Grady Koch – författare

​Build functioning wind turbines that generate electricity; we don’t mean LEGO models that look like miniature wind turbines. This book is for people who want to learn how real turbines work, and to build them using LEGO and Mindstorms EV3. You’ll find specific instructions on building, links to parts purchasing, distillation of complex science ideas into practice, and pointers for trying something new. With the knowledge you gain here, you’ll be able to compete in turbine design competitions, such as the KidWind Challenge, Collegiate Wind Competition, and locally organized contests. Examples are given that fit within the KidWind Challenge, including adherence to rules of the competition such as that a specific generator be used.The complexity of making a wind turbine a can make it difficult to know where to start. This book addresses many aspects of the turbine with practical examples. You'll follow specific design instructions for turbine construction, supported by suggestions and background science to go in new directions. Assembly diagrams are used throughout, made with the Studio utility from bricklink.com. Parts are identified in the assembly diagram, as well as in parts lists in the Appendix.What You'll LearnBuild a turbine from scratchUse LEGO to learn aspects of electrical engineering, such as loading turbine output and impedance matchingConnect a generator to do useful things such as charging a battery or powering LEDs See how generators, gear systems, aerodynamic blades, lab and outdoor testing, and power output are used.Who This Book Is ForAdult fans of LEGO and hardware hackers. Also coaches or students involved in a school science/technology project or design competition.

Push into new fields of technology using LEGO and Arduino with the projects in this Cookbook. MINDSTORMS EV3 inventions don’t have to be confined to LEGO factory-made sensors. Incorporate a wide range of sensors, displays, LED arrays, actuators, and even a smartphone into your creations. Add amazing capabilities to your LEGOs by building things such as a metal detector, long-range lidar, audio spectrum analyzer, weather station, and a smartphone. Step-by-step instructions bring these new devices to life. You’ll work with the reliable and inexpensive Arduino UNO to take your projects even further and make them truly smart. Learn to set up and program your Arduino UNO. Then learn data communications protocols (I2C, SPI, and PWM) to link sensors to the Arduino. A variety of data communications techniques are also demonstrated on passing data between the Arduino and the MINDSTORMS EV3 Intelligent Brick. Equipped with these new tools, LEGO inventors can build vast new capabilities into their designs. What You'll LearnInterface new sensors, devices, and communications with LEGO Mindstorms EV3Work with communication protocols of pulse width modulation (PWM), I2c, and SPIConvert pulse width modulation to analog voltage with resistor and capacitor componentsWho This Book Is ForTech savvy fans of LEGO projects and hardware hackers. Also coaches or students involved in a school science/technology project or design competition.

LEGO Mindstorms and SPIKE Prime are great products with vast capabilities, but are often so complex that many people don’t know how to use them. LEGO provides a walk-through of a few projects to build, which are cool, but after building these many people get stuck on “now what?” This book answers that question by showing the underlying principles required to build their own ideas.This book is a hands-on tour of how machines work with LEGO—there’s nothing like building a machine with your own two hands to understand how it works. It includes aspects of software engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. As parts and associated engineering concepts are presented, they will be shown in their practical use with graphical step-by-step assembly instructions. The concepts conveyed are mostly learned through building examples, with text explanation to reinforce the ideas being learned. Every engineering concept has a building example to go with it, in a quick build of less than 15 assembly steps. At the end of each chapter there’s a project to tie the concepts of the chapter together of a little more complexity, involving 15 to 30 steps.  These assembly steps are drawn with a computer aided design program that looks like the diagrams that LEGO produces for its products, so readers will be familiar with the look of the assembly directions. What You'll LearnLayout a Word Blocks or Python computer program from scratchSee how LEGO building elements are meant to be assembledManipulate the power source of a rotating shaft from an electric motorUse gears to alter the speed and torque of a power trainChange the motion from a rotating shaft to a desired action Basic mechanisms (turntable, differential, cam, ratchet, etc.) to Use sensors (motion, distance, light, color) to make interactive inventionsIntegrate mechanical, software, and electrical subsystems in a projectWho This Book Is ForThe knowledge presumed in this book is basic familiarity in building with LEGO, having past experience with building a set of moderate complexity of more than a 100 pieces.  Basic familiarity with operating a personal computer is also assumed, such as to install an app.  Likely interested readers are: LEGO fans looking for ways to build new and better inventions, middle-school and high-school age students who have an interest in science, math, and engineering, adults who like to learn how things work and tinker with inventions, and educators who use the SPIKE Prime set and are looking for new ideas for lesson plans.