How to Finish Your Weekend Projects in One Weekend
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2020
- Discover strategies to finish electronics projects faster, as we design, 3D print, laser cut, and solder an entire custom mechanical keyboard in just one weekend.
Makers and hackers love to jump directly into an idea, but don't realize they're leaving the project to a roll of the dice. With just a bit of strategy, you can maximize your odds of building incredible things, even if all you have is a weekend.
Want to make your own Big Wheel Video Deck? Check the project out on GitHub at github.com/ZackFreedman/Big-W... .
Thanks to my lovely wife/producer Brooke for help filming, editing, and multiplying my facepalming potential.
Licensed material:
"Aw yeah" vocal scratch - SampleFocus
Vinyl rewind SFX - SampleFocus
Slap SFX - www.zapsplat.com
Cuckoo SFX - www.zapsplat.com
VHS static overlay - www.videezy.com - Навчання та стиль
I've updated the Git repo with improved firmware, instructions, a BOM, and a wiring diagram. This project is ready for you to build! Clone, download, or fork at github.com/ZackFreedman/Big-Wheel
Built it! had a free weekend, but it's easier following your guide that doing it for the first time, so, you doing this in a weekend amazes me !!!!
Now to modify the firmware (I wanted it for OBS Studio), and software is my trade, so I guess I can add some improvements that will be my contribution back to the community.
Ah! One detail, there's a typo on the electronics schematic, you state that bottom knob B goes to pin 10, but it should go to 14 (10 is already used by wheel_b) as it's stated on the firmware.
is there a way to get fusion360 for free? I know at one time before they updated their subscription there was an option to use it free? it does not appear that is the case any more
@@DEVUNK88 You can get an educational license for free, assuming you're using the software for your personal projects: www.autodesk.com/education/edu-software/overview?sorting=featured&page=1
@@ZackFreedman Thank you this is the page I have been looking for but couldnt seem to find! Thanks Zack!
@@DEVUNK88 It's my pleasure. Go build something cool!
This channel has some of the most clickbait-looking videos that have turned out to be 100% worth watching that I have ever seen. It's like the complete opposite of Buzzfeed.
Thanks! Hyperbole is pretty much necessary for UA-cam, so I want to make over-the-top videos that live up to the hype.
Yeah I don’t even care about this topic but I’m watching cause I always learn something when I watch Zack
There is this channel with clickbaity thumbnails, it's real... it's all real, but the thumbnails are just in one of the classic clickbait formats
Thanks.
That was a semesters intro to desing in 12 minutes.
Excellent job.
Thank you very much! I wish more engineering schools had prototyping classes; building stuff in a hurry is a different set of challenges than traditional engineering.
I agree, very well made video. I'll actually use these prototyping tricks on the projects I'm currently working on for my study!
@@ZackFreedman I'm a sophomore in Purdue, and every engineering project is kind of rush lol
Desing?
@@BeefIngot he’s studying engineering or design or something, not english
I do however somewhat disagree with zacks mindset of: finish it before a certain time. For harmless weekend projects? Go for it, but for big projects like heavy machinery, ships or buildings, DO NOT DO THAT. Im studying safety and security management and a lot of accidents happen because people are running out of time, corners are cut, stuff goes wrong and people end up hurt or dead
Liked because you are a bro and commented your code and not just threw spaghetti at us
I'll take clean code over spaghetti with tons of comments any day.
@@Mourdraug Yeah, writing summaries is important, but if you need to write a ton of comments that probably means you have block of code that should have been collapsed into new function or method.
@@Mourdraug Not everybody can churn out clean code for a weekend warrior project. Some vague notes about what each bit does is worlds better than most hobbyist projects.
@@oasntet writing an extra line or three for each bit of code instead of writing short, single purpose methods with meaningful name speeds up coding how exactly?
@@Mourdraug probably less thinking. Time spent organising and thinking about names is time spent not typing.
Then again, maybe that doesn't actually have any effect.
"a project that is really rough is better than a project sitting in a box in your back room that you'll finish 'someday'."
THAT'S MY PREROGATIVE OKAY!!! I'm sorry, that one just cut real deep...
i love the philosophy / mindset tips. identifying "finishing" as an overriding design consideration is revalatory! "design for finishing" > "design for manufacture"
Or worse, "design for perfection" or "design for feature completeness". I need to cut most of my unfinished projects down to maybe 25% of their scope so I can just get one dang version finished. Then maybe I can think about V2.
This honestly is great intro vid for any engineers working on a senior project. Two days somes up the plans for the first semester. Research ahead of time, Test as you go, something's better than nothing are prolly the best advice you can have.
- Senior Mechanical Engineer Student, 2021
I came for vague keyboard tech.
I stayed for the beautiful curly haired prince. 👏😤
"...and I had an entire weekend to myself", annnnnd there it is, just gotta find these unicorn weekends.
you cant find a free weekend?
@@tseawell90 Not an entire weekend, there always seems to be other stuff that needs to get done.
You just not have kids or be married lol. Enjoy your freedom.
@@coreyroberts3342 ok whatever
69 yeeee
Good suggestions on project timing and thanks for sharing your designs. I have a few suggestions. 1. Could have used a PCB for the project - if not a custom designed one, then a piece of strip board. 2. Could use much thinner wire to connect between switches. 3. With code comments, write the comments first. Then just write the actual code based on what the comments say that each section should do.
The nice thing about using a PCB (besides faster assembly) is that you have a product when you are done. I have been using Diptrace for my PCB designs for over 7 years. Diptrace gave me far fewer errors than when I used a high-ticket PCB systems costing 20x more! (Besides being more feature-rich , easier to use and no yearly update fee) Concerning code and comments:
The best code has NO comments. Instead of epagab(void); // Eat pizza and grab a beer.... do this ..... EatPizza_And_GrabaBeer(void); no comment needed. I've been programming since the late '60's. The comment thing started as a necessity due to very poor hardware availability (small memory/storage) It has since then, become a bad habit substitute for better code writing.
Writing your project as pseudo code (outline form) is a great idea.
Dude, you've barely started on UA-cam yet you've got some amazing builds and breakdowns. Can't wait til I get to say "I watched him back when...."
"Always make test prints" prevents much plastic waste. I have learned this by trial and error several times, and will probably learn it a few more times before I know it. Thank you for all these wonderfully practical insights.
I find myself coming back to this every couple of months. This is a must watch for new engineers or experienced procrastinators with boxes of unfinished projects like me.
Thanks a lot for making this informative repremand I never knew I needed.
This is one of the best projects I have seen on UA-cam! Even if this was just a weekend project, you still taught applicable lessons for larger projects. The video deck looked awesome and you showed us how to make it too, nice work!
Love the idea of those "inpirational"-guide videos paired with the actual making of. and the fact that you upload your stuff for the rest of the world makes it just more amazing. super glad i found your channel
This is one of the best build videos I've ever seen. You focused on the process, not the knitty-gritty. Sharing this with our engineering students. Thanks for the thought and energy you put into this. you have a bright future on the tubiverse!
I feel like I'm learning things that I never even knew that I should know as rock hard fact and rules.
I think I found one of my new favorite youtubers
Most of it is things that are obvious once you’ve done rapid prototyping. That’s why more job experience = more pay most of the time. 80% of grasping any field of work is knowing how to avoid all the dumb mistakes and have a streamlined workflow.
So many good tips in this. ty. Keep' em coming Zach!
this actually did inspire me to finish a few simple (kinda) projects in my backlog once I get my workspace set back up, as opposed to neglecting the shit stuck in boxes half-finished- from having to pack and move fast af- in favor of fun new things to fuck around with. Thanks a ton for this; much-needed motivation to start my new space off right by finishing what I've already started.
I can't thank you enough for the amount of extra work you put in to explain to us the amount of extra work you put into your project to avoid the amount of extra work you would have to put in if somehting had gone wrong. Thank you !
This was just straight up good advice. I'm not even going to build anything this weekend and I'm already feeling on track.
Love that I found your channel, all your content seems to entertain me enough to put off studying for my exams
What an absolute boss video certainly some keen takeawayslooking forward to jumping into another weekend build sooner rather than later
Hey, really great project and great mindset on how to get things done. Keep the good work!
Dude! I've been looking for your exact channel without even knowing it. Awesome stuff! Looking forward to seeing some more of your videos. Subscribed.
Thankyou for the great videos! Its nice to see how your production quality is getting better each video!
You have some great content tech tear downs, organizing, building, hacking, and project planing advice and motivation to do my waiting projects! I NEED THIS CHANNEL! WATCHED ALL OF THE VIDEOS NOW AND NEED MOAHR!!
Thank you very much! We’re getting better as we get more practice! You want moar, and moar is what you will get!
This not just a tutorial... its a fricking life lesson... with this video, you just sky rocketed into my top 3 best makers in youtube.
As a fellow nerd than loves prototyping, i would really like to see more of the philosophy of making rather than the making itself.
Please do more of this :)
You're an inspiration man. So glad I found your channel! Keep up the good work and can't wait for more vids!
Fantastic job Zack. Also "I got up at the crack of noon" is now my thing 😂Cheers JAYTEE
I really liked this. I really have a hard time finishing my projects (now that I’m actually deciding to build them) and this was helpful. Love the channel!
this is quickly becoming my new favourite channel
Time management tips are something so many channels skip over! Looking forward to seeing more videos like this one!
I freaking love your videos dude! what a good sense of humor. keep making and sharing.
Love the project mate - been something I've been looking into for ages!
This speaks to a project I have coming up. Parts are in place, but my knowledge is light in some areas for it. But instead of starting another never-ending project, I think I can give myself a week (a weekend really won't do). Thanks!
Awesome! That's a good outlook; you'll move faster if you have a goal to hit. Try to break your big idea down into standalone mini-projects that you can combine later - that way, if you run into trouble, you've still finished something usable.
My weekend project is a Datsun 510 that has been off the road for over 2 years. You crushed this dude and these are amazing tips.
Thank you! Good luck!
Very insightful. This little control board is just what i was looking for. Together with your "Make a mechanical keyboard" that's my next learning/making project. Thanks, man. Awesome!
I just found this video and instantly subscribed. Your approach and delivery are awesome.
This is something that I could use but would be totally lost when it comes to coding it.
Look forward to more!
Subscribed. Love that you share your designs and codes. Thank you very much.
I’ve never watched your videos before, and I’ve never done wiring or making a keyboard or anything like that. The tips and tricks and advise on what to look out for can be used in anything!
Only seen two videos, and I had to sub. Seriously impressed with your tinkering and projects!
Thanks so much... a friend just told me about your channel, you're a great source of motivation and inspiration.
I got my first 3d printer (flashforge adventurer 3) 6 days ago, and this channel is by far the 2 best thing to happen to me in the past week!!
I came here from Instructables for the device; I'm staying for the presentation.
Nice work all around!
Great tips, man! I also admire your hard work and ingenuity. More details on writing the drivers would be a plus!
Loved that you added the mistakes and work arounds, trial and error are a big part of my projects 😅
I don't know how you showed up on my feed, but I am happy you did!
Finally finished swapping out and upgrading the motor, speed controller and throttle control on my decade old Razor E300.
Nice! There’s no feeling like finishing a project.
Nice! I like the outline, 'lessons learned', custom captions, & 4x palmface ;)
Awesome project and motivation. While I don't currently edit video (that is something I might do in future), I can definitely see the possibilities of make ng my own keypad for hotkeys.
Also, love your "wake up at the crack of noon", and *drops it* and immediately saying, 'it's fine, everything's fine"
This was an awesome video! It really got me motivated to start a weekend project of my own!
Wow this is amazing!! Electronics are not my thing, but watching this makes me wanna try!! Thanks for teaching us all of this!
You inspired me to build my own speakers! They’re not mathematically perfect, but I wanted to hone my woodworking/soldering skills, and I finished the first one yesterday! Keep up the good work❤️
Did not understand a single word, stayed for the fantastic show. A true nerd really funny with good tips on how to organize oneself, etc. This channel should go viral soon.
i always enjoy your videos, thanks dude!
This was a great video and I really appreciate lack of any music and the serious and concerned tone, I really enjoyed and learned through this, Thank you Zack!!
I wish this video would have been up before I started my channel. Loved the tips, mate. Amaizing work and amaizing project! I will build one for myself! 👍
"It's worth putting in more work to reduce your rework"
This is probably the most motivating line I've heard in quite some time.
Your jokes are far too good, and you casually slip them past each time. Pure quality.
honestly, I don't know anything about sautering or coding, but this is the best video I've seen about the mindset of getting projects done.
I really like your advice about test fits and redundant screws. That part about soldering the diodes backwards was hilarious.
I made a similar macro "keyboard" for 2D animating. It's 4 dip switches and 1 encoder so far... because that's the bare bones that I need.
I've been using it on a breadboard for 6 months since I can't be bothered to make it look good. Eventually I'll finish designing a slim keyboard with 3 encoders and custom dampers to silence the downstroke AND upstroke of the mechanical keys.
Bro you definitely fired me up. Project time management is key.. thanks for the reminder
I tend to take on larger projects (4-6 weekend stuff), but this is still great advice. I used to come into the weekend and think "I'll just finish what I can this weekend."
Now I have a plan by Friday about exactly what I want to do by Sunday evening. I'm better at estimating my time, get more done, and manage to put my tools away each weekend instead of leaving them out because "I'm still using that."
I’m learning so much from your work, love what you do!
Man, that's awesome! It kinda remember me everytime I use ZOOM and have to use hotkeys to control the mic, de camera on/off and some other little s...t.
I have ADHD and these tips will apply to a lot of my 4 month long “weekend projects”. The bees in my head and I appreciate you! Stay awesome!!
When you dropped it and reflexively said "everything's fine", I felt that.
Great video, Zack! Thank you for sharing!
I love it, more please. I want more insight into your methodologies. I’m rethinking how I build to be faster like you.
I... this was incredibly relatable and inspiring at the same time.
thanks for this.
keep coming back to this video it is great!
I like the planning suggestion and that you did the paperwork early on. How I do my studies too, read requirements a day or two before I go to put pen to paper and sleep on it. After a day of rest or two depending on the problem, the solution practically writes itself. Had you skipped the paper diagram and brainstorming, who knows how many extra days or weekends you would have spent on this project. Very cool project and great advice.
This was so cool! Thanks for the video. Not sure I'll ever do this project but I loved the 'how to outline a project and finish' theme
That's what it's there for! I have a few more 'getting things done' episodes, and you've just reminded me to make a playlist.
This is great! I feel inspired to buckle down and bang out my project to create a servo actuated attachment for the deadbolt on my door so I can unlock it just by joining my WiFi network.
thanks for the vids, really helped me focus, keep it up please!
i clicked to watch you build it and i stayed because you taught us how to build a weekend project not just this specific thing. (i may or may not have an unfinished RC boat behind me right now)
Stop the callouts!! I'll finish that project!
Always nice to see another ergodox user out there! I'm a month in and finally getting used to it.
"I gotta get this done by sunday evening, if i wont project will end up sitting in storage room for ever" Huh? Never had this issue. Sure some of my projects are years old and not finished, but that is more of lacking funds to get all needed parts or need to make tool projects to get those steps done. Thankfully i sometimes over time manage to get needed parts for free being patient and keeping my eyes open.
It's so great being able to just will things into existence, able to just order parts, print stuff and yeah.
This project is actually pretty tangible to me, had same issue of editing a 2hr+ long video and it was a pain to scroll right.
The USB interfacing is something I have to do at some point but interfacing with an IMU is next on my list after some CV madness.
So good! I want try this project, now. And I actually need one of these.
Very good project, excellent as the steps and stages are detailed, above all it is appreciated that you comment on the successes and errors that were detected in the course, especially knowing in the short time that everything was achieved, thank you very much for sharing it with everyone . sorry for my bad writing, I'm still learning English. Greetings.
I didn't expect so many great tips in one video.
I am in the process of making a keyboard, absolutely love you!
Awesome vid. Perhaps a chat on iteration in the future would be good; calling a finished weekend project a successful prototype and iterating (multiple times) over a longer project period. There are always improvements to make.
Pretty solid advice for hackathons too. Throw in travel to another university and turn-in deadline by Sunday noon, and pretty much no one attempts hardware projects. Of course, that's what makes the hardware projects that much more impressive.
Oh, yeah. Hackathons were the crucibles where I really tightened up my process. I love making hardware at hackathons; it relieves a lot of the pressure to build a gorgeous UI, and sponsors love the photo ops.
@@ZackFreedman Haha yes they really do. Good stuff man, I'll show this video around when the next hackathon happens.
Your advice is applicable to many more things than prototyping. E.g., just finishing a song based on a self-imposed deadline is infinitely better, than trying to make it perfect and never releasing it as a result.
I just found your channel and i LOVE your content!! :D
Holy shit I was designing something very similar to this for use in Resolve. Thank you for doing the hard work sir!
Love this video. Been working on building this steering wheel to play cyberpunk. Needed something like this to help get me on a timeline
At the crack of noon! Exactly how I like my project weekends!
This is so dope. I wish I wasn't so hesitant with coding to learn how to do this myself. I would love to make my own controller. Appreciate the inspiration.
Reminds me of that time last semester when me and my friend designed, built, coded, tested and documented an MPPT solar charge controller in two days. Exactly the time we had left before the project was due, what a coincidence :)
Some excellent advice, very well-presented.
This is excellent. I have just built my multisensor (pretty ceiling mount thing with ESP32, various sensors, ventilation for temp sensors, adjustable baffles for PIR to block certain angles etc...) - NOT a weekend project! Spent way too long modelling the nubs that lock the sensor housing onto the backplate (like 5 days of testing and printing) and almost ran out of steam, tonnes of testing for various sensor holders, pretty patterns for ventilation holes, projected onto cylindrical sides... eugh! Tried to cram the whole lot into a 40mm deep housing and almost failed. Problem is that I'm a perfectionist and it does not come as second nature what you said about "a rough job is better than no job"! I'm still going at it. Anyway your video was highly relatable and applicable to me and my projects too - so I will try to take note of your points and work on them next time. (If interested, theres a vid on my channel showing my sensor after first prototype)
8 months later im watching this while working on some new projects... Definitely going to get going on these 😈 Thanks!
This is resonates with programming work to me. Like 100% what every two weeks feels like with my team.
I have wanted to build a custom keypad like this for a long time. Your video made me order the parts and i'm getting started today.
All right! Good luck!
great suggestions on project managment for weekenders.
I really loved the mindset on how to get things done. I have the bad habit of overengineering projects and this mindset of DONE OR THASH could really help me. Thank you 😄