Week 5 - Cat Toy

Ideation

Tell us about your assignment's idea for this week. Why do you care about this idea? What inspired you? (Please include images or links to sources of inspiration)

This week I chose Cat Feather Teaser Toy as my project idea 🐾
I got inspired directly from the requirements of the assignment:

the project should include an ON/OFF button and have at least two actions such as movement, lighting, or sound.

For my design, I decided to use:

1- A DC motor to create a circular movement, which will spin the feather toy

2- An LED to add lighting, making it more attractive and fun

I care about this idea because I really like cats, and creating something playful for them makes the project more meaningful and enjoyable for me.

It’s not just about meeting the requirements, it’s about making something useful and fun in real life

Inspiration:
Feather toys for cats often require the owner to move them to play with the cat. I combined that idea with the electronic requirements for this task

Tool Chain

Which software/machines/materials did you use in the assignment? Why?

Software

I used Tinkercad to simulate the circuit.

This helped me make sure it works correctly, without errors or damage to components 🙂.

Tinkercad

Materials (for the structure)

Tape

Cutter

Cardboard

Cat’s Feather

Screw

Glue gun + hot glue

Scissors

Materials.mp4

Materials (for the circuit)

Adapter (9V, 5V)

Jumper wires (Male-Male, Male-Female)

DC Jack

Resistor 220 Ω

Crocodile wires

LED

Hobby Motor

ON/OFF Switch

Mini Breadboard

Design/Preparation Process

Explain the design and/or preparation process of your assignment. How did you use the tool or software to design and/or prepare your assignment before fabrication/implementation?

Circuit-Tinker cad .mp4

First: To Simulate the Circuit

1- I opened the Tinker cad website in the browser.

2- logged in with my email.

3- Then I started creating a new circuit.

Second: Creating The Circuit

1- I searched for the components I needed:

a- Mini breadboard b- Hobby motor c- LED d- Power Supply e- ON/OFF switch f- One resistor (I made sure it was 220 Ω).

2- I placed the LED on the breadboard.

Since the LED only needs about 2 volts to light while the power supply generates 5 volts, it would burn out if connected directly.

3- To prevent this, I added the resistor and connected it to the cathode of the LED, so that it protects the LED by allowing only the current it needs.

4- Next, I connected the power supply to the breadboard using jumper wires, with the red wire for the positive terminal.

At first, I mistakenly connected the negative terminal from the motor directly to the negative terminal of the supply. This caused a conflict when I turned on the power, the LED didn’t light because it wasn’t connected correctly.

5- I then connected the anode of the LED to the positive terminal of the supply using an orange jumper wire.

6- Since the upper and lower parts of the breadboard are separated, I used a yellow jumper wire to connect the positive rail between them.

7- After that, I connected the positive terminal of the motor to the positive rail on the breadboard with a red jumper.

8- When I started the simulation, I found that the LED still didn’t light.

After a few seconds of thinking, I realized the negative terminal from the supply should also be connected to the breadboard.

9- So, I connected the motor’s negative terminal to the negative rail on the breadboard with a black jumper.

Still, the LED didn’t light because it wasn’t connected to the negative yet.

10- So, I added a black jumper from the LED’s cathode (through the resistor) to the negative rail of the breadboard.

This fixed everything, and finally, all the connections were correct.

11- Now it was time to add the ON/OFF switch.

I connected it in series with the circuit: terminal 1 to the positive rail.

12- The common pin to the negative rail of the breadboard, this allowed me to control the whole circuit with one button.

13- When I started the simulation again, it worked perfectly (the motor spun, the LED lit up, and the switch successfully controlled the circuit.)✌

Tinkercad Circuit

Development/Implementation Process

Explain the development/implementation process of your assignment. How did you use the machine/tool to manufacture or implement the design of your assignment?

collect all components.mp4

Applying the Circuit in Real

To apply the circuit in real life, I followed almost the same steps I did in Tinkercad, with just a few differences.

1- I started by connecting the breadboard to the DC jack: the positive terminal using an orange jumper wire, and the negative (ground) using a gray jumper wire, to power all the components.

2- Then, I placed the LED on the breadboard.

3- Connecting the anode to the positive rail with an orange knotted jumper wire.

4- Then I added a resistor (220 Ω) to the cathode side of the LED.

5- After that, I connected the hobby motor to the breadboard using extensions made from male-to-male jumper wires: a red jumper for the positive, and a gray jumper for the negative.

6- I connected the gray wire to the negative rail on the breadboard.

7- For the positive, I did the same as in the Tinkercad simulation:

since the breadboard is divided into two separate areas (upper and lower)

8- I linked them together using another knotted red jumper.

9- Then connected the motor’s red wire to the positive rail.

At this point, the motor was successfully connected. 👌

10- For the LED, I completed the circuit by connecting the other side of the resistor to the negative rail of the breadboard.

11- I tested the circuit by adding power, and it worked correctly. ✌

12- The last step was adding the ON/OFF switch.

The main difference here was the way I connected it, because it couldn’t be placed directly on the breadboard.

Instead, I used crocodile wires: a black one for the negative and a red one for the positive.

13- Then, I made an extension from the positive crocodile wire using an orange jumper to connect it to the positive rail on the breadboard.

14- For the black crocodile wire, I connected it directly to the negative jumper coming from the DC jack.

15- Finally, I tested the circuit again, and everything worked perfectly (The motor spun, the LED lit up, and the switch controlled the whole system) ✌

🔎 Note: The colors of the wires don’t actually change the flow of electricity (they are only standards for organization

(for example: red usually means positive, black means negative).

What really matters is how the wires are connected, since power and signals depend only on the connections we make.

collect - coloring.mp4

Fitting the Components into the Box

First, I prepared the box.

1- I made it from cardboard with the following dimensions: the upper and bottom pieces were (13×9) cm, the two smaller sides were (5×9) cm, and the two larger sides were (5×13) cm.

2- I cut the bottom piece together with the two smaller side pieces as one connected piece for stability.

3- The other sides were cut separately using the cutter.

4- On the top cover, I made a hole in the center to insert the screw through it.

5- And a small rectangular cutout for the ON/OFF switch (for the dimensions, I took the game kit as a reference, the Arduino power rectangle is almost the same size as the ON/OFF switch, but I made a small change and cut the rectangle a little taller to make it fit better).

6- I also made another small round hole for the LED, so it could fit and show its light outside the box.

7- I attached the screw to the motor side shaft to act as the rotating output.

8- I made the motor support from cardboard by folding two slices of it, so the motor could sit on top and stay fixed in place inside the box.

9- I glued the two folded cardboard pieces to the bottom of the box and placed the motor on top of them.

10- To make it more secure, I added two extra cardboard slices around the motor to firmly fix it in place.

11- Make sure the circuit is working.

12- Then I mounted the ON/OFF switch onto the top cover.

I rewired the connections just as I had done before, using crocodile wires for the switch.

13- And again, test the circuit.

The LED

I wanted it to be visible on the outside of the box.

1- So, I removed it from the breadboard and rewired it.

2- I used male–female jumper wires: the green one for the positive connection and the brown one for the negative.

3- Then, I connected them the same way as before, the green wire (positive, anode) to the positive rail.

4- The brown wire (negative, cathode, ground) to the negative rail.

Collecting All Together

1- I placed the whole circuit inside the box.

2- Then, I assembled the two smaller side pieces of the box with the top cover by gluing them together using the hot glue gun.

3- Then, I glued the front side of the box to the body.

4- I also attached the back side, which I had prepared with a small rectangular cutout to fit the DC jack and allow the Cat’s Feather to be connected to electricity.

5- Make sure it works ✌👌👍

6- After completing the electronics part, I decorated the box by adding some colors and drawing a cat paw stamp on it to give it a creative and playful look

During testing, I tried both a 5V adapter and a 9V adapter.

The motor spun much faster with 9V, but I decided to use 5V instead, so the feather spins more slowly, making it safer and more suitable for the toy’s function.

Community of Learning

Did you ask for feedback? What are the ideas that others have contributed or suggested? What was someone else’s idea that you built upon? How did you help your peers? How did your peers help you?

For this project, I did ask for feedback from my peers.

One useful suggestion I received was about the speed of the motor.

Since the motor was spinning too fast, my colleague suggested that we should add something to slow it down.

To apply this idea, I decided to use a lower voltage.

The motor is rated for 9V, but I powered it with 5V instead, which made it spin slower and more suitable for the project.

Overcoming Challenges

When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this assignment?

One of the main challenges I faced was collecting all the wires inside the box without causing any damage. 😅

When I tried to fit them together, it felt risky, I was worried that I might accidentally cut or damage the wires during the process.

To solve this, I used tape to wrap and secure each crocodile wire (red and black) separately, which helped protect them and keep the setup safer inside the box.

Final Project

How can you use the skills and knowledge that you've acquired this week in your final project?

The skills and knowledge I acquired this week will be very useful in my final project.

For example, I learned how to design and build a stable structure using cardboard, measure and cut with precision, and prepare cutouts for components such as switches, LEDs, and power jacks.

I also practiced organizing and wiring electronic circuits neatly, moving components like LEDs outside the breadboard, and ensuring they still work correctly.

In addition, I learned how to fix and support a motor inside a box, and how to deal with challenges like reducing motor speed by adjusting the voltage.

All these experiences will help me in my final project to design a stronger structure, connect the electronics more safely, and think of creative solutions when I face problems.

WOW!

What is the coolest thing that you've learned this week? What is something that you will never forget from this week?

This week, the coolest thing I learned was how to design and build a Sumo RC Car from scratch, starting from circuits on a breadboard to laser-cutting the car body in Fusion 360. The most unforgettable part was competing in the Sumo Car battles with my teammate, where our car “The Fox 🦊” proudly won second place! 🥈

RC Car.mp4

Weekly Digest [OPTIONAL]

Tell us about any other cool things that you've made this week: in the Hands-on activity, tutorial examples, exercises, or any other cool mini-project that you tried out aside from the assignment.

Title of Media

Assignment Design Files

Tinkercad

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