Maker Fridays

This is a repository of Random Projects I would like my class to create... So most of these will be either large class projects , or extra credit projects. Not sure how this will turn out... but it will be a wild ride...

Let me know if you want to be the team that builds one of these...

Random Projects:

Vacuum Former - Build a vacuum former to make plastic shapes. Make it be able to do real thick plastic sheets. Cosplay Stuff and more... -- Big Maker Friday Project, maybe a team of 4 - 20 points extra credit

Halloween Projects

Demented Toys - this is really just a motion sensor and a relay Arduino design. with modified pushbutton LED 3 code. Basically you are "looking" for a Pushbutton signal which could come from a sensor or from another Arduino. Design the input if statement to be an "OR" between 2 or 3 input signals... so that the relay is triggered and held on if the sensor triggers it, or if an other signal from another Arduino. The plan will be to have a few of the toys trigger with their own motion sensor, and then after a delay have all the toys trigger... Ask Mr Burnham to point you to a Lab document.
Relay controlled Audio - This is where we have a relay triggered by an "event". The "event" can be a sensor, like a motion sensor or another master signal from a controlling Arduino. The scare effect is that a relay is connecting the Audio signal to a speaker. the Audio is always playing, but only gets to the speaker when the relay is turned on. Ask Mr Burnham to point you to a Lab document.
Fire Fly's - Simple
- Simple LED and cardboard - this is where you have an LED that is on, but is taped to the back of a 2 inch black cardboard hanging from the very light wire powering the LED... then you just have a fan blowing the cardboard and they flip back and forth and the LED "flashes" because it can be seen when the carboard card turns
- More complex, but cooler - see http://www.fireflymagic.com/fireflies/index.html where you can replicate the random flashing of a fire fly. This will include code that does the firefly flash, where it may have some variability in the actual flash.. Study what a flash looks like and replicate the pattern. I would do this with some patter of delay on and delay off that I play over and over again.... and maybe randomly pick from 4 different patterns. Then I would add a random delay to have them flash the random pattern so they flash every 5-30 seconds....
Floating candle - This is a LED candle on the end of a balanced piece of black PVC or Rebar,. this is hanging like a mobile. The candle is on one end and a small Fan with a motor controller to let you change the direction of the fan to make the mobile poll swing around at random.... in the dark with all the mobile painted black, it looks like the candle is just floating. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAX9elZDJGs
Electric buzz and spark sounds. - Use Arduino to create sound that sounds like electricity buzzing and sparking... play with square wave frequency patterns.
Flying Ghost
Up and Down with Motors - Motor controller that just runs clock wise and and then counter clock wise in a planed random pattern so that it never winds all the way up, but will lift a spider, puppet, bat up and down
Pumpkins - Singing Pumpkins? Maybe just setup the pumpkins with LEDs and then have them turn on and off with a pattern that is synq'ed with some Audio
Mine Lights? - This would be to take some of the light fixtures I have, add LED lights and then turn on and off all the LEDs with a pattern (PWM) to make them dim and or go off in a random way, to look like the power is failing and browning out

Class Craft and Clean UP:

Tardis Police Box - Make the main class cabinet look like a Tardis Police Box... Foam and Paint, and maybe lights. -- Maker Friday Project. 2-3 students. - 10 points extra credit