makerfairemilwaukee, Author at Maker Faire Milwaukee

We are delighted to welcome Maker Faire Milwaukee sponsors, Miller Electric and Weld Specialty, to the event this year. Miller and Weld are teaming up to provide Faire visitors with a great opportunity to see demonstrations of Panasonic Robot and Miller Live Arc technology throughout the weekend.

The Panasonic Robot will be used to demonstrate automation with welding, and the Miller Live arc is an interactive welding training module that combines non-welding hands on training to involve active welding once ready. It can be used for both live welding and in training mode for safety.

Miller Electric and Weld Specialty will also be participating in our special Field Trip Friday program for disadvantaged students. Field Trip Friday provides 300 students with opportunities to meet and work with exhibitors, and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Faire before we open on Saturday morning. Education is an important goal of Maker Faires around the world and we are grateful to Miller and Weld for their support.

The GE Design & Build Challenge is coming back to Maker Faire Milwaukee again in 2016 for its 3rd iteration. Sponsored by GE Healthcare, last year’s Challenge gave teams of four Makers three hours to build a machine to deliver a ‘brain’ for transplant through the Maker Faire Hospital. With no prior knowledge of what the challenge would be, and using only materials available from a well-supplied Hack Rack, teams designed, assembled, and tested their transporters in front of the Maker Faire crowd and raced through the course.

The technical centerpiece of last year’s challenge was the ‘Brain’ which was designed and built by a team of Engineers and Industrial Designers at GE Healthcare. The Brain itself was 3D printed using ABS plastic, and it was suspended in an acrylic jar. Embedded inside the Brain was a NI myRIO FPGA controller from National Instruments, which read data from a 3-axis accelerometer and transmitted it back to 3 desktop computers through WiFi. Those computers could then display the data in real time, so the crowd could see the bumps and drops as the teams moved through the course.

The Brain was also fitted with NeoPixel color-changing LEDs to give a visual indication of its life. Rainbow colors were displayed when it was healthy, the lights turned to red when it was getting damaged, and finally turned off when the health dropped to zero. It gave the judges quantifiable measures of how well each team performed, and also let the audience know how well the teams were doing.

Technology will be a factor in this year’s challenge as well. Make sure to stop by the Design & Build Challenge on Sept 24 to see what the teams will be challenged with this year, and if you think you’re up to the Challenge, apply as a team!

We have an awesome and growing group of makers who have submitted applications for Maker Faire Milwaukee. Thanks to all who have applied to exhibit! We don’t want to miss out on anything, or anyone who might need a bit more time to get it together, so the Call for Makers will be extended through August 31st, 2015.

Do you know anyone that would be interested in being a part of Maker Faire Milwaukee 2015? If so, please encourage them to apply or volunteer!

If you have any questions about participating at Maker Faire Milwaukee, please email the team at makers@makerfairemilwaukee.com.

Source: Makershed

There is a recent race to the top (or er…uh…bottom) to build the most useless machine possible. One of the functions these machines serve is to turn themselves off when they are turned on. The others are to learn and have fun!

These machines are continuously getting more complex – there are builds with dueling arms and machines that actually move. You can find our humble machine at the Betty Brinn Museum booth!

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Frankie Flood

What originally started out as a couple of guys who created a 3D printed hand to help one child in need has grown into a global Community of tinkerers, engineers, 3D print enthusiasts, occupational therapists, university professors, designers, parents, families, artists, students, teachers and people who just want to make a difference, who are creating hands for people in need and sharing their designs with the world for free.

They are coming together to create, innovate, re-design and give a “helping hand” to those that need it – whether it is helping to print parts for them, creating a completed device for them or simply helping to guide them as they build one themselves.

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It thunders like a jet fighter. It erupts clouds thick, white smoke. It’s the World’s Smallest Jet Powered Monster Truck called MICRO MONSTER, one of the newest and most extreme inventions around.

Owner / Driver / Designer Dieter Sturm Jet Tech / Designer Jeff Seymour

The MICRO MONSTER features an Advance Turbine Design gas turbine jet engine. At just 60 pounds, it’s a lightweight, but this little engine is a true powerhouse! The ATDI GS – 100 Turbojet engine is only one of 6 ever built, three of them had gone to NASA to test Hypersonic flight models. It idles at 40,000 RPM and tops out at 80,000 RPM. It’s backed by 100 pounds of thrust with a boost to 160 lbs of thrust when the afterburner is ignited! The ATDI GS – 100 has been customized for use in the MICRO MONSTER, then specially mounted to the frame.

The jet engine stand can electrically pivot from a horizontal position of output to a complete vertical position. The smoke system, modeled after those used by aerobatic aircraft was installed add to the drama and impact of this mini monster!

MICRO MONSTER Specs:

Engine: ATDI GS – 100 Turbojet
Engine Weight: 60 Pounds
Turbine Type: Single Stage Axial Flow
Fuel: Jet A
RPM: 40,000 idle, 80,000 maximum
Exhaust Gas Temperature: 1250 F
Thrust: 160 Pounds
Maximum Speed: Unknown
7″ Max-Torque Converter
6 HP APU
Disc Brakes
Electric Reverse
Total Fueled Vehicle Weight 700 lbs.

Tell us about yourself?
We are dedicated to rediscovering the lives and work of historical tailors and related craftsmen. We exclusively use historically accurate materials, processes, and handwork techniques in our experiments and projects to better understand the world in which our nation’s seeds were sown. We’re a very small group based between Chicago and Milwaukee, and two of us, Dan and Elizabeth, will be taking part in the Maker Faire. You can follow our work on Facebook.

What are you presenting at Maker Faire Milwaukee?
We will have an array of reproduction and original artifacts on display and use them to work on various articles of handsewn clothing. Guests are welcome to try on the next best thing to surviving garments and learn some centuries-old hand stitches.
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We’re very happy to announce that Life Size Mousetrap is coming to Maker Faire Milwaukee! What is it? Well, it’s best explained in their own words:

“The Life Size Game of Mousetrap uses Newtonian mechanics to plant the seeds of curiosity with a 25 ton Rube Goldberg machine!

You will be amazed by the marvel that is the world’s only Life Sized Game of Mousetrap, a hand-built Rube Goldberg Machine of epic proportions that uses bowling balls, a cast iron bathtub and a hand-built crane to drop a two ton bank safe-proving once and for all that there is a better way to build a Mousetrap!

The Life Size Mousetrap currently travels the US bringing science and fun to folks everywhere. The fantastic interactive installation shows people that anything is possible, that you don’t have to have a degree in engineering to understand how to build a crane, and that back yard tinkering is fun! Children and adults all across America have delighted in the antics of this old fashion vaudevillian style road show for a wacky and wondrous experience that is as educational as it is a feast for the eyes. Mark Perez built the Mousetrap over a 13 year period and has become an inspiration for backyard builders, makers, DIY’ers, and budding young engineers and physicists.”

In other words, it’s a truly awesome showcase of what creative makers with dedication and passion can create. The Life Size Mousetrap has existed for 18 years and has been touring for the past 10 – a testament to it’s entertainment and educational value.

It’ll be crushing cars several times a day throughout the event. I hope you’re looking forward to it as much as we are!

Why is there a giant UFO hovering over me?
In October of 2013 the Milwaukee Makerspace put together an event called Makerfest. It was an event celebrating making and creativity. After Makerfest the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum (BBCM) approached the makerspace about collaboratively putting on a larger event – a true Maker Faire.

Members of the makerspace and BBCM then needed to solve the basics – When, Where, and How. After reviewing calendars for numerous Milwaukee events and location and other Maker Faires throughout the country the weekend of September 27th and 28th was selected. From there, we needed to find a location. Several large venues in town were approached, with a home being found in the Expo Center at Wisconsin State Fair park. In a wonderful turn of events, the State Fair grounds was already hosting Harvest Fair that weekend – also a free event! Working with the Harvest Fair organizers at the State Fair grounds has been a rewarding and delightful experience. They have been wonderfully supportive as we plan the event.

Prior to this year’s Wisconsin State Fair, we were notified of a small booth that they typically use to advertise the Harvest Fair. We were offered the opportunity to use some of it to present Maker Faire Milwaukee. Ideas began to develop and discussion ensued…

How?
On 10:30am of State Fair’s opening day I sent out a proposal:

My proposal:
Build a UFO of some sort – I’m thinking PVC, plywood, and fabric construction. Make it big and attention grabbing. Suspend it from the ceiling (so the top doesn’t need a ton of detail). Run a wire (fishing line?) out the bottom to a weight or other “hard point” on the ground. Put a robot, a cow, and/or something else interesting on the line as if they were being abducted/returned. Some sort of sign saying “Maker Faire Milwaukee Landing HERE September 27th and 28th – www.makerfairemilwaukee.com“.

I received a few “Go for it” comments in response.

So, I went for it. Work, being wonderful as always, gave me the rest of Thursday, as well as Friday, off. So now I had time.

Next, to evaluate the ‘space. By ~1:30 pm I was at the state fair grounds taking measurements and pictures of the booth.

Then, a plan. I tend to design things in my head, so I spent the driving time from work to State Fair (~30 minutes) brainstorming a design, and the time afterward tweaking the design for the space. I contacted the team at Betty Brinn Children’s museum and was invited to stop by to pick up some supplies. I got to Betty Brinn and we commenced exploring the workshop. One key discovery was finding some mdf rings that were waste material from one of their other builds. They were 2’ in diameter and of reasonable thickness. Perfect, we had a core!

We continued discussing and brainstorming the build – I mentioned that it would be really great to have some exciting/interesting lighting to attract attention. Awesomely, they had a few theatrical LED PAR lights that were available for the build. Perfect. Now I had a core, a design, and a rough plan. Time to go to the hardware store.

I went to the hardware store and picked up the following:

Quantity	Item
11	½” PVC pipe (10’ length)
3	½” PVC pipe coupler
1	1×4 x 8’
1	2×4 x 8’
1	1# box of 1 ⅝” deck screws
3	Eye bolts (hanging points)

By 5:00pm I rolled into the Milwaukee Makerspace with an SUV-full of supplies and no schedule past “get it done”. As I got into the space and described what I was doing, I instantly had several of the members offer to help with the build. Luckily, one of them was great with the CNC router, so I quickly sketched up a design for the exterior rib joint and asked him to help me set it up on the CNC router. Within the hour it was up and running, cutting the 2×4 into the 12 rib joints that I needed.

While the CNC router was cutting the rib joints, I proceeded to mark the circular pieces that I got from BBCM into 12ths.This was more difficult than I expected. I finally computed the circumference, divided by 12, marked out that distance on tape, then wrapped the tape around the piece. I ended up being off less than 1/16”. I then used that one ring to mark all of the others.

By that point the first of the CNC joints was complete. I cut down one of the PVC pipes into 3’ 4” sections, then mounted two of them on the rib joint. Taking that assembly, I then flexed the PVC toward each other until I got a shape I liked. It came out to really close to 24” between them, so that became my core height. I cut (3) 24” pieces from the 1×4 and used them to attach two of the rings together, defining the core of the UFO.

Once the core was created, it was a matter of making the ribs and attaching them. Once all of the ribs were attached I mounted the remaining PVC pipes around the circumference to finish out the shape.

From there, mount the lighting and eye bolts. The eye bolts can even be used as the mounting bolts for the lights.

At this point I was ready to skin it – but I wasn’t sure what to use. I went to American Science and Surplus and explored for a bit to find a solution. The big issue was to determine an inexpensive skin. Looking around, we found Mylar emergency blankets. PERFECT. Light and inexpensive. Buy 8 of them.

Using two sided permanent tape along each of the ribs and help from friends we skinned the UFO – there is a bit of an art to minimizing the amount of wrinkles. Each emergency blanket covers across four ribs (3 segmens), so eight emergency blankets are needed for the entire UFO (4 top & 4 bottom). The clear dome was a plastic dome one of the members had in their garden.

In our case, we needed to move the UFO from the Milwaukee Makerspace to State Fair Park – some 7 miles away. So I brought my kayak trailer (which I tow with my Miata) and built a platform on it, then bolted the UFO to the platform. We skinned the rest of it and left two panels open to access the inside.

I didn’t realize it was on my bucket list, but it was. I have now towed a UFO across the city of Milwaukee behind a Miata with the top down. It was a bit stressful, but held together pretty well at speeds up to ~40 mph. The big issue wasn’t wind, but bumps. A couple of the screws attaching the core together pulled out. Luckily, once we got the the fairgrounds I was able to screw it back together.

Due to the time – 7am – I was only able to get one person to help with the install. I rigged up a pulley system to one of the ceiling trusses and had my assistant lift the UFO while I stabilized it. Once it was close to the right location, I climbed up into the trusses and hung it using chains.

A bit of tweaking the lighting, organization of the booth, and all was ready.

Just like many projects, there is yet more on the drawing boards… Radar dish, levitating cows, and all sorts of fun.