Interactive Donation Box
Well it was right down to the line but i managed to get my Design and Technology project finished and ready for marking, just... I only had confirmation that all the parts of the project played nicely together after rapidly programming it and getting to put coins into it for the first time at 3AM on the morning it was due. After a quick dash to office works at 7AM i was ready at school to hand my project in on time at 9AM.
Even though the projects design had to be greatly modified from its original 3 window design a I am really happy with how well the project has turned out and with all of the really positive responses I have got from other students and teachers. Without any more words here is the project.
Just in-case you haven't read my previous posts from way back about what the donation box actually is, here is a quick summary.
When somebody puts a coin into the machine it is sorted by currency and depending on the value of the coin a certain number of marbles are sent though a marble run (i decided on the rate of 1 marble per 10c). The idea of the project is that if it is made more interesting for people to donate then people are much more likely to make a contribution.
To better display this here is a video of the project in action
Also thanks to MWandel of woodgears.ca for his gear template generator and general articles on marble machines that made me pick this as a project
After i finish up with UNI preferences and scholarship applications i will hopefully have some more info up on what goes on behind the project
Edit: I now have another post up detailing some of the inner workings of the project HERE
Edit: If you are interested on more details on the construction of this project i have now made my portfolio available HERE.
Triple Cross Puzzle
This weekend i spent many hours with a chisel trying to create this handmade puzzle. The puzzle is called the triple cross puzzle and consists of six pieces that lock together to form a 3D cross. I was unhappy with how loose and rough my first go at it turned out so i stated from scratch and made a second one which turned out much better.
My first attempt
Here you can see the parts of the two different puzzles, as you can see i used plans for two different puzzles. The puzzles are still assembled in much the same way
The parts of my first attempt at createing the puzzle
The parts for my second attempt at makeing the puzzle
And here is the finished and assembled puzzle, i may make a few more of these to get more practice using hand tools.
The finished puzzle
Puzzle Box
I created these a while back and never got round to posting them
The boxes are quite simple to make, but can take people hours and hours to solve. I have given a few away as presents and have had plenty of fun infuriating people at school with them.
Two different boxes, the one on the right hasn't been sanded or oiled
Construction
As is visible in the picture below, the box is made up of an inner MDF box covered in thin slats, the bands serve only to hide the joins of the tabs and improve to boxes appearance. If anybody is interested i may write a full article on how to make one of these boxes.
In this picture you can see how the box opens and you can see the magnets in the corners that help keep the box shut