How To Solder Wires And Components Easily - The Fixed Iron Method

The quick and easy way to solder wires and electronics components together.

Having the soldering iron fixed in-place frees up your hands, allowing better control and much more consistent results.

3D Printer Mod - Improved 3D Printer Filament Spool Holder / Roller

An improved 3D printer filament spool holder / roller for my Makergear M2 3D printer.

The holder / roller is designed to fit a standard Makergear filament spool.

This is just another excuse to give my lathe a bit of a workout :)

The original filament spool holder on my Makergear M2 although functional, leaves much room for improvements.

The new filament spool roller / holder.

Without the filament spool.

Exploded schematics of the improved filament spool holder / roller

How It’s Made

Check out the video below for the build, took half a day from start to finish. Mostly involved turning (aluminum and delrin) down to size, and tapping a few screw threads.

I could as well print the plastic roller on my printer, but no 3D printer (the affordable ones at least) can beat the smooth and precise finish a lathe can achieve.

And the choice of aluminum is of course due to it being much stronger than plastics (ABS or PLA). I’m using 6061 Aluminum, it is easier to work with, and produces better finish when turned on a lathe.

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Domo Kun WobblyBot – Simple Self Balancing Two-Wheel Robot

A self balancing two-wheel robot that wobbles, hence the name WobblyBot.

Quite possibly the simplest design for a robot that could (sort of) balance itself  on two wheels, without the use of accelerometer, gyroscope or microcontroller.

A great weekend project, and do check out the video to see it in action. And why Domo Kun? Because my other half think it's cute :) You can pretty much change the WobblyBot into any character you like.

UPDATE: The WobblyBot was featured in Hacked Gadget, Engadget and Hack-A-Day!

How It Works


It's about simplifying things and getting back to basics. the goal is to build a balanced robot instead of a robot that balance itself.

The robot is essentially a simple pendulum, with the pivot at the wheel axle. The bottom part of the robot’s body is significantly heavier than the upper part of it. This serves as a counter weight, keeping the entire body upright, hence the balancing act.

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