Engraving Metal on the xTool S1 2W 1064nm IR Laser
xTool S1 2W 1064nm Infrared tool head is perfect for engraving metal. In this article we attempt to engrave a photo on a metal mousepad
Hacks are our tips and how-to tutorials. If you want to know how to do something then this is the category for you!
Beginner’s Guide to Blender for 3D Printed Props and Tabletop Gaming (Part 1)
Blender is a fully featured 3D design tool with abilities ranging from regular CAD and sculpting all the way through to fully rendered movie-quality CGI animation. Now, obviously, Z-Brush is highly …
Quit Zoom Call Macro Key – How to Make a Custom Cherry MX USB Macro Keyboard/Keypad with Arduino
Ever wondered how to create your own custom keyboard or keypad? Do you want a fast way to quit out of Zoom calls? Today we’re going to be making our own custom Arduino macro USB keyboard. Well, …
Automating Twitter Using Python 3 and Tweepy
So far I have covered more Arduino/C and even AMOS Basic than anything else, but my main language on the daily is Python, and my main use of Python is for making my day job life easier! Python is an …
Easiest. Hackintosh. Ever. – How to Install MacOS Virtual Machine on Your PC Using Sosumi & Ubuntu
Today, we’re going to create the world’s easiest Hackintosh using the virtual MacOS package, Sosumi.
Ultrasonic Rangefinding with the Wio Terminal and Grove Ultrasonic Sensor
Seeed sent me a Wio Terminal to play with, and I have to say I am impressed. Rather than do a straight review, I thought I would show how easy it is to make a quick project with it.
Resin Versus FDM 3D Printing for TTRPG/Miniature Wargaming
3D Printing in Resin or FDM/Filament - Which is better for D&D/TTRPG/Miniature Wargaming?
Are You Making Soldering More Difficult than Necessary?
Soldering. Love it, hate it, tolerate it, but if you are into electronics, learn to do it. Are you making it more difficult for yourself than it needs to be?
Arduino Stepper with Potentiometer Speed Control
For my 3D printed turntable I obviously need some way to turn the turntable, and preferably for video and scanning, some method to control speed. Fortunately, I have a whole box full of those cheap …
Raspberry Pi Security Camera
Have you been wanting a wifi camera? Maybe for some added security, or perhaps to monitor the kids/pets/roommate?
Turn your Raspberry Pi into an internet camera!
Glowforge Passthrough Hack: How to Trick the Glowforge Front Flap to “Pass-In” Large Materials
The Glowforge Basic does not have the pass-through feature of the Glowforge Pro but with this magnet hack, you can trick the front flap to think the lid is shut fully, allowing you to "pass-in" larger …
Laser Cut Box for the Massive Adafruit Arcade Button
The “Massive Adafruit Arcade Button” is one of my favorites, I just find it comically large. Therefore whenever I get a chance to specify this particular button, I jump at it. As luck …
Detect (and list) Raspberry Pi and other boards on your network
I am in the fun position of having a Raspberry Pi project to build for my day job. It brought to light a familiar challenge of how to trouble-shoot and connect to headless Raspberry Pi boards when you …
USB Keyboard Emulation with the Raspberry Pi Zero
One of the many productivity-boosters my nerd friends look to is text expanders and keyboard shortcuts. You know, enter a combination of keypresses, and out pops a signature, particular animated gif, …
Announce Your Entry with Raspberry Pi, Python and Bluetooth
Did you ever want to have your return to your office or home announced with a fanfare? Probably not, but let’s do this anyway ;) This script will use Bluetooth (built into the Raspberry Pi 3) to …
Linux Automation Tip: How to Send Messages from Python to Your Slack Channels
Slack is a hugely popular live group chat system. While a lot of my notifications now go to Discord, as I wrote about here, Slack is still more popular with development teams, and it is what we use in …
Running Raspberry Pi AND Arduino for the Best of Both Worlds
I have been writing a lot more about Raspberry Pi than Arduino lately, but don’t get the impression I am leaving the Arduino world behind. Both devices have their benefits, and in fact, I …
Linux Automation Tips: Create a Boot/Start Menu with Python
You may have seen in the Maker Hacks Facebook Group the latest iteration of my Raspberry Pi based entertainment center. It’s now got to the point where I need a boot menu, so I thought I would …
Using Grove Sensors, Buttons, and Displays, with Raspberry Pi and Python
Grove sensors are a plug and play way to add sensors, buttons, displays, and actuators to your electronics projects, without soldering. Let's take a look how well they work when paired with a …
Linux Automation Tips: Running Scripts Automatically
Running commands from the shell is all well and good, but what if you don’t want to always be logging into your terminal? What if the script, or even server, crashes or needs to reboot? In this …
Password-Less SSH Access to Your Linux Machine or Raspberry Pi Using Public Keys
If you are logging in and out of a Linux machine, especially a Raspberry Pi on your local network, it can be a pain to keep entering a password. The longer and more secure your password, the more of a …
Linux Automation Tip: Kill Script if Already Running
Here is a shell script that will allow you to kill a script if it is already running #!/usr/bin/env bash ps -ef | grep $1 | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill -9 Supply the name of the script as the first …
Linux Automation Tip: Process Discord Messages and Launch Shell Commands in Python
In the previous Discord article we set up a listener, but really that was just the foundation – enough to listen for “hello” and greet the user. Now we need a real-world example.
Linux Automation Tip: Send Messages to Your Discord Server Using Python
I am on a mission to declutter my email. Once you get past the unsubscribe/filter stage, the next thing is to get the important information in a different way. Once I started down this path, however, …
Building a Cryptocurrency Mining Rig is Easier than You Might Think
Can your PC mine bitcoin? If you are interested in dipping your toe into cryptocurrency mining then fear not - it might be easier than you thought
Email Your Raspberry Pi IP Address on Boot
A common complaint from Raspberry Pi owners is when running headless (no monitor or keyboard). If the Pi reboots then you lose your login session and often the previous IP address. Using …
Linux Automation Tip: Repeat Commands with Loops and Delays
Unix and Linux are a lot more powerful for automation than people from other operating systems know, that power is under the hood in Macosx (via the BSD Unix foundations) and that power is making its …
Loading the Arduino Bootloader on your 3D Printer Board (Unbricking Your RAMPs/3D Printer)
I received a JG Aurora A5 to review. Unfortunately, there were a few issues. Fortunately, however, they were issues I was fairly sure would be resolved by the community-provided Marlin Firmware. Yes, …
Adding a GPU with Powered PCIe Risers
Adding a GPU (graphics card) to your PC, but not enough space or full length slots available? a great solution is to use a "Powered PCIe Riser".
Get Started with the Internet of Things with an ESP8266 IoT Sensor/Timer
Lots of people ask me about IoT (“The Internet of Things”). It’s a currently warm, if no longer hot, buzzword. Problem is I find a lot of the instruction out there …
How to Automagically Create Thumbnail Images Using Python
Formatting round-up posts takes a bit of effort so I have been looking for ways to make the non-creative work as automated as possible. One of these tasks is creating thumbnails. Turns out it is …
PHP Script to Backup Flickr Photosets
Years ago I wrote a PHP script to download photographs from Flickr. That was the previous time the company changed hands, when it was sold to Yahoo! I am not sure I want to keep my photos on Flickr …
5 Ways to Bond and Glue 3D Printed Parts
Finishing is an important part of 3d printing, but how do you combine, glue, and bond your 3d printed parts to get a 3d printing result you can be proud of?
How to Use Tinkercad to Make a Custom Gift – a Personalized 3D Printed Maze Puzzle
In this beginner-friendly 3d cad tutorial, we are going to create a personalized maze puzzle in Tinkercad, ready for 3d printing!
Raspberry Pi Remote Access – 3 Ways to Make Your Raspberry Pi Accessible Outside Your Network
Raspberry Pi remote access can be tricky. What can you do? How can you make it easy for you to remote access, but difficult for the bad guys?
Meshmixer Tutorial – Using Meshmixer to Delete and Edit Parts of an Existing .STL
Using Meshmixer takes your 3D printing superpowers to the next level. Find an existing STL file, modify it, delete parts, and then export for 3D printing - See how easy it can be in this tutorial and …
How to Install and Set Up Octopi for Remote Raspberry Pi 3D Printer Control with Octoprint
Octopi is a fantastic system for running your 3D printers remotely, using a Raspberry Pi, including built in webcam and time lapse features. Installing Octoprint need not be a chore on Mac or Windows. …
3D Printing Tip: Quick and easy filament 3D printer spool holder
3D printing filament spool holders have often been a pain. Most don’t work well in practice, and can take too much time to make. In this video, Ben shows how to make one that takes seconds to …
Easy Modifications of Downloaded STLs with Simplify 3D
Simplify 3D is a great slicer, but it can do more than just slice. While we are big fans of CAD software, if you just need to make simple dimension changes S3D has got you covered. Check out this …
Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless first boot issues
So there I am. Happy as a little boy on Christmas morning. I just got my Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless in the mail! WHOOT!!!! I’m about to start work on my dream bot that will cost hardly anything …