My first brush with electronics came wrapped in birthday paper. My brother bought me a remote-controlled car, and I was instantly hooked.
By Henry Levine, CEO of Made In Workshop
I loved that little machine more than I should probably admit—until the day I ramped it straight into the swimming pool. The fun ended, but something else began: a fascination with electric motors that’s been with me ever since.
From then on, motors became my thing. I’ve collected them, stripped them, broken them, sold them, and stashed them away for “future projects.” If it buzzed, hummed, or spun, I had to know what made it tick. These days, my guilty pleasure is the humble hoverboard motor.
For those who haven’t dismantled one (yet), a hoverboard hides two powerful little beasts of engineering—motors built directly into the wheels. Compact, efficient, and tougher than they look, they’re fast, strong, and nearly indestructible. Of course, put me on an actual hoverboard and I’d probably end up in traction. But pull out the motors? Now we’re talking.
Sure, YouTube is full of tutorials on how to use these motors, but most are either vague, confusing, or just plain terrible. So I decided to build my own project: a remote-controlled robot.
The frame? Steel—because if you’re going to do it, do it solid. Mounting the motors was easy enough, but the wiring… that was another story. Let’s just say the manual was written by someone who clearly can’t tell their reds from their greens. After a lot of trial, error, and some late-night Googling (and swearing), I finally cracked it.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “Oh, he just used ChatGPT to code it!” And yes, I did. But here’s the deal—AI will happily spit out code, but it’s useless if you don’t know the right questions to ask. That’s where the human part comes in. I was the investigator; the AI was just the assistant. Together, we made it work.
But why stop at one robot? At Made In Workshop—our Makerspace in Johannesburg—we’re turning this into a class. Actually, a whole series of classes. It’s not just about coding. It’s about metalwork (fabricating the frame), design (3D printing parts), and AI-assisted coding.
Who’s it for? If you’ve never touched a tool or typed a line of code, it might feel like diving into the deep end. But if you’ve played around with coding or tinkering before, this is right up your alley. And if this one’s not your thing, don’t worry—we’ve got other classes to get you started.
Because here’s the thing: building a robot isn’t just about the finished product. It’s about solving problems, learning new skills, and letting your imagination run a little wild. And when it’s all done? You get the joy of sitting back, cold beer in hand, watching your creation roll across the floor.
And in my case, that’s exactly what happens—because my robot doesn’t just roll. It delivers my beer.
