Tag Archives: DIY

This 43-inch screen laptop defies portability, proving bigger is not always better

Posted on by

While most of us purchase a laptop for its portability, on the other end of the spectrum, efforts are being made to create a computing machine that is a behemoth. Just for the sake of creating such a gadget or you can say, going by the notion “bigger is better.”

We saw a humungous 17.3-inch display laptop by Lenovo at CES 2023 with an eye-popping 21-10 ultra-wide aspect ratio. Even Razer created an 18-inch screen lappy recently.  If that’s not huge enough, rewind your memories back to the year 2017 when Acer introduced us all to a 21-inch laptop.

Designer: Evan and Katelyn

Minisculing all of them is this DIY laptop which should claim the tag of being the world’s largest laptop ever. It has a 43-inch display which should put even your desktop setup to shame. This custom build is the work of YouTube creators Evan and Katelyn, who’s bloated up the perception of the visual world we are accustomed to. Yes, this laptop is by no means portable, and nowhere near lightweight weighing 100 pounds. In fact, this custom build is something straight out of the Gulliver’s world.

A laptop this big should and could sandwich your hands if you are careless in closing the lid. Reason enough for the duo to incorporate robust metal rails to create the industrial-strength hinge. This raises, lowers, or even locks the screen in the desired position courtesy of adjustable tension levers. A laptop such big requires a keypad and trackpad to match the gigantic looks, hence, an oversized Redragon K605 mechanical keyboard and a touchpad the size of a normal laptop are used. Even though the Redragon K605 is a monstrous keyboard in its own right, here even it looks minuscule.

On the inside, the huge laptop gets an Intel NUC 11 mini desktop computer, so high-end gaming is out of the question. A laptop of this size requires tons of power to function portably. Therefore, the duo has fitted massive 150W batteries to supply power for the big screen, mini PC, and the other installed hardware. To polish things off, they installed RGB LED lighting on all sides, and the final build looks impressive considering the DIYers have not tried out such geeky creations in the past. The only thing needed to certify this as the world’s biggest laptop is a visit from the Guinness World Records team to make everything official.

The post This 43-inch screen laptop defies portability, proving bigger is not always better first appeared on Yanko Design.

DIY wall clock is an enchanting way to tell time using prismatic lights

Posted on by

Clocks, especially the ones we put up on walls, are no longer the single-function products of ages past. Many of them also serve as decorations, sometimes to the point that telling the time has become secondary and almost optional. That’s the case for some clocks that look stunning in terms of aesthetics but sometimes at the expense of easy readability of the time. Given how wall clocks are rarely used to accurately read the time down to the minute, however, that shouldn’t be a problem for most cases anyway. That, in turn, allows for a lot more freedom in how to represent time. This beautiful DIY project, for example, almost completely does away with the convention of distinct clock hands, instead using different hues of light to let you eyeball the time to some extent.

Designer: David Tweeto

Like many DIY wall clock projects, this Decorative Analog Clock involves quite a number of small electronics, wiring, and a bit of 3D printing. As the name suggests, however, this clock bucks the trend of defaulting to a digital presentation and clings to the analog way of telling time, at least in theory. In reality, it is completely driven by software, and the three distinct light colors each tell a different aspect of the time, just like physical hands.

Instead of ticking gears, the Decorative Analog LED Strip IoT Clock uses a small microchip that syncs with NTP (Network Time Protocol) server to know the time. This also controls a strip of 120 LEDs that is folded to form 60 pairs of LEDs back to back, running the strip inside a wide wooden ring that serves as the “face” of the clock. Although it would have been easier to 3D print a plastic ring cover, wood had the advantage of not only looking more stylish but also preventing the light from bleeding through.

The light uses the three primary colors of light (not pigment) to indicate time. Red is used to tell the seconds, and it only shines outward from the rim. Green is for the minutes, and its short light is also on the outer periphery of the circle. Finally, blue stands for the hour, and it is the only one that shines inside the hole of the ring.

In practice, this light analog clock isn’t exactly good at giving you the exact time since the lights can occupy more than just a single “tick” in the clock. It can still give you a general idea, though, which is what analog wall clocks are often used for anyway. As mentioned, the actual clock feature becomes secondary with these decorative clocks, and this DIY project definitely fulfills the primary purpose with much success, especially when the lights are dimmed. It creates a beautiful splash of colors on your wall, serving as a piece of light art that some might not even associate with a clock, even with the red light moving around the circle every second.

The post DIY wall clock is an enchanting way to tell time using prismatic lights first appeared on Yanko Design.

DIY AR glasses get a bit geekier with this monocle clip-on

Posted on by

Hollywood had us dreaming about augmented reality way before “metaverse” became an overhyped buzzword. Of course, fiction and reality don’t always see eye-to-eye, pun intended, and experiencing this augmented reality has been less than ideal, if not unreachable, for most people. The problem has been making AR hardware available and accessible to more people, not to mention comfortable to wear, unlike your typical helmet-like headsets. AR glasses are the ideal solution, but the technology just isn’t completely there yet to make that happen. In the meantime, creative and adventurous people are making their own designs and interpretations of this largely unexplored territory, and this open source device turns any eyewear into AR glasses, though with a very distinct aesthetic that might look a tad ridiculous to some.

Designer: Brilliant Labs

The AR hardware problem has always been a matter of size. While gear like the Microsoft HoloLens or even the new Meta Quest Pro is powerful, they’re also bulky and heavy. AR glasses, on the other hand, not only have significantly limited hardware but also have to make sure that the wearer’s line of sight is still clear. Putting a display in front of both eyes might seem ideal, but just having the screen on one or the other eye is more realistic.

This is the kind of design that the defunct Google Glass adopted, and Monocle has taken it to the extreme. Just like its namesake, it’s a circular device that goes over just one eye, leaving the other free of any obstruction. Unlike existing AR glasses today, though, it doesn’t come as a complete eyewear product. Instead, you clip the Monocle onto any pair of glasses, which is especially useful if you wear a prescription.

The device isn’t exactly the sleekest way to get an AR experience with your regular glasses. It has to be thick to hold all the electronics in a single piece, including a 720p camera, a 640×400 OLED display, Bluetooth, and a battery. It’s pretty much a small, partly transparent puck that you attach to your glasses, ensuring that everyone will know you’re looking at them with more than just your human eyes.

What makes Monocle different from commercial AR gear is that both its software and its design are open source. Anyone with enough knowledge, experience, and patience could, in theory, do their own thing, perhaps tweaking the design to make it perhaps a bit less conspicuous. For the rest of us, however, Brilliant Labs is selling the finished product for $349, which includes a charging case in the box.

The post DIY AR glasses get a bit geekier with this monocle clip-on first appeared on Yanko Design.

This mini electric drill pen and benchtop press make crafts easier and more enjoyable

Posted on by

Back in the day, bringing your creative visions to life was mostly a pipe dream that could only become a reality if you had resources or connections with people in the industry. Fortunately, it’s much easier to get started today, and while you do still need to save up for the right tools, those won’t require taking out huge loans anymore. 3D printing has made creation a lot easier, but it isn’t the only tool you’ll need for crafts and projects. There will be times when you’ll need to bore holes into materials and objects, and that’s where this drill and press duo comes in, providing a portable yet powerful tool to make your designs come alive in the real world in a simple yet effective way.

Designers: Yin Liu, Shi Teng Yuan & Chun Hiu Tseung

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $220 (41% off). Hurry, only 104/500 left! Raised over $160,000.

You might think you need something like a bulky power tool just to put holes in parts and materials, and that may be true for larger or thicker pieces, especially metal, but not all crafts actually use those. For smaller or thinner materials, especially those that need finer precision, a smaller drill will be more efficient. Fortunately, that’s exactly what the SDS ULTRA brings to the table, almost literally, providing an electric drill that can easily fit in your pocket if you really need it to.

The SDS ULTRA PLUS comes in two parts. The most important is, of course, the pen-sized mini drill that you can use any time you need to put a hole into something. Its rounded rectangular shape makes it easy to hold in your hand and ensures that it won’t roll off tables when you put it down. Despite its small size, it houses a 500mAh battery that lets you work cable-free for up to three hours. And when that time is up, charging via a USB-C cable means you can top off even using your phone’s charger or a power bank.

The drill pen is the epitome of “small but powerful,” possessing much-needed features to make drilling a breeze. Compared to previous models, it boasts a top speed of 600RPM, but you can actually set different modes to lower the speed as needed down to 300RPM. An easy-to-use switch lets you switch modes, which you can clearly see thanks to the built-in LCD screen on the pen’s body. And unlike any mini drill, the SDS ULTRA has four shadow-less LED lights that let you see your target more clearly. The drill bits are made from titanium-coated steel for high wear resistance and low friction coefficient, making them ideal for working with wood, aluminum, plastic, or even circuit boards.

Users can freely adjust the gap between the drill bit to the bottom plate from 33mm to 83mm.

Holding the electric drill pen in your hand might be fine for some processes or materials, but if you need a more stable surface to work on, the SDS ULTRA PLUS also has you covered. It comes with a Hedgehog Benchtop Drill Press when you need more control and accuracy in where to put those holes. Made from aviation aluminum alloy for durability and corrosion resistance.

Precise Multi-angle Adjustment – The holder rotates up to 180° to drill, polish, sand, and more at any angle.

Users can switch the drill angle to +/- 15, 30, 45, 90, or 180 degrees are used for tasks such as polishing metal objects, sanding different shapes, and sanding metal pieces.

Drill Bit Placement – Has dedicated slots for ten drill bits so that you can easily pick and swap the bit you need right then and there.

The drill press isn’t just a place to hold your drill, though. It also has dedicated slots for ten drill bits so that you can easily pick and swap the bit you need right then and there. The press’s adjustable height and 360-degree rotating head offer the utmost convenience to crafters and makers.

And when the work is done, you can easily stash the SDS ULTRA drill pen and its bits inside a CNC Alloy Storage Box that you can slip into your bag or even your pocket. You never have to be limited to doing work in a sequestered workshop or room, waiting for the perfect opportunity to start drilling. For only $129, the SDS ULTRA PLUS Mini Electric Drill Pen and Hedgehog Benchtop Press offer a convenient and portable tool that lets you work on your crafts and projects almost anywhere the inspiration strikes.

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $220 (41% off). Hurry, only 104/500 left! Raised over $160,000.

The post This mini electric drill pen and benchtop press make crafts easier and more enjoyable first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sleek custom triple-screen Framework Laptop uses 4K 120Hz display in the middle with iPad screens on either side

Posted on by

There are some perks of DIYing your own computing rig. You can have the innards of choice tethered to a display and selected peripherals to go with it. YouTuber DIY Perks is taking this to a new level for the population of nerds who’ve been reeling under the bulk of multi-display laptops or lack of screen real estate on the slimmer notebooks.

DIY Perks has been amid some of the fanciest hacks. The engineer-turned-YouTuber has transformed an Android smartphone into a functional Windows laptop and even built a super slip, water-cooled PlayStation 5. Not resting on his past laurels, he’s back with another strange DIY creation: a triple-screen laptop.

Designer: DIY Perks

Adding multi-screen capability to a laptop has been tricky for many who’ve got their hands dirty in trying to deliver such a form factor. The ergonomics of a laptop are just not very supportive of this form factor and the result has generally been bulky and little convenient on the portable front.

Realizing the amount of bulk similar sized screens – on either side of the main laptop display – add to the structure; the modder here has used two iPad Retina displays in portrait mode. This reduces the fluff on the back and helps protect the screen more effectively.

For the triple-screen laptop build, the DIYer has used a 4K 120Hz panel in the center, with the two iPad displays on either side. Powered by onboard DisyplayPort cable modified to provide enough power to run the screens. The entire contraption is powered by a customizable motherboard from a Framework Laptop, which has been specifically engineered for the modded system.

After assembly of the innards, paired with the screens, the whole thing is neatly packed within a 3D printed housing topped with a specially printed gradient finish for an attractive look. Clipped to a pair of foldable legs, this display system can be used as a triple-screen setup with peripherals of choice. Though the credibility of this build to be passed as a laptop is meager; it is portable enough to carry as a laptop. Steady it on its stand, pair it with the keyboard and mouse you like and you have a worthy computing rig on demand.

The post Sleek custom triple-screen Framework Laptop uses 4K 120Hz display in the middle with iPad screens on either side first appeared on Yanko Design.

This mind-blowing coffee table was painstakingly handmade with dozens of wooden strips

Posted on by

Many design ideas inspired by nature often take cues from natural materials, forms, sensations, or even animals and plants themselves. All of these exist on our planet, often accessible to our senses. There is also beauty outside of our planet, of course, sometimes on a much grander scale. It’s more difficult to observe these sources of inspiration with the naked eye, though, especially when they may not even exist. That said, human creativity and imagination have sometimes given form to these abstract concepts and theories, and one woodworker made the rather long and arduous journey to give one such idea a more physical form, resulting in a rather stunning piece of furniture that looks just as grand as the scientific concept behind it.

Designer: Olivier Gomis

A wormhole, sometimes called by its more technical name, “Einstein-Rosen Bridge,” is a hypothetical structure that no one has been able to confirm exists. That hasn’t stopped scientists, mathematicians, and especially writers from giving it some serious thought. Wormholes that can hypothetically connect two disparate points in spacetime via a tunnel have been one of the favorite narrative devices in science fiction. Despite its hypothetical existence, wormholes have also been given a hypothetical form, one that this wooden coffee table tries to create in reality.

The shape of a table is already quite eye-catching on its own. It’s almost like a wooden plank that has been bent so that the two ends are on top of each other and then joined together by a double cone. It may have been possible to create such a form with simple means, including wood bending and carving, but this table’s creator didn’t take the easy way out. In order to create the grid of lines that covers the entire surface of the table, dozens of air-dried walnut strips had to be cut and made. These are then glued together with sheets of maple veneer in between, which give the appearance of those faint light lines that form the grid.

With almost the same mathematical precision as the wormhole’s foundations, these strips of wood are cut and joined together, sometimes at angles to form a curved shape. A lot of machining was involved as well in order to carve the blocky sides down to smooth curves. Suffice it to say, there was a great deal of patience involved in a process that had very little wiggle room for errors.

To really bring that sci-fi atmosphere to life, a lamp was installed in the center of the hole, giving the table an eerie appearance in the dark. The result is a beautiful homage to something that might not even exist, though you’ll probably want to keep things away from the part of the table that curves downward. Fortunately, things that do fall into that hole won’t disappear and reappear somewhere else, though you do risk damaging that glass-covered lamp if you manage to spill something inside it.

The post This mind-blowing coffee table was painstakingly handmade with dozens of wooden strips first appeared on Yanko Design.

DIYer builds intricate LEGO T-Mobile Park stadium with his little daughter

Posted on by

Meet Shane Deegan, a 42-year-old basketball lover who fancies doing creative stuff. He’s always been obsessed with LEGO builds and creating baseball stadium models is one of his hobbies. Now, his latest creation just in time for the Holiday Season is something to behold.

The man has recreated the Seattle Mariners home ballpark in incredible detail with cute input from his little daughter, Dottie. It all started with smaller builds including a ferry boat and Husky Stadium. Ultimately, Shane had his eyes set on building a scaled-down LEGO model of the T-Mobile Park which was earlier known as the Safeco Field.

Designer: Shane Deegan

This detailed stadium ultimately took 12,000 pieces and more than 60 hours of build time in total. On the hind side, it all started from bins of assorted bricks he had at home and finally came to be a 36-inch by 24-inch LEGO baseball stadium. Of course, during the course of building, he had to supplement it with specifically needed LEGO bricks bought online. The eye catchy LEGO replica of the T-Mobile Park now sits beside the Christmas Tree.

Deegan measured the exact dimensions of the left and right field foul poles to make the LEGO model as convincing as possible. He had to painstakingly go through countless Google images to ascertain the seat map dimensions, the east side of the stadium, or tiny little details like the scoreboard location. Certain details like the smooth green tiles of the bleachers, the studded bricks of the outer wall, and the gold LEGO man standing firm at the home-plate entrance are worth appreciating.

According to Deegan, the challenge with the build was articulating something that “doesn’t otherwise exist in the Lego space.” The roof of the stadium posed to be the ultimate roadblock as he wanted to operate it with a motor but couldn’t due to weight constraints. He has to move the roof by hand, and that one thing irks him to bits. He’s already thinking about reopening the roof and building a larger one to fit the motor, and be able to move remotely.

Shane very passionately exclaims that he got back to building LEGO after a span of 25 years. Doing it with his daughter is ever so special and worth every minute of his. Very rhetorically he sums it up rightly by saying, “It’s incredible parallel play. We can both exist in our own world at our own level and have fun together.” During the build, Dottie would lose her interest after a few minutes since her goals were different from her father’s. He would then later return to go on with the build as desired.

The post DIYer builds intricate LEGO T-Mobile Park stadium with his little daughter first appeared on Yanko Design.

This DIY game controller looks like a low-poly object taken from a video game

Posted on by

Trends come and go, but some things seem to never die. Ever since the earliest days of Pong and arcade cabinets, video games have survived ups and downs in the economy but have so far remained a rather lucrative industry. In fact, the past years have been rather kind to gaming and gamers, with the surge of titles, devices, and accessories to tempt buyers to part ways with their hard-earned money. There has even been a sub-culture where people have started making their own gaming machines and peripherals. While a gaming computer might not be everyone’s forte, some more adventurous gamers might dare to dabble in a bit of DIY experimentation. What better way to get started then than with your own game controller that looks like it jumped straight out of a video game.

Designer: Input Labs

Thanks to modern electronics and 3D printing, it’s almost too easy to make your own gamepad with your own unique design. Of course, making it functional and ergonomic is a completely different matter, and it takes some domain knowledge to pull off a successful design. Thankfully, there are quite a few designers out there already doing much of that work, and some are even sharing the recipe completely free of charge.

The Alpakka game controller is one such design. It is already distinctive on its own, just by the way it looks. Unlike most controllers with smooth curves and polished surfaces, Alpakka has a more faceted and geometrical appearance that would fit perfectly in low-poly games such as Minecraft (though one could argue even Alpakka is too high-poly for the voxel game). Whether it makes for a comfortable grip is probably a bit questionable, but you can easily change that, too, by simply modifying the design for 3D printing.

And that is what really sets this controller apart from other quirky and interesting designs we usually come across. Everything you need to know about making the controller on your own is available under the very liberal Creative Commons license, meaning you can tweak it to your heart’s desire without worrying about getting sued. All you really need is to get a hold of all the components needed as well as a 3D printer. It does require that you know your way around soldering electronics and whatnot, but that pretty much comes with the territory.

Despite its almost whimsical appearance, the Alpakka is serious about its gaming functionality, including dual-gyro sensors that could be used in lieu of a mouse. And just like the design itself, the software needed to make these functions work is available under an open source license so that anyone can use them or, if they also have the know-how, even tweak those features to their liking.

The post This DIY game controller looks like a low-poly object taken from a video game first appeared on Yanko Design.

Star Wars Crochet Kit: Crafty Jedis

Posted on by

Because who hasn’t dreamed of crocheting their own little Jedi army to take on the Empire, AlwaysFits is selling this Star Wars Crochet Kit. The kit includes everything you need to make your own Yoda and R2-D2, along with instructions to make more characters; you’ll just need to buy the yarn and eyeballs. Oh – and learn how to crochet.

I’ve tried crocheting before, and I just don’t think I have the patience for it. Or the hand-eye coordination. I’ve got the feeling no matter what character I tried making, they would all just wind up looking like Jabba the Hutts. And not a realistic Jabba the Hutt either, the kind a kid might draw.

Those instructions look like some sort of secret coded message to decipher. What are you trying to tell me, crochet book? Is Obi-Wan our only hope?! Or that it’s better to just give up now before I disappoint myself again? Because I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.

Crafting a Miniature Pac-Man Arcade Game Drink Coaster

Posted on by

Ever wanted to craft your own miniature Pac-Man level drink coaster? Who hasn’t? It’s a universal human dream. And to help us achieve that dream, YouTuber The Avid Creator avidly created this video detailing how he made one. Just follow along to make your own! Will yours turn out as well as his did? Yours might, but mine definitely won’t.

He constructed the base and walls of the level from finely-cut wood pieces, while the pellets, ghosts, and Pac-Man are made of polymer clay, with everything painted and then sealed with epoxy resin. Admittedly, that is a good-looking drink coaster. Way nicer than my coaster, which just looks like a water ring on the coffee table.

Does anybody want to make a bunch of these for me to give out as Christmas gifts this year? I can promise you’ll be handsomely rewarded. With praise, just to be clear – not with actual money. Come on, Santa doesn’t even pay his elves!