Planet Arduino

by designboom.com:

who would ever imagine that global cultural and economic revolution would spring from the tranquil fields of piedmont, italy, in tiny towns nestled against the stunning backdrop of the alps? but that’s exactly where arduino, the system of microcontrollers revolutionzing the maker movement and pioneering the concept of opensource hardware, was born in 2005 and continues to make its home today.

arduino’s story is unusual to say the least. five colleagues, seeking to empower students with the tools to create, developed the platform in 2005. now distributors estimate that over one million arduinos have been sold, and the arduino community is among the most resilent and inventive on the internet. forums like instructables and arduino’s own scuola connect enthusiasts to learn from one another, and arduino users build on the platform to open up new creative possibilities.

Arduino factory + production tour in turin, italy - [Link]

Alexander Kozusyev wrote us from Kiev to share how he introduced Arduino in his semi-auto production line creating decor by casting polyurethane foam.

Production line has two independent CNC 3-axis manipulator. The first spraying of release agent. Second automatic pouring polyurethane into the mold. Before spraying or pouring read RFID unique code for the mold, and then loads the G-CODE from the database server based MySQL. After pouring, the mould is moved to the waiting area.

He used Arduino Mega to read RFID codes and to  control some components, an Arduino Uno with firmware GRBL version 0.9 to control the CNC. Take a look at the video:

Last week Officine Arduino in Torino was visited by a crew of Designboom – according to Time magazine one of the top 100 design influencers in the world. Today, they published a report of the tour to the factory and the fablab with many pictures and videos:

who would ever imagine that global cultural and economic revolution would spring from the tranquil fields of piedmont, italy, in tiny towns nestled against the stunning backdrop of the alps? but that’s exactly where arduino, the system of microcontrollers revolutionzing the maker movement and pioneering the concept of opensource hardware, was born in 2005 and continues to make its home today.

arduino’s story is unusual to say the least. five colleagues, seeking to empower students with the tools to create, developed the platform in 2005. now distributors estimate that over one million arduinos have been sold, and the arduino community is among the most resilent and inventive on the internet. forums like instructables and arduino’s own scuola connect enthusiasts to learn from one another, and arduino users build on the platform to open up new creative possibilities.

we traveled to turin, italy, to see arduino’s first officina, before setting off north to visit the italian factories that continue to be the heart of arduino manufacturing for the entire world…

Click and read the full article on their website!

A tour to where Arduino is produced, the most famous open source framework for rapid prototyping.

Tour on Arduino Production line in Rome - [Link]

The entire manufacturing process (except for certain purchased components) [of Arduino boards] takes place in and around Strambino, Ivrea, in a context dominated by the small- and medium-sized companies that are typical of Italian industrial districts and of the “Made in Italy” phenomenon itself.

Ivrea’s history is another interesting part of the picture. The city was intimately tied to the presence of Olivetti, a company with a legacy of incredible electronics know-how, and an entire generation of experts. In fact, the Interaction Design Institute was established in a former Olivetti building randomly covered with blue tiles — just like the Arduino boards. The company still exists as a brand, but it is no longer involved in design and development. If Olivetti had not been there before, maybe Arduino would not exist today.

This is an extract from an article by Alice Mela and published today on DomusWeb.