Please join us Saturday, October 12th from noon until 5pm for our 3rd anniversary celebration!
Madison, WI :: Hackerspace
Surface Mount Soldering Class
Sector67 had a surface mount soldering class on August 21st.
A Lumen Electronic Jewelry Skull Kit was used by everyone. Check out Lumen’s website.
First, paste was applied to the one side of the skulls.
Then, the parts were applied to the paste side of the board and placed on a hot plate.
Once the hot plate was turned on, the heat set the parts in place.
Onto the other side of the skull. The soldering-by-hand begins!
The finished product:
The finished product in action!
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Xbox Reworking Party and BGA Chip Soldering
Sector67 recently hosted an Xbox rework and BGA chip soldering class.
The ball grid array (BGA) is a “type of surface-mount packaging used for integrated circuits. BGA packages are used to permanently mount devices such as microprocessors.”
In Xbox 360s, the infamous “red ring of death” is often the result of a soldering failure by BGA-mounted graphics card.
A couple o’ BGAs.
Xbox graphics card mounted on a BGA.
Soldering a BGA is tricky business and cannot be done by hand, instead calling for the precision of a temperature controlled soldering machine.
The infrared BGA rework station for soldering is a Jovy Systems RE-7500 model.
The Jovy RE-7500 at work:
The wires held down by the yellow tape are thermocouples monitoring the temperature.
See those white specks? One of the graphics chips was dropped and splattered everywhere.
And here is a successful soldering of the BGA chip.
Siglinda Knives
Sector67 member Josh runs Siglinda Knives, a “locally owned, artisanal sharpening & repair service for knives, shears & blades of all kinds.”
Visit his site here: siglinda.com
Forward Technology Fest
One of the events for the Forward Technology Fest was held at Sector67, on Tuesday, August 20th.
Forward Tech Fest is a series of events where “fellow entrepreneurs, nerds, designers, geeks, hackers, and creative professionals from the Midwest [network and collaborate during] a 10-day celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Chris gave interested individuals a tour of the 3D printers.
There was also a Turbo Tap in use! If you haven’t heard, they’re pretty awesome.
A wholehearted thank you to everyone who attended and all of the sponsors, it was a great time!
There are still a few Forward Tech Fest events yet to happen, find out more about them here: forwardfest.org
SnowShoe iPad Minis
SnowShoe, a tech company specializing in hardware for mobile transactions that first started in Madison, recently moved to Denver.
Before they left, Sector67 engraved a bunch of iPad minis for them using the laser cutter:
The iPad minis on the laser cutter.
The first engraving.
The rest of the companies engraved are all grant recipients of Techstars, a program that funds tech startups.
Finished.
Read more about SnowShoe here: host.madison.com
And check out their website here: beta.snowshoestamp.com
Tex Tubb’s Taco Palace Margarita Mixer Bike
Tex Tubb’s Taco Palace, a fine local taqueria establishment right around the corner from Sector67, commissioned members from Sector67 to build a bike that mixes margaritas while you ride it.
But first, they made a fake one just to troll Tex’s.
And it’s completely rideable!
But just barely.
Okay enough trickery, here’s the real deal.
All of the engravings were done with the laser cutter.
Complete with a Sector67 reflector on the back:
The latches are made of leather, and the detail was also engraved with the laser cutter.
It’s done, time to take it out for a spin.
Stop in to Tex Tubb’s Taco Palace on 2009 Atwood Avenue and check out its website here: www.textubbstacos.com
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TCS Basys Control Thermostat
TCS Basys Control donated a wireless thermostat and control system to Sector67!
They are a Middleton, Wisconsin based energy management systems company.
We sincerely thank them for their truly gracious donation. Take a look at their website here: https://www.tcsbasys.com/index.php
Detroit Maker Faire and PPPRS
A group of Sector67 members traveled to Detroit this past weekend to check out the Maker Faire and compete in the Power Racing Series!
This thing was awesome and enormous.
This was cool, too.
A lineup of the competing cars (The Sector67 vehicles [Fauxrrari, Lameborghini and minibike] are not pictured, but you’ll see them in a second).
The highly anticipatory crowd.
A few members of the Sector67 team discuss strategy and get psyched up for the race.
Sweet Sector67 decal on the back of the Lameborghini.
Pre-race lineup. Can you spot the Lameborghini?
Of course you can, it’s right there.
The Fauxrarri in pre-race position. This one should be obvious.
And last but not least, the minibike.
There it is in action!
The Fauxrarri tearing it up.
And the Lameborghini doing work!
The next five rides are all from the competition, although there were many more.
There were plenty of hiccups along the way for all contestants, like near collisions for us…
Break-downs for others….
And rain for everyone.
But Sector67 managed to win first place medals in the Qual, Enduro and Circut races!
And then promptly took some much deserved R&R.
Thank you to the Detroit Maker Faire and everyone who competed!
P. S. Take a look at this awesome bonus photo from The Detroit News.
Madison Public Library Benches
Some bench frames for the new Central Madison Public Library, set to open in less than two months, were laser-engraved here at Sector67.
This is the unfinished pile, accounting for about half of the total frames.
The names on the bench frames are book clubs that have donated money to the library. First they are designed in Adobe Illustrator, then transferred onto the LaserCut program.
Then they are run through the laser cutter.
And here’s the finished pile:
If you want to donate to the new Madison Public Library and help it reach its funding goal, go here.
How to Apply a Sector67 Sticker to Your VW Van
Step 1: Slowly remove the backing from the adhesive side of the Sector67 sticker.
Step 2: With a friend to help you, line up the Sector67 sticker evenly, and then firmly press it sticker onto the car surface.
Step 3: Slowly remove the backing from the non-adhesive side of the Sector67 sticker.
Step 4: Remember, SLOWLY. Patience is important.
Step 5: Bask in the glory of the Sector67 sticker. Make sure to show it off to everyone you know.
Iona Clothing
A contemporary women’s clothing store, Iona, will be opening on 807 East Johnson Street, and all of the signage for the brand logos were made at Sector67.
Monty cut the raw wood and metal material, and then engraved the brand names into the metal and wood signs.
The store will be opening in early August, be sure to stop on by 807 East Johnson and check it out!