Discussion: Circuit Scribe Update

I've decided to do a little update on our Kickstarter project. Remember when I first blogged about this pen a few weeks back, they only had $17,000? Well, they're rockin' over $500,000 now. It's crazy how fast this project grew. They reached their stretch goal of $250,000 in a matter of days! So, if you'd like to further fund ginormous bank account, click here. 

Discussion: Circuit Scribe

So my friends, I've got something for you, and quite frankly, I'm excited just sitting here typing this! This is such a cool, innovative idea that'll let you literally draw out your circuits and test them on paper you drew them on. Yep, you heard me (or more appropriately, "read me")! 

 

I draw out my circuits all the time. If I have an idea, I do draw it out! Then I have to find the free time to piece it together on my breadboard, which is just a solder-less test-board for circuits. Piecing together the components on that slap of plastic can be time consuming and sometimes frustrating! But man... the worst part is having to take it apart when I'm done with it having to completely re-construct it when I need it again! Getting the components out is no biggie, but having to arrange them all into the correct order and positions is just awful. That's why I love this pen so much. You could literally have a notebook full of schematics that already has the wires laid out along with spots for your components, then all you'd have to do is put the components in and shazam! You've got your circuit. So, how does it work? Simple. They made a water-based conductive ink and instantly dries on paper. Smart, right? It works just like a normal ballpoint pen too. This would be especially good for students taking electronic engineering classes because instead of having to draw out the circuit and having to build it to test it, you can just test it on your paper. Not only that, but it would allow hands on note-taking that will show you how the circuit is working. Isn't that awesome? Now, do you know what's even cooler? It was made by the University of Illinois. Yep, our university invented it! You can fund this awesome project here on Kickstarter; and please do! I did my share and put $35 towards it. It's actually crazy how fast they've gotten their funding. They're not even 24 hours from me posting this and they already have $50,000 with a goal of $85,000. Now, if you'd like to learn even more, click here to go to their website. Since they introduced this project yesterday, their website is pretty boring, but it's surely going to improve in the near future! 

Discussion: 3D Printers

This field is about to EXPLODE!! Seriously, explode like a bomb. It's going to be equivalent to like the smartphone. Why do I think this? Well, imagine being able to create almost anything you ever dreamt  in a matter of a few minutes. Want a new cutting board? Go print it. Oh no! Your phone case broke? Go print it. The handle on your toilet snapped off? Go print it. Seriously, anything you would ever need could be printed right in the comfort of your own home. 

Source

Here's one now. Look at its beauty! You can see that this one just finished printing a toy car. Just look at it for a minute. What do you think its made of? Well, there are actually a lot of different methods out there. They usually lay down successive layers of liquid resin or metal, powder, or sheet material successively so that that each layer will form a small bit of whatever you're printing. Now, what's really cool is how it knows what you want to print. You go into a computer program and design your object and simply upload it into the printer, and bam! You now have yourself whatever you want printed. 

These wonders aren't just restricted to solid plastic objects, they can actually go as far as to print food. Yes, food. You may not be able to print like a whole turkey yet, but something like chocolate? That's easy. Put some melted chocolate into the printer and have it print a bunny. Maybe in a few years you'll get your turkey, but what you can do so far is still pretty sweet. 

So, why hasn't the market exploded with these printers? Simple. There are key patents out there that restrict them from being produced cheaply, but there's some good news! Those patents will expire in 2014, so like I said earlier, they will EXPLODE!! So my suggestion? Go to the stock market and invest in major 3D printing companies before the turn of the year. Hopefully, you'll make some big dollars!