Tag: Diy

Robo Wunderkind aims to do for robots what littleBits and other newbie-friendly electronic kits are doing for gadgets. Made by Robo Technologies Inc., the robot kit is made of modules that snap together with the help of a simple adapter.

You may have seen Zelf Koelman’s mesmerizing Ferrolic, a clock that uses ferrofluid to display digits and a variety of complex animations. Damjan Stanković and Marko Pavlović’s Rhei is a simpler but equally notable take on a ferrofluid clock.

A few months ago, we featured Instructables employee DJ aka Aleator777’s Apple II Watch. He recently shared another impressive retro watch, one that’s arguably more useful than the current Apple Watch. He calls it the Communicator Watch, because it’s also a GSM cell phone.

There are lots of fan theories on how Boba Fett escaped the Sarlacc pit after his apparent demise in Return of the Jedi. One theory not often explored is that he actually ate his way out.

If you want to make your own cellphone, you can source the parts yourself, or you can support Seeed Studio’s RePhone, a ready to assemble kit. The heart of the RePhone kit is the MediaTek MT2502A (pdf) system-on-a-chip, which gives you GSM, GPRS and Bluetooth connectivity in a stamp-sized form.

Growing up, I loved Star Wars. I had the Star Wars sheets, all the toys, and wanted a real lightsaber so bad I could taste it. My parents weren’t craftsy, and didn’t build anything and I feel so gypped, after seeing what Redditor Ghostfaceace built for his son.

Last year we featured the uArm, a desktop robot arm inspired by ABB industrial robots. It’s affordable and responsive, but it’s mostly a pick and place robot. The Dobot on the other hand appears to be precise enough for a variety of tasks.

We’ve seen a full T-800 skeleton made out of LEGO. YouTuber Kaled Souky aka jaled79 proves that you can also make a decent Terminator animatronic out of balsa wood and cardboard too. This isn’t just any motionless statue either.

A couple of months ago, we checked out Sergey Grishchenko’s DIY scale model of the Curiosity rover. Michael Larkin’s Moon One is a very similar remote-controlled rover, but he optimized it for agility, maneuverability and mischief.

When Randy Slavey’s son turned 13, the newly minted teenager asked his parents to remodel his kid-themed bedroom in the style of two of his favorite games, Portal and Portal 2. The elder Slaveys didn’t disappoint.

Electric skateboards typically go for at least $600 (USD). But with his maker skills Instructables member comsa42 was able to convert a normal skateboard for around $350. That said, his project will give you an idea why these things cost a lot.

If you want a bionic hand, but don’t have the six million dollars to become Steve Austin (it would actually cost you a lot more these days), check out this fun project and learn to build a simple one for yourself.

I like Batman well enough. I certainly watched the show in reruns during the summer growing up, and love the Christian Bale/Christopher Nolan franchise. Batman fans into DIY and making things with their hands might want to get some of these kits.

My daughter plays with a mix of toys from Barbies to cars. She doesn’t care if it’s a girl toy or a boy toy, she just wants something cool and fun to play with. She has a bunch of Barbie dolls, but nothing like this Swiss Army Barbie.

Thor’s hammer was forged out of a star by dwarven blacksmiths. This child-size replica was crafted from the heart by a loving dad. Redditor Crux1836 says his son asked him for a “real Thor hammer” for his 4th birthday.

What’s better than a magic 8 ball? A magic 20 icosahedron. Adafruit and Phillip Burgess made a guide that shows us how to make a D20 that talks about the resulting roll. The die’s accelerometer helps it figure out which face is up.