From the MAKE Flickr pool
Carl gives an old-fashioned marble a shot of electric oomph with this upgrade -
Arduino with motor shield controlling a continuous rotation servo. The wheel turns when marbles are detected by the infrared phototransistor and LED pair next to the wheel.Neat - I'm guessing it would only take a bit more power and leverage to quickly turn this into an 'outdoors only' toy. Check out more project pics in the Flickr set.Full set here, includes Arduino source and demo video.
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Mar 30, 2009 04:00 AM
Arduino, Toys and Games |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email This |
| Digg this!
Oldest comments listed first.
Subscribe to MAKE Magazine!
Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.
$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)
Check out all of the episodes of Make: television
 |
MAKE on Facebook Visit our Facebook page and become a fan of MAKE! |
 |
MAKE on Twitter Follow our MAKE tweets! |
 |
MAKE on Flickr Join our MAKE Flickr Pool! |
Why advertise on MAKE?
Read what folks are saying about us!
Click here to advertise on MAKE!
Gareth Branwyn
Senior Editor
Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
| AIM | Twitter
Becky Stern
Associate Editor
| AIM | Twitter
Marc de Vinck
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
John Park
Contributing Writer
| Twitter
Sean Ragan
Contributing Writer
| Twitter
Matt Mets
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
Dale Dougherty
Editor & Publisher
| Twitter
Shawn Connally
Managing Editor
| Twitter
Goli Mohammadi
Associate Managing Editor
Kip Kay
Weekend Projects
| AIM | Twitter
Collin Cunningham
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
Adam Flaherty
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
More contributors: Mark Frauenfelder (Editor-in-Chief, MAKE magazine), Kipp Bradford (Technical Consultant/Writer), Chris Connors (Education), Diana Eng (Guest Author), Peter Horvath (Intern), Brian Jepson (O'Reilly Media), Robert Bruce Thompson (Science Room)
Weekend Project: Beetlebot
Simple robot from your parts bin that avoids obstacles. Thanks go to Jerome Demers for the original article in MAKE, Volume 12. To download the Beetlebot video, click here or subscribe in iTunes. Check out the complete Beetlebot article...
More...
www.flickr.com
|
www.flickr.com
|
Help | Write for MAKE | Contact Us | Subscribe | Advertise with Us | Privacy Policy| About MAKE | FAQ
© 2009 O'Reilly Media, Inc.
All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing on makezine.com are the property of their respective owners.
RSS
The Arduino is overkill for this application. All you need is a DC motor controlled by a FET that gets activated when the phototranzistor activates because the motor is spinning at a constant speed not varying.
Total parts without motor: 5$
Reply to this comment
I'd be the first to admit that an arduino (or any other micro) might be overkill, but I could see where you would need precise control over motor speed. Too slow would be boring and too fast wouldn't grab marbles, but chuck them around. Plus, you need a way to stop the motor only after the marbles are dumped off of the wheel. A simple 555 timer set up for a one shot would be able to handle that, except you need to, again, get the timing right. After setting up the micro processor and getting the timing right, you can then build the simple 555 + mosfet + voltage regulators to emulate what the micro did, and save the micro for another project. The micro is being used as a test for the final circuit, or else this is a one off design that gets disassembled after you get bored with it.
Reply to this comment