Category Archives: CAD

Open Source – Non-Invasive Glucose Meter Project

Title_NIRCGMProject can be followed via Hackaday.io, Click here to view it.

I’m sure we are all now aware of the rapidly increasing epidemic that is Diabetes. I myself am part of those statistics. That is just my way of saying I also have it. We’re all just statistics to our healthcare systems. We’re not individuals where they care about how our lives work and if they’re actually able to help or not. They look at some statistics, and then make everyone conform to the average. I personally don’t agree with this practice. Humans are not the same, we are all different. One thing that works for one group of people, isn’t going to work for another group. We need variety in our choices on how to manage our personal lives for a number of reasons. One of those major contributing factors in this is money(isn’t it always?). In North America alone there are many people struggling to pay for their medical expenses and have a lower quality of life because of it. Test strips alone are a huge nuisance on a person who is managing their Diabetes. Knowing this information, and the fact that it also directly affects me as well, I decided to look into other methods of glucose monitoring. Video after the jump.

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#MicrosoftBandStand Giveaway 1 of 2

MBCS_giveaway

One giveaway after another! I guess its that time of year. I will try to do a lot more of these because they are pretty fun and people love getting free things! Raffle is at the bottom of this page!
I will be doing 2 giveaways of the Microsoft Band Charging Stand, each consisting of 4 different coloured charging stands from Shapeways. This time you can win red, pink, purple, and blue.  Click More to see the raffle (at the bottom) and some videos of the stand!

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TI CC11X 868/915mhz RF Breakout.

 

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After looking around for some eagle files for the CC110L, I failed to find anything that was as simple as”copy and paste”. I found the design notes for it and decided to create my own breakout board for testing. For those who don’t know, the TI CC11X are a series of low power RF modules. They are used in the Anaren boost pack and are great for low power RF projects. There are a bunch of development boards to work with but there are no open source eagle files(that I could find) for easily placing this module into your project. I just finished and ordered a set from OSHpark. If you’re brave(I haven’t tested them yet) you can order a set for $5.00 for three,by clicking the link above or using the eagle files below. Its up to you to check the files yourself. Or you can check back in a month when I have had time to test the board layout. Be warned the design calls for 0402 components, which I have used in the eagle files. Click more to get to the Eagle files!

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Reverse Entropy: Candy Sorting Machine Gift

Titlecandysorter

Every so often while browsing the internet I will come across a project  that I absolutely have to make. When I stumbled upon IVC’s Candy Sorting Machine, this was absolutely the case. When my girlfriend eats skittles, she does so by colour – don’t ask me why, she just does it that way. When I watched the video of the candy sorting machine on YouTube, I knew it was going to be the perfect gift for my girlfriend for her birthday. Since this was going to be a gift for someone I really wanted to create it as if it was a consumer product in terms of design. I wanted it to be simple to use and designed so anyone can just turn it on and and it will sort. Video and pictures after the Jump!

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PIDDYBOT – A Self Balancing Teaching Tool.

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After I built the tiny balancing robot using an IR sensor for stabilization, there was a comment on the youtube video about how it would be a good thing for kids to build and learn about PID controls. I thought that was a great idea, the only problem was that that tiny robot was the simplest of balancing robots. It was just an on off switch for telling the motor which way to move. There was no actual PID implementation in that system. So that got me thinking about how it would have been really cool if in one of my classes where I was learning about control theory I had a robot that actually let you see the changes in a PID system in real time. I decided to take it upon myself to create such a robot.

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3D Print: Estes Proto X Nano Quadcopter Carrying Case

CaseRendered

 

UPDATE: I made a better case which is available on Shapeways! Its Awesome and Small! Go here to get one: http://shpws.me/AccM

Here is a picture:

I received one of the new Proto X Nano Quadcopters as a gift this Christmas and I have to say, I haven’t stopped playing with it yet. I’ve seen number of posts about people wishing that it came with a case; I decided to design one myself and upload it to Thingiverse. I don’t have access to a printer at the moment, but it should be pretty accurate(here is to hoping).

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