We just received a shipment of parts for instructional courses on Kit Building/Learn How to Solder:
The available kits we have are Drawdio, Minty Boost, Mini POV, TV-B-Gone and Red/Green LOL.
Check here soon to sign up for an upcoming class.
Madison, WI :: Hackerspace
MadREP Meeting
Sector67 hosted a meeting for the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) in its new conference room.
MadREP (formerly called Thrive) is “an economic development partnership for the eight-county Madison Region with a vision to create a dynamic environment where people and businesses prosper.” Read more about MadREP here.
Part of their development plan is to encourage advanced manufacturing in the region, with emphasis on collaborative/innovative work. Since Sector67 fits the bill, MadREP has included us as a resource for the businesses they are trying to attract.
July Monthly Meeting
The July monthly meeting was on Tuesday, July 2nd.
Liam compiled and demonstrated an educational math software/hardware program on Raspberry Pi called Sage (it wasn’t originally built for the hardfp ARM architecture).
Jacob demoed an Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset for everyone by mirroring what he was seeing on the projector.
Davi showed everyone his creation, a climate plotting system.
Nathan showcased a system for 3D printers that creates engravings on circuit boards.
Karen and Joe presented the cars (L to R: The Fauxrrari, The Lameborghini) that Sector67 raced at the PPPRS in Kansas City. You can check out that adventure here.
Eric plugged his hybrid car battery service and repair business, called EV Powers. Visit them here.
Karen, who recently came from Detroit and frequented a hackerspace there, gave her own presentation on the Power Racing Series, complete with media and play by play.
Eric gave us a look at his ongoing project, a fob-activated cat dish. Eric has two cats, one of which eats the other’s food. To combat this, Eric designed a food dish that only opens for a particular cat.
This is an enclosure for a Raspberry Pi-controlled camera, so it can be protected from the elements while taking a pictures over a lake for the purpose of time-lapse photography.
The next meeting is on Tuesday, August 6th. Anyone is welcome to come!
Posted in Projects, Uncategorized Tagged with: 3D printing, Monthly Meeting, Oculus Rift, PPPRS, Raspberry Pi
Makership Meeting #2
The second Makership meeting took place on Tuesday, July 9th.
The Makership Program pairs students (the makers) in primary education with knowledgable Sector67 members, who serve as their mentors.
The makers work with together with a mentor, bringing a maker’s (highly) original idea to fruition.
All of the Makers submitted their ideas via a handwritten sketch or in words.
This is Iona’s idea, which is an automated greenhouse or plant watering system.
Niko’s project is intended to keep squirrels away from the bird feeder, using a fake moving owl to scare them away.
Liam’s creation is an electronic device designed to monitor water quality.
Peyton’s project is to create an action figure replica of himself.
There are five other projects, including a coxswain amp, a robot and a small pipe organ.
Chris talking to the Makers and Mentors.
Bob teaching the Makers who will use a 3D printer in their project.
Chris giving an Arduino course for the makers who will use microcontrollers in their creations.
Bob showing some Makers how the laser cutter works.
The next Makership meeting is July 21st.
The PPPRS in Kansas City
Sector67 went down to compete in the Power Racing Series in Kansas City June 29 and 30! This our third year of attendance.
The goal of the race is “to create a working electric vehicle for less than $500 using open source tools and tech.”
Kansas City Union Station and skyline.
Working on the Fauxrrari before the race.
The Lameborghini.
Pre-race test.
The Lameborghini got pushed to the limit and fried!
The Sector67 home base.
The track before the race.
Karen drove the car for the moxie race, which judged the crowd reaction to each car.
Sector67 placed
Some of the competition. The other teams in the race hailed from all over, including Pittsburgh, Milwaukee as well as local teams from Kansas City.
There were two other races, a 30 lap circuit race and a 75 minute endurance race.
Chris races in nothing less than true style.
Sector67 took 1st place in both the circuit and endurance races!
Thanks to our team, organizers of PPPRS and the competition.
American Skillet Company Kickstarter: New York Skillet!
Alisa and Andrew of FeLion studios and American Skillet Company are launching a Kickstarter to fund their new project, a large scale production of a New York-shaped skillet!
This is the rough, prototype version of the skillet, without the various improvements and modifications that will be made in the commercial model:
The idea originally came from Alisa’s art piece, which she made with the help of Sector67 people and tools. Alisa used our CNC-modified HH Roberts mill to make 28 of the states for her art piece, “Made in America.”
They have been making skillets in the shape of Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota for a couple years now:
The skillets made by Alisa and Andrew have been featured on the Martha Stewart Show, Huffington Post, Gizmodo and many more awesome places.
So anyways, their Kickstarter went live today! If you want to support the entrepreneurial endeavors of a local artist, you can do so here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/felion/american-skillet-company-new-york-state-shaped-ski?ref=recently_launched
Here they are launching their Kickstarter at Sector67:
Posted in Food, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged with: American Skillet Company, FeLion Studios, Kickstarter, Make Magazine, Sector67
Makership Meeting #1
The Makership Program kicked off on Tuesday, June 25th. The Makership Program will pair students (the makers) in primary education with knowledgable Sector67 members, who will serve as their mentors.
The makers will work with together with a mentor, bringing a maker’s (highly) original idea to fruition.
The makers workshopped their ideas with each mentor.
Afterwards, Scott gave everyone a tour of Sector67.
Stay tuned for upcoming meetings!
Arduino 101
Chris gave an Arduino programming lesson on Thursday, June 20th.
According to its website, “Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It’s intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.” Microcontrollers are used in everyday objects, from watches, to calculators to greeting cards.
Chris demonstrated a novel, DIY use of a microcontroller, for bikers to clearly signal when they make a turn.
Everybody was given a kit containing wires, potentiometers, servo motors, switches, resistors, LEDs, a speaker and a breadboard.
Class participants then set about programming their microcontrollers to operate each different component in their kit.
Makership Program Projects
We are proud to announce that Sector67 has offered our Makership award to 11 area youth (under 18).
A Makership award comes with a free summer membership to Sector67, a $100 stipend for materials/resources and facilitated access to our mentor network that will aid in accomplishing their creative endeavors.
Here’s sneak peek of a few of the projects that have been accepted to our Makership program for the summer:
1. A creative short animation.
2. An improvement for a coxswain
3. A plant-watering robot
4. A water quality monitor
5. Musical instrument and amplifier
This opportunity would be impossible without the support of our wonderful sponsors, who we thank wholeheartedly:
An anonymous local foundation
Justin Beck at PerBlue software (through the Madison Media Institute):
An anonymous Sector67 member
And Hawks Quindel, S.C. – Attorneys at Law
We’re fully funded for 2013 – thank you to our generous sponsors!
If you are interested, please contact us at [email protected]
High-Altitude Balloon
In May, we launched a high-altitude balloon, the fourth one in a series for the Apollo67 project.
Read about the rest of flight, look at pictures from the balloon’s camera, preparation, recovery and more in a fantastic write-up by Bob: http://apollo67.com/apollo67-launch-4-433/
Posted in Uncategorized
Wood-fired Pizza Oven
Tim built a wood-fired pizza oven, and shaped the pizza using a FeLion iron cast.
A pizza in the FeLion iron cast.
The pizza going in the oven.
Tim based the design of the oven off a guy from California called the Pizza Hacker.
Getting wood-fired.
The oven gets up to 900 degrees.
Done!
Time to eat.
Posted in Uncategorized
Grilled Cheese Competition
Sector67 visited the Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Championship in Mineral Point, on Saturday, April 27th.
The competition.
The Sector67 booth.
Cooking.
FeLion booth.
Alisa and Andrew from FeLion had a booth as well.
Heather competing.
Posted in Uncategorized