Introduction: PEZ USB 2.0 [C-3PO]
Hack your PEZ dispenser with your USB stick and glowing LED's for eyes. After I finished this I searched and found other PEZ USB hacks but none I could find with "glowing LED's for eyes".
I wanted to to create this and still have a functioning PEZ dispenser but to my disdain the Cruizer was much too big and took up almost all my PEZ candy space and ended up only able to fit 3 pieces of PEZ candy into PEZ USB 2.0.
For this project I used.
1 C-3PO PEZ Dispenser U.S. Patent 4.966.305
1 SanDisk Cruizer mini 128 MB (because thats all I had available)
2 green LED's
Small wire, solder, soldering iron
drill with small bit to bore out C-3P0's eyes.
Electrical and Scotch tape
Small vice
I wanted to to create this and still have a functioning PEZ dispenser but to my disdain the Cruizer was much too big and took up almost all my PEZ candy space and ended up only able to fit 3 pieces of PEZ candy into PEZ USB 2.0.
For this project I used.
1 C-3PO PEZ Dispenser U.S. Patent 4.966.305
1 SanDisk Cruizer mini 128 MB (because thats all I had available)
2 green LED's
Small wire, solder, soldering iron
drill with small bit to bore out C-3P0's eyes.
Electrical and Scotch tape
Small vice
Step 1: Prep the Device.
Crack open the USB device to reveal it's insides. I wish I would have had a smaller device to work with because the Cruizer is a little too long. Most of the inside container of the PEZ dispenser will need to be hacked away to fit the Cruizer inside.
I had to crack the device open because if I just tried to stuff it in with the cover, it fits crooked. Since the bottom of the PEZ dispenser is slotted in the middle, I found that if I crack the device open and use just half of the cover taped together with electrical tape, it fit perfectly.
I had to crack the device open because if I just tried to stuff it in with the cover, it fits crooked. Since the bottom of the PEZ dispenser is slotted in the middle, I found that if I crack the device open and use just half of the cover taped together with electrical tape, it fit perfectly.
Step 2: Cut Away the Dispenser
This is the difficult part. Measure how much space the USB device will use then cut that much out from the dispenser. This took me two tries and I could have hacked away even a little more but oh well maybe next time. After you cut away the section of the dispenser you will need to reattach the top half (C-3PO's head) to the bottom half (PEZ body). I just used scotch tape to secure them together. So what you end up with is a PEZ dispenser with a really small candy storage space. But now with plenty of space inside to fit the USB device.
If you don't have or want to add glowing LED's for eyes and just want a plain ol PEZ with USB then I guess you would be done here. But if you really want to impress your friends, then continue on to the next step.
If you don't have or want to add glowing LED's for eyes and just want a plain ol PEZ with USB then I guess you would be done here. But if you really want to impress your friends, then continue on to the next step.
Step 3: Add the LED Leads
At the end of the device is the operating LED that lights up when the device is in enabled and in use. Carefully solder the wire leads to each side of the LED. I connected the wires to a red LED to test the connections.
Step 4: Cut Out C-3PO's Eyes!
Drill a hole in C-3PO's head where his eyes are so that the LED's will fit nicely in place. The plastic in the head is quite thick, about 1/4 inch, so I had to put C-3PO's head in a vice while I bored holes in his head. I don't remember what size bit I used. A 1/8th maybe.
Step 5: Threading the Wires
The only way I could get the circuit to the head was to thread the wires through the front area of the PEZ body. The wires come out at the front area where the candy comes out. Then I threaded the wires back from there to the back of his head then into C-3PO's head from the back.
Step 6: Attaching the LED's
I superglued the LED's in place and cut, stripped, and tinned the wires for soldering. I used small cuts of shrink wrap to conceal the contacts.
Step 7: Finished. PEZ USB 2.0 [C-3PO] Now Complete.
PEZ USB 2.0 [C-3PO] is now complete. Just stuff all the wires up into C-3PO's head and he's now ready to use. Guaranteed to impress your friends.