Modular Vacuum Table Custom-Fits The Parts

[enhydra] needed to modify a bunch of side inserts from some cheap ABS enclosures, and to save time and effort, he created a simple vacuum table with swappable inserts to precisely fit the parts. S…

Plasma Cutting And 3D Printing Team Up To Make Bending Thick Sheet Steel Easier

Metalworking has always been very much a “mixed method” art. Forging, welding, milling, grinding; anything to remove metal or push it around from one place to another is fair game when …

Machining A Golf Ball To Make A Lovely Tactile Volume Knob

Golf balls are wonderfully tactile things. They have a semi-grippy covering, and they’re a beautiful size and weight that sits nicely in the hand. Sadly, most of them just get smacked away wi…

Self-Propelled Chainsaw Reduces Injuries

[Advoko] is an expert at milling logs into various sizes of boards. He typically uses nothing but a chainsaw to enable him to mill on-site without needing to bring any large or expensive equipment.…

Square Cuts On Aluminum Extrusion, No Mill Required

If you’re looking for the perfect excuse to buy that big, beautiful Bridgeport mill, we’ve got some bad news: it’s not going to be making perfectly square end cuts on aluminum ext…

Stencil Vacuum-Assist Helps Avoid The Heartbreak Of Smeared Solder Paste

While using a stencil should make solder paste application onto PCBs a simple affair, there are a number of “gotchas” that make it more art than science. Luckily, there are tools you ca…

Streamline Your SMD Assembly Process With 3D-Printed Jigs

Your brand-new PCBs just showed up, and this time you even remembered to order a stencil. You lay the stencil on one of the boards, hold it down with one hand, and use the other to wipe some solder…