Coding and Electronics
In the image above you can see we began by coding and getting all of the electrical components to work cohesively together.
Have you ever wanted to get rid of pesky people in your makerspace? Look no further than making your own 150 psi automated marshmallow gun. Inspired by the idea that our school maker space was not being used properly, so we decided to mount this inside of it to protect it from those that will harm it! User discretion is advised because at close range the marshmallows will leave welts! It is controlled through the Adafruit IO so you can connect to it almost anywhere in the world.
Making Structural ComponentsAfter getting most of the electrical and coding components done. We were initially using a Adafruit Adalogger A0 for all of the coding. We began making the structural components such as the stand and the y axis platform and bearings. As seen below.
In the image below you can see we began working on designing the y axis drive using a belt and two pulleys one attached to the axle of the platform and the drive pulley attached to a stepper motor from a cheap Chinese 3D printer.
To create the actual automated parts, first cut out the cad model, and assemble it with wood glue, then add in bearings with an axle that will act as the pivot point for the Y axis. Before the axle is permanently placed in the bearings, add a platform for the marshmallow gun to rest on. Once complete and glued together, add in the 3D printed gear for the belt that was stolen off a printer with a stepper and a gear. The stepper needs to be mounted manually depending on the length of your belt. To acutely mount the stepper drill five holes, four on the corners for the bolt to slot into the stepper, as well as the last one for the axle of the stepper to fit through. To tighten the belt add in a tightening system in between the gear for the stepper and the connection point for the axle. It can be made out of a wheel from the printer, a well as two laser cut half moon pieces with a hole in it with a bolt and nut that will act as a tightening system.
The X axis will be a little different, starting out with using a CNC router to put in holes for all six bearings to slow down in. Four of the bearings will be on an outer radius with axles of their own. The center will mount two bearings in the piece of wood far enough apart for the axle to set vertically to the surface of the board. It is imperative that the bearings will allow the axle to spin freely. Then with a laser cutter cut out a circular platform that the Y axis part can drop onto. By using a spot where a stepper can have a Lego wheel attached to it so it can roll around on a disk. On the disk you can use the power of flex seal to add grip.
In the image below you cans see a clear image of the drive pulley system mounted to the side of the stand. The PVC gun itself is fairly simple it uses all pressure rated sch 40 pvc. The rear par it made out of a 1 1/4" pvc end cap and length of 1 1/4" pvc pipe with a coupler and female male slip adapter to thread over a 1/2" pvc pipe nipple to thread into the Rain Bird sprinkler valve. The barrel is made of 1/2" pvc pipe T and threaded adapter.
In the image below you can see that we mounted the stand on a turntable with bearings so that it spins 360 degrees.
After trying to make a gear drive system for our x axis turntable we finally found that having a lego wheel attached to a stepper motor on a small trach out side worked the best to drive the x axis.
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