Week 5 - Journal

For this week’s assignment, my idea is to build a Rotating Display Platform.

The device can rotate objects placed on it while also including a light feature to make the display more attractive. It can be used to showcase small items such as toys or figures 

The inspiration came from the figure we printed in Week 1. I thought about how I could add this figure, or any other figure I have, to decorate my desk and give it a nice look at night or in low light conditions 

Softwares 💻

To build and verify the circuit, I relied on TinkerCAD for the online simulation 

At the beginning, I wanted to create the body the part that would contain all the components. My idea was to make it circular, or more specifically cylindrical. I achieved this using cardboard, cutting and shaping it from the inside with a cutter as we learned in the first week, so that it forms a cylinder as much as possible without any dents or deformations .

Of course, I made sure that the part I worked on would be the inner side of the model, while the plain side without any prints would serve as the outer surface of the body.

In addition, I aligned the cutting direction with the inner cardboard lines vertically, to make the process easier and provide better stability .

And of course, in the last cardboard piece, I left just one thin layer of cardboard so that when closing the body with the glue gun, the shape would look smoother and no part would end up higher than the other .

The bottom base was, of course, an easier part since it was square-shaped and slightly larger than the body, to provide more stability for the model when operating on a surface 

The bottom base was of course, an easier part since it was square-shaped and slightly larger than the body, to provide more stability for the model when operating on a surface .

After arranging the components inside the body, I fixed the LEDs at the top of the body using tape .

After that, I made an additional piece of cardboard to hold the motor inside the body and to separate it from the other components and wires that could interfere with movement. Using wooden food sticks and a cutter, I shortened a stick so it could fit securely into the motor and stay in place during operation.
I also added a small piece of cardboard above the motor and fixed it on both sides with hot glue to ensure the motor was more firmly attached to its cardboard base.

After that, I made the top base and cut out additional sections in it, so the LEDs could be visible during rotation, creating a flashing light effect.

Yes, it was very helpful for me in this task, both through the instructor and my peers. We discussed several suggestions and solutions to reach the current result. Most of the ideas focused on finding different ways to fix the base to the motor, so that the project could perform better than it already does 

In the beginning, I faced an issue with the connections, as the wiring with the pins was not stable. However, the situation wasn’t too bad, because by using some tape on the loose parts and also to secure the LEDs the problem was solved.🔌

The more difficult challenge was with the DC motor, since I couldn’t find a proper way to attach the top base to it. I tried many different solutions, but they all either failed or gave unsatisfactory results.😓😔

So, I asked for advice from my instructor and from my colleagues, John and Youssef. Based on their suggestions, I came up with the current idea that works perfectly: replacing the motor with another type that had an additional feature allowing me to fix a wooden food stick in one of its slots and then attach the top base to it.✨

Unlike the first motor, which had no proper place to fix the wooden sticks (even after trying four of them without solving the problem), the second motor required only a single wooden stick, and it worked successfully.🎉