Fun With Magnets

Yesterday I showed my piece, the Pasta Cycle, at Sony Wondertechnology Lab. There were big groups of kids who came around and played with it. They invented a game, trying to see who could be the first one to catch one of the magnets as it spins in a circle through the marbles. I had a really good time watching them and playing their game. Click on the bottom image for video.

Pics from the new Pasta Cycle

Pasta Cycle Circuitry Diagram

Click on the image to see the full-size diagram

Re-building the Pasta Cycle

These things look oddly sexual, ay?

I had to redo the drive-shaft mechanism because the gears were skipping. I bought this flexible shaft coupler at a fan store by Canal St. It was a real pain getting the motor shaft and wheel shaft to fit securely into the coupler.

Pasta Cycle – test 1 with Pasta!

Pasta Cycle Movie 1 – Just Pasta

Pasta Cycle Movie 2 – Marbles

Rebuilding the Pasta Cycle

I’ve been having some issues with the gear and motor mechanisms in this project. One of the main problems with the setup is that the motor is transferring the torque indirectly through gears, instead of directly to the shaft. To solve this, I am going to buy a shaft coupling that was two shaft collars and a sliding joint. The shaft collars will be different sizes and the sliding joint will allow for some misalignment. Instead of having to tightly press the two gears together, I can align the motor and the shaft of the wheel and transfer the torque directly. This will also reduce the friction at junction between the wheel shaft and its mount.

Mid-Stage Prototype Photos – Pasta Cycle

Gear and Motor Setup for ‘The Pasta Cycle’

I want to make a 2×2 foot rotating circle as part of my project. I am using a large DC motor with a 12V power supply and a simple gear setup. The motor is connected to an Arduino micro-processor through a TIP120 transistor. I am using a potentiometer to control the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal and drive the motor at different speeds. I got all the gears out of broken inkjet printer. The next thing I have to do is figure out how to drive the motor more slowly, which is proving difficult using PWM. I may try altering the voltage the motor is getting in hopes of slowing it down a bit, and also keeping it running steadily. The PWM is pretty choppy and you can hear the motor turning on and off.