Awesome Motors

The idea of a motorcycle that you can strap on like a suit seems like something a superhero might have in their bag of tricks. But as maker Jake Carlini shows, the ultra-low-rider isn’t the most practical vehicle. Still, we’re impressed with how successful he was at building a wearable motorcycle – and that he didn’t break any bones while riding it.

A fidget spinner shouldn’t make much noise unless there’s something wrong with its ball bearings. In the hands of Jen’s Maker Adventures, these playthings make plenty of sound. That’s because he rigged up a bunch over infrared light sensors and wired them to control an Arduino or MIDI synthesizer. The sounds it makes vary based on how fast each toy spins.

A regular paper shredder chews through a letter-sized sheet of paper in 2 to 3 seconds. CrazyConstructions upgraded their shredder with a 3500-watt motor and external power supply to maximize its speed. Sticking a sheet of paper into this thing is one of those “blink and you might miss it” experiences. He’s also got an extreme pencil sharpener.

Drawing on an Etch-a-Sketch is challenging due to its simplistic horizontal and vertical control knobs. With the goal of presenting at the Open Sauce convention, Every Flavor of Robot put their thinking caps on, engineered a motor drive unit, and programmed it to draw uploaded images. All of the demos at the end are in real-time.

The unofficial frisbee throwing speed record is 89.5 mph, and the furthest a disc was ever thrown was 1109 feet. We Make Machines attempted to beat both of these records with the help of a motorized disc launcher. After developing a mini disc launcher, scaling up the design to throw a regulation disc was significantly more challenging and dangerous.

A while back, we checked out a complicated machine that used LEGO Technic parts to pull a chain around a bunch of gears. That one was built by Brick Technology. Now Brick Machines took the idea and expanded on it with a ridiculously complicated machine driven by a continuous chain built from 1,184 LEGO chain links.

Berlin-based artist Florian Goerlitz makes incredible mechanical artworks that have appeared in large installations and at festivals. This smaller piece is notable because it creates so much movement using just a single motor. Made almost entirely from wooden gears, it has three arms that move around its center, undulating like tentacles on an octopus.

Today’s most satisfying video comes in the form of this clip from the Brick Experiment Channel. Their goal? Create the longest possible chain of 1×1 LEGO Technic gears while retaining the same gear ratio from start to finish. We’re impressed that a single motor can drive that many gears.

Sliding, swinging, garage, barn. There are lots of different kinds of doors. The Brick Experiment Channel shows us how to make various kinds of doors using LEGO Technic parts and how to automate them to open and close with the twist of a dial. That sectional garage door works a lot like a real one does.

While a standing desk is better for your back than a seated one, it won’t help you get any exercise – unless you can walk while you work. That’s the idea behind this Flexispot standing desk modded by Joel Creates. To prove that his motorized desk is a practical workstation, Joel edited this entire video while the desk was in motion.

Think car engines are impressive? Watch and have your mind blown by the enormous B&W 2000 8-cylinder diesel engine as it starts up and its massive pistons move. HD1080ide posted footage of this engineering marvel that was the world’s largest engine from 1933 until the 1960s. It’s now permanently installed at Denmark’s Diesel House.

James from Project Air likes to make things that go fast. Recently, he produced a series of experimental builds to see which method of propulsion would make the fastest possible LEGO vehicle. Which will hit the top speed? Multiple LEGO motors, rocket engines, or a brushless motor from an R/C sports car?

LEGO machine builder Dr. Engine wanted to see how fast he could spin a Minifigure, so he rigged up multiple Technic motors and gears with a goal of spinning the little guy at up to 10,000 RPM. If Minifigs could lose their LEGO lunch, this here would do it.

A hovercraft might sound like a complicated piece of equipment to build from scratch, but Project Air shows us how it’s possible to build one at home using wood, foam board, a plastic tarp, and duct tape. The key to the build is the powerful lift motors. He also had some help from his dad and fellow maker Matt from DIY Perks.

Rapidly spinning objects can result in some cool, Spirograph-like patterns. LEGO mechanical builder Yoshihito Isogawa shows how different arrangements of LEGO Technic gears create different geometric patterns when spun in front of a camera’s lens. It would be interesting to see some larger and more complicated designs.

A Roomba has a top speed of about 1.1 mph. Electrosync knew he could do better. After cleaning out the dirt and dust from a Roomba’s vacuuming duties, gutted the robotic vacuum and installed two high-performance RC car motors. The two-wheeler can spin incredibly quickly, but how fast is it in a straight line?