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Engineering & Technology

What Do Bunnies Eat? Lots of Grass, Not a Lot of Carrots

How Stuff Works - Mon, 03/24/2025 - 11:25
There's a common image of a bunny munching on a carrot, but would you be surprised to hear that carrots aren't even that good for bunnies? They have a lot of sugar!

Do Ningen Lurk in the Icy Waters of the Southern Ocean?

How Stuff Works - Mon, 03/24/2025 - 11:20
The Ningen is a creature so strange, so elusive and so deeply mysterious that images of the alleged beings vary immensely. This bizarre, humanoid figure supposedly inhabits Antarctic waters, and over the past few years, reports have surfaced claiming its existence.

Jaguar vs. Leopard: Spotting the Similarities and Differences

How Stuff Works - Mon, 03/24/2025 - 11:10
When it comes to big cats, jaguar vs. leopard identification can be tricky due to the animals' similar spotted coats. However, these wild cats belong to separate species within the genus Panthera and have distinct differences in appearance, behavior and habitat.

103 Sleepover Ideas and Tips for Parents (Plus an Epic Movie List

How Stuff Works - Mon, 03/24/2025 - 11:05
Sleepovers are one of the most exciting experiences for kids and teenagers. Whether it's a birthday celebration, a weekend get-together or just an excuse to hang out in sleeping bags all night, there are endless fun things to do.

38 Colorful Birds You Didn't Know Exist

How Stuff Works - Fri, 03/21/2025 - 11:25
The most colorful birds come in such dazzling hues that they are often the subject of artists and photographers.

Solfeggio Frequencies: Healing Tones or Pseudoscience?

How Stuff Works - Fri, 03/21/2025 - 11:20
Solfeggio frequencies are specific sound frequencies that have been around for centuries and are believed to have powerful effects on the human body and mind. Many claim that these six measurable tones can stimulate healing, reduce stress, and even awaken intuition. But what does the science actually say?

How to Clean Jewelry of All Types

How Stuff Works - Fri, 03/21/2025 - 11:15
Jewelry can lose its shine over time due to dirt, oils and everyday wear, but a good cleaning can restore its sparkle. Whether you have solid gold, sterling silver jewelry or costume jewelry, knowing how to clean jewelry properly helps maintain its beauty.

7 Manga Websites With Quality Options (Both Free and Paid)

How Stuff Works - Fri, 03/21/2025 - 11:10
Manga, the Japanese form of illustrated narratives, is thriving as a medium and a business. With the advent of the internet, it's become increasingly easy to consume manga online, instead of purchasing (or borrowing) the physical editions of the work.

What Happened to MH370, the Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight?

How Stuff Works - Fri, 03/21/2025 - 11:05
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March 2014 as the Boeing 777 was en route to Beijing, China, leaving from Penang Airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Modular duster holder, 79mm and 100mm #3DThursday #3DPrinting

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 20:00

Shared by Rudi on Printables:

A versatile modular holder designed for dusters or other cylindrical objects that fit within its rings. The system is fully expandable, allowing you to add as many rings as needed. For a standard duster, a setup with two rings and one end piece typically works well.

A nice way to stack away your dusters into a cabinet, or similar.

Download the files and learn more


Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

Bedside Lamp #3DThursday #3DPrinting

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 19:00


creadesign_2987224 shares:

This lamp works with an LED strip of at least 1 meter. Choose a flexible LED strip so it can easily follow the lamp’s shape. Also, select an LED strip with a high LED density for a more satisfying result.

download the files on: https://www.printables.com/model/1207350-bedside-lamp



Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord

Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit

Shop for parts to build your own DIY projects http://adafru.it/3dprinting

3D Printing Projects Playlist:

3D Hangout Show Playlist:

Layer by Layer CAD Tutorials Playlist:

Timelapse Tuesday Playlist:

Connect with Noe and Pedro on Social Media:

Noe’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecken

Pedro’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/videopixil

DC – DC adapter case #3DThursday #3DPrinting

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 18:00

Shared by Guy Sheffer on Printables:

I needed this because I have 9V center positive cables and lots of music gear needs center negative, so I made an converter, you can use this to make a DC – DC anything, female-female male – male etc.

Download the files and learn more


Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

Pinhole Camera #3DThursday #3DPrinting

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 17:00


Treverse_2258907 shares:

This pinhole camera takes 5″ by 7″ black and white photos (12.7cm by 17.8cm). The design has no electronics or lenses. The design does require a small amount of aluminum foil for the pinhole.

download the files on: https://www.printables.com/model/1207826-pinhole-camera



Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord

Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit

Shop for parts to build your own DIY projects http://adafru.it/3dprinting

3D Printing Projects Playlist:

3D Hangout Show Playlist:

Layer by Layer CAD Tutorials Playlist:

Timelapse Tuesday Playlist:

Connect with Noe and Pedro on Social Media:

Noe’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecken

Pedro’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/videopixil

John Park’s Workshop — LIVE TODAY 3/20/25

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 16:45

It’s JOHN PARK’S WORKSHOP — LIVE! — Coming up at 4pm ET / 1pm PT Today!  LIVE TEXT CHAT IS HERE in the Adafruit Discord chat!

Today’s Project: PICO-8  Wall Arcade Mounted!

The live video will be on Youtube LIVE, Twitch, Periscope (Twitter) and Facebook.

Join maker John Park in his workshop each week as he builds, demos, hacks, and mods projects live on air! “John Park’s Workshop — LIVE” is the place to see creative projects come to life, as John uses a wide variety of tools and techniques to make everything from video game controllers to synthesizer to drink robots, using digital fabrication, hand and power tools, microcontrollers, and more. Come on into the chat to participate in the fun! Every Thursday @ 4pm ET/1pm PT!

Signpost Bird Feeder #3Dprinting #3DThursday

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 16:00

@Tumblefluff_1534794 shared this project on Printables!

A simple and sturdy bird/critter feeder designed to mount onto any standard U-channel signpost (the kind commonly used for road signs). I installed one in my workplace parking lot so I could watch birds during my breaks.

  • Attaches with just two M5 screws (easy installation).
  • Features a 3mm drain hole to prevent rainwater buildup.
  • The drain hole can be plugged to convert it into a birdbath.
  • If printing with UV-sensitive filament, I recommend applying a clear UV protectant. For added durability, dusting the final layer with Titanium Dioxide powder can help reflect UV light and reduce gloss.

It’s a straightforward design that does the job well, whether for feeding birds or providing a small water source.

Learn more!


Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

2.5″ to 3.5″ HDD adapter caddy #3DThursday #3DPrinting

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 15:00


JestemKaspi_739092 shares:

This adapter works the other way around – mount big HDD in places for 2.5″ drive like XVR/DVR, tested in GISE GS-M10004H

download the files on: https://www.printables.com/model/1208063-25-to-35-hdd-adapter-caddy



Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord

Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit

Shop for parts to build your own DIY projects http://adafru.it/3dprinting

3D Printing Projects Playlist:

3D Hangout Show Playlist:

Layer by Layer CAD Tutorials Playlist:

Timelapse Tuesday Playlist:

Connect with Noe and Pedro on Social Media:

Noe’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecken

Pedro’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/videopixil

iMac 27″ Stand with Storage #3Dprinting #3DThursday

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 14:00

@PaulDaly_2654710 shared this project on Printables!

 

iMac 27″ Stand  & Interlocking Storage Compartments

Designed from scratch, this custom iMac stand features interlocking side storage compartments and a main compartment with cable management.

Main Features:

  • Centre Storage Compartment: Split into two halves with cable cut-outs for easy device connectivity.
  • Lid Options:
    • One with an integrated plinth for the iMac base.
    • One with a separate plinth, allowing for multi-colour printing or filament swapsat the correct layer.
  • Side Compartments: Mirror each other at a slight angle and connect to the main unit via male dovetails (supports required only for these dovetails).
  • Easy Access: All compartments have open fronts.
  • Secure Fit: The lid locks onto printed dowels (-0.2mm tolerance).
  • Print Finish: I used a carbon fibre textured print sheet for a premium look on the lids.

Learn more!


Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

The Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: subscribe for free

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 13:51

The Python for Microcontrollers Newsletter is the place for the latest news involving Python on hardware (microcontrollers AND single board computers like Raspberry Pi).

This ad-free, spam-free weekly email is filled with CircuitPythonMicroPython, and Python information (and more) that you may have missed, all in one place!

You get a summary of all the software, events, projects, and the latest hardware worldwide once a week, no ads! You can cancel anytime.

12,071 subscribers and growing

Try our spam-free newsletter today

It arrives about 11 am Monday (US Eastern time) with all the week’s happenings.

And please tell your friends, colleagues, students, etc.

Please sign up > > >

EYE ON NPI – Boréas Technologies’ BOS1931 High-Efficiency Piezo Driver #EYEonNPI #digikey @digikey

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 13:13

This week’s EYE ON NPI is trendy and buzzy, it’s Boréas Technologies’ BOS1931 High-Efficiency Piezo Driver. This chip is a compact way to add powerful high-voltage piezo drive to any product, combining three chips: power supply, waveform generator and driver.

With a complete I2C/I3C interface that you can connect to any microcontroller/processor it’s the most advanced all-in-one piezo driver we’ve seen!

Piezo discs are multi-use devices that convert mechanical movement to electrical signal, and vice-versa. They’re most often seen as electrical-to-mechanical converters such as piezo beepers where an AC signal, usually 3 to 6V peak-to-peak square wave, is applied across the disk. The frequency of the wave is translated into a sound frequency. It doesn’t have the same fidelity as a magnetic speaker, but it’s much thinner, less expensive for the component and driving circuitry, and for 2 to 4 KHz beeps, it’s just fine.

Piezos can also be used the opposite way, where mechanical stress on the crystal is translated into an electrical signal. In this way it can be used as a switch or force sensor, again usually a few microamperes’ worth of current is generated. For these basic uses, your standard microcontroller pin, or at best an H-Bridge will work just fine: you can drive piezos differentially to get more Vpp across the disc, but essentially we’re still talking about only a few volts.

There are some times when you want to make a piezo really ‘loud’ – that is, putting 100+ Volts across the crystal to generate a big mechanical response. This is often not for audible use cases, after all if you wanted to do that you’d just use a magnetic speaker that can get to many many Watts of output efficiently. For example, when using a piezo to generate sonar waves for sensing objects or distance.

Or, in this particular use case, for creating an ultra thin liquid pump that can be used for portable devices in place of a heatsink or fan.

FYI there’s two variants of the chip: the BOS1931 and the BOS1921. The ’31 can only do piezo driving. The ’21 can do sensing as well as driving, so it can be used for force-feedback products. In this particular EYE ON NPI, we’ll just be chatting about the driving capabilities of both.

So, while we can do basic sensing/beeping with a few volts – when we want to have significant motion for blasting sonar or moving fluid around, we can only increase the movement by increasing the peak-to-peak voltage. Each piezo you buy will have a voltage rating – and you will need a boost converter to generate that peak-to-peak. For the BOS19 series of chips, you can get +-95V, so 190Vpp max, which will drive any piezo you find, and you only need 3~5V input thanks to a built-in DC/DC boost converter.

Boréas didn’t stop there. Not only do you get a booster, but also a full waveform manager with I2C/I3C control. You can can fill up a FIFO buffer with waveform bytes to generate different shapes. There’s a sine generator you can control with an envelope creator.

Or, you can piece together waveform shapes for different pump/haptic behavior, giving you the customizability of a byte-wise waveform generator with the simplicity of a sine generator.

They even have a Haptics Studio to help you craft the waveform you want.

The BOS1931 and the BOS1921 come in two packages: an easy-to-layout-and-solder QFN and a tiny-and-advanced BGA. Both have the same core, so just pick whether you need simplicity or small size. Since it’s a pretty serious boost converter and driver – the piezo connects directly to the output pins – you’ll need to watch your layout. Check the datasheet for their recommended setup to make sure you don’t have excessive power loss or EMI.

If you want to get started quickly, the BOS1921-KIT-B01 evaluation board will let you use their configuration software to quickly determine how your piezo actuator or sensor response to the waveform generator and booster before you start laying out the components on a prototype PCB.

If you have some serious piezo-ing you need to get moving, the Boréas Technologies’ BOS1931 High-Efficiency Piezo Driver can do everything from voltage generation, waveform shaping, and differential driving. And best of all it’s in stock right now at Digi-Key for immediate shipment! Order today and DigiKey will pick and pack your order in an instant so that you can be vibin’ with your fancy new piezo controller by tomorrow afternoon.

See the video below and the manufacturer’s video after that:

Ring Doorbell battery 45 degree mount #3DThursday #3DPrinting

Adafruit - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 13:00


TommyB02_2870120 shares:

My design allows you to mount the camera at a 45 degree, but drilled to the left hand side of the wall.

My design includes a plate that is attached to the ring doorbell mount, this is so the camera can sit flush to the corner mount.

I’ve attached the Solidworks files too if anyone needs to adapt it in any way.

download the files on: https://www.printables.com/model/1208782-ring-doorbell-battery-45-degree-mount



Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord

Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit

Shop for parts to build your own DIY projects http://adafru.it/3dprinting

3D Printing Projects Playlist:

3D Hangout Show Playlist:

Layer by Layer CAD Tutorials Playlist:

Timelapse Tuesday Playlist:

Connect with Noe and Pedro on Social Media:

Noe’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecken

Pedro’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/videopixil

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