Ben Heck Builds High-Speed Can Cooler in a Thirst-Quenching Episode of element14's 'The Ben Heck Show'

Ben Heck Builds High-Speed Can Cooler in a Thirst-Quenching Episode of element14's 'The Ben Heck Show'

CHICAGO, Feb. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- element14, a collaborative social community and electronics store for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts, and modding guru Benjamin J. Heckendorn, a.k.a. Ben Heck, quench DIY thirst with a custom-built, high-speed can cooler in the newest episode of "The Ben Heck Show" airing today.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110221/CG51103)

"The can cooler idea came to me one hot summer day when all I needed to quench my thirst was an ice cold can of pop...or soda as some people call it," said Ben Heck. "With no relief in sight, I dreamed up the instant can cooler project so no one would ever have to face such a colossal dilemma again."

Ben constructs the cooler using a Peltier module that cools objects, an Arduino Nano coupled with an I2C-bus temperature sensor to control the cooling process, and Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) to start and stop the process. He also uses his trusty CNC router to create the final pieces, including an aluminum heat sink that helps pull the heat from a can. Then it's back to Pinball Wars as Ben works on powering up the flippers of his current pinball project.

"In this episode, Ben tackles the age-old nuisance of warm soda in a way only a techie can," said Alisha Mowbray, senior vice president of marketing, element14. "By utilizing accessible tools and some innovative thinking, Ben proves once again that it's possible to create a logical design solution for a problematic situation."

Over the next few months, show fans can visit element14 to register for a chance to win one of Ben's builds featured on the show.

About "The Ben Heck Show"

"The Ben Heck Show" is a bi-weekly online television series aired in English that's dedicated to the science and art of system and hardware modding with a global audience of design engineers, students and electronic enthusiasts. Sponsored exclusively by element14, each episode spotlights Ben's mods of popular electronic devices while educating viewers on the underlying technology powering each project.

About element14

element14 is the first collaborative community and store for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts offering product data, design tools, technology information, and top brand components to seamlessly facilitate the design process. element14 is sponsored by Premier Farnell plc (LSE: pfl), a leader in multi-channel distribution and specialty services for electronic design engineers, trading throughout the Americas (Newark), Europe (Farnell) and Asia-Pacific (element14).

SOURCE element14

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110221/CG51103
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
element14

CONTACT: US Media, Cheryl Seaberg of Walt & Company, +1-408-369-7200, ext. 2981, cseaberg@walt.com, for element14; or Janice Fleisher of element14, +1-773-907-5941, jfleisher@newark.com

Web Site: http://www.element14.com

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