30,000 RPM Eraser
“Franklinsteined” pencil eraser spins at 30,000 RPM.
When writing or sketching by hand, you’re bound to make the occasional and/or frequent mistake. If using a pencil, you can turn it around and rub… and rub and rub and rub the errant graphite away, but there is a faster, or at least more automated, method to do so in the form of a motorized spinning eraser. However, creator “Franklinstein” wasn’t satisfied with existing dedicated devices, and decided to integrate an erasing head into his pencil.
This new pencil/automated eraser solves several problems with the dedicated unit. First, it combines everything into one small package, meaning you don’t have to take two implements with you for drawing/correction. Second, it’s much skinnier than the dedicated version. Finally, it’s much faster. This may not be practical since it tends to chew up erasers (and potentially chunks of rubber in your face). However, it does make quick work of on-paper graphite.
The build consists of stuffing a small drone motor into the pencil, along with a battery, button switch, and supporting hardware. The process is outlined nicely in the build video below, which is a nice overview of what’s involved if you wanted to try something like this yourself. Franklinstein shows off the new device versus the old unit at around the 6:30 mark.
Potential future improvements include a new battery charging circuit, and a cleaner button, and he even entertains the idea of using non-eraser implements. He pegs this as a silly idea, but one could potentially make excellent use out of a Dremel tool or screwdriver adapter for such a device.
