DIY HDD: As any pc fanatic will attest, being within the pc enterprise for just a few years often means accumulating a pile of spare elements and {hardware} parts. Outdated arduous drives could be repurposed as extra storage in newer programs, and even remodeled into artistic modding tasks with just a few additional items and a little bit of soldering, after which there’s this.
One such modder, who enjoys tinkering with electronics and PC {hardware}, turned a retired arduous disk drive right into a customized disc sander. Not too long ago featured by Tom’s {Hardware}, the mission makes intelligent use of the 7200 RPM velocity of an outdated WD HDD, together with just a few extra parts and a few primary instruments.
The creator, often called “ProShorts 101,” used a WD Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS drive, relationship again to 2009 and providing what was then a lavish 160GB of storage. To finish the construct, he included a 30A digital velocity controller, a servo tester, a 12V socket, and sandpaper, which he glued to the HDD’s spinning disc.
The modder disassembled the arduous drive, eliminated the PCB and different parts sometimes present in a functioning drive, and put in the brand new elements. He even reused a number of the authentic steel casing to defend the interior elements, leaving solely the rotating disc uncovered. Lastly, sandpaper was glued onto the metallic disc floor, finishing the “transportable” disc sander.
As somebody recommended within the video feedback, ProShorts might have improved the design by utilizing Velcro as a substitute of glue. This might permit for simple substitute of worn sandpaper sooner or later. Others praised the ingenuity of repurposing a (presumably) non-functional arduous drive into one thing helpful.
Disc sanders are available in varied sizes, shapes, and value ranges, and buying a high-quality one typically requires a big funding. Whereas an HDD-based sander will not grind heavy-duty metals or enable you construct a home, it could possibly be “ok” for some private, smaller scale tasks.
ProShorts 101’s DIY creations embody quite a lot of testers and digital devices. He clearly has a ardour for remodeling on a regular basis objects into new, useful “toys” although we discovered that the overuse of phrases like “wonderful,” “unimaginable,” and “helpful” makes looking his YouTube channel a tad bit bothersome.