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Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#121

Post by JamesMcMinn »

This is a partial cheat, because there was software involved, by the coolest physical thing I've made is probably the photobooth I put together for my wedding, combining an old laptop with a broken hinge (which allowed it to become a cheap touch screen), my Sony A6300 and big Epson photo printer, all crammed into some ikea shelves that I boxed up with some stiff cardboard and decorated as nicely as I could to match our thankfully fairly rustic wedding [1].

It was very simple to use, completely automated, took no maintenance other than loading some paper every few hours, and people were free to print as many high-quality 10x15cm photos as they wanted, and if I recall correct, that number was somewhere in the region of 200. There's something special about a physical print compared to seeing a picture on a screen.

The reason I think it's cool is because even 5 years later, I still visit friends and family and see photos printed from the photobooth framed on their walls, and I've had multiple friends use it for their weddings too!

I think the advantage of keeping it unmanned and simple was that older couples had a bit more confidence to get up, press one big button, and get a photo without any fuss. We had an actual wedding photographer there too, and they got plenty of wonderful photos, but mostly of the wedding party. It's only been a few years since my wedding, but unfortunately, some older guests are no longer with us, and the photobooth has left us with some wonderful photos to remember them by, which otherwise I don't think we'd have.

Very DIY, bit in my rather biased option, very cool.

[1] https://i.imgur.com/ONFa9AU.jpg (the photobooth in action)

[2] https://i.imgur.com/DcldyHV.jpg (my wife and I taken using photobooth - we still have the damn ring of ivy floating round the house!)

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#123

Post by bombcar »

irrational wrote: post #88
soco wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I was an absolute beginner (which I am) I would be definitely very wary to do by myself the electrical wiring or the gas connections... while half-assing the rest can only look bad, those can kill you and your loved ones (neighbors need not apply).

Gas? Yes. Electric? Eh, if you are smart enough to program a computer, you are smart enough to read and learn how to do electric properly.

They're all pretty safe if you read up on them (and how to test them afterwards) - often, the person you hire ends up having about a week's more training anyway.

But if you're uncertain, find a trusted friend or hire someone.

Plumbing waste water is the one that skeeves me out.

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#125

Post by Ilasky »

I made one of those Word Clocks using an arduino, glass, wood, paint, a couple buttons, and a laser cutter.

I painted a pane of glass white, then black, and created the file for all the letter to say the time as well as happy birthday. Took it to a laser cutter to etch it into the glass.

Made a backing with leds programmed to display correctly the date and time, iterate through colors, modes, etc.

I also made it in Hebrew too. I have the code somewhere if others are interested in making it.

Edit: Here is the code in case anyone else wants to use it https://github.com/imlasky/wordclock

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#126

Post by marssaxman »

md_ wrote: post #89

Dunno why nobody has said anything like this, but I make some awesome bread (baguettes, mainly) and pizza. What's great is not only that you get to eat the results, but whether it turns out well or badly, you get to repeat it all over again--and again, and again, and again.

I was surprised to learn how easy it is to make truly delicious bread. Of course you can spend years refining your technique, but the barrier to entry is low.

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#127

Post by chews »

kmm wrote: post #77

A few years ago I made a "string art" portrait for my girlfriend at the time. It's made from a continuous† 2 km long black thread, woven around a loom made from a bicycle wheel rim. I'm still very proud of how it turned out. †OK fine, it broke at a few points and I had to knot the ends together, but it's the principle that counts. https://imgur.com/gallery/ljoJeal I really wanted to make something creative for her, b…

That is truly remarkable… nicely done.

Also, love is an intense thing and it doesn’t always work out… just don’t lose that love of love

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#128

Post by iancmceachern »

sigmoid10 wrote: post #92
iancmceachern wrote: post #82

An artificial heart: https://news.ohsu.edu/2018/03/08/have-an-artificial-heart I've also been part of (or lead) the design teams of several LVADS (one of which is in the Smithsonian), a dialysis machine (Outset), a surgical navigation camera for NuVasive, and most recently a couple soft tissue surgical robotics systems. First, Ottava from Auris/Verb/J&J, and most recently the Maestro from Moon Surgical: https://www.m…

That article seems really interesting, but it's over five years old. Are there any updates on the artificial heart? Did it ever make it to human trials?

They did several successful animal trials which were very promising and demonstrated the thing really worked well.

Unfortunately the CEO was a career academia finance guy and this was his first startup. He wasn't good with their money, and spent it all, much on "side projects" and other stuff not directly related to the development and financing of the pump, before he was able to raise more. The project was also heavily associated with and funded in part by OHSU's Heart Transplant program which has had its own problems over the last few years: https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2019/07/deaths-at-ohsu-hea...

The architect of it, the guy who just thought it up, is brilliant. I chose to work at OregonHeart to have the opportunity to work with, and learn from him. Dr Richard Wampler is wonderful, one of those old school American treasures. When he was a kid he took apart his families car engine because he was curious, his mom got upset and he put it all back together before his dad got home.

He first envisioned, architected and got going: What eventually became the HeartWare HVAD, way before it was heartwarming (it was Kriton). Some crazy business history here if you want to read more, it's like a soap opera. Thoratec HM II (he helped but didnt architect it I believe) Oregon Heart VADovations And the first one, the Hemopump which J&J bought and threw in the trash, only to buy what is essentially the same device 30 years later in their acquisition of Abiomed and their impella devices.

There is so much fascinating history in this field. They even made a totally mechanical (no electronics whatsoever) artificial heart using the thermal decay of plutonium to power a sterling engine.

P.P.S. I have more info about these, and all the other projects I've worked on on my website at www.iancollmceachern.com

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#130

Post by pimlottc »

kmm wrote: post #77

A few years ago I made a "string art" portrait for my girlfriend at the time. It's made from a continuous† 2 km long black thread, woven around a loom made from a bicycle wheel rim. I'm still very proud of how it turned out. †OK fine, it broke at a few points and I had to knot the ends together, but it's the principle that counts. https://imgur.com/gallery/ljoJeal I really wanted to make something creative for her, b…

That’s really cool! Did you publish your code anywhere?
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