Samwise Makers' News
Sunday, July 5, 2026
DIY E-Ink Faceplate Gives Valve's Steam Machine a Customizable Face
NaKyle Wright's "Inkterface" project gives Valve's Steam Machine a customizable e-ink faceplate. A 5.83-inch e-ink panel, driver board, LiPo battery, and ESP32 controller sit inside a 3D-printed frame that attaches magnetically via four embedded magnets — no screws, no modification to the Steam Machine itself. Communication runs over Bluetooth, so you can push new images wirelessly from a phone or PC. Both STEP and STL files are included for remixing. A companion app is heading to Steam. The project showcases e-ink's ultra-low power draw and daylight readability as ideal traits for an always-on ambient display that doesn't cut into gaming performance or drain system resources.
Homelab Gets Full Kubernetes Cluster Hidden Inside Vintage Linksys Cases
Justin Garrison built a functional Kubernetes cluster disguised as retro home networking gear. Two Raspberry Pi 5s, two Pi 4s, a GMKtec NucBox M6 Mini with an ASUS GeForce RTX 2060, a LattePanda IOTA, an Nvidia DGX Spark, and an HP Z4 G4 mini PC all live inside gutted vintage Linksys router cases mounted to a patch panel. A TP-Link LS108GB PoE switch handles networking; Talos Linux and Kubernetes orchestrate the cluster. Status LEDs and power buttons remain accessible through original case cutouts. The result: serious compute power wrapped in 2000s nostalgia — and a conversation starter at any homelab meetup.
The Persistent Display We Never Got: STC's 1986 Smectic A LCD Prototype
Jenny List investigates a 1986 BBC Archive clip showing STC's Smectic A liquid crystal display prototype — a technology that offered something standard LCDs never could: genuine bistability. Smectic A LCD molecules can be switched into two stable states — scattering light or passing it — and hold that state without continuous power, like e-ink decades before e-ink existed. The prototype's downfall was its activation voltage: 200 volts, far too high for consumer devices. Mass production never happened and the technology was quietly shelved. It's a window into a fascinating engineering dead end: a persistent display that came tantalizingly close to changing everything.
Disc Polishing Goes Open Source With the 3D-Printed RGR ezBuff
With Sony announcing the end of physical PlayStation disc production in 2028, RetroGameRevival's Dennis has open-sourced a motorized disc resurfacing machine called the RGR ezBuff. Published on Printables as model number 1764306, the design 3D-prints the structural components of an automated polishing rig. Users supply a motor, controller board, and polishing compound. The machine restores scratched discs that would otherwise be unplayable, addressing a growing concern for retro and current-gen physical media collectors. As disc-based games become harder to replace, community-designed resurfacing tools fill the gap left by discontinued commercial units — and keep physical gaming libraries alive.
Run GIMP 0.54 From 1996 on Modern Linux With This New Flatpak
Developer [balooii] has packaged GIMP version 0.54 — the 1996 beta from a time when Windows 98 was still called Windows 97 — as a modern Flatpak installable on today's Linux desktops. Getting it to build required a set of patches; it wasn't a simple recompile. The package bundles period-accurate plugins and tutorials, forming a time capsule of early open-source image editing. GIMP 0.54 ran on the Motif widget toolkit before GTK existed, and sports the multi-window floating UI that later drove single-window advocates to distraction. It's also the first GIMP version with fully surviving source code — making it both historically and technically significant.
DMX-Controlled Stage Clock Has Independently Moveable Hands via Dual-Shaft Stepper
Playful Technology built a large theatrical stage clock with independently controllable hands via DMX — the lighting protocol ubiquitous in live theatre. The key component is a dual-shaft stepper motor with concentric outputs, allowing the hour and minute hands to rotate independently from a single pivot point. An Arduino Mega with a RAMPS shield (the same kind used in 3D printers) drives the steppers; an RS485 module handles DMX communication. Clock hands are OpenSCAD-designed, 3D-printed, and interference-fit directly onto motor shafts. Six DMX channels govern mode, time, manual angle, and rotation speed. The AccelStepper library enables smooth motion, including a shortest-path movement option for snappy theatrical jumps.
Five DIY Solar Air Heating Panels Tested: Screen Beats Steel
Greenhill Forge built and tested five two-square-meter DIY solar air heating panels, comparing designs to find the most efficient approach for off-grid space heating. Solar PV captures only 20 – 30 percent of incoming energy; solar thermal can capture significantly more. All five panels duct sunlight-heated air directly into a living space. The unglazed control panel established a baseline; the remaining four added polycarbonate glazing to enhance the greenhouse effect, each varying air flow around a black corrugated steel absorber. Unexpectedly, panel five — using layers of black window screen instead of sheet metal — outperformed the rest. Each panel costs roughly $100 to build.
Top Crowdfunding
Crowd Supply
1. Modos Flow — 355% funded, $622,136 raised (6 days left)
2. MiciMike Home Mini Drop-In PCB — 1,623% funded, $129,904 raised
3. QuadRF — 232% funded, $232,048 raised (34 days left)
GitHub Trending
Makers & Hardware
1. evanman83/OURS-project — 880★ open-source smartphone
2. jibrilsharafi/EnergyMe-Home — 253★ ESP32 16-ch energy meter
3. botbotrobotics/BotBrain — 214★ open-source robot brain (ROS2)
Upcoming Events
Open Healthware Conference — Jul 9–10, San Francisco (FREE)
Edmonton Maker Faire — Jul 17–19, Edmonton, Canada
Teardown 2026 (Crowd Supply) — Jul 24–26, Portland, OR
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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