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• Make an enclosure for the controller

  RobG • 08/31/2023 at 16:02 • 0 comments

  I knocked up a simple box to fit the Digispark and motor driver boards into. Note that both boards need to have all the tall components removed first. STL files are in the File area...

  Done.

• Enclosure

  RobG • 08/31/2023 at 16:02 • 0 comments

  Print and fit the enclosure:

  Done.

• Adding the motor controller

  RobG • 08/31/2023 at 08:03 • 0 comments

  This bit is optional - you could simply connect the motor to a battery or USB power source and it would spin constantly in one direction. However I suspect better cleaning results are obtained when the parts are sloshed back-and-forth in the fluid, so this controller circuit could be used.

  Connect up the Digispark board and motor controller as follows:

  Digispark	Motor Driver
  5V	VCC
  GND	GND
  P0	A-1A
  P1	A-1B

  (Actually the last two can be either way round, it doesn't matter much)
  

  The connect the motor to the controller's "Motor A" outputs, again which way round the connections go doesn't really matter. You should end up with something like this:

  Following these instructions to set up the Digispark board, program it with the source code in the Files section. Each time the board is plugged into a USB socket, after a few seconds the motor should start turning, alternately one way and then the other.

• Making the motor/carousel assembly

  RobG • 08/31/2023 at 07:50 • 0 comments

  The heart of this build is a carousel with holes in (for the baskets) attached via a spindle to the motor's output shaft. The motor is attached on top of the jar lid, whilst the spindle and carousel hang down into the jar containing cleaning/rinsing fluid.

  The carousel can be 3D-printed (STL file in the files area) or cut from acrylic, brass, whatever.

  The jar lid needs a hole drilled in the centre large enough for the motor's output shaft, in my case 4.0mm. Place the lid over a wooden block whilst drilling to ensure a nice clean, burr-free hole.

  The motor can be glued in place, but in my design I 3D-printed a small enclosure to hold it more robustly, and glued that to the lid instead. STL file in the files area.

  The final, and most difficult, part is the spindle. I chose to modify a stainless-steel M5 cap-head screw:

  • drill a concentric hole in the cap head, large enough to take the motor output shaft snugly, in my case 3.0mm
  • cross-drill the cap head and tap in order to take two M3 grub screws. You could, alternatively, glue the spindle to the motor shaft, but it might not last long...
  • cut to length, so that the carousel and baskets just clear the bottom of the jar when it's all assembled. In my case the total length of the spindle was 34mm. Larger/taller jars may be used simply by making the spindle longer.
  • file a flat on the last 8mm or so of threads to fit the D-shaped hole in the carousel. Alternatively skip this step and drill out the hole to make it round.

  The carousel can then be attached to the spindle using an M5 nut (and perhaps some threadlock).

  See photos for the completed assembly.

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