todbot blog » lasercut

Behold the Crystal Monster

todbot — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:13:38 +0000

The Crystal Monster is an art piece created by Beverly Tang and Tod E. Kurt (me). It’s on display in the Continental Gallery on 4th & Spring St in downtown Los Angeles. The shape and structure of the Crystal Monster are Beverly’s design. I created the lighting and the electronics. It’s made from over 400 sheets of laser-cut acrylic, more that 240 feet of LED tape (>2200 RGB LEDs!), and around 500 steel rods and other steel hardware. It’s approximately 12 feet long and 10 feet wide and hovers 10 feet above your head. It’s [...]

Quickie Laser-cut iPhone/iPod Dock

todbot — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:48:39 +0000

I recently got a case for my iPhone and it’s the kind that precludes the use of the dock. I kind of like the dock concept, but instead of taking a Dremel to the existing dock, I spent a few minutes drawing up a replacement that could be cut from acrylic scraps on the laser cutter. Here’s the result: (click for higher-res)

It is made of four slices of 1/4″ acrylic (actual width 0.22″). The top two slices have an oval opening just snug enough to fit the ipod connector and keep it in place with friction. [...]

Laser Cut Laptop Stand (and o’scope hugger)

todbot — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:55:02 +0000

I have one of those USB-based logic analyzers that needs Windows software to make it go. I had been doing Windows-in-a-window with VMWare, but it’s kind of a pain. If I were to use a real Windows laptop, I’d need a shelf or something for it. I wanted it above my oscilloscope, which meant a laptop stand that was taller and wider than most. Time for the laser cutter!

(click for larger)

My design requirements were: - assemble without any tooling or fasteners - fit on a single 1′x2′ sheet of the 1/4″ plywood I already had - be stable enough [...]

Arduino chip sticker label

todbot — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:53:15 +0000

I’ve been working with a super minimal Arduino setup recently. After seeing Alex’s awesome Arduino/ATmega breadboard header, where he notes there’s no room on the PCB for pin labeling, I wondered if it would be possible to make a small sticker that goes on the ATmega chip, labeling the pin names.

Here’s my first attempt:

And in use:

This was created by printing on a full-page sticker then laser cutting it to shape. I could have also just cut out the sticker with scissors, or used regular printer paper and double-sided tape.

Some files if you want to try this out [...]

Smart garments (I’m on TV! for 3 frames)

todbot — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:09:20 +0000

My friend Syuzi Pakhchyan had a nice long segment on Make:TV this week. She visited the todbot lab to have the laser cutter cut the designs for the switches in her garment. There’s a 1-second shot where the camera pans over the lab and to the cutter. For about 2 frames, you can see me. Wooho, my Hollywood career has begun.

You can see the post about this episode of Make:TV, or watch it here: