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Glowforge is a laser cutter for DIY enthusiasts
The onslaught of 3D printers has created a booming market for machines that can make quality products at home. Glowforge is a new object-maker that's a 3D laser printer, cutter and engraver rolled into one. It will help DIY enthusiasts churn out a range of products with wood, acrylic, leather, fabric or even glass. The cutter uses a dual camera technology for realtime autofocus so it helps aligns the laser head with your pattern and makes the cutting process easy. The camera recognizes the material and even follows the beam of light, which is the width of a human hair, so it can adjust the timing and position every step of the way.
Club Jameco borrows from Etsy and Kickstarter, lets DIYers design, sell and buy project kits
Though electronics hobbyists may not have the same resources that the Maker Sheds of the world have to design, package and sell do-it-yourself kits, electronics component distributor Jameco plans to change that. With Club Jameco, enthusiasts can pitch their kit ideas to the electronic component wizards in Belmont, CA and if a project is deemed viable for production, they'll be provided with feedback and have their idea posted for public comment. After the creation of step-by-step kit instructions, a list of materials and undergoing final approval, kits will be sold to the adoring masses. Once projects roll off production lines and into garages, creators will be paid royalties anywhere from five to ten percent based on quarterly sales. Aside from giving DIYers another sales avenue, it's also an opportunity for those who've been wary of piecing together projects to finally dive in sans the added fuss. Hankering to propose a bundle of your own? Per usual, all the particulars can be found in the source link below.
VCR head gets Frankenstiened into a beefy momentum scroll wheel
We've seen a fair share of VCR hacking in our day, but this momentum scroll wheel built from an old VCR head by Instructables community member Osgeld sets a new bar for jerry-rigging dead technology. Apparently the project arose from a desire to find a 21st century-approved use for the circular part that was gathering dust after being stripped from a spare Sony VHS player. The result is a bulky, yet useful, scroll wheel that can easily be set into motion and sustained via its own inertia to keep spinning for long periods. That feature could prove useful to anyone saddled with a mountain of video editing work, or even you lazy folk just hoping to flick less while reading the web. Unfortunately, a quick glance at Osgeld's DIY tool and part lists indicate you'll need to do quite a bit more than ransack a tape player to get this job done right. But then, when do the good things in life ever come easy?
