Keep in mind fidget spinners? Earlier than they grew to become a large hit as a fad toy, they served a objective that was proper there within the title: fidgeting. Many individuals — particularly neurodivergent individuals — discover that fiddling with small, tactile widgets might help to alleviate sure signs, like anxiousness. Fidget toys fill that market area of interest and fidget spinners had been only one instance that occurred to realize reputation within the mainstream. However Chad Kapper at Hack Make Mod wished a fidget toy that might additionally serve a helpful objective, so he constructed this useful handheld digital unit converter.
Unit conversion is one thing we all know nicely in america. Nearly the whole thing of the world makes use of the smart metric system, whereas we insist on hanging onto the quirky imperial system. Anybody who performs any form of development or engineering work will probably must convert measurements between the 2 — or just from one metric unit to a different. Kapper’s DIY Unit Converter is a devoted machine that makes that course of simple, whereas additionally doubling as a fidget toy.
The operation is extremely easy. Aside from a rocker swap for energy, the one management interface is a rotary encoder. When the machine activates, the consumer can flip the rotary encoder knob to pick out a class (like size or mass) and click on to pick out it. They’ll they do the identical to pick out a selected unit pair (like kilometers to meters). Lastly, yet another flip of the knob lets them choose the measurement. The interface and outcomes present up on a no-nonsense 128×64 OLED display screen.
The mind of the machine is a NodeMCU D1 Mini-style ESP8266 growth board. That is perhaps barely overkill, since this doesn’t require an web connection or a lot processing energy. However these boards are very inexpensive. The battery is from a disposable vape, whereas the rotary encoder and OLED are generic parts.
The 3D-printable enclosure is a pleasant design with loads of bodily particulars to supply tactile sensations. And we’re certain that the rocker swap and knob are satisfying to fidget with in-between conversions.