Friday Product Post: Seesaw-der
A new LiDAR module, a silicone soldering mat, and a few handy revisions!
Hello and welcome, one and all to another Friday Product Post! This week we have four new products that we are sure you'll love. To start the week off we have the TFMini LiDAR module from SparkX, an insulated silicone soldering mat, a 24V power supply that was once used in our old Shapeoko Deluxe kit, and a much-needed revision to our Johnny-Five Inventor's Kit. We have a pretty full Friday so let's go ahead and jump in!
The TFMini is a ToF (Time of Flight) LiDAR sensor capable of measuring the distance to an object as close as 30 centimeters and as far as 12 meters! As with all LiDAR sensors, your effective detection distance will vary depending on lighting conditions and the reflectivity of your target object, but what makes this sensor special is its size. Measuring only 42x15x16mm, the TFMini allows you to integrate LiDAR into applications traditionally reserved for smaller sensors such as the SHARP GP-series infrared rangefinders. The TFMini is easy to power at only 5V and easy to talk to using a 3.3V UART at 115200 baud.
TFMini - Micro LiDAR Module Hookup Guide
April 13, 2018
The TFMini is a ToF (Time of Flight) LiDAR sensor capable of measuring the distance to an object as close as 30 cm and as far as 12 meters! The TFMini allows you to integrate LiDAR into applications traditionally reserved for smaller sensors such as the SHARP GP-series infrared rangefinders.
Expand your RFID and NFC options for the Onion Omega!
Keeping your workspace clean and well kept has always been somewhat necessary to keep all your possessions well maintained and pristine. With this Insulated Silicone Soldering Mat, you will be provided with the means to protect your desktop, soldering station, or workbench from the superheated tip of a soldering iron! Each mat is equipped with a large working area for all your soldering needs, as well as a plenty of organization "buckets" (one large, three medium, eight small and 56 tiny) for resistors, soldering tips, ICs and other various components. Due to the composition of these mats, they do have a useful temperature range with a maximum of 500°C (930°F).
Does your project need a little more oomph than our wall wart adapters can supply? Why not give this a shot? This 5A power supply outputs 24VDC and is terminated with a center-positive 5.5 x 2.1mm barrel connector.
This power supply was once used in the SparkFun edition of the Shapeoko Deluxe Kit, but has since been phased out. We wanted to make these available on their own, in case you have a project or heavy-duty appliance that needs slightly more power than your other tools.
The Johnny-Five Inventor's Kit (J5IK) is your go-to source for developing projects using the Tessel 2 and the Johnny-Five programming framework. With the J5IK, you will be able to build JavaScript-powered hardware by marrying common software language with powerful hardware. This kit includes everything you need to complete 14 circuits that will teach you how to control and read external sensors and displays, control motors, learn JavaScript and much more. With the J5IK, you won't need any previous programming or electronics experience to use this kit, though if you do possess such skills they will certainly aid you. After using this kit you’ll have the know-how to start creating your own IoT projects and experiments, all thanks to Johnny-Five!
And that's it for this week, folks. As always, we can't wait to see what you make with these products! Shoot us a tweet @sparkfun, or let us know on Instagram or Facebook. We’d love to see what projects you’ve made!
Thanks for stopping by. We'll be back next week with even more fantastic new products!
That power supply looks like a nearly perfect fit for the TS100 soldering iron. Needs a slightly different tip. The TS100 is 5.5mm x 2.5mm where this power supply is 5.5mm x 2.1mm. It might fit, or it might be just a little too tight on the center post. Easy modification though.