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Awesome James Bruton

Tea-Making Marble Machine

Tea-Making Marble Machine

Inspired by Colin Furze and his tea-making Rube Goldberg machine, engineer James Bruton wanted to make his own overly complicated contraption for fixing drinks. Bruton’s TEA-800 beverage dispenser is triggered by a large ball bearing that activates various parts of the machine. It gradually moves a mug into position and fills it with hot water, brews a tea bag, and adds milk.

Möbius Strip Tank

Möbius Strip Tank

Engineer James Bruton has been experimenting with designs for a unique tank with treads that twist like a Möbius strip. After an earlier design that struggled with steering, his revised tank can bend at its center to drive around corners. It’s not a particularly practical design, but it sure is cool to watch in action.

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Engineering a Walking Star Wars Droid

Engineering a Walking Star Wars Droid

Inspired by the two-legged droids being tested at Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction, engineer James Bruton wanted to see if he could build a similar walking robot without Disney’s millions of dollars. His 3D-printed robot is powered by four servo motors and has no hip joints, so it teeters around impatiently from side to side.

Not Quite a Speeder Bike

Not Quite a Speeder Bike

Recently, engineer James Bruton put together a self-balancing vehicle using a hoverboard and omni-wheels. Now, he’s transformed that strange-looking machine into something that vaguely resembles a Star Wars speeder bike. It’s easier to steer now and can travel forward, but it’s not exactly something you’d fly between the trees on Endor.

The Human Egg Drop Challenge

The Human Egg Drop Challenge

After seeing those egg drop challenge videos, engineer James Bruton was inspired to try the same idea, but with a human instead of an egg. He teamed up with the folks from Kids Invent Stuff to build competing structures that can protect their precious cargo when dropped from a crane. Fortunately, James already built a crash test dummy.

Making an Omni-wheel Hoverboard

Making an Omni-wheel Hoverboard

While so-called hoverboards don’t hover how we want them to, they’re still fun to ride. James Bruton thought he could make something more interesting than an off-the-shelf balance board. So he got to work making a hoverboard with 3D-printed omni-wheels. His chunky machine is built for a seated rider, and he plans to upgrade it to make it more agile.

Triangle Tank Robot: Version 2.0

Triangle Tank Robot: Version 2.0

Engineer James Bruton has built a variety of interesting robotic vehicles over the years, including an omnidirectional tank that moved around on three tracks. But that design had difficulty climbing uneven terrain, so he took his readers’ suggestions on the track design and made an improved version that’s a bit more agile.

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Making a Walking Star Wars AT-AT

Making a Walking Star Wars AT-AT

Those Kenner Star Wars AT-AT toys were awesome to play with, but we had to use our imaginations to get them to walk as they did in The Empire Strikes Back. For engineer James Bruton, that wasn’t good enough, so he got to work rebuilding a version of the imperial walker with a servo-powered drivetrain that lets it really walk.

Building a DIY Crash Test Dummy

Building a DIY Crash Test Dummy

Modern crash test dummies are shockingly expensive to buy. Engineer James Bruton didn’t have a spare million bucks lying around, so he decided to build his own. He made his dummy from wood, metal, 3D-printed plastic, and rubber. While it isn’t quite as refined as the industry-standard units, it’s fully outfitted with sensors like the real deal.

Improving Doc Ock’s Tentacles

Improving Doc Ock’s Tentacles

We’ve seen some pretty neat Doc Ock cosplays, but most of them don’t have real robot tentacles. Engineer James Bruton wanted to not only build a working tentacle robot but improve on its flexibility. His prototype is impressive, but only part of a single tentacle. We look forward to seeing his progress as he refines it.

Making a Robot Centipede

Making a Robot Centipede

Engineer James Bruton loves to build robots with unusual drivetrains. For his latest creation, he designed and fabricated a remote-controlled robot that ambles along on 20 legs, like a giant mechanical centipede. Despite its complexity, it’s quite nimble. Now can we get a version with 100 legs, James?

Experimental Wave Drive Robot

Experimental Wave Drive Robot

A little while back, engineer James Bruton created a robot that moved along the ground using a spiral drive mechanism that rippled its tracks along the ground. In this video, he revisits the concept with a new design that uses a camshaft to create the ripple and propel the tank forward and backward. It walks a bit like a millipede.

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Rock ’em Sock ’em BattleBots

Rock ’em Sock ’em BattleBots

You might remember Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots from when you were a kid. For his Maker’s Secret Santa gift this year, engineer James Bruton made a pair of robots that do battle with their fists. Somebody already knocked their blocks off, though. Stick around to the end to see the fun gift James scored.

Giving Legs Their Snakes Back

Giving Legs Their Snakes Back

After seeing a video by Allen Pan in which he gave a snake legs, engineer James Bruton thought his robotic legs could use a more snake-like motion. So he got to work building a 6-legged robot which incorporates a mechanism he got from LEGO builder Akiyuki. Now he needs to give a snake a ride on it like Allen did.

Omni-Wheel Drift Cart

Omni-Wheel Drift Cart

After building a bicycle that balanced on an omni-wheel, engineer James Bruton wanted to see if he could apply the same mechanism to a drift cart. By mounting the omni-wheel at the back and motorized wheels at the front, the vehicle is able to powerslide with ease while still remaining controlled. Watch part two here.

Voice-Controlled Vehicle

Voice-Controlled Vehicle

Driving a car typically requires a mix of motor skills to steer the wheel and push the pedals. Engineer James Bruton wanted to see if he could make a vehicle that was controlled by voice. The Deepgram speech recognition API and James’ electronic circuits are fairly responsive, but the lag is enough to make for a harrowing ride.

Making an Omni-Sphere Vehicle

Making an Omni-Sphere Vehicle

Engineer James Bruton is fascinated with omni-directional wheels. For this video, he set out to make a vehicle that rolls on three split-hemisphere balls which can move in any direction. He’s since added a seat to it, resulting in what is basically the world’s most powerful office chair.

Omni-Wheel Bicycle

Omni-Wheel Bicycle

An omni-wheel is a unique kind of wheel that can roll backwards, forwards, and slide side-to-side thanks to its multiple smaller wheels. Engineer James Bruton modified a bicycle that Colin Furze had previously hacked and installed a self-balancing omni-wheel on its front fork to see how it handled.

Omni-Directional Ball Robot

Omni-Directional Ball Robot

Inspired by Goodyear’s concept for a ball-shaped tire, engineer James Bruton created a spherical wheel that can roll in any direction. After validating the design, he built a trio of the wheels and attached them to a robot as a testbed for the technology. We’re impressed with the little fella’s agility.

Cardboard Skateboard

Cardboard Skateboard

Usually, you want the deck of a skateboard to be made from wood, fiberglass, or maybe a durable composite. But maker James Bruton wanted to see if he could build one using cardboard. His design takes advantage of the structural rigidity of poster tubes, stacked and glued together to help distribute weight.

DIY Carbon Fiber Skateboard

DIY Carbon Fiber Skateboard

Maker James Bruton is a big fan of 3D printing. In this video, he uses his Lulzbot HS+1.2 heavy duty print head to output carbon fiber reinforced plastic filament to create a skateboard with a unique structure. He then takes it for a spin to see just how strong it is.

The Barcode Guitar

The Barcode Guitar

When it comes to guitars, the strings are one of the most critical elements. But James Bruton built this electronic guitar that’s played not by plucking strings, but by scanning barcodes. It has four necks and uses an Arduino MEGA board to map the scanned data into USB and MIDI signals to control a synthesizer.

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