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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

Phytoremediation Paper Pancake Science Sunday

KingJacob — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:55:09 +0000

Howdy All,

This sunday for Pancake Science, there will be science.

Phytoremediation is the process of using plants to remediate environmental disasters rather than the more disruptive method of excavation. On sunday, we’ll attempt to make our own paper implanted with seeds from plant species that are known to be useful in phytoremediation.

When:

Pancakes start at 10pm ($5 suggested donation).
The Science and making of the seed paper will start at 11pm.

Where: Tx/Rx Labs

Flame Speaker Lights Up

rtavk3 — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:51:31 +0000

A recent milestone was reached, for a Flame based Loudspeaker project being spearheaded by Kelly O’Brien, that TX/RX hopes to share with the world soon. The speaker had its first proof of concept test which proved exceedingly successful.

Video Here: Flame Speaker!

With this step the project should ramp up and hopefully we will have some exciting more videos, documentation, and of course awesome speakers for the lab!

Comp Sci @ TX/RX

rtavk3 — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 06:08:45 +0000

We have ventured into the mechanical and electrical arts quite extensively and now it is time to give the same treatment to computer science! So TX/RX Labs has formed a group focused on teaching computer science and exchanging knowledge and ideas within the comp sci space. The group meets regularly with some meetings focused on teaching basic programming and others focusing on more advanced comp sci theory. All are welcome and if you are interested you should check out the wiki.

See You There!