Tag Archives: Make

Frivolous is Going To Maker Faire New York

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Maker Faire New York

The Frivolous Engineering Company Inc. is proud to announce that we will be an exhibitor at World Maker Faire in New York City, this September 29th & 30th.

We want to thank the kind folks at Maker Faire for not only accepting our last-minute application but getting us in The Maker Shed!

The Ultimate Useless Machine Kits will be sold at the Faire, and we may be demonstrating how we laser-cut the cases (& other parts) as well as showing how easy it is to solder the electronics.

So if you are in or near New York city we hope that you will attend the Faire and stop in at the Shed to say hello.

Laser Cut Living Hinges

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Living Hinge

Back in October, Make Magazine ran an article about laser-cutting hinges in wood.  This caught my attention as I intend to sell a wooden version of the Useless Machine and this would make it even better.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had this idea:

MSRaynsford's Living Hinge Useless Machine

MSRaynsford came up with the unique design as shown on the left .  And just like a previous post, he scratch built the electronics, modding a RC servo for a gear motor and wiring everything to the toggle switch.

Now I know that A LOT of folks want to buy a wooden version of the machine, and this is in the works.  Now I’m wondering if it should have a living hinge.

What do you folks think?  Would you like the wooden version of the Useless Machine to be just like the original, or would you like to see it have ‘Living Hinges’?  You can post your views in the comment section below.

To see the YouTube video of the Living Hinge Useless Machine click the link below…

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Make’s Most Popular Projects: 2010

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Make Magazine came out with a list of the top ten projects of 2010 and The Useless Machine was number 3.

Coming in at number 2 was Install a Penny Countertop by Shane Selman, and the top project was Light Switch Time Capsule by Sean Michael Ragan.

What I find interesting about the list is that only 3 projects are for “practical” purposes, the rest are for amusement or edification.  I guess it’s true:  man cannot live on bread alone…