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What was your biggest project Disaster? We are asking e14 in our Join, Share & Win Competition

e14phil

Calling all makers, engineers, and tinkerers!
We are back for a second, and more SPOOKY month, asking you about your projects, spaces and adventures in engineering!
Last month we asked you about your workbench tips RE: What are your Tips for an Organized Workbench? [Ask e14 - Join, Share & Win Competition] September 2025 

This month we want to know about the biggest project disaster you have experienced. 

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Photos: Historically "accurate" engineering accidents.  

Competition
Join the element14 Community today and take part in our latest “Join, Share & Win” challenge.

It’s simple:
1. Register (or Login) for FREE
2. Answer this question by adding a reply / commenting:

What was your biggest project Disaster?

3. Be in with a chance to WIN!

Share with us your best (hopefully lighthearted) watercooler story of how that one project sank, fell over or failed to start!

The Community Judge team will select our 3 favorite answers to win one of the prizes below. 

Here’s what you could win:

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Arduino Uno R4 Minima

General Terms
What: Win 1 of 3 Arduino UNO R4 Minima
How: Sign up  or Sign in and Comment your answer to What was your biggest project Disaster?
When: Before October 31th 2025. 
Anything else: Full terms are below, but we must be able to ship to the address in your account. 

Entries close October 31st, 2025, so don’t wait!

Terms & Conditions
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  • Lack of knowledge about microcontroler, linear regulator , decoupling and bypass capacitor. which lead to faliure in understanding why seven segment display is giving weired  information on the display.

  • image
    Huh! Have you guys invented a time machine already?
    XD

  • I work prety carefully with electronics, so I do not have much disasters. The most expensive disaster was connecting 12V to 3.3V rail of gesture sensor I worked with as part of Experimenting with Gesture Sensors design challenge and I wrote blog about that  Blog #8: 12V Accident 

    Remaining accidents which ahppened to me are minor accidents like losing tiny SMD components, mechanically cracking tiny LEDs when making  Christmas Card with Lights and Sound , etc.

  • in reply to balajivan1995
    balajivan1995 said:
    Have you guys invented a time machine already?

    There was a Project14 theme on 'time travel' in the future. Slight smile

  • I have a tendency to erase disasters from my memory, but I can still recall a few times when things didn't go as planned....

    One time I tested a new 3-D printer using the supplied example file, not realizing it was set up to print ABS plastic. I printed with PLA and the part got so severely stuck to the build plate, I had to use a chisel to get it off.

    Here is a video about my dubious attempts to use thermal toner transfer methods to transfer laser printed labels to 3D printed parts...

    https://youtu.be/Arpy_gVCfEE

    Another time I had removed the clip from the end of my scope probe so I could probe some small pad, but I dropped the probe on the probe pin, which broke the pin off - I had no trouble remembering some choice expletives on that occasion.

  • in reply to misaz

    HAHA, OH no the self fulfilling prophecy.  Updated. 

  • My worst "disasters" aren't really that bad in retrospect:

    1) building a linear power supply I had designed, but reversing the polarity of all the electrolytic caps when I assembled it. They all swelled up and leaked... The worst part (I was like 15 at the time) was the substantial dent replacing them all made in my meager savings (cost something like $20 in 1970s money and the second most expensive part of my project). But I learned my lesson and always double-check polarities now.

    2) plugging in a 7400 series chip reversed. "Ping!" as it blew a hole in the middle of the casing and tossed a wedge of plastic across the room. I felt fortunate my eye wasn't in the way, since I had been staring at the board when I turned on the power.

  • My most embarrassing moment was a little glitch that snuck into my software design for my FLIR control on a search and rescue helicopter.

    I inadvertently used the same variable name for two different functions. One of which was used to compute the position of the FLIR.

    So randomly, the FLIR drive would go wild and move the FLIR in weird directions for a while.

    It wasn't until training when I walked through the code for a customer that we found it.

    The fix was easy and I sent him home with a new set of ROM's to plug in.