Coffee Cup Coffee Mixer

This instructable was made as an entry for the betacup challenge. Made out of over 60 coffee cups it mixes in cream and sugar into your coffee just by pouring it in. It also adds a spectacular show of mixing the coffee through a fountain, waterwheel and a pulley contraption I really don't know what to call.

Step 1: Materials

60+ Coffee Cups
Duct Tape or any tape you want
Twine
Cardboard
Scissors
Knife
Pencils
a wooden dowel about the size of a pencil ( doesn't really matter)

Step 2: Building the Fountain

The Fountain is the first part of the Coffee Mixer and is where you pour the coffee in. It is made of 10 coffee cups. First take four of those coffee cups and poke a hole with the scissors as close to the bottom so coffee can flow out easily. then build the base by taking a piece of cardboard big enough for four coffee cups. take one of the cups with the hole in it and three without holes. put them together in a square as in the picture with the hole pointing out over the side. then build up by taking another cup with a hole and two without holes and place them on top of the other three cups without the holes. make sure the second hole will dump into the bottom cup with the hole. tape them all together to hold them in place. then continue adding the third and fourth layer to match the pictures making sure each hole will pour into the next cup with the hole. a good thing to do is test it by running water through it and seeing how it works. this is now the completed fountain piece. put it to the side and it will be attached later to the main structure. this structure mixes in sugar. pour a small amount of sugar into any of the cups. as the liquid pours through the sugar dissolves and gets mixed in.

Step 3: Build the Water Wheel

First take two coffee cup and put the large sizes together and tape around the center. then take four other cups and place the large sizes around the center ring to match the picture. tape them down securely to hold in place. then take a pencil and poke a hole big enough for the dowel in the center of the two center coffee cups. feed the dowel in through the cups and make sure it can turn freely around its center. Then take another four cups and tape the side ways on the four coffee cups making the hub spokes. Make sure they all point the same way to catch the coffee. the next step is to cut a coffee cup to about a third of its size. then tape it to the hub of the wheel parallel to one of the spokes. then take a piece of cardboard or any piece of similarly weighing object and tape it upside down on the same side of the hub. this acts as a counter balance and holds the wheel in place keeping the cream inside the cup until the coffee pours into it.

Step 4: Build the Base

The next step is to build the base where everything is built onto. it is made of carboard about 3 feet long and two feet wide, size can vary to fit build. the pillars for the wheel are four cups high, the dowel rests ontop of the fourth pillar duct taped onto the top to kept from moving. the wheel rotates around the dowel. cut four paper cups in half and tape them together with the smaller end ontop of the large end. tape them on the back of the cup. place the slide directly underneath the water wheel. tape the bottom (the side with the smaller end) over the edge of the base with a looped piece of duct tape. pull the slide tight and tape it to a small tower made of two cups taped together. then tape the cups to the base to look like the picture. a good idea is to test it by pouring a little water into it and making sure it doesn't fall in the wrong place. if it does adjust the slide so it catches all the water. also check to see that the cream cup stays up right when water is in it.
Add pieces of twine going from the water wheel towers to the sides to hold it in place.

Step 5: Attach the Cream Slide

drop. The cups in half and tape all four together like the main slide. then build then slide mount out of two cups taped together. then curl up a piece of cardboard cup and tape it onto the top of the mount. then tape the slide to the top of the mount and make sure its secure. make sure it stays stiff and secure. then tape the slide mount to the base making sure the slide is parallel to the main slide and directly under where the cream would drop.
the next step is to attach a second slide that is perpendicular to both slides and mixes the cream into the coffee. this slide is two cups cut into one large section. attach the two like the other slides and tape them onto the cup for support and onto the slide. make sure the first cream slide ison topp of the second and test with water like before. make sure to adjust the slides if water spills over.

Step 6: Attach the Fountain Portion

The fountain is attached above the water wheel by two pillars each five cups high. they are assembled like the other structures in opening to opening and bottom to bottom. they are taped to the base about a foot and a half apart a few inches from the wheel of the water wheel. next take a piece of cardboard six inches wide and big enough to span the two pillars. the final step is to tape the fountain piece onto the cardboard top so the opening is just above the wheel and it doesn't obstruct its movement.

Step 7: Test and Use

The final step is to test the set up using water and sugar. Place the whole thing on top of a table so the slide goes over the edge. Place the sugar in any one of the fountain cups and placing water into the cream cup making sure not to tip it over. then when that is set up pour in the water into the top cup and watch the water display make your coffee. don't forget to place a cup under the bottom of the slide to catch the coffee. if it works than impress your friends with your new amazing coffee maker that is practical and highly entertaining. Use it to mix other types of drinks as well and only alchohal ones if your of age. Expand it by making a larger fountain or add more water wheels and make it a spectacle you'll never forget.