- putting the pushbutton into position & connecting the pushbutton to the circuit board
- stringing together LEDs & connecting them to the circuit board
- adding a piece of wood+delrin to the the front of the cubby buddy that reaches the floor to improve stability
- removing the gap in between the cubby buddy and the back of the cubby
- soldering wires together and find a way to cover them
- sanding down the edges
Vivian figured out how to create strings of LEDs in parallel which Rachel and I worked on the finishing touches on the cubby. In order to light up so many LEDs via one output, we found that they had to be created in parallel. Vivian made small cuts into cut out lengths of wire and soldered on each individual leg of the LEDs. In no time, we had two strings of LEDs! Who needs to buy christmas lights when you can make your own!
While Vivian was making the LED strings, Rachel cut out a u-shaped piece, that attaches to the cubby buddy for support, and glued on a piece of Delrin, that will make sliding the cubby buddy over carpet easier. Next we needed to put the button into position at the back of the cubby. After deciding which side we wanted to place the button, we soldered wires onto the legs of the button. We cut out a grooved piece of wood to hide the wires behind and two small pieces of wood that were to be placed above and below the button. On the side without the button, we added a longer piece of wood to remove the gap between the cubby buddy and the cubby.Since we put together a lot of the cubby and cubby buddy before having thought through all the additional features, we weren't able to drill in screws from the front and had to drill in a lot of holes from the back of the cubby. If we were to create a cubby buddy 2.0, given our experiences, we would definitely rethink the order in which we attached things. In our above scenario, it might be better if we had attached the button to the back of the cubby before attaching the back of the cubby to its sides.
Either way, we now have a working cubby buddy!
While testing the cubby buddy, we found that the button wasn't fully pressed unless the cubby was firmly pushed back into place. To fix this, we added a thin piece of scrap wood to the back of the button, so that it would be propped forward. This helped to make the button more sensitive and properly turn off the LEDs when the cubby buddy was pushed back.
We also soldered our wires onto a smaller circuit board to make the electrical connections more permanent. To hide the mess of wires that is on top of the cubby, we decided to fashion a small box to fit all the components.We also created a small cover to hide the circuit board, so that it would look more pleasing to the eye. We decided not to cover the whole box so that it would be easy for adults to change the batteries if needed, or to unplug the Arduino. If we had more time and a slightly bigger budget, we might consider attaching a top, that covers the whole top, with hinges or via some sort of sliding mechanism.
We then used some electrical tape to cover the wires that extend from the button and the LEDs to the circuit board/Arduino. These final touches gave us a more pleasing overall aesthetic.
I'm very pleased with how our cubby buddy turned out. Our final product is a really good representation/improvement on what I had in mind when we started 4 weeks prior. If given the opportunity to remake our cubby buddy, there would definitely be changes to our design, i.e. placement of the drawer slides and changes to the construction of the cubby/cubby buddy, i.e. order in which we attach pieces. But as a first rendition, I am very pleased with how everything turned out!
In sports related news, the Chicago MLB teams are leading their respective packs, the White Soxs are leading the American League with a 18-8 record and the Cubs are leading the National League with a 18-6 record. The Giants aren't looking so hot with a 14-13 record, but it is still too early in the season to say anything definitively!
No comments:
Post a Comment