Anyway, I know what the problem is that you are having. I've found the same problem. No matter what speed and power you engrave at on your Epilog, it will always look better on the second pass. The issue is that the sprays that you are using leave a residue on the copper that your laser just burns on. For example, when you use the black and do two passes at 600 dpi, full speed and full power, it looks like it's all gone. Try a red or yellow spray and you'll see a fine residue of pigment that stays on the board.

I haven't worked out what spray will work yet. Clears and acylics/enamels don't seem to work. Or wax. Last thing that I was trying was white-out (correction fluid). The way that you are doing it will give enormous etch times with poor quality.

Hope you can work it out.

The RepRap team introduced a simple breakout shield -

The Arduino Breakout Shield is a shield that plugs into an Arduino and provides all the Arduino pins as screw terminals. It is perfect for semi-permanent Arduino projects, or just general prototyping. It provides access to all the Arduino pins, as well as providing extra GND, 3.3v, 5v, and Supply voltage pins for convenience.

Related:
Argo electronics - Surplus electronics in NYC - Link.

This lightbulb / bike project uses color-shifting bulbs and a few BMX dirt bicycles to make a nice ambient environment. It was on display at the "World Space Party" held last year at NASA's Ames research center in California. Pretty cool

Lightbulb art project - Link

The DELO watch by Aeolab (Elise Co and Nikita Pashenkov) is the coolest thing to come to boring wrist watches since old school Pac-Man watches from the 80s. Check out the video for some pretty nice time change customization graphics you can set on the prototype.

DELO Watch - Link

If you are like most people who play "Rock Band" religiously, chances are you've broken your kit and are debating whether or not to toss it and buy a new one or call Harmonix and ask for a refund. This hack shows a rather complex, but do-able way to fix your ailing plastic musical life.

Fix Your Rock Band Drums - Link

Build a disposable camera ring flash. Disposable cameras are discarded after the film has been removed. Photo labs often have boxes of them under the counter, waiting to be recycled. If you ask nicely, you can often get more than enough to experiment with. Try to get at least six for this project, all of the same type.

Disposable camera ring light - Link

Related:

Eye on Birmingham: The Ring - Link

DIY Ring light - Link

Electronic Test Equipment by Tom and Wendell Anderson. See and understand what's happening inside a circuit. Page 158 - MAKE 10. Read this article now in the MAKE digital edition.

Or get MAKE 10 from the Maker store and/or subscribe to MAKE (use code CMAKE for $5 off USD).

You can view all our in depth Primers from MAKE here too.

This weekend on Best of Weekend Projects with Bre Pettis, learn how to hack your brain by making Mitch Altman's Brain Machine! It flashes LEDs into your eyes and beeps sounds into your ears to make your brain waves sync up into beta, alpha, theta, and delta brainwaves!

Mitch invents cool things that make the world a better place. He's well known for the TV-B-GONE and this brain machine is his latest project. One of the cool things about this project, is that it builds on an open source project. Mitch used Lady Ada's open source MiniPOV and switched out LEDs and added new capacitors and resistors and then rewrote the firmware to make it into the brain machine. It's super cool when people make hardware open source so that others can work with it!

Make sure to take pictures of your build and of you in your brain machine and upload them to the Make: flickr pool.

Get the podcast and pdf downloaded automatically in itunes. - Link

Cool visualization on a monitor via Arduino

An arduino board is controlling the RGB lines of a VGA connection to an LCD monitor. However, the horizontal and vertical sync lines are being generated by a proper computer.

Related:

Arduino TV - Link

In the Maker store:

"Critter & Guitari" Cellular Automata Video Synthesizer Kit - Link

The aim of this project is the development and construction of an interface between a CMOS camera and a computer. This interface allows a user to get images from the camera, to change some of the properties of the camera as brightness, luminance, etc from a computer. Also some image process is implemented allowing the camera to track white objects and follow them with a servomotor. The interface was implemented using the Atmel AVR ATmega16 microcontroller.

Digital Camera Interface - Link

Related:

Track fingers with the Wiimote - Link

Matt Mets made this simple servo-controlled walking bot which uses a Barebones Arduino to walk, one leg at a time. Source code included. - Link.

Randy made his own version of the Bristlebot, but with a speaker and pull cord. Excellent, and with renewable propulsion! I like the little resistor antlers/feelers - Link.

Related:

HOW TO - Make a Bristlebot a tiny directional vibrobot made from a toothbrush! - Link.

Bristlebot racing snail - Link.

You may know of Claytronics (aka programmable matter) - the use of reconfigurable nanoscale robots to form shapeshifting objects.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have proposed several basic robotic designs as possible foundations for claytronics, including:

• Planar catoms test the concept of motion without moving parts and the design of force effectors that create cooperative motion within ensembles of modular robots.
  
• Electrostatic latches model a new system of binding and releasing the connection between modular robots, a connection that creates motion and transfers power and data while employing a small factor of a powerful force.
  
• Stochastic Catoms integrate random motion with global objectives communicated in simple computer language to form predetermined patterns, using a natural force to actuate a simple device, one that cooperates with other small helium catoms to fulfill a set of unique instructions.
  
• Giant Helium Catoms provide a larger-than-life, lighter-than-air platform to explore the relation of forces when electrostatics has a greater effect than gravity on a robotic device, an effect simulated with a modular robot designed for self-construction of macro-scale structures.
  
• Cubes employ electrostatic latches to demonstrate the functionality of a device that could be used in a system of lattice-style self-assembly at both the macro and nano-scale.

Videos and detailed info @ Carnegie Mellon - Link

Shape-shifting robot forms from magnetic swarm @ New Scientist - Link

Related:
Claytronics - Link

"Sleep Waking" by Fernando Orellana and Brendan Burns presents a new way to look back on one's dreams. EEG, EKG, REM, and various other physical data is logged during the subject's sleep and then later used as the script to direct robotic action -

The eye position data we simply apply to the position the robot's heads is looking. So if my eye was looking left, the robot looks left.
The use of the EEG data is a bit more complex. Running it through a machine learning algorithm, we identified several patterns from a sample of the data set (both REM and non-REM events). We then associated preprogrammed robot behaviors to these patterns. Using the patterns like filters, we process the entire data set, letting the robot act out each behavior as each pattern surfaces in the signal. Periods of high activity (REM) where associated with dynamic behaviors (flying, scared, etc.) and low activity with more subtle ones (gesturing, looking around, etc.). The "behaviors" the robot demonstrates are some of the actions I might do (along with everyone else) in a dream.

She may look like one, but don't call her a "bug" - The "Lady Bird" autonomous robot was introduced to Western Japan's highway rest stops in November of 2007 to maintain restroom cleanliness as well as friendliness -

In addition to cleaning, Lady Bird can engage in simple conversation with restroom users, thanks to microphones in its "antennae," speech recognition capabilities and a voice synthesizer. The robot has access to the latest information about traffic conditions on nearby roads, which it can relay to anyone comfortable enough to ask.

Related:

Jumbo cleaning robots - Link

11. A roboticist should know when to come back later (A.K.A. "The Kenny Rogers Rule")
When you're building anything, especially something as complicated as a robot, the build can sometimes get ugly. If you try to force your way through, you can often dig yourself into an even deeper hole. So here's what you do: "Put the soldering iron down. Step away from the steaming robot entrails!" You'll be amazed at what an hour away, vegging in front of the TV, rolling around on the floor with the cat, or sleeping on your problem will do. It almost never fails. Here's a corollary: The extent to which you don't want to drop what you're doing and take a break ("I know I can fix this, damn it!"), is inversely proportional to the extent to which you need a break. Why is it the Kenny Rogers Rule? Cause "you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, and know when to walk away..."

Rules for Roboticists - Link

From the MAKE Flickr pool

. . . not autonomous, not motor driven, not even powered - just plain cute.

Farnea's Audrey robots #1, - Link & #2 - Link

Related:

Homemade robot costume - Link

This Lego Unicycle Robot balances on one wheel and uses RCX Lego Mindstorms bricks with 4 sensors and three tires to maintain its balance. It stays upright by directly powering the wheel. Really nice video above of the whole thing in action.

Yet Another LegWay - [via]

This project by Tim Redfern allows onlookers to send SMS messages to Robosapien robots who respond with some impressive dance moves. The system uses a custom built, downloadable Xtra for (Macromedia/Adobe) Director called "UIRT XTRA" that is free from the site below. Check out the video.

Dancing Robosapiens - Link, UIRT Xtra Download

Back in the 1982, Heathkit released the HERO 1 educational robot. HERO 1 had a Motorola 6808 CPU and 4k of RAM on board. He came equipped with motion, light, sound and sonar ranging sensors. You could even add an optional arm attachment and max out his capabilities.
Taking a cue from the success of the HERO 1, Heathkit's consumer division released a simplified version, the HERO Jr - with half the ram of it's predecessor and a lower pricepoint. Later still, the expandable, speech capable HERO 2000 was released to the educational market. By far the most advanced iteration, the 2000 would be the last training robot released by the company. That is until now - Heathkit is planning to release a reincarnation of HERO, the HE-RObot:

Popular Science explains -

Built on a Mini-ITX mobo with Intel Core Duo microprocessor and using Windows XP for its operating system (unlike the model 914 PC-BOT which can be outfitted with Ubuntu), HE-RObot is being built and priced towards the educational market. A market that sorely needs a sophisticated robot platform. The hobbyist DIY market, on the other hand, could suffer from sticker shock. The HE-RObot's 914 PC-BOT counterpart is priced from $5,000 - $8,000 which could make the HE-RObot a tough sell to even the most rabid roboticist.

Detailed HERO History on Robotgallery.com - Link

Check out Donnie V. Savage's site for a bunch of relevant build info - Link

Related:

Heathkit schematic diagram archive - Link

Here's an excellent recreation of the K-9 (Mk II, I believe) from the BBC's classic Doctor Who series. The maker did a very thorough job on the panelling and used an RC tank for locomotion - unfortunately no design measurements are supplied in the build documentation. - Link

Of course that's not the only K-9 in service, here's one built around a Linux PC to promote a school's robotics class -

The first robot to roam the halls of GHCA is K9, a robot dog based on the British sci-fi show, Doctor Who. I created K9 myself as a way to jump-start our Robotics program. K9's main purpose is to "ooh and ahh" students, hopefully encouraging an interest in the field of robotics. I used common angle iron and 1/4 nuts and bolts to assemble K9's "skeleton", much like an Erector Set from years gone by. In fact, K9's head was built using an Erector Set from 1971! Sheet metal provides the finished look for our class mascot.

Related:

HOW TO - make a Dalek - Link

StairBOT is a small robot for indoor environments. On even floor it drives like many other small robots with a differential-drive. In addition it can change its length with linear guides mechanism with a spindle-drive. By this mechanism it can - together with its omniwheels (with brakes) and a support - reliably climb up and down regular sized stairs. It was one of the objectives for the design to use as few actuators and sensors as possible.

The StairBot - Link

The Biologically-Inspired Legged Locomotion Ant (BILL-Ant) is an 18-DOF hexapod with six passive DOF feet for force sensing, a 3-DOF neck and actuated mandibles with force sensing pincer plates (28-DOF total). The robot uses force sensors in the feet and pincers to actively comply with its environment and respond to external perturbations.

Robotic ant - Link

Jenny @ CRAFT writes:

Craftster user Jehnaier and her boyfriend created this intricate origami Rubik's Cube card for their math teacher. The card took 936 paper folds to create and opens up to reveal their message.

Rubik's Cube card - [via] Link.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a piece on a local bar owner who took fending off bums into his own hands:

Rufus Terrill, who owns a bar in downtown Atlanta called O'Terrill's, has grown weary of the drug dealers and vagrants he says frequent the neighborhood. Rather than put the police on speed dial or hire private security guards, Terrill has created his own private one robot security squad to keep the undesirable elements away.

The unnamed robot, affectionately referred to as either Robo-Cop or Bum-Bot by those who have seen it in action, is a hodge podge of off-the-shelf parts controlled by Terrill and a remote control. The four-foot tall, 300-pound body consists of an old smoker mounted atop an electric scooter. He's mounted a spot light, infrared camera, loud speaker, and water cannon inside the chassis, then wrapped the whole thing in rubber and painted it a menacing black.

Terrill sends the bot to the neighboring daycare center while he remains safely positioned up the block. Using a walkie-talkie, he instructs "suspects" to leave and informs them they are trespassing. If they refuse to leave, the bot then lets loose with the water cannon.

Remember, kids, unprovoked water cannon use can be considered assault - [via] Link.

Ran across this circuit bent Furby sequencer over at the Matrixsynth blog -

Each furby has 4 controls: mute, crash, loop and reset. The handle turns 8 cams which operate corresponding microswitches to create interesting rhythmic patterns. Part of the 'setting up' section at the beginning has been fast forwarded. Please commission me to make lots more of these machines!

Related:

Circuit Bent Furby - Link

New Furby Hacking : Part 1 : Skinning... - Link

Check out Ranjit's homemade reed instrument, the Saxamaphone -

I cut the stick in half the long way and chiseled out a rectangular trench in one half. I clamped the two halves together while I made the mouthpiece (which is coated with lemon oil and olive oil to protect it from spit) and tested the first reed. Then I glued the halves together and drilled the finger holes, and made a bunch more reeds.

Mike Biel wrote this handy web app for planning out LED projects using the EMS "Peggy" board. Great for preparing your next big marketing campaign! - Link

Related:

"Peggy," - A Light emitting pegboard display - Link

The way the squid is set up makes it ideal for group collaboration, Stern added. In most office or research settings, working groups meet hunched over their laptops. Using the squid, which is fun and allows more than one person to work the controls, opens up communication and moves the work along, Stern said.

Science, technology and a stuffed squid named Archie - [Thanks, Patti!] Link

Related:

• Sensor squid relation game - Link

An anonymous reader sent us a link to these neat speakers made from used cans. Oddly enough they convey a rather chic sense of style. The instructions are written in german - but you can pretty much infer the necessary steps from the supplied images. I'm guessing they may sound a bit "tinny"? - Link

Related:

Fold-Up Speakers - Link.

From the pages of MAKE:


Make - Volume 12 - Styrofoam Plate Speaker (DIY: Music) (Page 131) - Link.

The Dihemispheric Chronaether Agitator is a kinetic, "steampunk" sculpture of a "time machine" that is powered by a real steam boiler and steam engine. It was built in collaboration with my good friends at Kinetic Steam Works. It was original displayed at the Edwardian Ball in 2008 and will be displayed again this spring as part of the the Steampunk Treehouse instillation at the Coachella music festival.

The Dihemispheric Chronaether Agitator - Link

Related:

HOW TO - Make plants talk! They'll Twitter you when they need to be watered (and more)... - Link.

When
Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 2:00 PM

Where
TechShop
120 Independence Dr.
Menlo Park , CA 94025
8006401975

Who should come
People who like to build, take apart, do-it-yourself, hack, create, make or otherwise control the world around them.

The "Book and Shelf" is a bookcase project that fits specific books into custom measured compartments, giving its owner the feeling of having a tailored piece of furniture for their specific collection. Pretty cool idea that gets rid of the need for book ends forever.

Nendo works book & shelf - Link

DO YOU like to dabble with chemicals? It was a hobby with Thomas A. Edison during his youth and formed the basis of an education that later brought thousands of new inventions into the world. Far from being a "dry" science, chemistry can be very amusing and entertaining. How many people would believe that you could pour a little drinking water into a china bowl and cause it to burst forth with flames several feet high--without the use of matches?

Related:

Thrilling stunts with a glass-eating chemical - Link.

Although there have been a lot of projects that have used the 2.4 GHz signal to snoop on wireless cameras (such as Life a User's Manual and the Radical Software Group's "X-10-1", Ben Gaulon's (aka. Recyclism) "2.4GHz Project" is a nicely designed way of surveilling surveillance cameras. Check out more pics at the link below.

2.4 Ghz - [via], Link

This weekend on Best of Weekend Projects with Bre Pettis, learn how to hack your brain by making Mitch Altman's Brain Machine! It flashes LEDs into your eyes and beeps sounds into your ears to make your brain waves sync up into beta, alpha, theta, and delta brainwaves!

Mitch invents cool things that make the world a better place. He's well known for the TV-B-GONE and this brain machine is his latest project. One of the cool things about this project, is that it builds on an open source project. Mitch used Lady Ada's open source MiniPOV and switched out LEDs and added new capacitors and resistors and then rewrote the firmware to make it into the brain machine. It's super cool when people make hardware open source so that others can work with it!

Make sure to take pictures of your build and of you in your brain machine and upload them to the Make: flickr pool.

Get the podcast and pdf downloaded automatically in itunes. - Link