Assignment:

  • propose a final project that integrates the range of units covered, answering:
  • what will it do?
  • who's done what beforehand?
  • what materials and components will be required?
  • where will they come from?
  • how much will it cost?
  • what parts and systems will be made?
  • what processes will be used?
  • what tasks need to be completed?
  • what questions need to be answered?
  • what is the schedule?
  • how will it be evaluated?
  • projects can be separate or joint, but need to show individual mastery of the skills covered where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project
  • This week’s home work page


What will it do?:



MusInk is a graffiti music controlled drawing machine.
What it does now, it has one printing head (airbrush) that has a servo, controlled by music, that activates the airbrush. So the control of how much ink the machine sprays is based on the music that is playing. If no music is being played, then nothing gets sprayed. The next step is to integrate more airbrushes and work with 3 to 4 colors.

Who's done what beforehand?:

Very simple and great examples are the Polar/Drawing Bots.
Der Kritzler is one of them
OTTO is another
But then I wanted to print faster, so I remember Ferdi showed me the COREXY system of a 3D printer he developed.
I found on YouTube an old Matrix Printer that will print a known song. Very nice but the result produced is very abstract.

The MusInk 2D follows a pattern of a drawing you give it. At the end you have your drawing, but with a special touch by the music you like.

What materials and components will be required?:


The Frame I used it from a 3D printer I produced one year ago. I changed it to make it a COREXY system and I removed the Z axis.
  • I needed for that 10x 10mm diameter bearings
  • 6 meter 6mm Timing belt (For 3D printers)
  • MDF 6mm thickness 2 sheets 300 x 400 mm
  • 10x M5 Screws x 35mm
  • 10x M5 Screws x 60mm
  • 12x M3 Screws x 35mm
  • 12x M3 Screws x 30mm
  • Nuts and washers accordingly
  • 01 AirBrush Kit - Preferably with compressor
  • Own Micro-controller - and all his components (ATMEGA 32U4, Male and Female Pins, SM LEDs, Resistors, Capacitors, SM USB connector, More details check BOM)
  • Shield for Own Controller (5 SM LED, 5 499 Ohm SM Resistors, ISP SM 3x2 PINS / 2x1, Pins)
  • 6.3mm Stereo Jack Plug To 3.5mm Stereo Mini Jack Socket
  • Audio cable 3.5mm
  • 02 x Stepper Motors Nema 17 + 02 Pulleys
  • Melzi board from REPRAP Pro Mendel Mono
  • Acrylic Ink and Solvent
  • Silicone tube 3.5 mm - 2 meters
  • Air compressor straight connector for silicone tube
  • Air compressor tube 8mm outer / 5mm inter
  • Air compressor pipe
  • Micro Servo Turning
  • Jumper Wire Standart - 30
  • Hook-up wire 5 meters 


    • Where will they come from?:


    Some materials we got from the FabLab/FabAcademy. The rest came from parts we already had from other projects (RepRap), Ebay or Amazon is also a source I rely on, and there were also local stores that provided me with some materials. In Barcelona, at the Poblenou neighborhood there are a lot of small shops. I've shopped in Servei Stació, A big store with several floors, providing a maker with almost all what he needs. A maker's paradize. Prices are fair.

     How much will it cost?:

    In my case, having some parts already from other projects or parts provided by the lab, it will cost around 92.50€ for all my parts.

    What parts and systems will be made?:

    -The CoreXY system will be made.
    -The whole mechanism to activate the AirBrush will be made.
    -The micro-controller and the shield will be made.
    -Part of the Ink system will be made.


    What processes will be used?:

    -3D printing, -Laser Cutting, -Electronic Design, -Output device, -Input device, -Mechanical and Machining Design, -Interface.
    (Naming some of them: -CoreXY, -Marlin Firmware, -The whole airbrush + Ink + pipes and tubes + air compressor + servo controlling the Airbrush's trigger will be an interesting process, -ArduinoIDE coding/programming to read music...) 

    What tasks need to be completed?:

    The activator for the Airbrush must work flawlessly. The CoreXY also must be smooth. The integration with music has to be working but I do not need FFT. Analogue reading should be fine. The Compressor also must work fine with the Airbrush, the heart of the machine.

    What questions need to be answered?:

    Would it be enough and entertaining to just trigger the airbrush varying based on music? Would I have to integrate something extra in order to make this machine appealing? Is it better to follow a drawing given to it, or should the music also influence the gcode? So far this project only influence the outcome of Ink, but the given drawing will be followed by the machine by the Gcodes. 

     What is the schedule?:

    There is a trip to Kamp-Lintfort for a week, there I'll work daily in their fablab to build the frame of the machine + the CoreXY. From there I'm back to Barcelona to work on the rest of the parts > trigger for Airbrush, connecting compressure, reading Music, programming<, that in extra 11 days. So less than 20 days. 
     How will it be evaluated?:

    Important is to create a machine that generate graphical contents. Afterwards to make it big enough to spray walls. I always wanted a machine I could paint my walls from the different flats I lived.