I recently needed to get a fix, it’s been a while since I built anything (physical). I’ve been pretty active with software, thanks to AI, but my long tenure of building prototypes and tinkering with electronics has been on vacation. We’ve continued to build and improve upon our smart edge technology, however Pete and Kevin have been doing most of the heavy lifting.
I decided to dust off my automation wall, a project I had started quite some time ago, and then left to gather dust. It’s based on our HMI Edge Device, all the assorted Moxa and related products with a special feature. An electro-mechanical testing bed using pneumatic actuators, a stepper motor, a rotary encoder and numerous sensors. I’ve nicknamed it “monstrosity” and I’ll never forget the first time I shared a picture with my team. I think I got at least one “what the hell is that?!”
Monstrosity 1.0
Fair question. It might be evident but I do enjoy building stuff. If you look back to ~2012 you will even see some early proof of concept work I did with Arduino devices with sensors and the CIMCO Software API. Or in 2016 when I built a Arduino controlled PDU (Power Distribution Unit). That all led to taking Mechatronics courses and the (I wish!) famous IoT Keurig at Westec. So it was not the first time as you might imagine I had heard “what the hell is that!”.
Interestingly, today after dusting the monstrosity off and connecting it to our HMI so I could bug Pete for a new interface, I realized the direct impact of several of the components in monstrosity, that were new to me when I built it. That led to connecting a lot more dots in my tinkering, that really were more like a path of breadcrumbs leading from something simple to a significant opportunity or new way to approach a big problem.
Those breadcrumbs led to some very impactful and significant projects we’ve done in the last four years. The willingness to take a machine, any machine and a customers “need” and figure out a way. As a casual observer they might see us as lucky, and they wouldn’t be wrong, but we also created our own luck.
Bringing it all home, I find myself feeling peace and a surge of creativity, so I rode the wave home to write this in the hope it reminds you of a hobby or activity that might provide a path of breadcrumbs to something you’re proud of in your life today. Or maybe rekindle excitement about an activity you have missed but have not nudged yourself back to enjoy again.
