TX/RX LabsTX/RX Labs | TX/RX Labs

Lab Built Air Dryer Completed

rtavk3 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:11:28 +0000

Member Greg Southerland has completed his heatless air dryer for use with the compressed air system within the lab. Its a really great build that will help the lab out a lot when it comes to plasma cutting and also general pneumatic tool use at the lab. The build is really cool using simple parts you can find at any plumbing parts and a donated PLC. He is going to expand the design some and working with another member, Peter Kwangjun Suk, adapt the control system to use an Arduino. You can check out all the details and schematic on the wiki @ http://txrxlabs.org/wiki/index.php?title=Heatless_Air_Dryer

Project BACON Looking for Alpha Testers

rtavk3 — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:40:44 +0000

TX/RX’s Open Source Project to develop a low power solar based GPRS/GSM remote sensor platform is reaching alpha testing. We are looking for some people with electronics design/coding experience who would like to participate in determining the features and changes the project needs to go to Beta testing and produce something that will be useful to the community. Alpha Testers will be given loaner hardware to use during the test and will receive beta test hardware as well.

http://txrxlabs.org/wiki/index.php?title=Project_BACON

Check out the wiki for the project and get involved if it looks interesting to you.

New Laser Cutter

rtavk3 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:35:08 +0000

The list of the tools at the lab has gotten a little longer recently and while we dont often post about what we have added one addition that deserves to be mentioned is the new Laser Cutter in the lab. We are pretty excited about this addition as it is one of the easiest, fastest, and cleanest ways to make a lot of the things we build at the lab better. Peter decided it was go time and ordered a 60W cutter/engraver from one of the more reputable Chinese firms, after the last 2 weeks of tweaking and learning we are proud to announce the laser cutter is performing admirably and we are excited about the work those of us in the lab and from the community are going to be able to do with it.

Mainly we are fixated on cutting lab logos out of any material we can get our hands since we cant think of any more awesome logo to cut while aligning and getting the cutters settings figured out. There will soon be a page on the wiki about the laser cutters operation and procedures. It is available for lab and outside use for a small cost to cover the laser tube replacements and other wear and tear.

You can check out some of our first cuts below and you should be seeing its use in a lot of our up-coming posts.

Logos and Keychains for all!

: First TX/RX Logo From Ply!

Spring 2012 Class Schedule Finalized

rtavk3 — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:43:44 +0000

The Spring 2012 Class Schedule is in its final form and is being printed and readied to be published. The class list will be posted to the website in the coming week. There are tons of exciting new classes such as:

Welding I & II
Intro & Advanced Arduino
Knitting
Pottery
Programming in C/Java/Python
Intro to CNC
Analog Circuit Theory
Intro To PlasmaCAM
Thermodynamics of the Sterling Engine
and many more!

See the full list on our classes page: 2012 Spring Classes
If you are interested in these classes and wish to be notified when the schedule is posted please email roland.von.k@txrxlabs.org to be notified.

Hope to see you at the lab this Spring or sooner!

Saving the Drill Press

rtavk3 — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:43:07 +0000

A minor mishap killed the Labs drill press. Determined to revive it we set out to rewind the AC motor by hand. This must have been a labor of love because rewinding motors is no easy chore. After rewinding it 3 times due to some minor mishaps in the winding process ( a nick in the enamel, loose windings, etc.) we finally got it wound. Then the joy of putting it back together culminated with us not even having any parts left over! *What are the odds?* We fired the press back up and works like a charm. In the future we will be more careful, but it was exciting to get to get to wind a motor by hand for once.

TX/RX Labs is on the move.

rgbiv — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:29:51 +0000

In the last nine months, our student body and our membership have more than doubled. It’s time to move to a larger space.

Help us build the community workshop, education center and startup incubator that the Space City deserves.

Project Spotlight: Cyclekart

rgbiv — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:18:00 +0000

Impervious to lightning and blue shells.

Stephen Cameron looks like he’s been having more fun than a barrel of Donkey Kongs building and riding his cyclekart.

Per cyclekarts.com, “Cyclekarts are small, lightweight, nimble machines made by their drivers for the pursuit of motoring sport. They’re not serious speed-machines or status-generating show cars. They’re purely for the gritty fun and satisfaction of tearing around in a machine you’ve built yourself.”

Steve’s cyclekart is a plywood-bodied, adult-sized go-kart fitted with 17-inch

My other car is a kart.

motorcycle wheels and powered by a 6.5 HP Honda 4-stroke engine
driving a single rear wheel through a torque converter and chained
sprocket. A single rear disc brake connected to one wheel provides
the stopping power.

You can see a video of Steve’s cyclekart in action here.

For more info and to get in touch with the builder, email stephenmcameron [at] gmail [dot] com.

Project Spotlight: Flux Clockpacitor

rgbiv — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:24:30 +0000

Where we're going, we don't need roads.

The intrepid adventurers of our Temporal Archaeology Team have returned from a parallel timeline in which they personally witnessed President Tesla’s WWI victory against Otto Mecha Bismarck in laser glove combat. Perusing the raucous markets of the floating slum-ships of Manchester-Above-London, they discovered this curious trinket: the Flux Clockpacitor.

Materials used:

DR2000 Numitrons (Electronic Parts Outlet on Fondren)
Mysterious creatures of the deep.
7447 7-segment drivers (also EPO)
Arduino Uno
DS1307 Real Time Clock breakout board kit
Prototyping board (Radio Shack)
5V regulator (the Shack)
Shrink tubing (the Shack)
Solid core copper wire (Home Depot)
Vintage wooden box

Tools used:

Soldering iron
Time machine
Moxy

To learn more about the tech, tools and code used in this project, calibrate your chrono-mailer to Volectorus, the TX/RX Labs member at stickknife [at] yahoo [dot] com, or leave a comment below.

Project Spotlight: Dead Lawyers (and Nelson Mandela)

rgbiv — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:09:55 +0000

The Republican from Illinois.

One of our members recently decided to spruce up his law office with something handmade, beautiful, and marginally subversive.

Using the Lab’s CNC plasma torch, the member cut plate steel silhouettes of five notable – and revolutionary – attorneys: Cicero, Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, Franz Kafka and Nelson Mandela.

The final product, when finished, will consist of a diffused light box to display the likeness of one of the lawyers, as well as a storage rack (pictured below) to hold the four pieces not on display. The box will be designed so that the pieces can be swapped out depending on the viewer’s particular inspirational needs.

Materials used:

- 3/16″ plate steel (from Triple S Steel)
- Bloodwood (not pictured – from Clark’s Hardwood in the Heights)
- Bubinga (also from Clark’s)
- Wood screws (from rtvak3 – shhhhh… he doesn’t know!)
- Light socket, CFL bulb, and power cord (Southland Hardware on Westheimer)

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you make cupcakes.

Tools used:

- CNC plasma torch
- CNC routing table
- Chop saw
- Manual routing table
- Wood chisels

To learn more about the techniques involved, leave a comment below or email rexbaker4@gmail.com.

Update (24OCT2011): This project has been completed!

Fall Class Schedule Posted

rtavk3 — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:32:53 +0000

The Fall Class Schedule for TX/RX Labs is finally up! We have a lot of exciting courses being taught by our members and friends which we hope will help others gain the knowledge and skills they need to do bigger and better things or just learn more about those topics in which they always had an interest. Classes will run throughout Oct-Nov and are small self contained and have a hands on focus.

Check out the offerings and sign up!
Fall Class Schedule