Remember my post on how to make a DC Welder powered by a golf cart? Well, these guys must be golfers and must own a golf course. (or at least work at a golf course.)

Now, they figured out a way to power their batteries with a big solar panel on top of the golf cart. Now the question is, can you still drive the golf cart? This might actually be a lot more practical if they could make the golf cart solar powered.

These panels charge the cart at about 3 amps. Welding or driving draws up to 150 amps, but only in short bursts.
To my surprise I have to disconnect the panel after a day or two to keep from overcharging the pack. I probably only charge one day a week. I better add an inverter so I can power my office and other tools from this thing.

Warning:
This thing is so damn cool you’ll smile too much and hurt your face.
I probably should have put the cover back over the batteries before he started welding, cuz batteries can make hydrogen which can go pop.
You’re smart kids, you can figure out other safety warnings for this thing.

via hacknmod

Well, here’s some great news that we’ve FOUND ants that can eat electronics, including your household computer, microwave, and anything with PCBs in it.

Why is this a good news?

Well, think of the electronics that cannot be recycled! If we can control and colonize these electronic-eating ants and use them to destroy old electronics, we can prevent the lead parts from electronics going into the earth and wala, we have a solution to the biggest problem in the electronics industry, the crazy rasberry ants.

With most countries around the world going lead-free within the last couple years, having these electronic ants will only mean a “miracle” solution to a worldwide problem of disposing old electronics with lead.

It sounds like the plot of a farfetched science fiction movie. Unfortunately for the residents of Texas, it is very much a reality: billions of tiny reddish-brown ants have arrived onshore from a cargo ship and are hell-bent on eating anything electronic.

Computers, burglar alarm systems, gas and electricity meters, iPods, telephone exchanges – all are considered food by the flea-sized ants, for reasons that have left scientists baffled.

[via neatorama timesonline]

Here’s a cool way you can make a DC welder powered by a golf cart!  Of course, you don’t have to use a golf cart but it is creative the way this guy did it.

Here’s the simplest welder you can make.
It’s just a pair of jumper cables and a welding rod.
Oh yeah. And some batteries to power it.
I happened to have some nice juicy batteries in the form of a Golf Cart.

Here’s me welding a trailer hitch with 1/8″ 6011 rods. Welding current peaks at around 140-150 amps with these rods and around 120 amps with 3/32 6013 rods according to a Fluke 1010 clamp probe.

via hacknmod

Wow, this is awesome! This guy is serious about recycling. The hard disks are connected to his MIDI system and are all coordinated to play drums. Well watch the video after the jump to see it in action!

Fibra from Belgrade has created an interesting drum system. It uses old hard drive read/write arms as drum hammers. The original hard drive voice coils are used to move the arms. The picture above is the new system which doesn’t seem to be documented yet, have a look at the video for a demonstration of the first version. If you need a larger hard drive project fix have a look at these hard drive projects.

[via HackedGadgets - Make]

Continue reading ‘DIY Hard Disk Drive Drum Machine!’

Oh boy, this guy has some crazy cool wooden sculptures including the Time Machine in the above pic.

This project by artist Mike Rea is called “Suit for Stephen Hawking” and shows off this artist / maker’s exceptional wood making skills. Check out the links below for everything from a space suit to a four piece band constructed entirely from wood.

[via make - sonicribbon]

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

What’s great about this DIY isn’t just the Crabfu robot but the material ShapeLock used to make it. Well, I’ve been looking for something that you can mold easily such as ShapeLock.

Great DIY and thanks for sharing the information with us.  The crab robot is so awesome!  (except crabs walk sideways, not forwards and backwards…hehe you need to add one more leg on the back to really crab it, I know because I go crab-fishing all the time.)

I-Wei thought his SwashBot 2 was cool and all, but had lost some of the character of his original SwashBot. So, he built a third version that combines the mobility of the second with the charm and personality of his first crab bot. To build the body and the leg components, he used an amazing molding material called ShapeLock. Seeing the results definitely makes this something I want to check out. You can mold it very thin and flexible for the body pieces or thick and rigid for functional components like the leg segments.

via make