Build an Electric Motor

Valentine's Day is almost here, and if you're like me, you're scurrying to do something special for your mate. The standard chocolates and flowers just isn't cutting it anymore, and you can only make so many homemade cards before it becomes banal and meaningless. So, what can ...more

The video gives a step by step tutorial on how to replace the water pump, all belts and the shaft seals on a Porsche 944 S2. The video has a German soundtrack but English subtitles are available at YouTube. The repair is shown for a S2, but most steps are the same for other mo ...more

R/C car manufacturer Losi just recently released the LOSI 1/10 TEN-T TRUGGY RTR, which is apparently the world's most advanced radio controlled car. The Ten-T is 18 inches long and 6.2 pounds, and operates like a real race car (but at 1/10 of the size). Check out these specs ...more

Around the world, X-People (yes... there are X-Women, too) are under attack from an intolerant sapiencentric ruling class. Integration without equality is a farce. Autonomy is denied outright. Human prejudice cannot abide a mutant state. Human fear, born to hate, imposes itsel ...more

Wish you could make the shift to electric or hybrid, but you can't afford it? If you've got more than a few free weekends on your hands, you may want to consider undertaking Benjamin Nelson's ambitious (to say the very least) car conversion project. First, Nelson outlines in ...more

PopSci breaks down how basic functions of R/C work. Once you've mastered it, the sky is the limit. You can remote control anything. Well, almost anything. "The basic R/C setup consists of a transmitter, a receiver, and several actuators on the receiving end—either servos (ele ...more

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been widely used by the military for surveillance and reconnaissance missions—even armed combat. But there are other beneficial applications of an unmanned aircraft, such as search and rescue operations, scientific exploration, lo ...more

It took him a year to build and about $30,000 in parts, but Steve Hassenplug has created a truly magnificent robotic chess set, inspired by the magical chessboard in the first Harry Potter movie. Quite a task, but Hassenplug did an incredible job! Via PopSci: "Hassenplug and ...more

A British prisoner was recently caught with a tattoo gun rigged from a Sony Playstation. The crafty D.I.Y.er broke down the Playstation and attached the console motor to a finely sharpened ballpoint pen. The Sun reports: "A source said: 'It was a truly bizarre piece of DIY, ...more

LEGO technic builder Sariel presents a mighty impressive weekend project: a motorized LEGO hand that emulates actual human movement. This feat of plastic engineering runs on a combination of electric motors and pneumatic valves. Says Sariel, "The most complex part of the arm ...more

If you're like me, you were always jealous of the kids with rich parents who got to ride around in their own Power Wheels cars. Now that I am tall enough to sell my body and time, I find myself attaining childhood dreams like buying my own Power Wheels car. I would not have ch ...more

Sure, you've folded paper airplanes before. But I bet they don't stay airborne for very long. But they will, thanks to this clever little hack. PopSci designed their eAT-6 "Texan" paper airplane specifically to meet the requirements of their secret ingredient: a motor. Equip ...more

We've all seen the classic tornado-in-a-bottle science experiment, which uses 2 two-liter bottles to create a whirlpool effect. This version requires you to get the tornado started yourself by spinning the bottles, but what if you want to make it fully automated? Instructable ...more

The electric air freshener is one of those devices that seems like it could only have one possible function, but can actually be repurposed in a few different ways. If you're looking for a practical use, you can turn it into a bug killer, but it's also perfect for pranks. Wit ...more

Google quickly learned over five years ago electric vehicles (EVs) were the powertrain of choice for its then fledging driverless car program and the industry has since followed its lead. Now, every major carmaker has an EV program of some kind, while all-electric powertrains ...more

Cleaning a blender thoroughly is a pain in the ass, especially when you try and get all the goop out from underneath the sharp blades without nicking your knuckles. Alas, it is a necessary chore, otherwise you end up with disgusting dried gunk that ends up in your next batch o ...more

Time to make those lazy Sunday afternoons even lazier. Instructables member johndavid400 has posted a full HowTo on modding your lawn mower to operate via remote control. " ...How to make your Arduino into an R/C interface that you can use for just about anything requiring re ...more

Amateur Chinese inventor, Tao Xiangli, has built his own homemade submarine. Drawing inspiration from the James Bond and Terminator movies, Xiangli's tinkering is quite impressive, considering his education came to a halt at the fifth grade. In The Guardian's video piece on t ...more

A Norwegian carrier's launch of a pilotless container ship next year could lead the way to a new era in sea transportation and shipping if successful. Norway-based Yara International ASA, a self-touted "Tesla of the seas," claims the eletric-powered vessel will be the world's ...more

The new Leaf with Nissan's ProPilot driverless feature could launch as soon as this year, following a teaser image and video the Japanese carmaker released of its flagship EV yesterday. A company source told Driverless that ProPilot could become available in the new Leaf befo ...more

An expert in the driverless market has earmarked Porsche as the company to watch in the automated car race. Grayson Brulte, the co-founder of Autonomous Tomorrow, told Driverless that the luxury car company were the underdogs in a highly competitive and specialized field. On ...more

When setting up your home office or giving it a makeover, the desk is the key to making the room a functional workspace. And if you're in there all day, it also has a significant impact on your health. Standing desks can help offset some of the adverse health risks associated ...more

Self-driving vehicles may be the apex of safe driving, taking human error out of the equation. Until then, augmented reality can help reduce accidents by improving driver awareness. This week, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation introduced its EMIRAI 4 concept car, which uses aug ...more

Sherif Marakby has returned to Ford as the VP of AVs & Electrification after a brief stint with Uber. Marakby's VP title will be effective June 12. The news of Uber departure was announced in April. He worked with Ford Motor Co. for 25 years before leaving to become Uber's Vi ...more

For this project, I decided to rip apart a microwave I found in my neighbor's garbage can to see what was inside. With permission, of course! True story! Video: . The saying goes, "one man's trash is another man's treasure", and with all the parts I found in this abandoned app ...more

One of the most annoying things about summer is mowing the lawn. Depending on how big your yard is, it can mean spending hours out in the hot sun while you could be doing something a lot more fun like watching the Olympics or making giant soap bubbles. Reclaim your summer with ...more

Bonafide How-It's-Done (not exactly a HowTo) on remote-controlling your car via iPhone and Power Wheels. Brought to you by some crazy Texans, over at Waterloo Labs. Says Hack A Day, "Brake and gas pedals are actuated using a wrench connected to a motor bolted to the floorboa ...more

Those going on crazy off-road adventures, taking their inspiration from various SUV commercials, are likely to encounter many unexpected, all-terrain dangers. Automaker Mitsubishi is ready to put those dangers in the foreground with augmented reality warnings on a heads-up-di ...more

Nissan has confirmed reports that the Nissan Leaf's Propilot option will go on sale in the US in September, but when it does, don't expect it to compete against the Tesla Model 3's driverless features. Ahead of the Propilot's launch in the US, details revealed about Nissan's ...more

The Chinese government's tight restrictions on gathering data by foreign firms for 3D mapping, the lifeblood of machine-taught driverless systems, could at least slow down access to the market by Waymo, Tesla, General Motors (GM), Ford, and other players hoping to make inroads ...more

A Norwegian shipping company says it will launch an unmanned container ship within four years, as the shipping industry begins to apply driverless technology to commercial sea transportation. Norway-based Yara International ASA claims the vessel will be the world's first auto ...more