May 19: applications and implications
Week Seventeen
Assignment
Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered, answering:
What does it do?
- It is a game that opens up a bottle, the cap then sets off a sensor which then turns on the neopixels which are inside the tubing that the cap then falls down.
Who's done what beforehand?
- There is a game called plinko which is my main insperation as well as a member at my work who made one. They dont have the lighting effect or the shape which I have taken from bagatelle but the main concept was taken from plinko.
- Here is a link to my final project page explaining the other games that have been done before.
What did you design?
- I designed the main body of the piece, the framing that goes around the board via fusion and used plywood on the laser cutter.
- The circuit board I altered Luiz's Bueno board to fit the sensor and the neopixels
- I brought the bottle opener, the acrylic, the neopixels (I altered their length) and the side glow fiber optic.
What materials and components were used?
- Bottle opener - link
- Side glow fiber optic 3 mm - link
- Neopixels 45 - link
- Laser cut plywood 3 mm - link
- Laser cut plywood 0.8 mm - link
- 1kg grey PLA filament - link
- Acrylic tubing 6 mm - link
- Acrylic sheet 3 mm - link
- Ultrasonic distance sensor - link
- Ronseal oak satin wood stain 250 ml - link
- Ronseal wood filler natural - link
Where did they come from?
- Bottle opener = eBay
- Side glow fiber optic 3 meters / 3 mm = eBay
- Neopixels 1 meter / 60 LEDs = Amazon
- Laser cut plywood 3 mm / 400 x 600 - x3 = Hobarts
- Laser cut plywood 0.8 mm / 400 x 600 - x1 = Hobarts
- 1kg grey PLA filament = shop.3dfilaprint
- Acrylic tubing 6 mm / 490 mm - x3 = Simple plastics
- Acrylic sheet 3 mm / 400 x 600 mm x1 = simple plastics
- Ultrasonic sensor = The Pi Hub
- Ronseal oat satin wood stain = B&Q
- Ronseal wood filler natural = B&Q
How much did they cost?
Pre made items
- Bottle opener = £4.50
- Side glow fiber optic 3 meters / 3 mm = £4.30
- Neopixels 1 meter / 60 LEDs = £9.99
- Ultrasonic sensor = £2 (with no postage)
Materials
- Laser cut plywood 3 mm / 400 x 600 - x3 = £7.56
- Laser cut plywood 0.8 mm / 400 x 600 - x1 = £8.40
- 1kg grey PLA filament = £17.95
- Acrylic tubing 6 mm / 490 mm - x3 = £14.07
- Acrylic sheet 3 mm / 400 x 600 mm x1 = £14.87
- Board = around £3
- Ronseal oak satin wood stain 250 ml = £10
- Ronseal wood filler natural = £19
What parts and systems were made?
- Arch and moulding - from 3d filament PLA and plywood
- Tubing - from acrylic tubing
- Circuit board - from Luiz Bueno board
- Framing - from plywood
- Length of neopixels
What processes were used?
3D Printing
- Arch and the moulding
- Designed these on fusion 360
Laser cutting
- Main body - back with the square and the front with the circles
- Framing - sides and the base
- Acrylic cover
- Designed these on fusion 360 then moved it to inkscape to cut on our laser cutter
Cutting
- hand cut with a jig the arcylic tubing
- Made the jig in fusion 360
Electronics
- Took apart and resoldered the neopixels so they would be the correct length for behind the wholes
- Used Luiz board (see week14) and adapted it to work with my project
- Soldering the compoenents onto the board
- Used Eagle to alter Luiz board so that it could take my pinouts.
What questions were answered?
Bottle opener
- What angle does the cao need to go? - can it just be flat against the back?
- What is the correct type of bottle opener?
- Could I make my own bottle opener?
- What look am I wanting for my bottle opener?
Arch
- How am I going to attach the arch to the main body?
- What is it going to be made from?
- What is the best way to make the arch?
- What is the best way to cover up the joint between the frame and the arch?
- What style of moulding will go with my project?
- What final am I going to give the moulding?
Frame
- Is the bottle cap going to be sensored by the ultrasonic sensor everytime?
- How is the game going to be mounted on the wall?
- How far away should the acrylic be from the bottle opener?
- How deep does the back need to be for teh electronics?
Tubes
- How close do the tube need to be before the cap doesn't fit?
- How long should the tubes be?
- How are they going onto the main face?
Electronics
- Does the sensor need to be so close to the cap?
- How are the neopixels going to hold to the back of the board?
- How are they going to be porgrammed?
- How does 'delay' work with neopixels?
- Does the sensor work with the cap falling past it?
What worked? What didn't?
What worked?
- The cap falling down the acrylic tubing works very well.
- Adding the moulding to the arch worked well in hiding the join
- Laser cutting the side parts and then glueing them together worked well to get the precision and finish I was looking for.
What didn't?
- Arch - Trying to form the arch around the form I made did not work, I ended up 3d printing the arch as this held the shape better.
- My first design with no frame looked very different and I by adding the frame around the piece made it look more finished as a piece.
- I had to make the tubing longer as the cap would get stuck between the acrylic cover and teh back board.
How was it evaluated?
- It it used as a bottle opener rather than other bottle openers
- It is left on display to be used as well as being aesthestically pleasing when not in use
- The neopixels turn on when the cap falls and not before
- People are surpriced when it starts to light up
- The cap moves down the tubes in a pleasing way and is random every time.
What are the implications?
- It will be used every now and then by my house mates and friends, when they come over and need a bottle opener. It will bring entertainment to the people who will be using it as well as being practical and something intersting to look at as it will be on display. Therefore I have made it look like it should be dosplayed in a pub to help me understand the final aesthetics of the game.
Aims for your final project
- Prepare a summary slide and a one minute video showing its
conception, construction, and operation
- Your project should incorporate 2D and 3D design,
- additive and subtractive fabrication processes,
- electronics design and production,
- embedded microcontroller interfacing and programming,
- system integration and packaging
- Where possible, you should make rather than buy
the parts of your project
- Projects can be separate or joint, but need to show individual
mastery of the skills, and be independently operable
- Present your final project, weekly and group assignments, and documentation
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