MAKE Magazine: Comments about Articles

Single Stage?

Good point. Longer is better and safety glasses are well advised. What caused the rocket to explode? Was it a rich mixture (lots of HHO little air), did the stopper not release, or were you using a water bottle that was not designed for pressure (non-carbonated drink)? It would be good to learn from your experience.

Single Stage?

Having recently had an on-the-pad "catastrophic disassembly" event, yes, use a long wire. We had 30', and the debris was thrown more than 40' in the air (had it come sideways...). Long wires. And ear and eye protection.

Alesis SR 16

schemtis & souce code,thank you!

Top Down PDF on separate pages

Hi all, I saw a lot of issues with printing this project. I realize most people do not have easy access to a plotter (me included) out so hopefully this helps: I created a pdf with the pieces moved out to fit on letter size pages. I did by simply hacking up the MAKE pdf that is linked up top (Unabox PDF plans with dimensions, by popular demand). This way you do not have to fiddle with lining things up. The link is here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/w2tylzimunm/unabox_separate_drawings.pdf Hope this helps someone out there!

Watering code error

Thanks JoshTW; I've made the correction to the Instructable and will ask Make to add a note above the comments on this page!

Unabox Drawings

i cant find the link in inches

I Bit Too Rosy

This article should have been more objective regarding the actual capabilities of the CupCake CNC. While it does a good job of pointing out the major differences between this machine and commercial offerings it does not discuss the fundamental shortcomings of the CupCake and similar machines. One of them is the quality of the objects it outputs. The article does state that it uses a 0.3mm filament but it fails to show a close-up shot to reveal the coarseness and irregularity of the samples pictured in the article. The second and maybe more important shortcoming is repeatability. Running a print is a hit or miss proposition. A part can start fine and degenerate halfway through because the open loop motion control is drifting or because the filament’s properties changed. That is why the anecdote of making a perfect first time print of a whistle downloaded from the web is as utopian as the staged photos accompanying this article. The article trivializes the software tool chain involved in modeling and programming a part. This special section on Desktop Manufacturing lacks an article dedicated to that topic. I understand that this article is meant to inspire. Hopefully it will spur many readers to join the desktop manufacturing revolution. I just wish it did not sound so much like a promotional piece for MakerBot Industries.

Great timing

Here's a good free calculator: Easy Scale Calculator This is an excel file, and can be easily customized for additional features.

Cigar Box Mandolin

One more try: Cigar Box Mandolin

Cigar Box Mandolin

Forgot to hyperlink the address: http://mirthwood.blogspot.com/2010/01/cigar-box-mandolin_30.html

Cigar Box Mandolin

I was inspired by your article to convert one of my wife'e cigar boxes into a small mandolin (13" scale length). I used a neck I had damaged during another project. See the results here:

http://mirthwood.blogspot.com/2010/01/cigar-box-mandolin_30.html I also provide an alternative scale calculator with some useful features on my blog. Thanks again Make.

Transformer specifications

Do you have more information about the transformer? Any information about the primary windings, secondary windings, or possible suppliers?

Great timing

Excellent timing on this article. I built a CBG based off Makes earlier article back in 2007 and ended up doing a number of upgrades/modifications to it. It finally ended up with actual tuners, real strings, and frets made out of cut up cotter pins. But it also wound up with a 30" scale length and a neck that would bend before the strings had enough tension to really come up to tune. So I started planning on a building a new and improved version from scratch. Just as the parts started to come together and my ideas were about ready to start being executed I got the e-mail announcing this issue of Make and the updated CBG article. I'll admit the article didn't really help me much this time, but it was still nice timing for it to come out right as I was about to start. And the link to fretfind was VERY helpful sine I hadn't found a better fret calculator through my own means. Last night I finally got my second CBG tuned up and it's sounding great (even if my playing still isn't!) It's also looking great and a BIG step up from my first attempt: Photos of my second CBG

Servos

Hello, I believe that any servo of the same size would be fine. The key is to fit physically in the dimensions and not to protrude any farther inside the robot because there isn't any extra room inside. Also have two mounting holes, not 4. You may have to slightly enlarge the square hole. For the prototype I used a different, no-brand model that I got at the hobby shop. The performance specs on the torque aren't critical as I feel Makey's eyes are not heavy and won't tax the servo. I used the HS-55 because it was the size I wanted and it was widely available and not too expenseive and easy to tell people what to buy. But I think you could use any one that's the same size. Below are some servos I found which seem comparable. HS-55 -- The original, dimensions for reference. http://www.servocity.com/html/hs-55_sub-micro.html 22.8 x 11.6 x 24 HS-50 http://www.servocity.com/html/hs-50_ultra-micro__feather_.html 22 x 11.4 x 20.9 Futaba S3107 http://www.servocity.com/html/s3107_micro_mg.html 22 x 11 x 20 SG-90 http://www.hobbypartz.com/topromisesg9.html 22.6 x 11.4 x 20.9 MG-90 http://www.hobbypartz.com/servo-mg90s.html 22.8 x 12.2 x 28.5 HXT-900 http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=662 21 x 12 x 22 Cheers, Kris

Servos

I'm currently in the process of getting the parts for Makey, but my local Hobbytown is out of stock on Hitec HS 55 servos. Are there other models with comparable performance and size which could be substituted for the HS 55?