• Today we have bubbles!

    judebrisson • 06/16/2017 at 20:30 • 0 comments

    Today we are enjoying the first crop of automatic bubbles! :) The changes I made include:

    • a smaller, sturdier pinwheel - made from a 7" square of cardstock rather than 8" watercolor paper.
    • shifted the pinwheel and bubble wands apart laterally to reduce wind turbulence.
    • replaced pipe cleaner with plastic store bought bubble wands.

  • Day 1: Mechanism is good, no bubbles yet.

    judebrisson • 06/13/2017 at 18:40 • 0 comments

    The goal for day 1 was to make a mechanism with LEGO studded beams and gears to convert speed from one axle (where the pinwheel will be) to strength at another axle (where the bubble wands will rotate). The mechanism completed on day one is a 1:36 ratio; for every 36 times the pinwheel turns, the bubble wands rotate once. We tested with homemade paper pinwheels to see if a typical household fan could move three bubble wands. These initial tests were successful, however the pinwheel blocked wind to the bubble wands. Also, the gadget is prone to toppling in the wind and the paper pinwheel loses rigidity of it gets wet with bubble solution.

    Check out the video test at the end of day 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/BVNqR1VhfRz


    Steps for improvement include:

    1. Stabilize base.
    2. Make sturdier pinwheel.
    3. Move the bubble wands and pinwheel so they are not in the same air stream.
    4. Reduce the number of LEGO gear and beam pieces used.

    LEGO gears used in initial mechanism: worm (4211510), 35 teeth (4255563), 12 teeth (4177431), 8 teeth (4514559), 24 teeth (4514558) x 3.