So it's been a while since the last log, and the machine has had many outings to school STEM events and the like. It has mostly worked really well, and got lots of interest and sparked lots of discussion - which was the whole point.

However, I've had some ideas for improvements. Some of those were implemented today:

- swapped out the vibrator motor for a larger one (a "280") since the original one got pretty warm and wore out too fast.

- added control of the stepper driver's nENABLE pin so that the stepper current can be switched off between moves to save power and stop it getting too hot. I think the shaft was previously getting so hot the 3D-printed PLA part attached to it actually melted slightly.

- added serial commands to start/stop the machine, adjust motor speeds, and read out a count of bricks in each bin.

The last item is there so that in the near future I can put together a touch-screen controller with a real-time display of brick counts, plus the option to tweak the speeds, stop it if there's a problem, etc. Watch this space...