddling
so as soon as you’ve finished reading we have is the word ‘men’ in our title. way. It’s safe because it’s somewhere to
this]. It was truly inspirational. He talked We’ve tried to work with some be yourself.

t
very much about love. I heard the organisations, one of which owns an awful
Surgeon General of the US talk at a lot of properties, but because we’ve got the HS That comparison with football is an
campaign to end loneliness conference, world ‘men’ in our title, they’ve felt that interesting one. One thing that I find time
and again he spoke about the opposite of working with us was not in keeping with and again talking to makers is that they
loneliness as being love; so it was quite the values of their organisation. We want to help and encourage others. You
life-affirming to hear the same don’t get that when you’re trying to

”
message from a master beat someone at a contact sport.
woodworker.
We also had people lead It’s odd isn’t it, CB Sports clubs are generally
workshops on how to fundraise, talking about a competitive in my experience. And
how to promote yourselves better, shed, a wooden not just competitive on the court
health and safety, and then we or on the pitch; they’re competitive
also had charities alongside
structure having a in terms of not sharing who their
people demonstrating, like the positive impact sponsors are or what their training

”
blind wood-turner, Chris Fisher, on people? regimes are, because you want to
who has just become one of our beat the others. It’s all about more,
patrons. He’s the first blind more, more – and that makes
person to be accepted into the sense. What I’ve discovered with
memberships of the history of the respect that anyone can have that view, sheds is that Shed 1 will tell Shed 2 where
Worshipful Company of Turners in their political correctness has its place. We do it got its money from, it will give Shed 2 its
history. He’s a phenomenal person. however go back to the stats of male application forms to use, it will share its
We had charities come along suicide: if you’re trying to deal with men’s governance documents, everything. Yes, it
from the fields of deafness, prostate health, then Men’s Sheds is one of those will show off the things it’s made, but it’ll
cancer, Parkinson’s, and many other solutions. So I personally struggle with also tell Shed 2 that it’s got some spare
organisations there to offer support, that approach when you delve into what tools and it’s welcome to borrow them. It’s
so that the guys will be more aware of will actually make a difference. incredible. No shed will say, “I get that
common illnesses, the signs of them, A purely personal view – I worked in wood from a secret place, and I’m not
and how to check for them. It all has a disability sport for many years and I’ve telling you”.
positive impact on the shed, but also always bought into the idea of the best And I have to say the people we get to
on the individuals in those sheds. It’s a person for the job. The attitude some come and present at ShedFest, they are
great communicative system. It’s great people have to us using the word ‘men’ is more than happy to be there at the crack
to think that we might be saving people’s worrying and a concern. We live in a of dawn to show their wares and skills and
lives because they go for a check-up society where it has been acceptable and help other people. There’s one guy, Simon
after visiting their local shed. actually the norm to accept people saying Clements, he’s a sculptor in Oxford. He
It’s odd isn’t it, talking about a shed, ‘come on, boys don’t cry’. If we are not free spent hours talking to a guy with reduced
a wooden structure having a positive to express our emotions, what might the hand function about how he might do
impact on people? But it’s more than impact actually be? carving using other tools than a chisel. He
four walls. It’s a group of people It’s a way that people of an age might was happy to give that time and support.
coming together. have been brought up. Is it cultural? I’m People are fantastic.

69
Improviser’s Toolbox: Playing cards

FEATURE

PLAYING
CARDS

There’s more than one way to enjoy a deck

P
laying cards have a long history that Another fascinating aspect of the deck of cards is
dates back several centuries. While how they correspond to the calendar. The two colours
their exact origin remains a matter of (red and black) relate to the two parts of a day –
speculation, most historians agree that namely daytime and night. The four suits correspond
playing cards were invented by the to the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and
Chinese during the Tang dynasty, in or winter. There are twelve court cards, just as there are
Mayank Sharma around the 9th century. Another inconstant aspect months in a year, and 13 cards in each suit are a
@geekybodhi has been the number of cards in a deck. There have match for the number of weeks in each quarter. The
been several variations over the centuries, with the 52 cards in the deck correspond to the 52 weeks in a
Mayank is a Padawan popular ones being 24, 32, and 48 cards. year and, if you add up all the values of the cards in a
maker with an The variations continued to flourish even after the deck (assuming 11 for the Jack, 12 for the Queen, 13
irrational fear of drills.
He likes to replicate deck made its way into Europe sometime in the 14th for the King), plus add one for the Joker, you end up
electronic builds, century. For suits, the Italians used cups, swords, with the exact number of days in a year – 365.
and gets a kick out
coins, and batons; the Germans used
of hacking everyday
acorns, leaves, hearts, and bells; and the
“The variations continued to
objects creatively.
Spanish preferred coins, cups, swords,
and cudgels. In the end, it was the French
flourish even after the deck
made its way into Europe
suits of spades, hearts, clubs, and
diamonds that stuck. The 52-card deck
was a French variation as well, which was sometime in the 14th century”
taken all over the world by the French
colonialists until it became the standard.
French card decks are modelled after renowned While the first packs were printed on paper and
historical figures. The King of Hearts is Charlemagne, wood, modern-day decks are a marvel of engineering
King of Diamonds is Julius Caesar, King of Clubs is and design. Good-quality playing cards are made of
Alexander the Great, and King of Spades is King David multiple layers of laminated sheets of paper, glued
from the Bible. The queen cards have had a mixed together. The glue does more than to stick the layers
roster that includes Pallas (warrior goddess; together. In fact, it is the glue that gives the playing
equivalent to the Greek Athena or Roman Minerva), cards their distinctive snap. And when they lose that
Rachel (biblical mother of Joseph), Argine (an snap (the life of a deck in a Las Vegas casino can be
anagram of Regina which is Latin for Queen), and as short as an hour), you can count on our inventive
Judith (of the Apocrypha). makers to put them to good use.

70
 LENS

PART Y
HATS Project Maker
Sergey
Chernyshev

A
playing cards connoisseur, Sergey Project Link
Chernyshev knew the cards would hsmag.cc/vNfDio
lend themselves nicely to a DIY
project, and so he decided to create
himself a top hat. He began with the Below
top of the hat, by stapling a string of cards after Make sure you have
at least three full
overlapping them just enough for one staple. Keep decks, and just as
stapling the cards to make a line of cards, as per many hours, before
you start stapling
the size of the head, and staple the last card to the the hats
first one to close the loop. Depending on the fit, use
a stapler remover to add or remove cards. When
you’ve found the correct fitting, unstaple the last
card to lay it flat, and then follow Sergey’s lead to
bend its edges with a ruler. Staple the ends again
when you’re done. Once the top is ready, it’s time
to staple a row of cards to create the brim. Sergey
suggests you experiment with the cards while
adding the rows to make interesting patterns. While
you can add as many rows as you please, Sergey
says you’ll have to use a longer stapler if you plan to
add more than two rows. The last step is attaching
the brim. For this, you’ll first have to bend and cut
through the last row of cards, before stapling more
cards to the folded-out cut cards. Sergey suggests
you staple through the cards at the bottom to
strengthen the brim.

71
Improviser’s Toolbox: Playing
Toothpick
cards

FEATURE

US B CASE
G
Project Maker enerally speaking, the card-stock
Cory Sterrett used to make playing cards is
pretty good, and can be used for a
Project Link
hsmag.cc/diJrEU number of crafts. If you don’t have
enough of them to staple into a hat,
you can follow Cory Sterrett’s lead to use some
to create a sturdy, yet fashionable, case for a USB
drive. Begin by first collecting a stack of cards
equivalent to the thickness of the drive, and pad
them by gluing another five cards on either side for
structural support. Then, cut the cards in the middle
and trace the drive on the inside of the deck with
a Sharpie. Cory cautions you not to rush through
this step. Make sure that you place the drive on the
bottom stack, such that it still has enough room to
be plugged into the USB port. Then use a pair of
scissors and a craft knife to cut and hollow out the
Right cards to make room for the drive. Don’t be fussy
You can also, like about perfecting the cut. Cory says as long as it’s
Cory, first remove
the original outer wide enough to hold the drive snugly, you should be
covering of the USB good. Finally, just glue the drive to the deck before
drive to make it a
little more workable gluing the other deck over it, and you’re done.

72
 LENS

CONSTRUCTION
SET
A
self-confessed inventor and
microfacturer, Daniel Bauen loves to
upcycle. In his quest to be able to build Above
Daniel cuts his
stable and complex structures using connectors from old
playing cards that wouldn’t tumble down cardboard boxes,
which makes them
with ease, Daniel came up with a clever design for light and disposable
some cardboard connectors. He suggests using
any CAD or vector drawing software to design the
connectors. It basically involves a circle that’s 35 mm 9 mm. The design is then transferred to a cardboard
in diameter, with lines radiating from the centre at box using a laser cutter. Make sure to cut several
either 15 or 30 degrees. If the lines are spaced at 15 connectors. That’s it. You can now plug the playing Project Maker

degrees, Daniel suggests you make them alternate cards in the spaced slots to create your structures. Daniel Bauen
between 9 mm and 5 mm. On the other hand, if you Check out some of the ideas on Daniel’s Instructables Project Link
choose to have them at 30 degrees, they can all be page for some inspiration. hsmag.cc/aJjOMl

A WALLET
Project Maker
John

A
store-bought wallet just didn’t cut it Andrews
for John Andrews. So, he just made
Project Link
himself a cool-looking one using a hsmag.cc/3yIfdZ
handful of playing cards and some clear
tape. He first tapes together two sets
of three cards, each spaced about one quarter of an
Below
inch apart. These are then lined up in a 3×2 grid, and The final wallet also has a
small fastener to ensure
taped together with loads of tape for strength. Then, it stays folded, and John
flip them over and tape some more. Now, fold the suggests leaving it under
some weight overnight if it
rows into each other at one end, such that the faces feels too stiff
are on the outside, before taping over the short sides.
This creates the wallet-like opening at the other end.
To add a pocket to this basic wallet, take a card and
cut away about 40%. Then, tape the bottom and
the sides of the larger piece to the inside of one of
the other cards in your wallet, and you have a small
pocket in which to slip your library card.

73
Testing NeoPixel Voltages

FEATURE

Testing
NeoPixel
Voltages
Find out what these LEDs can handle

By Ben Everard

I
f you look at a data sheet for WS2812B RGB LEDs
(commonly known as NeoPixels), you’ll see that they
need an input voltage of between 3.5 V and 5.3 V, and a
signal voltage of at least 0.7*input voltage.
The vast majority of microcontrollers now on the market
operate at 3.3V, with additional voltage outputs of 5 V and
3.3 V. This causes a problem because it means that there’s no way
to connect NeoPixels directly to the microcontroller without going
out of these ranges. If you connect the NeoPixels to the 5 V
power, then they need at least 3.5 V to operate, which is more
than the microcontroller’s data pins output.
Of course, just because a data sheet says that they need at
least 0.7*input voltage, it doesn’t mean that they do. Many people
connect NeoPixels up directly to 3.3 V microcontrollers without
problems. Here at HackSpace magazine, we’ve been wondering
what we should advise people to do – follow the data sheet even
though that leads to more complexity, or ignore the data sheet and Figure 1
cross our fingers as many people do. We decided to run some A strip of WS2812Bs,
running with their
tests to see what the actual real-world limits are. signal line shifted
The setup was a fairly simple solution. We used a 5 V to under 3 V, running
an animation
microcontroller (the Arduino LilyPad Plus USB was the first 5 V without problems
controller we came across rummaging through the HackSpace

74
 FIELD TEST

putting one of these in-line on the input

(see Figure 1) will reduce the input
voltage to 4.3 V, and since
0.7*4.3=3.01 V, you can then drive the
strip of NeoPixels with 3.3 V without
exceeding the data sheet specification.
However, this does put the full
power draw of all the LEDs through the
diode. This isn’t a problem for small
runs that aren’t very bright, but can be
a problem for larger displays. We keep
a stash of 1 A diodes for just this
purpose which is definitely fine for
Figure 2 strings of 15 or fewer LEDs, and can be
The wiring’s a mess,
but the results are fine for much larger displays depending
clear: these WS2811s on brightness and colour. If you’re
(with added
ping-pong balls) will drawing this level of current, you
quite happily operate probably want to think a little about
at well below their
stated limits your power supply anyway as this
exceeds what most microcontrollers
can supply on their 5 V pin.
magazine kit box). We connected the data pin to various NeoPixels You can sidestep this problem a little by only driving the first
through a level shifter. We then ran an animation on the NeoPixels, NeoPixel with 4.3 V, and then supplying the full 5 V to LEDs after
while gradually turning down the voltage on the level shifter to see this (see Figure 2). The first NeoPixel will output data at 4.3 V to
at what point it stopped working. the second NeoPixel, which can then operate without problems.
We wanted to test two things – do different strips of NeoPixels The two caveats to this are that wiring is a little more complex as
from different suppliers have different voltage limits, and does it you have to power the first NeoPixel differently, and the first will
make any difference how long the strip you try to control is? also be a little less bright than the others in the strip.
All official WS2812B LEDs come from WorldSemi, but in
practice, unless you’re buying from a reputable supplier, there’s a
Minimum
very high chance that you have non-genuine LEDs. This isn’t Batch Number of LEDs
signal voltage
usually a problem for makers, as there’s a wide range of clones
that speak the same protocol and can be used interchangeably. Through-hole
1 2.7 V
We tested out an array of LEDs from a range of suppliers – the (WS2812B) batch 1
results are in the table to the right. The LEDs in WS2812B batch 2
Through-hole
weren’t randomly selected, but a batch that we suspected of 1 2.6 V
(WS2812B) batch 2
having problems.
The gist of these results is that many strips will quite happily WS2811 1 2.5 V
operate with a signal voltage of 3.3 V (and even a bit below), but
occasionally you’ll come across a strip that won’t. What does this
WS2811 7 2.5 V
mean for makers? Well, most of the time you can drive NeoPixels
with 3.3 V microcontrollers and still have some headroom, but
occasionally, you’ll come across some hardware that won’t work. WS2812B batch 1 1 2.5 V
What does this mean for us? We’ll continue to recommend that
people use some way of taking this into account because we can’t WS2812B batch 1 7 2.5 V
be sure what hardware people will be working with.
WS2812B batch 1 30 2.5 V
PROBLEMS NEED SOLUTIONS
There are two basic solutions to the problem of driving NeoPixels
with 3.3 V microcontrollers. One is to increase the signal voltage WS2812B batch 2 1 3.6 V
using a level shifter; the other is to drop the input voltage
Dropping the input voltage is the simplest option for small runs of WS2812B batch 2 30 3.6 V
NeoPixels. A regular diode has a voltage drop of 0.7 V usually, so

75
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DISPLAYS
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TIPS
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78 LCDs two ways

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82 Dividing
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Add a character display to your project

SCHOOL OF MAKING

Add a character display

to your project
Use Arduino or CircuitPython to display text

Ben Everard
@ben_everard

Ben loves cutting stuff,

any stuff. There’s no
longer a shelf to store
these tools on (it’s now
two shelves), and the
door’s in danger.

D
isplays come in all shapes and want to take a look at the other versions. They come
sizes, and it’s not about there being in different sizes, but 16 character by two-line displays
an overall ‘best’ display so much as are the most common, so we’ll focus on these.
it is picking the right one for your Let’s start by looking at how to wire up these
project. This month we’re going to displays. They generally all follow the same pinout,
look at character LCDs, which are but it’s always worth double-checking the data sheet
cheap, widely available, and easy to program with of your device to make sure it’s not any different.
most development environments. Some devices can operate at 5 V, some at 3 V, and
Almost all of these are controlled by Hitachi some at both, so again, make sure you get the
HD44780 chips, and can take input in a couple of right version for the microcontroller you have. The
forms. In their bare incarnation, they have a parallel important thing to remember is to power the device
data bus which has 16 pins (though not all are needed), with the same voltage as the logic, so if you have a
Above but there are also versions with I2C or SPI input. We’ll 3.3 V microcontroller, make sure you power the LCD
This Adafruit display
has four lines and be looking at the basic version here as these are most with 3.3 V.
an RGB backlight common, but if you need to connect a lot of displays With the output pins at the top and the LCD screen
to give a more
interesting display or are short of spare microcontroller pins, you might facing you, the pins are from left to right:

78
 FORGE

1. Ground
2. Power
3. Contrast
4. Register Select
5. Read/Write
6. Enable
7. Data 0
8. Data 1
9. Data 2
10. Data 3
11. Data 4
12. Data 5 SHOW US THE CODE
13. Data 6 We’ll start by looking at how to control this display Above
CircuitPython is now
14. Data 7 with CircuitPython (we’ll take a look at Arduino next). running on over 100
15. Backlight positive The following code sets up the LCD and displays the different boards

16. Backlight negative classic first text, ‘Hello world’. Below

Adding output to your
import board Arduino projects has
You don’t need all of these pins. Power and ground never been easier
import digitalio
obviously need to be connected to power and ground.
import adafruit_character_lcd.character_lcd as
Contrast takes a voltage, and the easiest way to create
characterlcd
an adjustable voltage (and therefore giving you a way
import time
of controlling the contrast on the screen) is to create a
voltage divider with a potentiometer. Connect the pin
lcd_rs = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.D21)
on one side of the potentiometer to power, the other
lcd_en = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.D19)
side to ground, and the middle one to the contrast
lcd_d7 = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.D14)
pin. This way, you can vary the look of the display by
lcd_d6 = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.D15)
twiddling the knob.
lcd_d5 = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.D16)
Read/write should be connected to ground. You’ll
lcd_d4 = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.D17)
need six pins on your microcontroller that take register
select, enable, and Data 4–7. Any digital pins should
lcd_columns = 16
do. We used an Adafruit Grand Central and pins 21,
lcd_rows = 2
19, 17, 16, 15, 14 respectively, but change these out
as you need.
lcd = characterlcd.Character_LCD_Mono(lcd_rs, lcd_
The backlight should also be connected to power.
en, lcd_d4, lcd_d5, lcd_d6, lcd_d7, lcd_columns,
You might need a resistor to protect this – take a look
lcd_rows)
at your device’s data sheet or, if you’re not sure, use a
220 ohm resistor just to be safe.
lcd.message = “Hello\nworld”

while True:
pass

As you can see, there’s not a huge amount we need

to get everything working. We just need to create
Character_LCD_Mono object using the connections
we’ve used. Once we’ve got this, we can set the
message property to the message we want to display.
As you can see, the message contains the \n newline
character, which makes our test display on two lines.
Using it like this, we can easily send whatever text
we want to the little screen, and it will be displayed for
all the world to see. However, we don’t need to stop
here. There are even more features we can explore to
make our display a little more interesting.

79
Add a character display to your project

SCHOOL OF MAKING

In CircuitPython, we format this slightly differently and

we create this character with the following:

lcd.create_char(1, b’\x00\x00\x00\x04\x00\x00\x00\
x00’)

We created a simple star animation by growing points

out from this dot and cycling through four characters.
In order to display the characters, you need to show
the Unicode character 0000 to 0007 corresponding to
the character you’ve created. As most keyboards don’t
have an easy way of typing these, we can create them
We can replace the while loop above with with the ‘\u’ syntax.
Above the following: The code for this star animation is as follows:
No GPIO? No
problem. You can get
USB backpacks that while True: lcd.create_char(1, b’\x00\x00\x00\x04\x00\x00\x00\
let you drive these for i in range(1,11): x00’)
displays from a USB
serial connection lcd.move_right() lcd.create_char(2, b’\x00\x00\x0a\x04\x0a\x00\x00\
time.sleep(0.5) x00’)
for i in range(1,11): lcd.create_char(3, b’\x00\x11\x0a\x04\x0a\x11\x00\
lcd.move_left() x00’)
time.sleep(0.5) lcd.create_char(4, b’\x15\x11\x0a\x15\x0a\x11\x15\
x00’)
This will make the text bounce across the screen using
the move_right() and move_left() methods.
while True:
These displays are very much focused around
lcd.message = ‘\u0001’
displaying text. They receive text as character codes
time.sleep(0.5)
and display it using their own internal font. This means
lcd.message = ‘\u0002’
they’re very easy to work with as we don’t need to
time.sleep(0.5)
worry about pixels, but it does limit what we can
lcd.message = ‘\u0003’
display. To make matters a bit more flexible, they
time.sleep(0.5)
include eight slots for custom characters that you can
lcd.message = ‘\u0004’
program yourself.
time.sleep(0.5)

” We created a simple
star animation by
(NOT) LOST IN TRANSLATION
The process for using these displays is roughly similar
regardless of the language you use, but the syntax
growing points out will be a bit different. Let’s now take a look at how to

”
from this dot get them up and running in Arduino. There’s a library
called LiquidCrystal that should come bundled with the
Arduino installed – if you don’t have it, you should find
Each character is a block of pixels five across by it in the library manager.
seven up, and you can display whatever you want Let’s look at the same bouncing text example
in these. that we created in CircuitPython (running on the
You need to create a binary string to represent the same hardware):
string of pixels, with a 0 being the pixel off and a 1
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
being the pixel on. This sounds a bit complex, but
there’s a tool at hsmag.cc/6zj1vD to help us. We’re
LiquidCrystal lcd(21, 19, 17, 16, 15, 14);
going to create a series of characters to create a mini
firework animation, and the first is just a dot in the
void setup() {
middle of the 5×7 array. We can draw this on the
lcd.begin(16, 2);
website, and it’ll tell us the hex values for this:
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
0x0,0x0,0x0,0x4,0x0,0x0,0x0 lcd.print(“hello”);

80
 FORGE

lcd.setCursor(0, 1); #include <LiquidCrystal.h>

lcd.print(“world”); LiquidCrystal lcd(21, 19, 17, 16, 15, 14);
}
byte star_1[8] = {
void loop() { B00000,
for(int i=0; i<11; i++) { B00000,
lcd.scrollDisplayRight(); B00000,
delay(500); B00100,
} B00000,
B00000,
for(int i=0; i<11; i++) { B00000,
lcd.scrollDisplayLeft(); };
delay(500); ...
} byte star_4[8] = {
} B10101,
B10001,
We used a slightly different mechanism for displaying
B01010,
the text on two lines. We created each line separately,
B10101,
and used the setCursor() method to put it in the
B01010,
correct position.
B10001,
Let’s now take a look at how to create custom
B10101,
characters. We can use byte arrays here. 0s represent
};
pixels that are off and 1s represent pixels that are on.
void setup() {
We’ve also taken a slightly different approach to
lcd.begin(16, 2);
writing out the characters (because this is slightly
lcd.createChar(0, star_1);
simpler in Arduino). Instead of overwriting the whole
lcd.createChar(1, star_2);
message each time, we pop the cursor in the same
lcd.createChar(2, star_3);
place and write out a single byte with the new
lcd.createChar(3, star_4);
character. The shortened code for Arduino is:
}
void loop() {
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.write(byte(0));
delay(500);
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.write(byte(1));
delay(500);
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.write(byte(2));
delay(500);
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.write(byte(3));
delay(500);
}

Hopefully, we have given you enough knowledge to

include LCDs in your builds. They are the simplest,
easiest, and cheapest way of getting extra bits of
text in your projects. They can be a simple add-on to
output useful diagnostics (especially for untethered
projects that can’t use USB serial) or critical parts of
the interface. Left
We found that we
Make sure you have got one or two spares in wanted full contrast,
your kit box and you might find that your projects go so just connected
the contrast pin
a little smoother. to ground

81
Dividing and indexing hackspace-style

TUTORIAL

Dividing and indexing

hackspace-style
Tools for dividing and indexing can be costly – let’s look at some
hackspace-type approaches to this common process

Jo Hinchliffe
@concreted0g

Jo Hinchliffe is a
constant tinkerer and
is passionate about all
things DIY space. He
loves designing and
scratch-building both
model and high-power
rockets, and releases
the designs and
components as open
source. He also has a

I
shed full of lathes and
milling machines and
CNC kit!
n machinist using hackspace-type
terms, dividing approaches to dividing
or indexing usually or indexing without a
means the methods dividing head.
Figure 1
A laser-cut tool we by which items are This first alternate approach is
made to help mark created equally around useful when, for example, we need
equidistant points
around the an object, often a circle. Common to drill a small number of holes around
circumference of
different sized tubes
examples are cutting the teeth of gear- a circle, often referred to as the pitch circle
wheels, but it also can refer to drilling a diameter, or PCD. Some relatively simple
number of holes around a circular path, like a maths can be used to generate the X and Y axis
cylinder head, or milling repeating flat sections to form co-ordinates needed to drill these holes, and we can
a geometric shape, such as a hexagonal bolt head. mark out those positions on a workpiece, or we can
There are numerous approaches and numerous use the dials on a milling machine to move to these
tools that can be used to help with dividing, the most positions and drill. We need to know how many holes
common one in a professional machine shop being we require spaced around the circle, and we need
YOU’LL NEED a dividing or indexing head. These are expensive to know the radius of the circle. We then use two
Access to a
pieces of equipment for home users to purchase, similar equations to work out the X and the Y
well-equipped and are often too large to fit on smaller machines. co-ordinates of each hole location, relative to the
hackspace! In this article, we are going look at alternatives – centre of the circle.

82
 FORGE

A COMMERCIAL SOLUTION
Dividing heads are the professional tool used in
machine shops to perform dividing and indexing
operations. They are an assembly that can rotate
a piece of work and use dividing plates, which are
metal plates with lots of circles of holes accurately
created. These plates allow the work to be indexed
through very precise angles. The workpiece is
rotated, and the division is secured by a locking pin
being inserted into the correct hole on the dividing
plate. The dividing plates are swappable, and plates
can be created to allow dividing heads to create
virtually any number of desired divisions.

For the X and Y co-ordinates, we use the formula the milling table and the collar, and then milled the
seen in Figure 2, where ‘R’ is the radius of the circle, small keyways into the bar stock, repeatedly indexing
‘H’ is the hole number, and ‘N’ is the total number of the part by resetting the piece to the next face of the
holes. It can be quite tricky if you are out of practice octagonal collar.
to put this into a calculator or a spreadsheet, so it’s
worth double-checking that you get the right result GETTING IN A SPIN
for the first hole. The X co-ordinate of ‘H1’ should Another workshop item that is a midpoint tool (and
be the same figure as the radius of the circle, and not as costly as a dividing head) is a rotary table. A
the Y co-ordinate should be zero. Using the formula rotary table is a milling accessory that is primarily
will only return positive values, so it’s important to designed for machining arc paths on the manual
note that some of the answers are going to actually milling machine. However, as it can rotate a workpiece
be negative co-ordinates when you use them in the through a known number of degrees, it can also be
H3

” It can be useful to roughly H2

H3
draw the hole locations as H4
H2
”
you work them out
H4 H1
real world. It can be useful to roughly draw the hole
locations as you work them out so that you can tell H5 R H1
when co-ordinates are going to flip to being negative.
Continuing and solving all the X and Y co-ordinates
gives all the information needed to create a circle H5 R H7
of holes. H6
While a spin indexer might give us more flexibility,
H7
for creating simple divisions, a 3D printer can be
extremely useful to make an object we can use as the
H6
reference for indexing. In Figure 3,we have used a

X = R Cos (H-1) x360

3D-printed octagonal part to create a collar for some
12 mm brass bar stock. We quickly designed and
printed the octagonal collar with the inner diameter
Nx360
(H-1)
being a press fit onto the brass bar stock. Using
the faces of the printed octagon, we can rotate the X = R Cos Figure 2

N
Using these

Y = R Sin (H-1) x360

circular bar eight times and perform an operation on equations, we can
work out the X and Y
each face. In this instance, we have used a precision co-ordinates of the
vice to clamp the workpiece. We set the position with centre of any number

the 3D-printed collar using a small riser block between (H-1)Nx360 of holes around a
circular path
Y = R Sin
N 83
Dividing and indexing hackspace-style

TUTORIAL

used for dividing purposes. It consists of a circular

ALMOST THERE worktable which is rotated by a gear and worm-gear
arrangement attached to a winding handle. It’s a
common project for machinists to convert rotary
tables into forms of dividing head by adding dividing
plates but, even in its standard form, the rotary table
can be useful for dividing. In Figure 4,we can see that
we have used the rotary table and a vice to create a
circle of 15 equidistantly placed holes around a pitch
diameter. Simply dialling the table around 24 degrees
per index using the graduated dial moves the
workpiece to the next position, and a grub-screw on
the table acts as a lock to clamp the table while
performing the drilling operations.
There are some tools that sit in the midpoint between
Using the lathe to divide can be of use, and one job
no tools and a dividing head for the workshop that can
be useful on the milling machine to create divisions. we wanted to create was a dial handle with graduated
The spin indexer is a relatively cheap tool, and we markings every 36 degrees (so ten marks in a full
picked up our example for around £60. A spin indexer rotation) – Figure 5. This dial will eventually be part
is a device which can clamp a workpiece in a collet, of an assembly that moves the spindle forwards
and the collet can be rotated by a known amount. The and backwards at a rate of 1 mm per complete
modern spin indexer has a graduated dial with the
revolution. So, marking it with ten marks means
numbers 0–36 each representing 10 degrees of a
circle. On the body of the spin indexer are ten holes each mark equates to 0.1 of a mm movement. We
labelled from 0 to 9, into which a pin can be located. had heard anecdotes of people using a magnetic
Rotating the collet spindle and aligning a number to digital protractor tool to rotate the chuck by a known
the arrow gives us the crude position to the nearest amount. The digital protractors are available for less
ten degrees, and then we place the pin in the hole for than £15 online, and have a magnetic base so can be
the single digit and move the spindle until the pin
attached to ferrous objects. They can be set into a
engages. This means we can accurately position the
mode where they can be zeroed, and therefore we
spindle to a single degree, making it possible to index
a piece through any combination of divisions of 360 can repeatedly use them to rotate objects by a known
degrees. In the images, you can see that we have amount. To create this crude but effective marked dial
created a hexagonal workpiece by indexing some handle, we placed the workpiece in the lathe chuck
round brass bar stock through 60 degree steps, and with the lathe unplugged, and locked the spindle in
milling a flat section in each position. place. We then used a sharp tool in the tool holder to
mark a line into the workpiece by pushing it into the

Figure 3
Using a 3D-printed
press fit collar on a
piece of brass bar to
perform eight
equidistant milling
operations around
its circumference

84
 FORGE

piece slightly and then moving the carriage back out ‘gear generator’ plug-in to create a gear with 60 teeth.
from the workpiece to scribe a line. We then placed We then numbered each gear tooth valley from 0 to Figure 4
A rotary table can
the digital protractor on a jaw of the chuck, unlocked 60, to allow us to rotate the assembly by a known be used to index
the spindle, and hand-rotated the workpiece 36 amount. We added a base, and created some sliding workpieces in various
ways – in this
degrees, locked the spindle, and repeated the process gear locks which simply engage with the gear and can instance to drill
until we had marked all ten lines (Figure 6). While we lock it in place. The rest of the assembly of this tool a circle of
equidistant holes
had some doubts about how well this would work, consists of a simple pair of stand-offs with a V-shape
and we definitely could increase the quality of the cut into the top of them, which allows a pen or pencil
mark by grinding a purpose-made tool, we were very to be slid into position and mark a dot onto the held
surprised at how accurate this method was. tube Figure 7.

GETTING CREATIVE
With imagination, hackspace-type tools like laser
LASERS!
cutters, 3D printers, and CNC machines can be
used to create all kinds of tools that can help with
dividing tasks. Printing or cutting dividing plates that
can be attached to spindles can enable us to create
dividing heads, and we have seen many examples
of 3D-printed gears being used to index workpieces.
Taking things a little further, we created a tool that
helps us mark divisions around tubular workpieces,
which is a common task for those involved in the
building of model rockets who want to accurately
place fins around a tube. We based this tool around If you have access to a laser cutter, you can easily create patterns that can assist in
a type of self-centring chuck called a Longworth drilling holes around a diameter. Often, software graphics packages have ways of
chuck which consists of two plates which, when automatically cloning a circle ‘hole’ object around a circular path, or if not, using the x-y
co-ordinate calculation methods elsewhere in this article should enable you to draw the
counter-rotated, can move four ‘jaws’ inwards and
required pattern. Laser-cut patterns cut in plywood or plastics can then be used to either
outwards. This assembly allows a tube to be held in mark out on the real workpiece, or even can be clamped to a workpiece and used as a drill
position with the jaws either inside or outside of the guide. In the image, we have used the Inkscape drawing software to draw and cut a series
tube, (Figure 1). Instead of making the bottom plate of seven 4 mm holes around a 30 mm pitch diameter that could be used as a drill guide.
of the chuck assembly circular, we used Inkscape’s

85
Dividing and indexing hackspace-style

TUTORIAL

Figure 5
A simple but
effective dial handle
that, when finished,
will move a threaded
spindle 0.1 mm per
engraved mark

Figure 6
Cheaply available
digital protractors are
incredibly accurate, and
can allow workpieces
to be rotated by
known amounts

Any number of marks that’s a factor of 60 can

be made by starting with the gear set to zero at the
reference gear lock, and marking the first point and
then indexing the assembly around to the desired
division. So, for the example of a rocket tube with 4
fins, indexing and marking through the numbers 0, 15,
30, and 45 gives the correct points. Having marked the
tube, we can remove it and extend the marks using a
piece of aluminium angle to ensure the lines remain
straight in relation to the centre point of the tube.
While this application is a pretty unusual use case, we
hope that it perhaps inspires ideas into how laser-cut
or 3D-printed tools can be made that assist dividing
tasks in projects. All the files for this particular tool are
available here: hsmag.cc/UXcwxP.
If you have your own hackspace-style methods and
approaches to dividing and indexing, share them with
us here: twitter.com/HackSpaceMag.

Figure 7
Using the laser-cut
Longworth chuck
indexer to rotate
and mark tubes in
equal divisions

86
Join us as we lift the lid
on video games

Visit wfmag.cc to learn more

Raspberry Pi displays

TUTORIAL

Raspberry Pi displays
Add dynamic colourful displays or sleek
infographics to your project

M
any projects produce data. It your build opens up a world of display types that can
seems like a simple enough thing add a new dimension to your make, whether it’s a
to say, but often that data goes simple readout, pretty chart, or even a hypnotic
‘uncharted’. Other projects, pattern. In these pages, we’ve picked a few of our
especially mobile makes such as favourite examples.
robots, could have their
PJ Evans movement visualised in an engaging way, but often
microcontrollers lack the power to produce a
@mrpjevans
suitable display. Adding a Raspberry Pi computer to
PJ Evans is a
developer and
wrangler of the Milton
Keynes Raspberry
Jam. He runs a LoRa
gateway, which is
probably the nearest
he’ll get to his own
radio breakfast show.

88
 FORGE

7-segment Adafruit 16×2 LED

LED display display with keypad
ADAFRUIT £9 thepihut.com ADAFRUIT £18.50 thepihut.com

Let’s start with one of the most basic types of display: A seven-segment LED display is all very well for
LEDs. Light-emitting diodes have been a stalwart of the numbers, but it’s not so great at text. You can make
maker community since their invention, and they will approximations and even add scrolling effects, but
feature heavily in this article. The classic seven- there are better alternatives. The next step up is
segment LED display became popular in 1970s alarm this LCD that can produce 32 characters on two
clocks, thanks to its bright display and the futuristic lines of 16. It’s a common display type,
wizardry of a fully electronic system. It’s probably originally designed for providing simple interfaces
because of the millions of alarms clocks built since for machinery. There is a nice retro feel to this
then that this classic four-digit display is so common. display, but it can have real purpose if you need
something bright. Above

”
Again, this is an Adafruit kit and provides everything you need Perfect for
high-visibility
Using I2C, you can in a single package. The 16×2 panel itself is widely available and text readouts
very cheap but, just like its smaller cousin, it requires many GPIO
always chain multiple pins to work. This kit features a GPIO input expander and five

”
tactile switches to create a small control unit that only requires a
displays together few pins. Available in a range of colours, it’s perfect for bright
text readout and small projects, such as media players.

As is often the case with LED displays, they require

a lot of pins to work. Unless, that is, you have a
dedicated driver chip such as the MAX7219. Using a
technique called multiplexing, the entire display can
PaPiRus
now be driven using Raspberry Pi’s I2C interface. This
build from Adafruit contains the display and the driver
chip on a single board, although a small bit of soldering
is required. As ever, Adafruit backs this up with a
eInk display
Python library to make controlling the display in code PI SUPPLY £40.99 uk.pi-supply.com
as easy as possible. If your project is time-based, or
requires a numerical output,
One thing that displays of all types tend to have in
this is a cheap and effective
common is their relatively high power requirements. If
solution. Got a long number Below
Great for retro you have a project that is battery-powered and only
to display? Using I2C, you
projects, and simple requires occasional updates, then an e-ink screen is
can always chain multiple and easy-to-read
worth consideration. This technology comprises
displays together. information displays
thousands of pigmented balls ‘floating’ in a panel. By Below
applying positive or negative charge, the balls are either E-ink displays are
pulled up or down. When up, their pigment can be seen; slow to refresh, but
retain their display
when down, they’re covered. Their unique feature is that without power
they remain in place permanently. Power is
only consumed when the screen is refreshed.
This makes e-ink perfect for low-power
projects. The cons are a very slow refresh rate
(you can forget about anything animated), and
you are typically restricted to monochrome,
although two-colour screens are available.
The PaPiRus range from Pi Supply offers a
very simple and effective way to add an e-ink
screen to your project. These come in a range
of sizes and all connect to Raspberry Pi GPIO
as HATs. Installation is just connecting the
display and installing some software.

89
Raspberry Pi displays

TUTORIAL

Official Raspberry Pi
Right
7” Touchscreen
This official screen
combines a beautiful RASPBERRY PI £60 pimoroni.com Moving on to more common displays, we come to Raspberry Pi’s
compact display with
touch capability very own 7” touchscreen. It’s been around for a few years and
has become a firm favourite in the community as a reliable,
high-quality product. The touchscreen is a monitor capable of an
800×480 pixel display. Two things separate this display from the
DISPLAY others featured here. First, it uses the DSI interface found on all
Raspberry Pi models, so no GPIO sacrifice bar some for power
TYPES and a couple of GPIO pins for the other unique feature. This, as
you’ve probably guessed from the name, is a touchscreen,
LED which makes it perfect for interactive applications. By default, it
The most basic
acts as a mouse pointer, so installation is literally connecting the
type, LEDs are
screen and booting as Raspbian has full support built-in.
arranged either
Being an ‘official’ product, there are a lot of third-party
in a matrix or
accessories available, including cases and stands in a range of
into seven-
sizes and colours. The touchscreen makes this display perfect
segment
for control panels, bright colourful infographics, and even more
characters.
advanced applications like kiosks or booking systems.

TFT

HDMI 10”
Thin-film-
transistor
liquid-crystal PiOLED
Screen
displays are the
most common
for older and ADAFRUIT £14 pimoroni.com
lower-cost
monitors. If clarity is an important feature, and you don’t mind a
PIMORONI £95.10 pimoroni.com
smaller display, OLED (Organic LED) is becoming more
IPS affordable. This technology offers superior colour
In-plane reproduction and much higher contrast than other It may seem a bit obvious to mention HDMI here, but it is, after all,
switching display systems. OLED is starting to make its way into the de facto standard for Raspberry Pi displays, at least on
renders a very mobile phones and some televisions, but it remains desktops. HDMI comes in a range of resolutions. It’s most famous
high-quality expensive. However, small monochrome OLED screens for high-definition screens, but you can also get smaller ones.
display with a can now be added to Raspberry Pi models starting at Also of use is its ability to carry 5.1 audio as well, something
much wider just £15. These are ideal if you want a razor-sharp but nothing else here can do. HDMI is directly compatible with the
viewing angle very small screen to display more complex information. older DVI-D standard, which means that an older monitor can
than TFT. There are many OLED HATs on the market, some often be picked up cheaply. You just need a £1 adapter.
even featuring full colour, but they typically only go up Possibly of most interest to makers are the ‘guts’ HDMI kits
OLED to about 7” in size. The Adafruit PiOLED featured here available. This 10” panel is sold by Pimoroni and is used in the
A modern is a tiny 128×32 display that slips over six GPIO pins to firm’s famous Picade kit. If you’re building an arcade console,
display use I2C for the display, leaving lots of pins to play with. kiosk, or another type of information display, this is a great and
technology that The provided Python library makes it easy to display simple way to get up and running.
gives sharp data or create animations (it has a refresh rate of
displays with 30 fps). The OLEDs used will start to dim after about
better contrast 1000 hours of use, so make use of screen blanking!
than IPS. Can be Right
expensive with a HDMI offers the
shorter life-span widest selection and
larger sizes, but at
than other a price
options, so tends
Left
to be available OLED offers crisp
in smaller sizes. images in a variety
of sizes, but can
get expensive

90
 FORGE

Unicorn Pi Projector
HAT HD MICK HELLSTROM

How about some movie magic?

approx £110 mickmake.com

Can you project from a

PIMORONI £33.90 pimoroni.com
Raspberry Pi? Why yes, you
can. In fact, this kit produces a
If you’re feeling a bit more creative, or want to visualise much more high-quality display
your data in an unusual way, the wide range of LED than the common ‘nano
matrix boards may be more fun. These are simple grids projectors’ that are now widely
of individually addressable LEDs, along with driver available. Pi Projector came
circuitry to make them easy to code. After that, it’s up to about when maker Mick
you. Create dynamic rainbow patterns, or combine with Hellstrom happened across an
a gyroscope or accelerometer to create interactive art. evaluation projector unit
The best thing about these displays is the incredible produced by Texas Instruments.
range of shapes and sizes available: from tiny Pimoroni The DLP2000 is a small board
featuring a low-resolution DLP

”
projector, the kind of projection
These are simple system used in digital cinemas
and higher-end home projectors. It was intended for use with a
grids of individually BeagleBone Black as a design reference – but, one small piece

”
Above
addressable LEDs of PCB design later, Hellstrom managed to get it working with a Big screen fun from
a Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi Zero. Zero? Oh yes
A DLP2000 will cost you around £90 from a specialist
electronics retailer. You’ll need to add your own Raspberry Pi Below
LED matrices come
Scroll pHATs for Raspberry Pi Zero, to the huge Unicorn Zero and purchase the Pi Projector board from Tindie, but it’ll in all shapes and
which features just 256 bright LEDs, but is 19 cm x 19 cm only set you back £4. Assembly is tricky due to space sizes, and can be
in size and can be chained together to create a truly restrictions, but the resulting image is surprisingly good, even in used to produce
beautiful effects
massive display. There are even flexible displays daylight, as DLP produces a much better contrast range than
available so wearables can join in the fun. LCD. If assembly isn’t for you, try an LCD-based nano projector
This Unicorn HAT is a fun way to show data that fits instead. Either way, if projection would enhance your project,
snugly on a standard Raspberry Pi B form factor. Using this is a great way to do it.
the provided Python libraries, you can unleash your
artful side to create animations or find new ways to
represent data from sensors. Perfect for sound-to-light KNOW YOUR CONNECTORS
projects. If your project needs text, think carefully.
Rudimentary scrolling text is possible but only really
There’s more than one way of connecting a display to
suitable if you’re going for that aesthetic.
a Raspberry Pi computer:

HDMI
The most common method, producing a display of up
to 1920×1080 pixels.

DSI
Based on an industry-standard interface often found
inside monitors and TVs, this ribbon connector is used
by the official touchscreen.

Composite
All Raspberry Pi models are capable of producing a
low-resolution standard composite signal, although
you may have to tweak settings for it to work.

GPIO
Many displays, especially those with lower
resolutions, use the GPIO as an interface.

91
Amazing 3D Printing Tips and Tricks

TUTORIAL

Amazing 3D Printing
Tips and Tricks
A collection of pro tips to get the most
from your 3D printing experience

Gareth Branwyn
@garethb2

Gareth has been a

lifelong practitioner
(and chronicler) of
DIY tech, media, and
culture. He is the author
of ten books, including
Tips and Tales from
the Workshop, and
is a former editor for
Boing Boing, Wired,
and Make:.

GENERAL TIPS AND ADVICE

Keep it clean The oil from your hands and airborne
contaminants can prevent your prints from sticking to

T
the build platform. Keep your build platform clean
he consumer 3D printing industry has with some isopropyl alcohol.
had its up and downs since its birth a
decade ago, but few people can now Use maple syrup for what, now? People use all
deny its continued growth, sorts of weird stuff to improve bed adhesive for ABS
maturation, and increasing utility. plastic prints. Some people use special papers, glues,
From early adopter, assemble-your-own sprays, and tapes, as well as glue sticks, hair-spray,
machines, and Yoda-bust test prints to serious and painter’s tape. But the weirdest of all has got to
applications across all realms of making, small-scale be maple syrup. Some printers swear by it.
manufacturing, research and development, 3D
printing becomes more widespread and Don’t be tempted to buy a super-cheap printer
indispensable by the day. Do your homework and take negative feedback that
To get the most out of your 3D printing experience, you hear about a printer seriously. Manage your
Above
Bass inserts we’ve gathered together this collection of tips, tricks, expectations about what an inexpensive printer can
can be pressed and little-known printing techniques from some of actually do. As in most things, you get what you
into 3D prints to
hold bolts HackSpace magazine’s 3D printing contributors. pay for.

92
 FORGE

Don’t be tempted by cheap filament Cheap filament

means air pockets, out of round material, inconsistent
diameters, and is nothing but trouble since the printer
has no idea how much filament is actually extruded. Do
yourself a favour and buy from a name brand company.

Using a mirror as your print bed Mirrors make the

best bed platforms on cheaper machines since mirrors
need to be manufactured perfectly flat to reflect
properly. Even on printers that use glass beds, the bed
can sometimes be cast more unevenly than they look.

Level-bedded Before running a print on a new

machine, stand a steel ruler on its edge and run it
back to front along the print bed, looking for light gaps
where the ruler meets the bed. Wherever you find stronger prints in a shorter amount of time. In the Above
Some feet in the
them, use tape or foil to help even out the bed. comments to the video, a viewer named Mikolas Zuza corners of your prints
Repeat for x-axis/left-to-right. shared another reason for considering extrusion width: help keep everything
stuck down
“There is another reason to adjust the extrusion width.
Using brass inserts It’s a good idea to use threaded If you look at the perimeters value in PrusaSlicer, Credit
Andrew Lewis
brass inserts for parts that will be screwed and there’s a tooltip suggesting a perfect wall thickness
unscrewed repeatedly. You can sink these inserts into for a given number of perimeters. If you match this
your print using a soldering iron to heat and melt them value, either by adjusting the extrusion width or
into the plastic. You can use a regular, suitably sized editing your drawing, the perimeters will fit perfectly
soldering tip, but there are also commercial tips without any need for a gap fill. This can help achieve
designed for this specific task. You can also use an nearly perfect wall-surface finish, as there is minimal
old drill press stand and soldering iron to make a material overflow.”
heated press tool for brass inserts if you need to
embed a lot of them.
PRINT 3D TEST PARTS FROM THE

”
MCMASTER-CARR CATALOGUE
But the weirdest
Maker Meredith Scheff-
of all has got to be maple King discovered a
wonderful feature hidden
syrup. Some printers

”
within the indispensable
swear by it McMaster-Carr online
catalogue (mcmaster.com).
Many parts in the catalogue
have 3D models available
Using waste filament as filler Waste prints and raft/
for them. These files can be
support material are useful as filler when welding parts downloaded and converted into 3D printable files. Here are the basic steps:
together with a hot-air gun or soldering iron. You can
also fill/repair prints using 'friction welding'. Chuck a 1. On the catalogue, find the part you’re interested in and look for a 'Product Detail' link.
piece of filament into a rotary (Dremel) tool and let the
2. On that link, next to a technical drawing of the part, you’ll see a drop-down menu of
spinning material melt into cracks as needed. 3D file types available. Select the format you want (likely STEP) and download it.

Don’t forget extrusion width In a CNC Kitchen 3. From here, you’ll want to convert your file to STL format.
video on YouTube (hsmag.cc/iHJdPr), Stefan looks at 4. Once it's in STL, you can open the file in your favourite CAD program to manipulate
extrusion width, something that most 3D printers tend and print as desired.
to overlook. Extrusion width defines how wide the Making use of this feature, you can print an expensive/critical part in plastic first and
lines of extruded material will be. Wider lines require test-fit it to make sure that it’s the part you want before you buy a proper version.
more pressure to squeeze the molten filament out Meredith has a piece on Instructables (hsmag.cc/S4WjnM) which shows the steps in a
of the nozzle and to press the layers together. Stefan bit more detail.
discovered that increasing the width can produce

93
Amazing 3D Printing Tips and Tricks

TUTORIAL

QUICK TIP Add 'feet' to your prints to hold the corners down
To help prevent the corners of your prints from lifting,
To remove strings or
unwanted support add 10 mm discs the height of a single layer to the
leftovers, carefully bottom corners of your models when printing without
blast your print for a a raft. When your print is done, you can easily cut
second with a small these feet away with a razor knife.
propane torch. Also,
if you get stress
Is your first layer all squishy? If you find that the
marks in your print
from bending, a first print layer on your 3D printer is rough and
quick blast with a squished-looking, you may have the extrusion head
heat gun will get rid too close to the print bed. On most printers, the
of them. thickness of a sheet of bond paper is the normal revolve, and extrude as needed to create your object.
distance between the extruder nozzle and the bed. If Armed with your phone camera, a CAD program, a 3D
you notice a skipping sound coming from the extruder printer, and some time and patience, you can copy and
mechanism, it means that too much filament is being print the world – or at least a 3D-printed facsimile of it.
extruded, which can also make for a squished print.
To fix this, recalibrate your extruder, aiming for that Adding patterns to your prints If you want to add
paper-thickness distance. colour, pattern, or visual texture to your 3D prints, try
using hydrographic film (aka water transfer film) which
Use an enclosure to achieve a stable temperature is a water-soluble material with images on it. To use it,
New users tend to underestimate just how sensitive you put it in a bath of water and spray with an
fused filament-type printers are to airflow/room drafts. activator. You then dip your printed object into the
If your printer doesn’t include an enclosure, build one

”
(even if it’s just a barrier to prevent a draft).
Taking high-quality time-
Tracing photos for 3D design If you have a physical
object that you want to bring into your computer for lapse photos of 3D prints
design and printing, take a photo of the object, bring
and turning them into fluid-

”
the photo into Fusion 360 (or similar), and then trace,
looking build videos

bath. The print on the film is then transferred to your

object. Hydrographic film is readily available online.
It’s a technique that takes some practice, but there
are numerous tutorials online that will show you how.

3D printing on fabric There's all sorts of potential for

3D printing on fabric. By using netting or fabric with
holes in it, you can print right into the fabric, making it
part of the final print. See issue 20 of HackSpace
magazine for a feature on David Shorey who is one of
the pioneers of 3D printing with fabric.
Above
Add designs to Photographing your print process We covered this
your T-shirts with
a 3D printer amazing technique in issue 20, the 'Top Maker Tips'
Credit
issue. Scott, of the YouTube channel GreatScott!,
3DPrinterGuides came up with a great way of taking high-quality
Right time-lapse photos of 3D prints and turning them into
Metallic filaments fluid-looking build videos. The photos are taken each
contain some
actual metal time the print head returns to its starting position.
See issue 20 for the steps, and watch the GreatScott!
Credit
Dave Mordini video (hsmag.cc/aY4HMs).

94
 FORGE

Working with metal-infused filaments Washington

DC-area artist and curator Dave Mordini shared a
discovery with this author. “I took an old broken lawn
ornament and put new feet on it. I then 3D-scanned it
using an inexpensive consumer scanner. I decided to
add pizzazz to an aluminium casting of it by using
copper-infused filament when 3D printing my mould.
The 3D-printed mould is packed in sand. When you
pour the hot aluminium into the mould, the plastic
part gets burned away, but the copper remains.”

3D printing chain-mail There are a number of design

files on Thingiverse for 3D printing chain-mail. Spanish
maker Agustin Flowalistik has a popular file on the
site (thingiverse.com/thing:3096598) which prints
handsome and sturdy mail using H-shaped rings. 1–2 layers. Lightweight foaming PLA might even
Above
work better. In this video (hsmag.cc/EOhjwL) on You can use a 3D
3D printing T-shirts 3D printing T-shirts might be 3DPrinterGuides, Alex shows you how. printer for more than
3D printing
a lot easier than you realise. It involves clamping
Credit
the shirt to the print bed and printing a design in 3D printing lithophanes and coloured lithophanes RCLifeOn
Thomas Brooks has created an app called
Below
LithophaneMaker (lithophanemaker.com). He
MAKING A FILAMENT DRY BOX offers an intro to 3D-printed lithophanes in this
Keeping filament
dry is a key part of
accurate printing
It is sad how often I see 3D printer filament at video (hsmag.cc/bKv14W). In a follow-up video
someone’s house or makerspace where rolls of PLA are (hsmag.cc/IG3IFg), he shows how he used a Credit
Becky Stern
left exposed to the air. PLA plastic absorbs moisture. Mosaic Palette Pro 2 (mosaicmfg.com), a device for
This can cause the material to bubble in the extrusion turning a conventional 3D printer into a multimaterial
nozzle, ruining your print or clogging the head.
printer, to create multicoloured lithophanes. A
Becky Stern has an Instructable (hsmag.cc/cbHIwT)
and video (hsmag.cc/Q5ghCQ) on how she turned an lithophane is a type of three-dimensional image
airtight plastic tub into a PLA filament dry box. The box carved (or in this case, printed) to allow different
holds four spools and feeds them directly to the printer amounts of light to shine through.
through Teflon tubing and rubber 0-rings.
The project is very simple. Besides acquiring the Using Ironing and Fuzzy Skin The 3D printer slicer
parts, most of the time will be spent 3D printing the
app, Cura, comes with two options you may not be
mounting brackets for a spool rod and installing the
airtight feed tubes and O-rings. The project can be done aware of: Ironing will smooth out and sharpen the top
in a few hours and will ensure that your moisture- layer of a print; the Fuzzy Skin option creates a rough
sensitive filaments will remain dry as a bone. surface texture to your prints. Chuck, on the CHEP
channel on YouTube, demonstrates two applications
using these options (hsmag.cc/k8GNfy).

Casting cardboard in 3D-printed moulds On

YouTube (hsmag.cc/3R5Me3), young maker
XYZAidan shows how he created a series of moulds
on his 3D printer and cast cardboard pulp in them,
which he made in a blender from cut bits of cardboard
rubbish. With this technique, you can shape all sorts THANKS
of 3D objects out of recycled paper. Marc de Vinck,
Tim Tate, Becky
Turning your 3D printer into a CNC engraver In a Stern, Brian
Jacoby, Chris Gilroy,
video on RCLifeOn (hsmag.cc/IKZv2Y), Simon shows
Andrew Lewis, Dave
how he turned his 3D printer into a CNC engraver Mordini, Meredith
using a DC motor, a 3D-printed bracket, and some Scheff-King, Erin
end mills. Winick Anthony

95
WiFi heater upgrade with NodeMCU

TUTORIAL

WiFi heater upgrade

with NodeMCU
Read multiple analogue inputs and control your electric heater over the internet

W
hile some heaters have it warmer. Most people are familiar with this sort of
built-in thermostats, they’re control, and they know instinctively how to use it. It’s
often very inaccurate and resilient, easy to clean, doesn’t need a fancy digital
will stick in the 'on' or 'off' display, and you don’t have to press multiple buttons
position. This makes the room to change any settings. Controlling this sort of dial
temperature unpredictable, and over the internet poses a bit of a problem, because
Dr Andrew Lewis
can lead to a nasty shock when the electricity bill
@monkeysailor comes in. It can also have unfortunate side effects
for 3D printers and temperature-sensitive tools. This
BE AWARE OF RISKS
Dr Andrew Lewis project uses a NodeMCU and thermistor to measure This project involves connecting to and switching
is the owner of
ambient temperature, and control an electric heater mains electrical voltages, and there is a risk of injury
Shedlandia.com, a
restorer of old tools, accordingly. Using a NodeMCU for this project is or death if you don’t know what you are doing. Never
a fabricator for hire, a cost-effective, but working with the limitations of work on a live electrical circuit; always make sure you
research scientist, and use appropriate fuses, breakers, earth connections,
a founder member of the board can be tricky when dealing with multiple
and other safety features in your project. Make sure
the Guild of Makers. analogue inputs. The NodeMCU only has one that there are no exposed electrical connections, and
analogue input available, and to use multiple devices, take care that there are no places where an electrical
you’ll need to discover how multiplexing works, and short could occur between the high and low voltage
learn a few tricks about controlling relays and sensors portions of the project. Alternatively, you can use a
using an ESP8266 web server. pre-built solution. There are some smart sockets that
work with WiFi-enabled microcontrollers, and these
allow you to avoid any mains wiring.
WINTER IS COMING You also need to make sure that, in the unlikely
The simplest sort of heating controller is a dial fixed event that the heater gets stuck on full, it's not going
to a wall. Turning the dial to the left usually makes to start a fire before you have chance to fix it.
the room cooler, while turning it to the right makes

96
 FORGE

MOVING BY HAND
If you’ve ever tried to move a live servo by hand, you’ll
know that even if you can get it to move, it will just
spring back to its set position as soon as you let go.
That isn’t very useful behaviour for this project, because
the user needs to be able to turn the dial by hand, and
have it stay where it’s put. The answer is to only power
the servo when it’s needed, and let it free-wheel when
it’s not being used. Although cutting the power to the
servo using a relay or transistor might seem the most
obvious way to get this behaviour, there’s a much simpler
solution. If you detach a servo using the detach()
function in the Servo.h module, the NodeMCU will
stop transmitting the position signal to the servo, and it
will free-wheel. Obviously, this only works with servos
that use conventional gearing – high torque servos
and servos that use a worm gear will be difficult, or
impossible, to move when they are powered off.

the dial is both a control and a display. If you change

the thermostat remotely, you need to adjust the
position of the dial to reflect the new settings.
This project relies on a low-cost servo connected
to a potentiometer to control the position of the dial. requires minimal additional circuitry, but it does require
When the user changes the target temperature using access to a 3D printer to make the gears that connect
the webpage, the NodeMCU starts moving the servo, the servo to the potentiometer. The best place to start
Above
and checking the value of the potentiometer on the is by printing these parts and assembling the dial. The The pinout of the
dial. When the potentiometer value reflects the target printed parts are designed to fit into the lid of an IP55 NodeMCU can be a
temperature, the servo disconnects. The project junction box with all of the low voltage components, bit confusing if it’s
but there’s no real limitation the first time you’ve
on the enclosure that you use used it. The pin
R2
NTC labels on the board
as long as it is electrically safe.
(D1, D2, etc.) don’t
Mains voltage parts of this project
actually refer to the
are fitted into a separate IP55 pin numbers used
U1
junction box near to the heater. in the Arduino IDE.
This second box contains a 5 V The pin numbers
1N4001
D1

R1
10kΩ
power supply for the NodeMCU recognised by the
and servo, and a high-power solid Arduino IDE are
the GPIO numbers
state relay to control the heater.
shown in this
D2
1N4001
Vin
GND
RST
EN
3V3
GND
SK
S0
SC
S1
S2
S3
VU
GND
A0

R3
10kΩ With the dial assembled, diagram. So, D1 on
NodeMCU
V3.0 Lolin

you can start wiring up the the NodeMCU is

potentiometer and thermistor digital pin 5 in the
GND

GND
3V3

3V3

as shown in the circuit diagram Arduino IDE, and

D0
RX
D8

D6

D2
D5

D3
D4
D7
TX

D1

for the project. Flash the D2 is pin 4. There

are some other
heater control sketch onto
constraints with the
U2 the NodeMCU, edit the code digital pins, because
to match the username and only pins D2, D5, D6,
Main Live
password of your WiFi, and use and D8 can be used
J1 the Arduino IDE’s serial monitor for PWM control
Heater Live
or your router to find out the
Servo Left
IP address assigned to the
+

pulse The low voltage side

-
NodeMCU. Visiting the device’s of this project is
IP address in your browser quite straightforward

97
WiFi heater upgrade with NodeMCU

TUTORIAL

Right
The enclosure for
the dial houses the
NodeMCU and the
thermistor, which
is the metallic tube
poking out on the
left-hand side of
this image. The
thermistor could be
mounted remotely,
and the circuit
and app could be
modified to use
multiple thermistors
and relays. This
might be useful if
you want to monitor
indoor and outdoor
temperatures
from your phone,
or activate a fan
to circulate air
if one area gets
significantly warmer
than another

YOU’LL NEED
NodeMCU
(hsmag.cc/zibTUx)

5 V PSU module

(hsmag.cc/L466kj)

S3003 Servo
(hsmag.cc/LJDKyp) should display a simple webpage that tells you the
GOING ANALOGUE current temperature and the target temperature of
10 kΩ thermistor
the heater.
10 kΩ The NodeMCU has one analogue input, but this project The dial assembly connects to the mains control
potentiometer uses two analogue devices. One solution would be to
box via three low-voltage wires. Two of the wires
use an I2C sensor to measure the temperature, or use a
10 kΩ resistor chip like the MCP3008 to add a second analogue input. carry the 5 V power to the dial assembly, connecting
A simple room heater doesn’t really need anything to the Vin and GND pins of the NodeMCU. The third
3 × 1N2001 diode
(or similar) that complex, and you can use a technique called wire connects to D5 (GPIO 14) on the NodeMCU, and
multiplexing to combine the outputs from the sensors

”
3D-printed dial into a single input, and read them sequentially. There
and gear
are dedicated chips (like the 74HC4051) that will let you
You should now be able to
10 A 220 V Solid multiplex eight or more different analogue signals, and
State Relay these are great if you want to expand this project to control the temperature
(hsmag.cc/KHNtWb) read from multiple temperature sensors.
of your workspace with a

”
For working with just a couple of analogue sources,
Signal wire
it’s easier (and uses fewer digital pins) to isolate the
(an old network
sensors from each other with a couple of diodes.
neat, reactive dial
cable is ideal)
The diodes will prevent the output from the sensors
13 A mains from interfering with each other, but you should be
flex cable carries the trigger signal to the solid state relay. With
aware that they will also cause the readings from
(length to suit the all of the low voltage wiring complete, now is a good
requirements of
each sensor to be slightly lower than expected. This
your heater) isn’t a big problem, but it does mean that when you’re time to check everything is working as expected.
doing something like calculating temperature from Power the NodeMCU with 5 V, and experiment with
IP55 1-gang a thermistor, you will need to adjust the input value the servo settings. You might have to fiddle with
enclosure slightly to account for the effect of the diode on the
(hsmag.cc/dVhAgB) the positioning of the gears on the servo and dial to
input. Adding 97 to the input from the ADC works well
get the range of movement you need. It’s easiest to
IP55 2-gang for the temperature range used in this project.
enclosure remove the dial temporarily, set the temperature to
(hsmag.cc/LK6TrD) 5°C (the minimum allowed temperature) using the

98
 FORGE

U1

NodeMCU GND
Left
You need to supply
NodeMCU pin D5 mains voltage to
the input of the 5 V
power supply with
an appropriate fuse
and an earth. The
solid state relay is
an electronic switch
Main Live Heater Live used to turn the
heater on or off,
and it should be
connected in line
Main Neutral Heater Neutral on the live (brown
in the UK) wire,
between the heater
Main Earth Heater Earth and the plug socket.
The neutral (blue in
the UK) and ground
HLK-PM1 (yellow/green in the
UK) pass straight
through to the heater

-Vo NodeMCU GND

AC
5 V 2 A PSU
AC

+Vo NodeMCU Vin

web interface, and then refit the dial so that it points crossed wires or short circuits, and then close the
to the appropriate position. Most solid state relays IP55 boxes, and screw them shut. Connect the
have a visible LED in them, so you can tell whether power, wait a few seconds, and then try to access the
they are turned on or off without having to connect temperature-control+ over the internet. If everything
them to a mains device. has gone well, you should now be able to control the
temperature of your workspace with a neat, reactive
RULE 0: DO NOT BE ON FIRE dial that responds to internet instructions!
With everything connected, double-check the mains
portions of the wiring to make sure there are no

QUICK TIP
GETTING ONLINE If your heater has a
built-in (inaccurate)
This project uses the ESP8266 web server module
thermostat, you
to turn your NodeMCU into a tiny web server. This is
don’t usually need to
a very powerful module that lets you set up a REST
modify the heater to
server with minimum code. It makes the NodeMCU
bypass it. Just turn it
a great, low-cost way of adding web functionality to
up to maximum, and
existing hardware. It also makes it easy for someone to
it should stay on.
maliciously access your existing hardware if you don’t
have effective network security in place. The code for
this project does limit the maximum temperature that a
user can set remotely, but it doesn’t include important
security features like password protection. You should Left
You don't always
consider adding more security features if you intend to need a circuit board,
use the heater project on your own network. as components can
be joined with a bit of
simple wiring

99
An introduction to functional 3D printing

TUTORIAL

Right
Making a floating herb
garden is just one of
infinite applications
of these essential 3D
modelling tips

An introduction to
functional 3D printing
Learn key aspects of functional design while recycling plastic pots

C
“ ome with me, and you’ll be in a In issue 28 of HackSpace, we gave you an
world of pure imagination…”. introduction on how to use Fusion 360, using a vase
With 3D printing, if you can as an example. While that knowledge is a good
imagine it, you can print it (within foundation for this tutorial, you should be able to
reason of course). One limitation follow along fine without it. If you’re completely new
is the ability to use 3D modelling to Fusion 360, you’ll be glad to know that it’s free for
Glenn Horan software. Take it from us that 3D modelling really hobbyists – you just need to sign up and download it
@BatGlenn13 isn’t as hard as it looks and, thankfully, functional from this link: hsmag.cc/Kbg7lE. While Fusion 360
prints are significantly easier than, say, sculpting a is downloading, you can start to take the physical
Glenn is a software detailed action figure. There are however important measurements we’ll need to make our functional print.
developer by day and a
paradigms that should be followed to make the most Digital callipers are great here as we can use them to
3D printing enthusiast
by night. Rumour has out of our new creations. We’re going to use Fusion conveniently and accurately measure objects/gaps/hole
it that building and 360 to run through how we designed our ring mounts diameters etc., but for this project, a ruler is fine.
troubleshooting cheap
Prusa clones is what
to make a floating herb garden, show you how to
caused him to go bald add modifications to make them work in different SAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
before his years. scenarios, and introduce you to some important 3D Using our pots as an example, we first need to
modelling concepts along the way. measure the diameter of the pot for the main ring

100
 FORGE

TOOLS FOR THE JOB YOU’LL NEED

Fusion 360
If you are planning on doing a lot of 3D modelling, a
set of digital callipers are essential. They are also 3D printer
useful when it comes to calibrating your printer, as
you can find out the true dimensions of those Digital callipers
(though a ruler
calibration cubes you’ve been printing and even will do)
check the diameter of your filament to make sure it
really is 1.75 mm thick, as advertised. With a little bit
of shopping around, you can pick up a set of digital
callipers for as little as £7, but the quality and
accuracy won’t be great. A nice sweet spot can be Figure 1
Note the small
found at the £15 mark for a good bump in quality doughnut symbol in
and accuracy (0.01 mm rather than 0.1 mm for the the centre, beside
the origin. This is
cheaper sets). the symbol for the
Concentric constraint
that we’ve added to
these two circles
of our piece, followed by the thickness of the fence draw another circle using constraints to make sure
post, and the width of the gap. We measured our the two circles will always be concentric.
pot just below the top rim, where it is a little thicker,
to find it is 95 mm wide, the fence posts are 21 mm PLEASE, CONSTRAIN YOURSELF
thick, and the gap is 21 mm wide. With these three While absolute precision for the diameter ring isn’t
dimensions, we can jump right in and start designing vital for this particular project, it’s good practice to
on Fusion 360. define our dimensions and to use constraints (see
As the shape we are trying to create is pretty Constraints box overleaf for details). To really get a
basic, we’re going to start by simply drawing a good idea of what’s happening here, we’re going to
2D representation of the shape and then extrude draw a second circle, but this time don’t start on the
origin. Draw it anywhere on the screen and give it

”
a diameter around 20 mm larger than the previous
We’re going to start by simply circle. To make this into a ring, we’re going to add
drawing a 2D representation the Concentric constraint. Click on the Concentric
icon from the Constraints menu in the top of your
of the shape and then

”
UI toolbar (a red circle with a black circle inside it).
extrude it into a 3D object Finally, we’re going to click on our two circles one
after the other. The second circle should snap on top
of the first circle. We’re going to finish the ring by
it into a 3D object. In Fusion 360 this 2D image is adding a dimension between the two circles.
called a sketch, and in our case, it’ll be made up of
a few different pieces – a couple of circles and two
rectangles. Easy!
WHY A FLOATING
Once Fusion 360 is set up, and you’ve selected HERB GARDEN?
a new project, click on the Create Sketch button in
There’s a real satisfaction in looking at something
the top left of your UI. You’ll be prompted to select around the house/office/workshop that you want to
a plane – select the XZ plane (the bottom surface). fix and then coming up with a solution from design
From here we’re going to draw a circle by clicking to physical object. In the author’s case, he had an
on the circle tool in the top left of the UI, and then ever-increasing number of plastic pots left over
clicking on the origin (the small circle in the centre from lunches, and wanted to find a novel way to
recycle them. Being fond of a bit of cooking, herb
of your screen). After you’ve clicked on the origin,
planters seemed like a good idea, and the thought
you can move your mouse around to make the circle of having an extensive herb garden to choose from QUICK TIP
bigger or smaller. Because we’re being more precise was too good to pass up. By having the plants off The completed
here, we’ll want to input the dimensions manually. the ground, they’re safe from creepy crawlies (and project can be
Use the measurement from the diameter of the pot his dog Floki), and they will get sunlight for more found here:
we’re going to be putting in here – in our case, it hours in the day. hsmag.cc/
was 95 mm. To complete the ring, we’re going to Xce2wM

101
An introduction to functional 3D printing

TUTORIAL

Figure 2
When adding the
symmetry constraint,
select the two
features you want to
be symmetrical before
selecting the feature
that will represent the
line of symmetry

Click on the Sketch Dimension button at the top left

of the UI (two vertical lines with a double-headed Figure 3
arrow between them). Then click on the two circles The finished sketch with all constraints and dimensions. Notice
the small lines drawn to connect the ring to the rectangle
one after the other again, and move your mouse off
the side and click. You should see a small text input
box where you can enter the dimension. 10 mm is a two circles. Next, we’ll centre it by clicking on the
bit much here, so let’s go for 5 mm. You should now Symmetry constraint (dotted line between two halves
have what you can see in Figure 1. of a rectangle), then clicking on each of the two sides
Next, we need to draw our two rectangles, with of our rectangle followed by the line we drew in the
constraints, of course, to make sure everything is middle of our circle. The rectangle should snap to the
nicely centred and symmetrical. To do this, first select centre. We can set the dimensions of our rectangle
the Line Sketch tool and draw a line from the origin by clicking on the Sketch Dimension button and then
to the top of the outer circle (this is important!), and the sides of our rectangle. The height of the rectangle
then use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle will be the thickness of our fence post, and the width
above the circle (Figure 2). We’ll add the dimensions will be the size of the gap between the two fence
in a second. First, we’re going to use the Tangent posts (21 mm each in our case).
constraint to ensure our rectangle is tight against
the ring – click on the Tangent button from the TWO RECTANGLES + TWO CIRCLES =
Constraints toolbar (red circle with a black line on it) FUNCTIONAL DESIGN
and then click on the bottom line of the rectangle Our final rectangle will go above the previous one.
we’ve just drawn followed by the larger of our Sketch a rectangle (a little above the rest of our
sketch), then use the Collinear constraint to ensure
they’re always touching by clicking the top line of
CONSTRAINTS our previous rectangle and the bottom line of our
Constraints are a very useful way to define new one. We can add symmetry the same way as
relationships between different sketch objects. we did previously, using the line in the centre of the
You can define if a line should always be at a circle as our line of symmetry. As for dimensions, this
tangent to a circle, if two features should always rectangle should be around 20 mm tall and 20 mm
be symmetrical to each other, if two lines should
wider than the previous one. Finally, draw two small
always run parallel or perpendicular to each other,
lines to better connect our first rectangle to the ring
QUICK TIP etc. While this is obviously useful at face value, it
becomes vital if you need to edit any dimensions (see Figure 3) and click on the green tick on the top
Some digital
in your sketch while preserving the important right of the toolbar to finish the sketch.
callipers come with
‘feeler gauges’ relationships. You can find Constraints in the top The hard work is all finished at this stage – we just
which are awesome centre of your UI when you’re in the Sketch menu. need to make it 3D. Select what we want to extrude
for bed levelling by clicking on the inside of one of the rectangles

102
 FORGE

Figure 4
In order to extrude,
you may need to
change your view
using the view cube
in the top right of
your viewing pane.
Hover over it, then
click the Home
button that appears

MAKE IT YOUR OWN!

The joy of 3D modelling is that you can make this

project your own. Maybe you have no interest in
gardening, but still want to make use of some old pots
or containers you have lying around. We’ve quickly
sketched up some inspiration if you want to edit this
concept for something that will fit in a pegboard
(for holding screws, paintbrushes, or other bits and
Figure 5 pieces) and another design with a backplate with
Select an edge and click on the Fillet button from the toolbar at
the top of your screen. An arrow will appear on your model; drag screw holes to be mounted virtually anywhere.
it left and right to smooth the selected edge(s)

(it should turn blue). Then, while holding the CTRL

key (⌘ for Mac users), start clicking on the inside
of all the shapes we drew until the whole shape is
blue (Figure 4). In the top right of your toolbar, click
the Extrude button (blue cube with an arrow) and
then drag the small blue arrow that appears beside
QUICK TIP
our sketch – around 10 mm sounds about right. A well-calibrated
3D printer is useful
Congratulations! You have a functional prototype
for ensuring the
(Figure 5). All that’s left is to print our pot holder. First, dimensions you
save your work, then go to File > Export and export it set in Fusion
as an STL file. From here, load it into the slicer of your 360 match your
choice and print it as you would any other model. finished print.

103
 ONLY
£10

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 VOLUME 5

200 PAGES OF
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Monitoring Air Quality

TUTORIAL

Monitoring Air Quality

Keep an eye on what you breathe with an ESP32 and a servo

H
ackSpace magazine is edited in so you can use this process to display a range of
Bristol, and like many cities around different things.
the world, Bristol has a problem There’s an API which lets us download the data in
with clean air. Currently, the council a machine-readable format (in this case, JSON), and
is considering an outright ban on even an API builder tool which helps us create the
privately owned diesel cars. However, right request to get the data at hsmag.cc/qPoqTK.
Ben Everard is this needed? Is air quality a problem? If so, what Using this, we can limit the results to just the air
should we do about it? We think the first step with monitoring station closest to our office (AURN St
@ben_everard this, as with many things, is to understand the Paul's), and only get the latest reading. The final
problem – that starts with understanding the data. URL for retrieving this data is:
Ben is a maker and
keen cyclist which
As with most cities in the UK (and elsewhere),
https://opendata.bristol.gov.uk/api/records/1.0/
means he has a keen there is a range of air monitoring stations that
interest in the air search/?dataset=air-quality-data-
provide information about the current state of the
around him and the continuous&rows=1&sort=date_time&facet=date_
skills to find out what's environment. You can view live and historical data
time&facet=location&facet=current&refine.
in it. at hsmag.cc/Dwoa1w.
location=AURN+St+Pauls
We wanted a way to subtly keep an eye on
air quality without having to go to the website to The 's' at the end of HTTPS shows that this is
check it. We took inspiration from Google's Paper using encrypted data transfer, and this is both a
Signals project, which uses servos and bits of paper good and bad thing. It’s good because it means
to display live information. Bristol air quality is not that we’re taking advantage of modern security,
Above
Our final data display supported by Paper Signals, so we had to build but it’s bad because microcontrollers can struggle
sitting on our desk as our own. with encryption as it’s a bit RAM and CPU heavy.
a constant reminder
that our health is Although this build uses a data feed that's Fortunately, the ESP32 is powerful enough to handle
inextricably linked specific to Bristol, there are similar feeds for other it, so that’s our hardware of choice for this project.
to the quality of air
around us geographical areas, and different types of data, Now, let’s look at getting the data first.

106
 FORGE

Arduino on the ESP32 has a library we can include

that brings in WiFi and the ability to access HTTPS
documents. We bring it in with the line:

#include <WiFiClientSecure.h>

With this, we can connect to the network and

download the data with:

WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
Serial.print(".");
delay(1000);
}

client.setCACert(test_root_ca);

if (!client.connect(server, 443))
Serial.println("Connection failed!");
else {
client.print((String)"GET /api/records/1.0/
At some point, this chain of trust has to stop, and
search/?dataset=air-quality-data-
there has to be an original public key that we trust Above
continuous&rows=1&sort=date_time&facet=date_ The ESP32 is a great
implicitly. This is known as the root authority. There choice for this project
time&facet=location&facet=current&refine.
are a few around, and you have to make sure that you because, as well as
location=AURN+St+Pauls HTTP/1.1\r\n" + having WiFi, it also
have the root certificate that’s used by the website has the processing
"Host: " + String(server) + "\r\n" power to decrypt
you’re trying to get data from. In our code (hsmag.cc/
+ HTTPS data
FbMO49), we’ve included the root certificate that’s
"Connection: close\r\n\r\n");
used by Let’s Encrypt, which is a popular certificate
The key bit missing from this is the variable test_ provider, so there’s a good chance that it’ll work for
root_ca. To understand what that is, you first need to other sites, but if it doesn’t, take a look at the box
understand a little about how HTTPS works. When below for details on how to find it out.
downloading secure documents on the web, we use
a thing called public-key encryption. With this, there
are two keys: a private key and a public key. Anything
FINDING THE
encrypted with the private key can be decrypted with ROOT CERTIFICATE
the public key. This way, the website can advertise
If the site you need to get data from doesn’t use the
the public key and encrypt things with the private same root certificate as us, here’s how you can find

”
the correct one:

• Open the URL in Firefox (we found this the easiest

When downloading secure browser to use)
documents on the web, • Click on the padlock in the URL bar, then on
we use a thing called Connection secure, and then More information

”
public-key encryption • In the pop-up, click on View certificate. This will
open a new browser tab with sections for each
of the certificates in the chain
key. We can use the public key to decrypt the data • Select the left-most option in the certificate chain
and then be sure that it really came from the website. (which will probably have a name including the
However, this raises the question, how do we know word 'Root')
that the public key is really the public key? Well, we • Scroll down and press Download PEM(cert).
use public-key encryption, and it’s encrypted with the
private key of a certificate authority. Well, how do we • Open this file, and the contents of this needs to
go in the test_root_ca variable
know that the certificate authority’s public key is really
correct? Well, it’s encrypted with the public key of …

107
Monitoring Air Quality

TUTORIAL

}
}
}

A lot is going on in here, but most of it is just

shuffling data from one place to another. First, it’s
read from the client (which is the HTTPS client),
and then deserializeJson is called, which converts
the string of text into a data object that we can
extract the necessary data from. The JSON doc
is a hierarchical data structure. You can think of
it as the directory structure in a computer where
there’s a root, and inside of this, there can be either
named folders or named files (they can be ordered
as well as named in this case – if they are, we use
a number to extract the one we want). We need
to navigate this structure to get out the pieces we
need. In our case, the latest NO2 reading is at json_
doc["records"][0]["fields"]["no2"];

The previous code will download the text DATA IN AND DATA OUT
Above containing the data we want, but we need to pull Now that we’ve got the data, the next step is to find
Servos are motors
combined with
out the relevant information. In our case, we’re a way of displaying it. We decided to use a servo to
feedback and control interested in the NO2 reading. The data is encoded make a simple pointer. We’re mounting this on top
electronics to let you
easily turn them to using a format called JavaScript Object Notation of an LED weather display (see HackSpace magazine
a set position with (JSON). Fortunately, there’s an Arduino library that issue 24), and didn’t want any more lights on there.
your code
understands this, and we can use it to get the data Our servo has a 180-degree range, and we decided
out automatically: to have 0 degrees (horizontal, pointing left) as zero
milligrams of NO2 , and 180 degrees (horizontal

”
pointing right) as 40 milligrams. This is the maximum
The data is encoded using a format called
legal limit for air in the UK.
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). Fortunately, Servos have three pins to connection: ground,

”
there’s an Arduino library that understands this power, and data. Ground should be connected to
ground, power to 5 V, and data to any IO pin. It just so

String line = "";

while (client.available()) {
line = client.readStringUntil('\r');

if (line.indexOf('{')>=0) {
DynamicJsonDocument json_doc(6000);
DeserializationError json_error =
deserializeJson(json_doc, line);
if (json_error) {
Serial.println("parseing failed");
Serial.println(json_error.c_str());
}
else {
Right
We’re a bit lucky
that the LOLIN32
Serial.println("NO2");
happens to have String no2=json_doc["records"][0]
pins in the correct
position to slot our ["fields"]["no2"];
servo straight into Serial.println(no2);
the pin headers

108
 FORGE

happens that on the LOLIN32 that we’re using, there

are three pins in the right order with pin 13 above 5 V
and ground. Not all servos have the pins in this order,
so check yours before plugging it in. If your servo
doesn’t line up with the pins on your microcontroller,
then just use some header wires, a breadboard, or
solder them in place.
Servos are controlled with PWM signals; however,
the ESP32 handles PWM in a slightly different way
to most Arduino-compatible boards, so you can’t
just use analogueWrite. Fortunately for us, there’s
an Arduino library that does all the heavy lifting –
ESP32Servo. You’ll need to install this via the library
manager; then you can include it with the line:

#include <ESP32Servo.h>

We need a few bits to get it set up and running with

our servo on IO13:
DATA
Servo myservo; FEEDS
int pos = 0; There are loads
Above
of data feeds
int servoPin = 13; It’s easy to over-complicate data displays – sometimes a bit
of card glued to a servo is all you need around, but
often the most
void setup() { useful ones
We need to convert our number of micrograms of
myservo.setPeriodHertz(50); are the ones
NO2 to a position for the servo, and we can do this
myservo.attach(servoPin, 500, 2500); local to you. We
with the line: looked at using
}
myservo.write(min(no2.toFloat()*4.5,180.0)); a weather feed
The two numbers on the myservo.attach are the in issue 24, and
minimum and maximum pulse lengths. You might The data for NO2 that we extracted from the you could easily
need to tweak them a little for your servo, but these JSON may look like a number, but it’s actually text adapt this little
worked for us. containing the digits. We can use the toFloat() pointer to display
temperature,
The only thing we need to do now is use myservo. method to change this into a float data type.
wind speed, or
write(pos) to set the servo to pos number of degrees. Multiplying this by 4.5 converts it into the position something else.
of the servo, but in the event that Bristol exceeds its There’s a
legal air quality limits, we need to use a min function wide range of
Below to make sure that we don’t try and go beyond the transport feeds
Open Data Bristol has a dashboard for viewing the live air range of the servo. from trains to
quality figures, as well as an API that lets you get the data road networks
from the back end That’s the code sorted; it’s time to set everything
that could equally
up physically. Generally, servos come without their drive a similar
arms attached, so the first job is to attach the arm display, should
pointing in the correct direction. When you first that information
turn on the build, the servo will go to zero degrees, be useful.
so at this point you can attach the arm. Of course, You could
also build your
you don’t want just a bare arm, so you can adorn it
own sensor and
with whatever decoration you like. We went with have it set up to
an arrow, but you can be more creative if you like. serve information
There should be holes for small screws to attach as JSON and
decoration to the servo arm, but for something like create your
this with little force, a drop of superglue does the job own personal
just as well. data network if
you wish.
That’s all there is to making a simple data
visualiser. What will you make yours display?

109
Level shifting

TUTORIAL

Level shifting
Helping digital devices talk to each other

Ben Everard
@ben_everard

Ben loves cutting stuff,

any stuff. There’s no
longer a shelf to store
these tools on (it’s now
two shelves), and the
door’s in danger.

W
e often talk about digital
signals being either 'on' or
AC/DC
'off', '1' or '0', but it’s not quite Perhaps the most electrically complicated form of
as clear-cut as this. Because switching is controlling alternating current (AC) from
different components work a direct current (DC) microcontroller. Fortunately,
at different signals, what one there’s a very easy way of sidestepping all the
electrical complexity: relays. These are magnetically
module considers 'on', another might consider 'off'.
controlled switches where a DC signal turns a
This mostly comes down to the voltage that a device magnet on and off. This magnet flicks a switch and
works at. Most hobbyist components work at either can control a wide variety of electrical connections.
3.3 V or 5 V, though you might come across some Since the input and switched circuit are entirely
other voltage levels. separate, a DC signal can switch an AC signal
There can be a little leeway for working with these without problems. There are still electrical limits on
different voltage levels, for example, a 5 V system relays, so you do have to make sure that your relay
is up to the job in hand, but it’s easy to get ones
may be able to take input from a 3.3 V module
capable of switching mains-level current. However,
(though it’s quite rare for a 3.3 V device to be able to if you’re going to use it for high-voltage applications,
take 5 V input). you need to make sure that you understand the
Above Often, however, we need a way of adjusting the safety implications of this, particularly around making
A simple MOSFET- voltages of signals too, and for this, we need a level sure the entire circuit is properly insulated (and will
based level shifter remain so under the rough and tumble of daily use) so
board with four shifter. These come in various forms. The biggest
channels will typically no stray fingers come into contact with high voltages.
difference between the types is whether they’re
only cost a couple
of pounds one-way or bidirectional.

110
 FORGE

” There’s no extra software

to install as these
should be invisible to the

While there are quite a few different options out

rest of your hardware

have to do is connect up the power, and then put

”
there, our favourite is a MOSFET-based bidirectional your communication channel through a level shifter. Figure 1
The blue wire
shifter. These, as the name suggests, can convert See Figure 1 for how to connect up a NeoPixel. supplies a 5 V signal
in both directions, so you can send data backwards There’s no extra software to install as these to the NeoPixels
despite taking a
and forwards between devices of different voltages. should be invisible to the rest of your hardware 3.3 V signal from the
They typically come in modules which convert – as far as your microcontroller is concerned, it’s Raspberry Pi board

four or eight separate IO lines, and only cost a few communicating with a device at the same voltage Below
pounds. They can also handle I2C communication level as it. You can get dedicated
level shifting chips.
which can be tricky for some level converters.
Let’s take a look at how to use these – there are
more or less identical modules from a wide range of
DRIVING MORE CURRENT
different suppliers. RATHER THAN VOLTAGE
The modules have a low voltage side and a high
We’ve talked quite a bit in this article about changing
voltage side. Low voltage inputs are usually labelled between higher and lower voltage devices, but some
LV1 … LV4, while high voltage ones are HV1 … components need more current than a particular IO
HV4. Each side also needs a power supply labelled can supply. There are a few ways of dealing with this.
LV/GND and HV/GND. As these are bidirectional, it Motor driver modules are designed to drive high-
doesn’t matter which is input and which is output (or, current motors, and can be repurposed for other
high-current devices such as bright LEDs – just make
indeed, if they’re both, as in the case of I2C). All you
sure that the voltages are correct, and the driver can
handle the current load of the device.
While motor drivers work and come in a huge
range of configurations, they can be a little overkill.
The simplest way of driving extra current is with a
transistor. You’ll also need a couple of resistors to get
the correct current draw, so it’s not quite as simple as
plugging in a module.
If you need a bit more current than a transistor can
supply, but still don’t need to go all the way to a motor
driver, Darlington pairs are an arrangement of two
transistors to give you more power. For example, the
ULN2803 chip gives eight channels of output, each of
which can have up to 500 mA of current.

111
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FIELD TEST
HACK MAKE BUILD CREATE
Hacker gear poked, prodded, taken apart, and investigated

PG

114
DIRECT FROM SHENZHEN:

ENDOSCOPE
PG
116
Peek inside pipes,
enclosures, and containers
BEST OF
PG

122
CAN I HACK
BREED Raspberry Pi cases come
A GAMES under the microscope

CONTROLLER?
Find new ways of putting
your thumbs to use

REVIEWS
124
Fan SHIM
Keep your cool

 126 :MOVE mini MK2 128

Mini Trooper
A robotic kit for beginners Let robotic battle commence!
Direct From Shenzhen

REGULAR

USB
endoscope
Peer into nooks and crannies

By Ben Everard @ben_everard

E
ndoscopes have a scary reputation
because of their medical applications.
However, they are just cameras that
are easy to get into places that are
otherwise difficult to reach. In
medicine, that’s the internals of the
human body but, for makers, that can mean
enclosures that are hard to open, complicated
assemblies, and other nooks and crannies.
We bought an Antscope 7 mm/5.5 mm 1M Mirco
[sic] USB Endoscope 2m 6LED Endoscope Camera
Android Waterproof Pipeline PCB PC Inspection Mini
Camera from Antscope Camera Store on AliExpress
for £3.33, including delivery to the UK.

” Using the endoscope was

entirely straightforward for
us on Windows

Using the endoscope was entirely straightforward

”
for us on Windows. We just plugged it in and the
system detected it as a USB webcam, and we could
use it with any webcam software. There’s a scroll-
wheel on the side of the USB plug that turns the
LEDs around the camera up and down in brightness,
Above
The ring of LEDs but otherwise, there are no controls.
seemed well-matched Our endoscope came with a two-metre cable (a
to the needs of the
camera, and we were one-metre option was available), and a full-size USB
able to take good plug (micro USB is available for use with phones).
images in both dark
and light situations This is a 0.3-megapixel camera – incidentally, it’s a
nice surprise to see a camera accurately claiming its

114
 FIELD TEST

resolution in megapixels, and not scaling the video work, this camera is more than capable – checking
feed up to some excessively high number. The spec that wires are connected in the right place, tubes Above
You could lengthen
says 0.3 megapixels, and we get 0.3 megapixels. aren’t blocked, and other inspection that doesn’t this with a USB
extension if you
At this resolution, it’s obviously never going to take require seeing things that are fractions of a needed a little
any images that will take Instagram by storm, but it’s millimetre across. extra reach
a £3.33 camera, so that’s perfectly OK with us. There could definitely be applications for this Left
The LEDs are about the right brightness for the camera in robotics. While it doesn’t have the field of Most of the
electronics are hidden
camera, and objects are in focus between about 3 vision or resolution of, say, a Raspberry Pi Camera in the USB plugging
and 15 centimetres from the lens. Module, it has a much, much smaller cross-section
Below
and built-in LEDs. For example, it could work really The image quality
isn’t brilliant, so
TAKING PICTURES well for a robotic hand to see what it’s about to would struggle a bit
The resolution and picture quality aren’t quite high pick up. with PCB inspection
(higher resolutions
enough to make this camera suitable for fine For the avoidance of doubt, we’re not are available)
inspection work. You can use it to, for example, recommending this for medical uses. Honestly, we
check surface mount soldering work, but you’ll have no idea if it would be any use in a hospital. It
struggle to see problems if you’re using the very looks a little on the large side to be comfortable to us,
smallest components around. For larger inspection but we’re makers, not doctors.
DIRECT FROM SHENZHE

There are certain tools you know you need – if

you’ve got nails, you only spend so long trying to bash
them in with a rock or a large spanner before
accepting that a hammer really is the best tool for the
job. However, there are some tools that you don’t
always know you need, and an endoscope is one of
these. Have you ever tried to work out what’s going
on inside a box by feeling it out with your fingers? Or,
taken apart something to see what the problem was,
only to find out that the problem was somewhere
else, and you didn’t need to take it apart in the first
place? For these jobs, an endoscope is a great tool,
but if you don’t know that they’re available, you
might not think that it’s one you need.

115
Keeping your projects safe

BEST OF BREED

ONLYTHE
BEST
Keeping your
projects safe
Enclosures for your Raspberry Pi

By Marc de Vinck @devinck

M
ost ‘getting started with’
Raspberry Pi kits include some
kind of a basic case. But as soon
as you start building circuits,
adding components and sensors,
you often outgrow the case, or you
need to modify it.
Many people, including this author, will end up
prototyping with a loose Raspberry Pi computer on
their desk. Inevitably, there will come a time when
something isn’t working properly, and that loose
board sitting on top of a stray wire lead, loose screw,
or anything conductive, will wreak havoc with your
project. Best-case scenario: you find the short, move
your board, and everything works once again. Worst-
case scenario: you short something out and destroy
your board! Either way, you’ll learn a valuable lesson
– you need a case for your Raspberry Pi board!
When this author first started researching cases for
Raspberry Pi, he was really surprised at how many
variations there were available in the market. There
are cases for Raspberry Pi cluster computers,
industrial-rated cases, really inexpensive and simple
versions, and a lot of robust and deluxe versions. Be
sure to head online and look at all the available
enclosures for your next Raspberry Pi project.

116
 FIELD TEST

Adafruit Raspberry Pi
B+/Pi 2/Pi 3 Case vs
Official Raspberry Pi 3B Case
ADAFRUIT $7.95 adafruit.com RASPBERRY PI $7.95 pishop.us

A
dafruit claims that its custom-
designed case for Raspberry Pi
Model B+ / 2B / 3B is the greatest
case for Raspberry Pi, and it may
be right. It’s made from
polycarbonate, which makes the
moulded plastic very strong, and it has a great finish.
We like the fit and finish of the case, especially the
satisfying snap of a Raspberry Pi as you secure it
into the case.
There is space in this case for a low-profile HAT,
and every port of your Raspberry Pi is accessible
through an opening in the base or top piece. The
cases are available in a variety of colours, although
this author prefers the smoke-grey base with the
clear top as it makes prototyping and the tracing of Above
A very well-designed
wires easy. But if a bright colour is more your style,
case for your
you can purchase the base and cover separately, Raspberry Pi
allowing for many colour combinations.

T
his is the official Raspberry Pi case for
VERDICT
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and B+. It’s Below
available both in the classic red and Made by the Adafruit case
creators of
white colour combo, and this sleek- Raspberry Pi A nicely
looking all-grey version. There are a lot of designed and
nice little details with this case. There functional case.

9 / 10
are the expected openings in the case for things like
HDMI, power, USB, etc. But the designers also added
an area for the LEDs to be visible – a nice touch.
We also like the fact that the cover can be taken off
and you have access to the top of Raspberry Pi. This Raspberry Pi case
allows for quick changes of your circuits. No tools are Designed by
required as it has a beautifully engineered snap fit. The Raspberry Pi, it
case also includes four rubber feet, which helps keep it has to be great!

9 / 10
from sliding around while programming and designing
your circuits. And if you like this enclosure, they make
one for Raspberry Pi 4 and Zero too!

117
Keeping your projects safe

BEST OF BREED

Element14 Desktop Enclosure Kit

ADAFRUIT $50 adafruit.com

A
lthough the Element14 Desktop
Enclosure Kit does not work with
Raspberry Pi 4, it still packs a lot of
interesting features. The case is VERDICT
beautifully designed, but what we Element14
really like is the included add-on Desktop
board. This board adds an intelligent on/off power Enclosure Kit
switch and a real-time clock with battery backup. This A good solution
allows for a very simple start and shutdown for a DIY
sequence. The board also features an mSATA SSD media centre.

8 / 10
socket, so you can plug in a large external storage
drive. That makes creating your own Raspberry Pi-
based media server really easy!

Pibow Coupé Pibow Touchscreen

4 – Ninja Frame
PIMORONI $9 pimoroni.com PIMORONI $9 pimoroni.com

C T
rafted out of five he Pibow
layers of acrylic, the Touchscreen
Pibow Coupé 4 is a simple and Frame from
elegant solution to enclosing and Pimoroni isn’t a
securing your Raspberry Pi 4. Once case for your
you stack and attach the components Raspberry Pi, but
to your Raspberry Pi, you’ll we’re still going to include it in
have easy access to the this list because it serves a lot of the VERDICT
camera / display ports and
VERDICT same functions. This stand will keep your Pibow
GPIO pins, and a safe home Pibow Coupé 4 – Raspberry Pi off of your desktop, reducing the chance Touchscreen
for your device. This is a Ninja of a short circuit from any stray conductive bits, and it Frame
lightweight, affordable, and A perfect also allows you to easily attach the official 7-inch A simple, useful
easy to assemble case for complement to Raspberry Pi touchscreen to your Raspberry Pi. If you stand for your
your next project. Pimoroni Raspberry Pi 4. have a touchscreen, and you are working on Raspberry Pi.

10/ 10 7 / 10
also sells other Pibow case developing a prototype, this stand is a good choice as
varieties for older variants of it allows for very easy access to all the ports and pins
Raspberry Pi. of your Raspberry Pi.

118
 FIELD TEST

Armor Case with Dual Fan

PI SHOP $13 pishop.us

I
f you need a lot of heat dissipation with
your Raspberry Pi project, this case may
be a perfect fit for your next build. VERDICT
Although not a true protective case, Armor Case with
because much of your Raspberry Pi is still Dual Fan
exposed, this aluminium enclosure offers Very effective
a lot of protection from heat. If your project runs in cooling down
a lot of intensive code, then the large aluminium your Raspberry
heatsink, coupled with two fans, will keep your Pi 4.

8 / 10
Raspberry Pi running cool. Just keep in mind those
heatsinks are conductive – you don’t want any of your
circuits touching it and causing a short.

Premium
Adafruit Raspberry Raspberry Pi
Pi Zero Case Zero Case
ADAFRUIT $4.75 adafruit.com PI HUT $6.39 thepihut.com

T T
he Adafruit his well-designed
Raspberry Pi case for Raspberry
Zero case is a Pi Zero has many great features. The
beautifully case is constructed of three individual
designed, components, all of which clip together
polycarbonate easily, offering complete protection. If
case that fits the classic you need access to the
Raspberry Pi Zero and VERDICT GPIO pins, you can simply
Zero W. It allows for access snap off the L-shaped piece
VERDICT
Adafruit
to everything you need on Raspberry Pi of plastic on the top of the Premium
your Raspberry Pi Zero in a minimalistic and sleek Zero Case case and get building. A Raspberry Pi
format. The case snaps together quickly so you can A great case for unique feature is the Zero Case
get to building your circuit in a matter of seconds. If Raspberry separate cover for the SD Fun and
you need access to the GPIO pins, simply snap off Pi Zero. card slot. It’s nice to be able functional.

10/ 10 10/ 10
the area above them and get to building. Don’t let to get easy access to the
your next project get shorted out because you didn’t card, yet also have it
have a proper case. protected when in use.

119
Keeping your projects safe

BEST OF BREED

Aluminium Heatsink Case VERDICT

Aluminium
PIMORONI $12.80 pimoroni.com Heatsink Case
Passive and
elegant.

A 8 / 10
re you running some cutting-edge you most likely will want to get those parts away
code on your Raspberry Pi from the actual case using something like a Pi
computer? Or maybe just Cobbler or other means. That could be a
crunching a lot of data? Well, then big negative in some situations, but
you know Raspberry Pi boards can we see so many Raspberry Pi
run a little hot, especially Raspberry projects that are all code-
Pi 4 – although recent Raspbian firmware updates based, and that
have improved matters. This case takes care of the makes this a perfect
issue by being a huge passive heatsink. The creators case for those types of
claim Raspberry Pi 4 will give you 10–15°C of projects. We’ll also
passive cooling under full CPU load. It’s also a large mention that this
piece of aluminium that will offer some decent case is not only
protection too. functional, but
One thing to note about this beautiful case: it’s absolutely beautiful. And
made of metal, and metal conducts. If you are it comes in a variety of
planning on adding a bunch of external components, anodised colours.

SmartiPi Touch 2 ASSEMBLED PI COBBLER

ADAFRUIT $7 adafruit.com

SMARTIPI $28 sparkfun.com The Adafruit Pi Cobbler, along with the supplied cable,
allows you to easily hook up a breadboard to the pins
of your Raspberry Pi. Simply plug one end of the cable

T
into Raspberry Pi, and the other into the Cobbler. Next,
he SmartiPi Touch 2 is plug the Cobbler into a breadboard and start wiring up
designed to complement your circuit. This is a great solution for prototyping/
the official Raspberry Pi 7” adding components outside of your Raspberry Pi
Touchscreen LCD, along with enclosure, especially if the latter is made of metal!
housing your Raspberry
Pi 2, 3, B+, A+ or 4 on the
back. The stand has a pivoting base, allowing
for viewing angle adjustment, and also has
a variety of mounting holes if you need a more
permanent installation.
In addition to the enclosure, this kit includes a
VERDICT
built-in fan for cooling your Raspberry Pi, along with SmartiPi Touch 2
a dual micro USB splitter cable that allows you to Good case for
power the display and Raspberry Pi at the same a touchscreen-
time, which is really convenient. If you are looking based computer.

9 / 10
for a mini touchscreen Raspberry Pi-based computer
for your next project, this enclosure will make it a lot
easier to build.

120
 GET
STARTED
WITH

£10
with F
Robots, musical instruments, R
world EE
wide
smart displays and more shippin
g

Inside:
Build a four-legged walking robot

Create a Tetris-inspired clock

Grow veg with hydroponics

And much more!

VA IL A BLE
A
NOW hsmag.cc/store
plus all good newsagents and:

FROM THE MAKERS OF MAGAZINE

Can I hack an Xbox 360 controller?

CAN I HACK IT?

Can I Hack It?

An Xbox 360 controller?
How you can reuse a broken games controller

Les Pounder
@biglesp

Les Pounder loves

taking things to pieces
and seeing how they
work. He teaches
others how to be
makers and tinkerers at
events across the UK.
He blogs at bigl.es

T
he Xbox 360 arrived in 2005 to much screws removed, we
Right success. It ushered in a new era of can see the main chassis,
Inside this plain
off-white shell are high-quality graphics and ‘always on’ which is a series of plastic
electronics for a
custom arcade
gaming. The controller was also seen pillars and struts designed to
controller, light-up as a major step up from the previous provide strength and durability,
buttons, and a
driving simulator generation, as it provided a standard while maximising space inside the
USB interface which could be used on PC. The controller. Take care as the internal
previous Xbox used USB, but it was adapted into a plastic is quite sharp. The coloured buttons
proprietary connection (though eager hackers soon for Y, B, X, A and the Xbox logo can be easily removed
solved that issue). Fast-forward to 2020 and the Xbox for cleaning and, with a little soldering and care,
360 has been superseded by the Xbox One, so its LEDs can be placed inside the plastic for a custom
accessories can now be found cheaply. So, when we controller. The USB cable comes into the controller
stumbled upon a ‘broken’ Xbox 360 USB controller, from the top, and is held in place by the two halves of
we knew that we had to take it apart and learn more the case forming around a strain-relief section.
YOU’LL NEED about it.
Xbox 360 wired ELECTRONICS
USB controller GENERAL CONSTRUCTION As this is powered via USB, we know that the
The controller is made from a firm, thin plastic that controller is running at 5 V. The power and control
COST
is resistant to sudden impacts. This plastic can be signals (‘Data -’ and ‘Data +’) come into the controller
£Various
worked with hand tools and a rotary tool, such as via the USB lead at the top of the controller, and go
WHERE a Dremel. The case is held together using seven into a white port in the centre of the circuit board.
eBay, Amazon, cross-head screws. The seventh screw is located The port does not provide a friction fit; this means
thrift stores under a sticker in the centre of the pad. With the that to remove the wires, we have to desolder the

122
 FIELD TEST

WHICH VERSION?
There are two versions of the Xbox 360 controller: the
wired controller which we tore down in this article, and a
wireless version. The only differences between the two
is that the wireless version has a battery pack for 2 × AA
cells (3 V in total) and a wireless chip for communication
with the Xbox 360. This chip and connection is
proprietary, but there are receivers available for
Windows PCs which enable the use of the pad. We can
also use the wireless version for a custom wireless high side low, causing the game to register a button
arcade controller, so we can sit back on the couch and press. The analogue inputs are in the form of two
play Double Dragon, TMNT, or Mortal Kombat in comfort. analogue joysticks which output a value to the custom
But with wireless connections come problems. We microcontroller that the game uses for fine control.
need to ensure that we have power and a constant
The analogue sticks also have a momentary switch
connection. If you are thinking of using an Xbox 360
controller in an arcade build, then go for the USB pad, which is used when pressing the stick down into
as it offers a constant and consistent connection with the case. The two triggers use potentiometers and a
very little work. spring to provide fine control and a method to reset
after being pressed. When taking the triggers apart,
do take your time and marvel at how clever the series
connections. For reference, the wires are colour- of pivots work to provide a smooth response.
coded with standard USB colour coding. Red for 5 V, Around the board, there are a number of test points
white for Data -, green for Data +, and black for GND. (TP) we can use to tap into the signals being sent from
Yes, the wiring is standard USB, but with a proprietary the inputs, and to make a good connection to GND.
breakaway connector between the controller and
Xbox 360, but we can hack our own connector instead HACKABILITY
using a USB breakout connector easily bought online. This is so hackable! We have clear access to
The circuit board has two JST connections to rumble/ everything on this board. Firstly, we can add LEDs to
feedback motors, which are offset weighted motors the buttons by tapping into the 5 V connection with
that provide feedback when gaming. These motors a little wire – don’t forget the resistors! We can also
can be easily removed and used in another project. connect our own controls to the digital inputs and use
Inputs on the board are both digital and analogue. the Xbox controller circuit board as a donor board for
The digital inputs are for buttons such as Y, B, X, A USB input. So, connecting arcade controls is totally
and they have two sections per button. One section possible with a little patience. With some 3D printing,
is pulled high, and the other is connected to GND. we can create custom driving controls by breaking out
When the button is pressed, it forces a carbon- the analogue inputs to larger compatible inputs. The
tipped rubber shaft to bridge the two motors can be salvaged and used in other projects,
connections and pull the such as drawing robots which use vibration to dance
around a sheet of paper with crayons attached to
their arms.

CONCLUSION
Above
The Xbox 360 controller is quite old (circa The two triggers are
2005) but it is still a delight to use when genius. They provide
precise analogue input
gaming, and now we have a hackable via a potentiometer,
controller which can be repurposed and this is held in
place using a custom
into much grander projects. It plastic mechanism
and a spring
isn’t worth picking one up for
the full retail price, but if you Left
Detachable motors
can find one in a thrift store clear access to the
or car boot sale, then it is inputs, and a series of
handy test points
worth your time and effort means that we can
to use this in a fun project. truly hack this
controller into
Happy Hacking! something wonderful

123
Pimoroni Fan SHIM

REVIEW

Pimoroni
Fan SHIM
A breath of fresh air for your Raspberry Pi

PIMORONI £9.60 shop.pimoroni.com

By Jo Hinchliffe @concreted0g

I
t’s a much-discussed fact that the
Raspberry Pi 4 is a great performer,
but if you push your little computer
to the limit, it gets a bit hot. Many
Raspberry Pi 4 users have added fans
to their systems, coming up with all
manner of DIY mounts. However, Pimoroni offer
a very elegant-looking solution off the shelf: the The Fan SHIM can now be fitted to
‘Fan SHIM’. Raspberry Pi 4; it uses a friction fit over
The Fan SHIM kit includes a clever way to non- the Raspberry Pi’s header pins to hold it in place,
permanently but securely mount the fan, without any so requires no soldering. Powering on the Raspberry
soldering. Pimoroni have also developed a software Pi and without making any changes or installing
library which offers some simple ways to automate anything, the fan starts running straight away. It was
fan control settings as well as providing a platform for good to note that it was very quiet, barely perceivable
if you want to tinker with the settings more deeply. at all.
We ordered a Fan SHIM which arrived very quickly Of course, we might not want the fan to be on
and came well-packed in a nice branded box. Inside all the time, so setting it up to automatically turn
the box, the Fan SHIM is a tiny, thin PCB – the fan on and off at certain temperatures, akin to a regular
is a separate item. The fan is wired to a small JST laptop computer fan, was our next step. The team at
connector, with the wires neatly protected with heat- Pimoroni have written a small Python library for fan
shrink tubing. You’ll also find a small bag containing control, and again the instructions online give you an
some nylon nuts and bolts, plus the obligatory spare

”
set for when you lose one in your carpet.
There are some instructions on the Pimoroni If you’re doing some serious
website about how to assemble the Fan SHIM, but number crunching, the Fan

”
it’s simple enough. Two bolts are inserted up through
the PCB, and a nut is tightened down on them to act
SHIM is a good cooling option
as a spacer to lift the fan slightly off the PCB. Then the
fan is fitted with the wires facing the lower side of the easy-to-follow guide to installing and configuring the
Fan SHIM. Two nuts are then run down on top of the settings using the terminal app in Raspbian.
remaining bolt thread to clamp the fan in place. Noting In the library example to automate the fan, the
Above
The Fan SHIM the orientation of the wires the JST is connected to is user can change the thresholds of what temperature
kit arrives quite fiddly, but in the end, we did this with a pair of the fan turns on, turns off, and how often it checks
nicely packaged
from Pimoroni tweezers as it’s such a small connector. the temperature. It’s also set up to use the on-board

124
 FIELD TEST

Left
It’s a simple couple
of bolts and a few
nuts to assemble the
kit in a few minutes

Below
The kit fits onto
Raspberry Pi 4
header pins and is
a friction fit, so
there’s no need for
soldering. You can
also get a header
tabs and set the fan to kick extension kit to allow
in at 50 degrees and to turn you to use other
devices on the
off at 40 degrees which it did header pins
perfectly, and it only had to run for a minute
Below
or so to bring the temperature down. It really is a The kit consists of a
quick and effective solution. One thing that is worth small PCB and a
good-quality and
considering is that the tactile button on the side of quiet 30 mm fan
the Fan SHIM protrudes the edge of the Raspberry Pi
LED to give visual feedback, from green to red, to footprint. While this is accommodated for in Pimoroni
indicate the temperature of the computer. You can cases for Raspberry Pi 4, we have an aluminium
also, using the example given, use the button on case from another vendor which doesn’t have space VERDICT
the side of the Fan SHIM to manually override the for the button (yet – we have our rotary tool primed A small, elegant
automated settings and turn the fan on and off. If you and ready). solution to
find an automatic set of settings you like, they will With the latest firmware, Raspberry Pi 4 doesn’t Raspberry Pi 4
persist, and the Raspberry Pi will start the service on overheat unless it’s under heavy load, but if you’re cooling.

9/ 10
subsequent boot ups. doing some serious number crunching, the Fan SHIM
We found the fan to be effective as well. We set a is a good cooling option that doesn’t take up too
load of YouTube videos running in numerous browser much space.

125
Kitronik :MOVE mini MK2 robot kit

REVIEW

Kitronik :MOVE
mini MK2 robot kit
Take your first steps – er, revolutions – in robotics

KITRONIK £27.54 kitronik.co.uk

By Jo Hinchliffe @concreted0g

T
he Kitronik screws. The
:MOVE mini MK2 servo board
Right kit is a small two- has a battery
The completed :MOVE wheeled robot holder on the
mini MK2 is a cheerful
and cool-looking little that is controlled by back which takes
robot, in our opinion!
a micro:bit, available three AAA batteries
Below separately. It arrives well packed in a neat (included), and has five
Unpacking the kit
reveals that all box, with a small instruction manual which RGB addressable LEDs on
components are covers both the building of the kit and some initial the front, and the connections for
packed well, with the
PCB in anti-static, and programming of the micro:bit. The kit contains a PCB servos on the back.
other components board called the ‘servo:lite’ to which you clamp a The first part of the instruction manual
bagged or
bubble-wrapped micro:bit using a spacer bar and five small machine guides you through connecting a micro:bit to the
servo board, and then programming the micro:bit
with some simple examples to control the LEDs.
We liked this aspect, as it not only confirms that the
boards are connected correctly, but acts as a nice
gentle introduction for people appreciating, that this
might be the first time they have programmed a
micro:bit, or programmed at all.
Following that, the next phase of the build is to
assemble the wheels onto the continuous rotation
servos and calibrate them. Continuous rotation
servos are, as the name suggests, different from
regular servos in that they are made to be able to
continually rotate in either direction rather than
through a fixed amount and therefore are great for
making controllable wheels. The instructions take
us through connecting the servos and flashing some
code to the micro:bit that sets the wheels to turn
in different directions and stop using the A and B
buttons. There is a trimmer which needs tweaking
while running the servos to ensure they are calibrated
correctly, and stop when they are required to stop.
This is pretty straightforward and clearly explained,

126
 FIELD TEST

Left
We like how the
build instructions get
you programming
throughout the
build. Here, we are
testing the board is
connected correctly,
and learning how
to program the
RGB LED lights

Below
The kit arrives in a
well-presented box

with one small exception in the instructions: when inserted nut in place
in the online MakeCode programming environment, can act as a very
the blocks for controlling servos are listed under the useful third hand.
‘pins’ section, which took us a while to discover, As we assembled
having not used servos on the micro:bit before. the chassis, we
Once the servos are calibrated, the instructions realised that there
move on to building up the chassis, which is are mounting points
accurately laser-cut out of green and white plastics. and holes in the
chassis that aren’t

”
utilised. One set of
Once the servos are calibrated, holes align and allow a pen or pencil to be inserted
all the way through the robot to the floor below, and Left
the instructions move on to

”
Assembly is
this means you can play at programming the :MOVE straightforward, with
building up the chassis mini to draw shapes. Other holes and mount points a few steps being a
little fiddly
are there for use by a range of additional add-on kits
that can be bought to expand the robot’s capabilities.
Everything fits together perfectly, and it uses the These include things like a bulldozer attachment with
technique of nuts being captured in laser-cut spaces a lifting shovel; there are also sensor add-on kits to
for bolts to thread into. This creates nice accurate turn the robot into a line follower and more.
joints in the chassis, but it can be quite fiddly to Having finished the assembly of the :MOVE
get the nuts held in place while holding loose mini, it feels pretty sturdy in hand and our unit VERDICT
components in the right position. We found using worked well, with the calibration of the servos being A great kit,
a small piece of masking tape to help keep the accurate so that both wheels turned at the same suitable for
rate, meaning it would travel in a straight line when beginners to both
robotics and
instructed to do so. While this is definitely a robot for
programming
smooth surfaces and not an ‘off-roader’, it worked
micro:bits.
well on a smooth carpet, lino, and wooden floors. At Younger builders
the end of the instruction manual, there are links and might need a little
a QR code to take you to more example code and help with
applications for the robot. Next on our list is to use assembly, but it’s
another micro:bit as a radio control unit so we can a great-quality kit.

8/ 10
drive it remotely, but it’s nice to see that there are
lots of examples online of things people have done
with theirs.

127
Mini Trooper

REVIEW

Mini Trooper
A fighting robot kit to build at home

TOTEM €59 for one, €109 for two totemmaker.net

By Ben Everard @ben_everard

T
he Totem system consists of a range Assembling the robots isn’t difficult, but it is very
of plastic shapes that can be secured fiddly. Some of the parts look very similar to each
together with nuts and bolts. The other, and some of them take a bit of a shove to get
most common of these plastic shapes into position. You have to pay close attention to the
are bars, similar in design to aluminium instructions – even then, we found ourselves having
extrusions, which have a groove for to go back and redo bits. The saving grace here is that
holding a nut in place while you slot the bolt through the instructions are well illustrated, so we were able
from the other side. There are also some shapes of to figure out what should be going on.
metal bracket and plastic sheet that you can bolt We’d recommend allowing three hours or so to
together to make a whole range of things. In the case build each bot. We were able to do the second one a
of Mini Troopers, you create two fighting little quicker, but it’s not a process you’re ever likely
Below robots with ‘flipper’ weapons. to get done quickly.
Let’s get ready
to rumble! It’s made a little frustrating by the fact that some of
the nuts aren’t properly threaded, meaning that bolts
don’t go in properly.
The 2 mm hex driver that comes with the kit is an
unexpected delight. It’s far superior to the regular
L-shaped Allen keys that are usually provided with
kits. It’s magnetic, to hold the bolts in place, and
fits comfortably in the hand. Unfortunately, it
only comes with a 2 mm bit, as we’d like to
use it for far more than just the Totem
kits, but we can’t really blame them for
that as it does all the bolts in the kit
(there are also a few screws, and a tiny
screwdriver is included).
As well as the mechanical parts,
there are electrics which, in this case,
consist of a control board, a servo, and
two motors. These all bolt in place easily
enough, and wiring simply involves putting
JST connections into the right slots on the control
board. With everything connected, there’s an app for
Android and iOS (we tested the Android version) that
connects via Bluetooth and turns your phone into
a controller.

128
 FIELD TEST

Left
The Bluetooth-
controlled board
at the heart of this
robot can be reused
in other robots

Below
The nut and bolt
construction is solid,
but can be hard to
get into place

Aside from an electrical problem (see below), this in different ways. Using this, you can build an
the ease of getting the electronics working intuitive interface for almost any arrangements of
came as a welcome relief to the fiddliness of the these actuators.
mechanical parts. You get a lot for your money with the Mini Trooper
kit. At the end of it, you’ve got two fighting robots
NOT PLAIN SAILING that you can have fun driving around and battling.
The main problem with the electronics is that the However, there are enough niggles in the creation to
board sits just above the motors, and the battery mean that we can’t recommend these to beginners.
connection has a habit of shorting out on the metal
casing of the motor. This produces a strange,
intermittent error when pushing the battery in –
which, as there’s no on/off switch or on-board
charging, you have to do quite often. We skirted this
issue by jamming a bit of plastic under the board, but
this is a less than ideal situation.
We spoke with Totem about this and the issue with
some nuts not being fully threaded. They are aware of
the problems and are looking at potential solutions. If
they can fix these, we’ll revise our review.
VERDICT
There are some expansion options, if you’re willing
A fiddly kit with
to spend the time getting to grips with the system of
some niggles,
joints and brackets, but there are enough non- but fun to
standard parts to make this tricky. For example, it’s play with and
easy to see how the servo could be used to drive offers some
different types of weapons, but the servo mounting scope for future
isn’t easy to reposition. development.

7 / 10
The electronics, however, are easier to reuse. You
can drive up to four motors and two servos, and the
app allows you to build an interface of buttons for

129
#30 ON SALE
23 APRIL

ARDUINO
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GAMING
AND MUCH MORE

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 "1,000,000 cups
of tea were drunk in
sheds last year"
Charlie Bethel
UK Men's Sheds Association