Glimps at DIYBIO

Hacklab has been hosting our friends DIYBIO for a while now. And with their presence a great symbiotic relationship has developed between the two groups. DIYBIO has a  bio lab in the Hacklab  space that has grown to a place where they can start running experiments.  The photo gallery below shows one of the experiments recently conducted. For more information on DIYBIO visit their website at DIYBIO.to. As well as visit Hacklab on Tuesdays for our open house to talk to some of the DIYBIO people in person. 

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Hacklab has moved!

Come visit us at Hacklab 2.0, now located in Parkdale! (1266 Queen Street West) We’re open every Tuesday night (Including this Sept 30!)

New lab!

Hacklab’s new classroom and large hacking area

More photos of the process here.

Drink Mixer at your service.

Recently one of our members decided that he would create a personal bartender in a form of a Droid bartender. This handy piece of equipment is functional and makes a great conversation piece. The bar bot is named Luma-Droid and mixes some mean drinks. Not all of these drink need to be alcohol, I am sure this Droid can can mix a mean punch as well. This handy Droid uses 4 different liquid sources to mix from 6 different drinks pre-determined  programmed and dispenses at a push of one of the illuminated buttons. This is actually the second version of this little Droid. The first version did not have the ultra sonic humidifier that creates a further finished and polished look. But not every improvement is merely aesthetic. Many times when creating a project that delves into areas that is a first for anyone,  creates problems and a list of things you would do differently if provided a chance. Well Eric had the chance and in the second version shown in the photos, the ultrasonic humidifier was added, as well as new pumps, reservoir for the humidifier, and for good measure a extra layer of sealing to ensure the water proofing.

Trouble shooting

Problem found and fixed.

Victory, it works!

Initial start up.

Close up.

Testing the ultra sonic humidifier.

Up and running. Look at the RGB LED strips go.

This weeks post is split into two, the first half is about a bearing made at the lab this week. The second half below the 4 photos from this week you will read about my adventures in Alberta and how I relate them to the community. This week  Atrain decided to outdo me and print a better bearing. If you frequent Hacklab, you may have played with the bright green printed bearing that is stiff and does not seem to be effective. Both of these bearings are open source, the bearing design is generated in OpenSCAD and is personalized to your printer. You can find the design on Thingiverse. Well Atrain did just that, went ahead and printed a bearing out of orange ABS on the Cupcake printer. The Cupcake is the oldest 3D printer the lab has, and of late it has been receiving quite a lot of TLC and some upgrades causing it now provide the Ultimaker with a bit of a competition. See the photos to see the great print quality, and the bearings in action.

Close up of the bearing.

Atrain preparing the 3D bearing for a test spin.

The Bearing in action.

The bearing resting,

LED's behind a defusing medium.

I have been a little lax this month on posting new photos.  This has not been out of laziness, or the excuse there is simply no room on my camera. No, I have been away travelling around Alberta and volunteering at the annual  Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology conference (CITT). This year the conference was held in Calgary and while in town I took the chance when I had it to visit Protospace, Calgarys hacker space.                                 .

Moving Head fixture. This light on closer inspection is mainly built of stepper motors and controllers. The case contains atleast 9 stepper motors.

The CITT conference is an annual trade show for industry Representatives, Technicians, and more. Over the last few years of volunteering at the conference I have seen more DIY, RaspberryPI, Arduinos, 3D printing, and approaches to theatre discussed in a hacker and maker mindset. Theatre has always been a hacker and maker space, using little to no resources and lots of ingenuity, and usually little time.                          The diverse background of those in theatre, are possibly akin to those in the maker and hacker community.  Each person in a hackerspace has unique knowledge and skills. I forsee in the future theatre nestling or cuddling up to the maker community. The future should be an interesting one.

What does this room of people all have in common?

Arts and crafts being setup.

Several weeks ago now the Toronto Mini Maker Faire Launch party happened.

You can find more images on the following photo streams; Photo booth shots and more,  Photos by Adam Evenden

Upon entering the launch party and registering attendees where faced with an arts and crafts table, full of hot glue, blank masks, LED’s, Coin battery’s, pipe cleaners, markers,  tape, Glitter, and more.
Click more to see some of the creations.

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Last week one of Hack Labs members finished some much needed repairs to his stilts. The stilts specifically needed a spacer/pivot, to be built to repair the joint. Not everyone made it down stairs to watch him try out the fruits of his labour so here is a GIF to show what many missed.

Build Photos of the replacement joint.

Every week for as many as I can I hope to post a collection of Images that depict what the space is all about. It may not be 10 photos each week it maybe more it may be less, but each photo is part of hack labs story.

Here is HackLab as I have glimpsed it this week.

       

1 - Community Service: The growing pile of E-Waste that community members have brought in for others to pick threw before being picked up by E-Waste disposal.

2 - Exploration: In a basement of a building in the market is a treasure trove of discovery to be found.

3 - Collaboration: Hard work and dedication to a project, can create wonderful things. The two individuals in this photo are working on a Quadrocopter .

4 - Craftsmanship: Taking time to ensure everything is correct.

5 - Creativity: Measuring carefully to realize an idea.

6 - Solutions: Problem solving is something I encounter often in the space, people come in with ideas and collaboration happens. It is not often I get to witness a solution executed so quickly. This instants part of the Ultimaker needed trouble shooting and a custom part was fabricated and installed.

7 - Lasers: Always a cool thing, and in this case a laser cutter hard at work cutting out a Façade for a project.

8 - Curiosity: Getting ready to examine a EPROM with a USB Microscope.

9 - Fascination: Exploring the depths of a EPROM with the USB Microscope.

10 - Easter Eggs: Looking for those little surprises or unexpected discovery's. In this case we found the company's logo amongst the circuitry.

I care to introduce myself, my name is Adam Evenden. Over the last few weeks I have slowly been moving into my new role as the Photo Journalist in Residence, at the HackLab.

Tuesday have been a magical time at the HackLab for me over the last 2 years that I have spent visiting the Lab. Having met many interesting individuals, heard many great ideas, seen many grand projects, and have always been excited to come back. I foresee meeting many new members in the future who I have not had the previous pleasure of meeting, and the enjoyment I have experienced in the lab so far extending into my new role as the Photo Journalist in Residence.

Over the recent years the lab I have had the opportunity to witness many entertaining moments at the hack lab, as well as triumphant progress within projects. I would like to share within my first post some of the moments I have captured at the hack lab over the last few weeks as the Photo Journalist in Residence, as well as some moments that I have captured while visiting Iceland’s hacker space Hakkavélin.