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FrozenGate by Avery

My DIY Spirograph






AP_Digital_light said:
[quote author=nikokapo link=1206759763/15#15 date=1207464326]
i should start researching on how to build a liquid sky....is it really that simple? one motor and a piece of a cd?

...and lots of smoke or ... dust ;-)

[/quote]


ha!
then i have to make a haze machine first :P
 
wow this is awesome! i wanna make one!
i know spirograph's are easy to make but is there some guides here on the forum on how to make them? im searching but no luck, ill keep looking.

which is better, to use PC fans or hobby motors?

EDIT: actually while im at it, are there guides for all the other ones? like liquid sky? and whatever else there is lol.
 
mikeeey said:
wow this is awesome! i wanna make one!
i know spirograph's are easy to make but is there some guides here on the forum on how to make them? im searching but no luck, ill keep looking.

which is better, to use PC fans or hobby motors?

EDIT: actually while im at it, are there guides for all the other ones? like liquid sky? and whatever else there is lol.

i suggest you get some nice motors instead of case fans.

there should be a guide somewhere, but it is really not very difficult, just set up the motors similar to how i did and you will get it working.
if you wanna use 3 motors (better), just put the other one in the same angle as the first one but receiving the beam from the 2nd mirror..

then, as i gathered some information from this thread,
the best thing to do is to get surface mirrors or some acrylic reflecting surface. but with motors you are not gonna have problems with weight.

the most "difficult" thing (because it just takes a lot of time) is building the structure because you will need to figure out how to hold the motors in place and such.


in addition, use a potentiometer (500kOhm at 12v. from a power supply should be good) for EACH motor so you can vary speed.

hope it helps. :)
 
thanks nikokapo and rog8811!
so it looks like all this stuff im able to get at any hobby store.. I should have one built within the next week.
Is there any way i can go about using a wall plugin as my power source?

o yeah and what different results will i have if 1 motor is spinning a different direction?
 
you just get different patterns (as somebody posted on another video, you get like inverted shapes, dunno how to describe it).

if you dont want to use a power supply you can power it with batteries, but it will not last too long for the use you're gonna give it (if you're gonna power the laser as well with the same batts)..if not...well..PSU ftw :P
 
nikokapo said:
you just get different patterns (as somebody posted on another video, you get like inverted shapes, dunno how to describe it).

if you dont want to use a power supply you can power it with batteries, but it will not last too long for the use you're gonna give it (if you're gonna power the laser as well with the same batts)..if not...well..PSU ftw :P
so im guessing i would need to buy a motor that goes the oppisite direction? or is there a way to add a switch that does this?
 
no,
motors are controlled by the polarity they receive

for instance

you have this motor:

O
| |
A B

A is one of the terminals, B is the other one

imagine you put + to A and - to B
then it would (imagine!) rotate to the right

if you, instead, put - to A and + to B, then it'd rotate in the opposite direction: right.

so you dont need to buy another motor, just invert polarities, that's why there was a member from the forums that added a "invert polarity" switch, it just modified the polarity of one of the motors ;)



(if it is unclear, ask again i'll try to explain better)
 
Just sn FYI, you can't make PC fans spin in the other direction. You'd have to get some motors similar to what you find in CD/DVD players.
 
quote from mikeeeey's PM (he sent me one about this project)

"so im gonna get the 2 (or 3) motors, and mirrors, sometime this week.
is a potentiometer also avaible at a hobby store? or would i find that at radio shack or something?

and lastly, i really dont know much about electronics (i wish i knew a lot more), so i dont know what the polarities or terminals are in a motor (or switch?)."


he was afraid to ask this one the forums
but i told him he shouldnt be afraid of asking anything, that's what the forum is.

so i'm gonna explain to him graphically how to build a spirograph
(i thought i'd do it here so anybody else who has questions can see how it's done....at least the way i did it)


SORRY ABOUT THE PIC SIZE!but i wanted it to be as clear as possible, so it's 1600x1200

spirographsetupse6.png



here's the link to the pic if you cant see it completely:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3435/spirographsetupse6.png





ok,

the two silver thingies i think you know, they're the MOTORS.
the two thingies on the bottom, that have like a STICK are the potentiometers.

if you're gonna go to radioshack ask for 500Ohm potentiometers if you're gonna use a 12v. power supply

as you can see, i placed a 9V battery (on the image) so you could understand the battery terminals (power supply have + and - also).

the potentiometers will vary the motors' speed when you turn the STICK (yes, you can turn them, they'll vary the resistance and will let more/less voltage depending on how much you turn them).

i've added the + & - symbols so you don't have any problems connecting everything.

you should just know that everything starts from + and goes to -.

THE MOTORS ARE IN PARALLEL so you get the same amount of voltage on each motor. the current will be divided into each motor.


here you have a 2 motor setup, you can add a third motor and connect it the same way (parallel) with another potentiometer.



sure you can use a power supply instead of a battery. i encourage you to do so....a 12v. PS would be ok (remember, 500Ohm pots.)

you can add an ON switch if you want....(it should go from the battery's + to the cable, so it interrupts everything from starting ;))



make sure you build a GOOD structure for the motors, you dont want them to be falling or vibrating too much....also, you HAVE TO GLUE THE MIRRORS PROPERLY!!! you dont want any mirror flying to your eyes (not yours....maybe your enemy's eyes...but well...)


if you have any other questions or something i just didnt clarify enough, ask here i'd be glad to help :)
 


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