This week at the Fab Lab, I dabbled in using Arduinos. Having never coded before in my life, using an Arduino came as a bit of a challenge. We started out using a basic Blink code, which caused a light on the Arduino to blink. Using the code, we were able to change the code so the light would pulse faster or slower depending on the numbers we inputted.

After completing this, we expanded on the concept through wiring our Arduino up to an LED, so this time the code corresponded to the LED light. After, I found a code online to make the LED fade in and out. Wanting to test my new knowledge of coding, I attempted to combine the Blink and Fade codes, which ended up failing. I still found other ways to play around with what I learned, however, such as by hooking up a second LED to the Arduino and modifying the code so that the two LED’s flashed at different times.

After playing around with LED’s, we were given light sensors to play with. With the code associated with them, they were able to pick up on data about how much light was around them. We then also had an LED hooked up and found an “if” function online so that when the light it sensed was above a certain level, the light turned on. We then reversed this code to program the light to be like an automatic nightlight so that when the light was below a certain reading the light would turn on.

Although coding probably is not my thing, learning about it made me realize that anyone now has the capability to add innovation to society. There are a lot of people with highly creative abilities who are now able to make their ideas reality because of the ability to just copy and paste codes from online.

Lasers, baby. First time ever using a laser cutting tool this past week at the MakerLab and I couldn’t be more pleased with my work. I can honestly say this was the first time I had produced something that I was especially proud of in terms of the aesthetic look of my creation. I’ll explain why later.

The machinery that printed followed the same trend of other printers. That is, it used x-y coordinates to accurately vector cut and burn into the material. This technology isn’t new but I am getting the sense that it is becoming more and more available to the amateur maker in the same way 3D printers and the smart stitching machines. The fact that these machines are becoming more and more available to makers all over have great implications for the maker movement. Namely, the paradigm of making power is continuing to shift in the direction of the small guy.

Daenerys Targaryen is my love

So what did I use the laser cutter for and why am I so proud? So in honor of tonight’s season premier of Game of Thrones, I decided to print out a graphic that I made of my favorite character (and crush) form the show, Daenerys Targaryen. The process was extremely simple but it did take some toying with in terms of saving the file and setting up the printer up correctly. It took me two tries to get the above piece 100% correct. I made a slight error and didn’t vector cut a square so the art was just burned into a large plane. Isn’t she a beaut?

Birthday gifts are always a hassle, at least for me. This is why I am stoked about the above cut that I made using the laser cutter. I printed a cut of the country Lebanon with the focal piece of the national flag right on top. My dad is from Lebanon and even though this piece isn’t exactly useful for much or easy to display, I thought the wood and the burnt edges made the cut be especially meaningful considering the country is known for her great cedar trees. Look at me, trying to be deep!

I’m looking forward to returning to the maker lab two classes from now!

The Fab Lab proves itself “fabulous” yet again. This week we did digital embroidery with Jessica. To start, we found a picture online of a silhouette. I chose a picture of a tree. We then uploaded the photo onto an application called SewArt where we could play around with the color and size. When we were finished putting our own touch on it, we saved it as an embroidery file. It was a fairly simple process.

The sewing machine then inputted the image and was able to copy the pattern onto the bobbin. If multiple colors were used, the machine would tell you what color was needed to make the design and you would put in the thread.

One thing I struggled with in the beginning was threading the machine. I couldn’t seem to get it on the hook that pushed the needle up and down. After I figured that out, it was smooth sailing. The progress of the embroidery is shown below:

All in all, I really enjoyed today’s class; digital embroidery is pretty cool. It is much faster and takes up less physical labor than hand embroidery. However, there are some drawbacks such as not getting a good quality design. For instance, there was someone who tried to make a playing card and it had too much small detail that it didn’t show up well. The design processes are a bit different, but I think the digital method is much easier.