Visual Art Electronic Handmade Slow Dance

This is a visual art decoration, with Arduino NANO as the core module, and other places are mainly wood splicing. After I have drawn the parts in CAD, I stitched them together by laser engraving. As a handmade gift, DIY hand-made, family or bookstore decoration, etc., are all good choices.

Arduino code in a text file

Supplies

Cut wooden board

Arduino NANO

DC 5.5-2.5mm power socket

wire

Jams of size 180x130mm or larger

Transparent PE board measuring 180x130mm or larger

12V P20/15 electromagnet

3 permanent magnets with holes in the middle

feather

Stainless steel sheet (requires laser cutting)

2.5-3mm inner diameter silicone hose

12V white single or double row lamp strip

Button cap

Knob cap x2

Laser cutting and 3D printing

Screws, nuts and studs

Step 1: Prepare Materials

Prepare the above materials, and the parts list of the screws and nuts is shown in the chart.

Step 2: Laser Engraved Wooden Board

Cut the wood board according to the CAD drawing (the board size is A4: 297mm*210mm), in which the black line is cut and the red line is half-engraved.

Step 3: Prepare the Components of the Circuit

This is the component required for the slow dance circuit expansion board. The slow dance circuit part is passed through an Arduino.

The NANO controls and connects the light strips and electromagnets through the expansion board, as well as the installation of buttons and potentiometers to achieve switch control and adjust the feather "dancing" effect.

Step 4: Burn the Code and Install the Arduino to the Expansion Board

Arduino NANO requires a pre-burning program. We have provided tested, ready-to-use program code. You can also modify the parameters of the program to run or add new features for slow dance.

Install Arduino NANO needs to pay attention to the direction. In general, the Arduino NANO should be facing outwards, or in the direction shown on the picture.

Arduino code in a text file

Step 5: Making Electromagnet Bracket

The principle of slow dance work is to form a constant interval on-off current through the Arduino, and control the electromagnet to periodically generate magnetism, thereby pushing the stainless steel piece where the feather is located to form a fixed amplitude vibration, and driving the feather to swing rapidly. At the same time, the Arduino control lamp has a fixed interval strobe, and the visual persistence effect of the human eye can form a visual effect that the feather is dancing slowly. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the electromagnet holder is sufficiently strong and that the necessary support structure is added to ensure that the bracket does not deform under load and vibration.

In addition to the necessary fixed structure, the bracket also adds several diagonally-tilted fixed structures. The bracket also takes into account the support structure for 3D printing, and there is no need to add support when the bracket is printed with the larger side facing down.
The stainless steel sheet needs to be thin enough to maximize vibration, so a thickness of 0.3 mm is a good choice. Thinner thicknesses can cause severe deformation or attract magnets together, making slow dance unusable. Stainless steel itself is not magnetic, so additional magnets are required. The magnet can be used with a hole in the middle and can be screwed to the hole on the stainless steel piece in the same position as the electromagnet.

Step 6: Design Shell

You can design enclosures in any mechanical CAD software, such as Autodesk AutoCAD

Second, you need to use a laser cutter to complete the production of the wooden casing, the cardboard backing, and the PE transparent front panel, and complete the assembly of the outer casing and other components according to the subsequent tutorials. Of course, you can modify the thickness of the plank or the size of the slow dance as needed.

Step 7: Assembly Product

Combine the products as described in the video and documentation.

Step 8: Button Description

There are three buttons/knobs on the right side of the slow dance. The leftmost knob can adjust the brightness of the light; the middle knob can adjust the frequency of feather dancing; the button on the right can switch the machine and adjust the mode.

Every time you dance to the power supply, the lights and feathers are turned on. When the button is pressed, the feather dance will enter the “ghost mode”; when the button is pressed again, the feather will stop dancing, and the slow dance can be placed at the bedside as a night light; when the button is pressed for the third time Slow dance will be completely closed.

Step 9: Finished

In this way, a slow dance production is completed. If you want to buy parts directly, the links below are all the materials you need for your product.

Material link