Planet Arduino

It is one thing to make an artistic steampunk display. But [CapeGeek] added an Arduino to make the display come alive. The display has plenty of tubes and wires. The pressure gauge dominates the display, but there are lots of other interesting bits. Check it out in the video below.

From the creator:

The back-story is a fictional factory that cycles through a multistage process. It starts up with lights and sounds starting in a small tube in one corner, the needle on a big gauge starts rising, then a larger tube at the top lights up in different colors. Finally, the tall, glass reactor vessel lights up to start cooking some process. All this time, as the sequence progresses, it is accompanied by factory motor sounds and bubbling processes. Finally, a loud glass break noise hints that the process has come to a catastrophic end! Then the sequence starts reversing, with lights sequentially shutting down, the needle jumps around randomly, then decreases, finally, all lights are off, indicating the factory shutting down.

We especially liked the distillation column. We doubt we would exactly duplicate this project, but there are plenty of things to borrow for your own creations here.

We always enjoy steampunk computers. But we also like the ones that have unusual components like the distillation column or a chain.

Prolific project maker and Arduino lover Alain Mauer has made a rather splendid tea maker project with a steampunk twist. Despite Mauer being based in Luxemburg, we’d have to say this feels like a very British Arduino application.

Crumpets or Battenburg, anyone?

Putting the “Tea” in “Steampunk”

The Tea Timer is a classic Arduino project. A simple idea with a simple execution, beautifully presented.

Mauer’s put together a timer that submerges a teabag for a preset period. We all have our preferences for the strength of tea, and everyone knows an entire day can be ruined if the teabag’s left in for too long (right?). So a five-stage timer lets you determine just how strong your tea will be.

Once the timer’s run down, an Arduino Nano fires up the servo, which turns the gears and lifts the bag out so you don’t forget. Adjusted correctly, this also means you can consistently make the perfect cup of brown joy.

And just like the perfect cuppa, presentation is everything. Mauer didn’t need to add the gears, wooden housing or the brass finish. But the steampunk aesthetic really completes the project, and makes it into a work of art as well as an essential kitchen appliance. Now we just need to hook it up to a home automation system.

Mauer has provided all the CAD parts on his GitHub along with the Arduino code, so it’s easy to replicate.

Tea is a subject of great significance to the British. It can cause arguments, hysteria and family feuds that last for generations. All in a very civilized manner, of course. No Brit would be uncouth enough to have cross words in public about the proper way to drink tea. But we do reserve the right to tut and roll our eyes behind closed doors afterwards, should someone get it wrong.

Check out the steampunk Tea Timer and automatic teabag remover on Mauer’s blog. And let’s leave the last word on the vital importance of a cup o’ brown joy to the immortal Professor Elemental.

The post A splendid steampunk tea maker appeared first on Arduino Blog.

AR-Duo is a steampunk telepresence robot that shows off the skills and ingenuity of a school's metal shop.

Read more on MAKE

The post This Telepresence Robot from the 1800s Helps Promote Metal Shop appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.

There’s a team of designers based in Korea who are passionate about coffee machines. Their name is Vidastech and recently shared with us two new hand-assembled machines prototyped  with Arduino Mega called Hexagon and Revolucion.

Take a look at the gallery for more pictures:

There’s a team of designers based in Korea who are passionate about coffee machines. Their name is Vidastech and recently shared with us two new hand-assembled machines prototyped  with Arduino Mega called Hexagon and Revolucion.

Take a look at the gallery for more pictures:

There’s a team of designers based in Korea who are passionate about coffee machines. Their name is Vidastech and recently shared with us two new hand-assembled machines prototyped  with Arduino Mega called Hexagon and Revolucion.

Take a look at the gallery for more pictures:

[Murphy's_Lawyer] had some empty space on the wall in his kitchen, so he decided to fill it with a whirring Steampunk gizmo: an Arduino-driven steam gauge.

The build began as an old 10″ Ashcroft pressure gauge sourced from eBay, which [Murphy's_Lawyer] dissected to determine the state of its guts. Finding the gauge’s Bourdon tube intact, he got to work constructing a method of generating motion without the need for actual steam. The solution was to mount a continuous rotation servo between the tube and the case. The servo lacked the strength to flex the tube on its own, so [Murphy's_Lawyer] fashioned a simple lever out of brass to help it along.

The electronics consist of an Arduino Uno and an accompanying homemade PCB. The code for the Uno generates random motion for twirling the servo, and three LEDs built into the face reflect values generated for speed, pause and run time. The final upgrade came in the form of a new dial face, which provides some updated text as well as a cutout square that lets you see the previously obscured gears in action. Check out the video below, then see another Steampunk overhaul: the Edwardian Laptop.