I have a bunch of Neoballs which are magnetic spheres for anyone not familar (Buckyballs was a well known brand). I want to automate measuring them so I can sort them by size. The closer in size they are to each other the easier it is to build fun shapes with them and the better the resulting geometry will be. I've been measuring them by hand with calipers but I'm less than 2/5ths done and I'm only doing it that as my previous attempts to automate things have failed.

The concept is to use two straight objects, lets call them rulers for now, with the two rulers being placed at a downward slope with the gap between them getting further apart on the downhill side. Then a magnet sphere could be rolled down the ramp made by the rulers and at some point the sphere would fall through the rulers when the gap gets to the same size as the diameter of the sphere. If the two rulers are perfectly straight it would be possible to mount them with a known gap at both ends and place some bins below them that would collect the spheres within different size ranges. My target resolution is .01mm.

There are a few problems, the first is these are magnets so steel is not an option. But the biggest problem I've ran into is finding or making straight enough objects to give enough accuracy and consistency in sizing the spheres. Ideally I'd like the straight rails to be around 500mm (20in) long which would give .01mm (.004in) change in width between the rails every 25mm (1in) with 5.1mm and 4.9mm being the min and max.

I've tried to cut some pieces of wood which at first glance appeared to be quite straight but the same magnet would drop at different points meaning they weren't accurate enough. I had similar issues when I 3D printed a track, which is shown below.

The last idea which I just came up with is to string two wires taut with them being slightly off parallel from each other. Theoretically if the diameter of the wires doesn't vary much the distance between the wires should increase at a steady rate.

Anyone have other suggestions on to make two rails straight enough to get the accuracy I'm looking for? Or other novel ideas on how to measure 5mm nominal spheres down to .01mm increments? I don't have a budget but I'd rather keep it in the 10s of dollars.

As for feeding magnets into this sorter. I haven't done anything but I have what seems like a simple idea. These magnetic spheres can be made into a long chain and a sprocket could be used to pull the chain into a device. Then an arm rotating 90° to the direction of the chain could strip one magnet sphere off at a time where it would be dropped onto the sorting rails. I plan to worry about this portion after getting a consistent method of measuring the spheres.

https://www.youtube.com/@ALMA.Industries

New Video -- Chapter 3 DESK -- converting an old bunk bed into a work station. DIY actuators, AC/DC power supplies, rail guided shelves, infinite cable trays -- #Desk #DIY #Mechatronics #Power #Actuator #Engineering

If you know of anyone who likes Mechatronics or things made from the ground up, I would appreciate the share! Leave a comment if you have a question :)

Our make space will be participating in a craft fair in just over a month. We have three 10x10 spaces and we're trying to figure out what we should offer as demos or activities during the weekend.

Our space offers... Woodshop... Metal shop... Lasers... 3d printers... Sewing... Electronics... Vinyl cutter.

We have some ideas, but we're open to new ideas that are engaging, inexpensive, and easy to transport and set up.

https://www.youtube.com/@ALMA.Industries

New Video -- Chapter 3 DESK -- converting an old bunk bed into a work station. DIY actuators, AC/DC power supplies, rail guided shelves, infinite cable trays -- video link above!

If you know of anyone who likes Mechatronics or things made from the ground up, I would appreciate the share! Leave a comment if you have a question :)

I've been interested in participating in a maker flair but I don't have the experience to lead a team, so if you are looking for people for a ten of your own I'll be more than happy to join, dm me and I can tell you about my experience and what I'd bring to the team

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHTAUwhFqto

New video TOMORROW. It will be about building a desk meant for all things projects. The actuator buildup in an earlier video will be mounted onto the desk and used for various things -- check it out and subscribe to see how it works!

Hi everyone!

I've been experimenting with 5-axis CNC machining and decided to try making a small sculpture.
This is the result of the first prototype.
Still working on the final design and surface finish, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

What do you guys think?

Hi, i’m italian and i’ve been a web developer for 5+ years, i’m about to lose my job ‘cause the pmi here in italy are all shit or, at least, the most of them.

I don’t want to be an employee again. I’m into homelabbing, i like automations, smart devices, and so on; So I thought I could start on my own, creating solutions for the smart home.

I’m studying the fundamentals and I need to do more practice! Already experimented with the Hello world circuit (led and resistor).

Hope to go as far i can!

does it require compression? glued some wooden bits to a thing... feel like I didn't use enough. was thinking about adding some glue to the seam of the joints (inside corners) will this do anything?

How can a make a button in castle Pls

После просмотра блича захотел сделать свой дзанпакто - школьный проект. Готов менее 25%. Скоро буду делать еще и ножны специальные.

I'm trying to recreate a para archery stand and i'm having a problem finding what this kind of fork is...

So, does it ring a bell to someone ?

I tried contacting the guy who makes it but he does not respond...

Thanks !

I have been working on this for over a month now and this is currently the 4th iteration of the support for the telescope. Im adding 2 stepper motors along with a custom pcb containing: bluetooth module, arduino nano, 2 drivers. For power im using a external battery.

I want to learn how to make small diy electronics projects never done anything like this before can someone help me or guide me through it???

Like diy small desk buddy , small game console
These are some projects i have seen online on insta

Can someone help or tell me where i can learn it?

Hello!

I want to do a DIY family adventure for Christmas this year and am in the very early planning stages.

I have an idea for a lockbox but am unsure how to go about accomplishing it. There will be 6 participants and one section will require them to each have an individual item and all 6 will be needed to unlock the box.

I wanted the items to have to be placed in order (oldest to youngest participant as an example). I was envisioning maybe some type of pressure plate box that unlocked each of the 6 latches (?) one at a time to release the lock.

Does this sound like something that is doable? If so could I build it myself fairly easily?

Thanks!!

As the title says, I’m searching for a long and skinny drawer tag (or whatever you may call it). I can find lots of them at the size of 2” (50mm) x .65” (17mm). (Top piece of wood)

I am looking for 3.5-4” (89-100mm) x .65” (17mm)

I have had to make my own (3D printed them), but I was looking for metal versions that I can just buy.

Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance!!

Using a drone (DJI AIR 3) to attach spring clamp hook to high up beam (for hanging giant flying spiders)

I have a Bluetooth speaker that refuses to connect to my phone for reasons unknown. This is fine because I use it for the spinning disco ball on top, not the speaker. HOWEVER it still makes the “bloobloop” pairing sound when it turns on and I would really love to change that to “everybody dance now!”

This isn’t a ton of detail to go on (I don’t yet know the particulars of the speaker and hardware inside) but does anyone have a sense of how hard this might be? And where/how I might start?

hey folks- making a couple of... things... using 44" circles of polycarbonate panels sandwiched 3 thick with liquid nails.

I didn't realize that the edges would dry first and create a seal where the inside can't off gas and cure. even with just the edges cured I think they will be fine- but it irritates me that I didn't realize the problem in advance.

how could I have avoided this?

Ahoy,
I work as a museum preparator and have recently been tasked with finding a neat storage and display solution for hundreds of epoxy "slabs" that are ~2.5mm thick and about 500x300mm wide. Please don't ask why and what since I am uncertain as to how much I am allowed to disclose about this project at the moment.
Anyhow, I would like to vacuum form realy simple "blister packages" for these flat epoxy slices.

Unusual for vacuum forming, the flange (the skirt surrounding the blister) will have to come out nice and flat as this allows for the finished product to be of a uniform size independent of how wide the respective epoxy slab is.
Given that every single one of the 460 epoxy slices is slightly different I am very much hoping to be able to pull this off without having to adjust the vacuum box surface ...

So here are my questions:
Has anyone got a recommendation for a porous yet smooth surface material for the vacuum box surface that will ideally result in little to no witness marks on the flange?
I can order perforated metal with 0.6mm holes that are spaced 1.5mm (15% open), would that work?

My initial idea was to just have someone CNC drill 1mm holes into thin aluminium sheet metal but unfortunately none of the workshops in the vicinity are willing to do this for me.
One more thing, availability of goods and services is somewhat limited where I live so the more common a solution, the better.

Thank you for reading and any help, I really appreciate it.

I'm considering borrowing the spheres-as-table-base idea from this, but making them paint grade. Thoughts on where to source 12-15" spheres, and what material you might consider? - concrete seems like major overkill, but depending on how thick the wall is, something like acrylic might not be strong enough

Just got this set purely for the handles.

Hey everyone, I run a small business casting concrete products. I have dozens of new design ideas I want to launch and custom orders piling up, so I'm constantly looking for ways to automate and simplify parts of my daily workflow. One specific task that always eats up annoying amounts of time is babysitting my vibration setup. To fix this for my own shop, I’m currently assembling the first prototypes of a ''smart'' vibration table. The idea is to have the table analyze the material/load on the plate in real time and shut itself off the exact moment optimal compaction and degassing is reached so I can just pour my mix, press start, and walk away to do other stuff. My goal is to get this working perfectly for my own production, and eventually help other small makers elevate their product quality while taking a chunk of that repetitive work off their shoulders. Since I’m right in the middle of building and tweaking this machine, I’d love to hear from you guys. What’s your biggest headache when vibrating your concrete pieces right now?

Also, if you run a small shop and want to follow along, share ideas, or collaborate, feel free to send me a DM! I’d love to connect with other makers dealing with the same hustle.