At a recent Open Hardware Camp in London, it became clear that one of the main obstacles to applying open source principles to hardware was licensing. For example, (1)should competing big companies be allowed to use their economies of scale to make and sell cheaper products based on open hardware designs developed by small start-ups without payment? (2)There’s also the problem that hacking designs for physical objects like open source cars may have safety implications, which raises questions about liability. So what’s the best way to address these issues?”
Yes, if the OSH makers create OSH and state commercial use allowed (and other items like attribution/share-alike are followed) that’s that, it’s why this is working out so well. We (Adafruit) we are pretty adamant about this because the success of open source software came from the freedom to use the software in commercial products.
Open source hardware licensing and “safety implications” for cars, two different things. The Linux kernel is not liable for your havoc, liability comes from the manufacturer, not the code repository.
Using a 35W Epilog mini, 60% power 100% speed. The beans should be placed in some sort of soft holding bed both to even them out as well as to stop the air assist from moving them. We used lentils and eventually made a jig with cardstock to mass produce the beans.
Hey there We shall open up a LOT more in coming days. I’ll be sure to remove that note you found on the schematic about being “proprietary” so you can “have at it” with the design! As you noted, it’s available under Creative Commons. You’ll even be able to put an Arduino in the design should you desire! Thanks for the feature Adafruit! – Ken Gracey
You can also read Ken’s post in the Parallax’s forums… This is very intriguing news for the world of hobbyist electronics. Parallax, nice work – keep it up.
We’ve hoped for a long time that Parallax would consider opening up a bit more – publishing schematics, some open source software here and there, you know – throw us an open bone. It appears the wait is over and Parallax is starting to put some things out there… Here’s a schematic for their “PropScope” - it’s creative commons (but the top left is a little weird, likely a template?)…
The PropScope is a two-channel oscilloscope that is capable of reading 25 million samples per second with ten bits of resolution over one, two, ten, or twenty volt peak-to-peak waveforms. Power is provided through the USB port requiring only a single cable to connect the PropScope to any laptop or desktop PC. A built-in expansion port allows additional capabilities and upgrades, by simply plugging in an expansion card. A PropScope DAC card is even included, providing an analog trigger, a four-bit digital trigger, an eight-bit digital to analog converter, and a four-bit NTSC/PAL output. Other cards will be available to add even more useful features. The included software provides a traditional scope interface along with auto measurements and the ability to store and export waveforms. The software also provides features not normally available in a stand-alone oscilloscope, including a function generator, a logic analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a vector-scope, and more.
Great start, anyone from Parallax want to chime in to talk about what’s going on? You folks are so close! Release the firmware too!
So much attention has been paid to digital technology in the past couple decades that its easy to forget our electronic roots. However I’ve been seeing an interesting trend in the past few years that seems to be accelerating. Just like bellbottoms and hippy gear, it looks like analog electronics is starting to become fashionable again.
Analog is the bane of electrical engineering students and conjures up bad flashbacks of analyzing useless circuit diagrams composed of passive components in bizarre configurations and trying to remember equivalent circuits for different types of transistor signal analysis for me. It’s even worse for non-electrical engineering students because analog is a mysterious form of black magic that only bearded old men understand. Incidentally, all of those flashbacks were eliminated after I discovered two magical tools: SPICE simulation and Matlab.
That’s right – we’re finally coming full circle with the Fritzing project and are soon launching the much-wanted fabrication service that turns your Fritzing sketches into professional printed circuit boards! So in order to kick it off, we thought why not celebrate this as a fritzmas present to the community. We will produce 24 of your Arduino Shields (or other) designs you made with Fritzing. You will receive two copies for free, including free shipping. Deadline for receiving your design is December 9th. Head over to the Fritzing fab page to find out how to participate.
Looking for holiday gift ideas? Let’s face it, there are only so many cleverly concealed flash drives and digital photo frames you can give out before your gift recipients start complaining about your lack of imagination. Here are some suggestions with MIT connections.
DIY electronics—Adafruit Industries, founded by Limor Fried ’03, MNG ’05, sells kits and parts for original, open-source hardware electronics projects. Check out Drawdio (shown below) a pencil that draws music and was created by Jay Silver SM ’08; the Ice Tube clock, a Russian vacuum fluorescent tube clock; and Tweet-a-Watt, a wireless home-power monitoring system.
IMPORTANT:Want to make sure you’re going to get your kits for the holidays? Here is some important shipping information for ordering kits at Adafruit in time for the holidays!
Christmas (12/23/2009) delivery recommendations:
Order by Dec 11th for UPS shipping (Ground or Overnight, 2nd and 3rd day)
Orders after December 14th choose UPS (Overnight, 2nd and 3rd day)
Order by Dec 11th for USPS Priority Mail / First class (USA) – we only suggest Priority mail and we cannot promise it will arrive by 12/23/2009
Orders placed by Saturday December 19th, Midnight (ET) CHOOSE 2ND DAY AIR UPS
Orders placed by Monday December 21st, Midnight (ET) CHOOSE OVERNIGHT UPS
Outside the USA – We cannot guarantee delivery by 12/23/2009
Some shipping information for specific high-demand kits
Ice Tube Clock kit – For orders already placed, please allow 7-10 business days for your clock to ship (this does not include the time it takes for the shipment to travel to you) Orders placed after Dec 5th – we cannot guarantee for delivery before Dec 23rd – but we’ll try our best. For those who watch our Twitter feed and live video you know we are shipping almost 24 hours a day right now!
Arduino Experimentation Kit – ARDX – These are quite popular, please note we are constantly shipping out backorders and selling out within a few days, so if you’d like to have an ARDX for the holidays please place your order soon (by 12/11/2009).
If this is freaking you out, don’t worry we have gift certificates! Those can be order at any time, day or night and are redeemable online. A perfect LAST MINUTE gift!
Lastly, remember we will be broadcasting all day Christmas day to help you with your kits!
On my way to GeekDad Day at the Wired Holiday Store this weekend, I had the chance to drop in on Limor Fried (aka @ladyada) and Phil Torrone (@ptorrone) at the downtown New York (and I MEAN downtown – three blocks from the WTC) headquarters of Adafruit Industries. A lot of us GeekDads are aware of, and passionate for, the awesome products and kits that Adafruit puts out (both through their own site, and MakerShed) – like the Drawdio, MintyBoost, and TV-B-Gone. But you’d also be blown away by the operation they have set up in a 1,200 sf (or so) loft. It’s really a model for a company that does it all – fab, pack and ship – with their own equipment, and self-designed systems based on a lot of open-source tools.
What’s most impressive (beyond the board-fab machine or the Epilog laser), is their setup for processing orders. Everything is completely streamlined – print out a color invoice (with a bar code), fill the box, scan the bar code – shipping label prints and info sends automatically to UPS – seal it up, and toss it into a bin to go out. Even though they’re a bit swamped for the holidays, it still allows what is basically a two-person (for now) operation maintain a thriving fabrication and fulfillment company, all built on easy-to-recreate tech.
Printable catalog (PDF)
We shall open up a LOT more in coming days. I’ll be sure to remove that note you found on the schematic about being “proprietary” so you can “have at it” with the design! As you noted, it’s available under Creative Commons. You’ll even be able to put an Arduino in the design should you desire! Thanks for the feature Adafruit! – Ken Gracey
FEED
