Do you want a way to leave messages for your loved ones, but you’re actively boycotting 3M and can’t use Post-it Notes?
Then this is the solution for you!
LuvNoots is a wall-mounted display that shows text messages on a large ePaper screen. It also shows the weather, because IoT.
Any plain SMS text message sent to the device’s phone number will show up, so you can give that number to a spouse, family member, or friends and they’ll be able to leave messages.
Years ago, I designed this adapter so that I could use a reproduction ZX Spectrum case to build a RetroPie gaming console. Fast forward a couple of years and I had a roommate that thought it was really cool.
That former roommate (now a former friend) had a birthday coming up, so I made him his own RetroPie system called TurboNES.
On the hardware side, this is very straightforward. It is a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B running RetroPie, with the top 100 ROMs for a variety of consoles. Two wireless SNES controllers (Amazon affiliate link) plug into the USB ports.
Most of my time went into designing the enclosure, which I think looks pretty nice. It hides everything but the USB-C power port and the micro HDMI port. My friend isn’t very tech savvy, so I wanted it to be foolproof. Using my Bambu Lab P1S with AMS, I was able to get a nice two-tone color scheme.
Comparatron won the Grand Prize in the Instructables Reuse Challenge contest!
Many of my projects interface with existing devices or items, which means that I have to obtain accurate dimensions of those objects to ensure a good fit. That’s easy to do with calipers if the object is simple, but it is very difficult when the object has a complex shape.
Back when I was a mechanical designer, I worked for a medical company where my job involved reverse-engineering tiny medical devices (like bone screws). To get precise measurements, I used an instrument called an optical comparator that lets you measure distances and angles through a microscope.
Optical comparators are very expensive instruments (easily tens of thousands of dollars), so I decided to build an affordable version that I’m calling Comparatron.
Good news! The folks at iDraw liked this project so much that they’re giving everyone 15% off their pen plotters. Just go to their store (https://idrawpenplotter.com/shop) and use the coupon code “CAMERON” to get the discount.
Print the two parts on any 3D printer. Then remove the iDraw Pen Plotter’s pen lift mechanism and attach the microscope mount, and press-fit the spur gear to the motor shaft.
Connect the USB cables to your computer (a USB hub makes things easier).
Launch the software (either the Python script or the standalone executable) on a Windows PC, connect to the pen plotter, then move the microscope over your part and start marking points.
When you’ve marked all of your points, export the DXF file. Then import that DXF file into the CAD/design software of your choice and use the points as references for your design.
That’s it! I think this is a very useful tool and I’m quite proud of it. If you decide to build one, please let me know!
