DIY Electronic Coffee Table

by 21smithk1 in Workshop > Furniture

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DIY Electronic Coffee Table

stained legs.JPG
final.JPG

Intro:

I made this project for my engineering class in high school. I found inspiration and based this project on a project on the website creativityhero.com. This link for the project is below. I hope you enjoy the Instructable and get inspired to make something yourself!


Tool List:

  • Table Saw
  • CNC Machine - settings vary on the dimensions of your piece of material
  • Miter Saw
  • Laser Cutter - settings vary on your machine and material
  • Soldering Iron
  • Wire Cutters
  • Wire Strippers
  • Belt Sander
  • Sand Paper
  • Clamps (varying sizes)
  • Drill (including varying bits)
  • Pocket Jig
  • Chisel
  • Mallet
  • Computer (to code and design files)
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Sandpaper


Material List:

Arduino Mega Board (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-Board-ATmega2560-AT...

Price = $15.99

Quantity = 1

LED Strip (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/WESIRI-Programmable-Indivi...

Price = $17.99

Quantity = 1

Infared Sensor (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/WESIRI-Programmable-Indivi...

Price = $10.99

Quantity = 3

Spray Paint (Home Depot): https://www.amazon.com/WESIRI-Programmable-Indivi...

You can pick your desired colors.

Price = roughly $4.50 per can

Quantity = I used 3 cans, but quantity can vary

Materials from FabLab: I do not know the price of these materials.

  • MDF sheet
  • 1 2x4 board
  • Miscellaneous screws and brackets
  • Wood Glue
  • Acrylic Sheet
  • Wood Stain (choose your desired color)
  • Solder
  • Single-core wires
  • Hot glue
  • Copper Wire

Total Cost: $80.45 + FabLab Materials

File Folder

Here is a link to a folder with all of the files that I used during this project: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zKwkXQwuF...

File Guide:

  • Arduino Folder
    • DigitalReadSerial.ino
      • This is the code that I used to test the infrared sensors.
    • Final_code.ino
      • This is the final code that I used in the project.
  • CNC Folder
    • Kyle_tabletop.crv3d
      • This is the file I used to CNC the upper portion of my table.
  • Laser Cutter
    • Interior Divider Proto.svg
      • This is the file for one of the interior dividers.
        • You can duplicate the design to cut more than one at a time.
    • Tabletop.svg
      • This is the file for the acrylic tabletop.

The Tabletop

painted top.JPG
box w divider side.JPG
CNC after.JPG
CNC before.JPG
interior stilts final.jpg
box w divider top.JPG

Table Top:

  1. Cut the tabletop pieces out on the CNC machine.
    1. Once the cut is finished you will need to use a chisel and mallet to cut the tabs on the pieces.
  2. Sand all the sides of the pieces to ensure they are flat.
  3. Configure the sides on top of the bottom piece. Then, with a pencil, trace the outline where the sides sit on top of the bottom panel.
  4. Clampdown one side at a time and drill a pilot hole for the screw through the bottom panel and into the side panel.
    1. TIP: number the side panel and the side of the bottom panel. This will ensure that the pilot holes line up when you go to screw the bottom panel to the sides.
  5. Add wood glue to the side edges of the side panel and then screw them to the bottom panel.
    1. Make sure you do not glue the side panels to the bottom panel. This will not make it serviceable.
  6. Once all the side panels are glued together and screwed in, clamp everything together and let dry.
  7. Take some scrap MDF and cut out 4 stilts for the interior panel to rest on.
  8. Drill a hole in the bottom panel so you can run your power cord through it to the Arduino.
  9. Laser-cut the acrylic top from the files I provided.
  10. Spray paint the tabletop whatever color you want.

Interior Dividers

wooden divider top.JPG
cardboard dividers made.JPG
wooden divider cut.JPG
wooden divider side.JPG
carboard_singular_divider.JPG

Interior Dividers:

  1. Laser-cut 8 dividers. The file is provided.
    1. Simply connect the dividers together using the slots.
  2. Spray paint each divider white so it does not stick out in the end.

Electronics

back wires.JPG
LED soldered.JPG
copper wire.JPG
LEDs and sensors.JPG

Electronics:

  1. On the middle surface, layout the constructed interior dividers and trace their layout.
    1. This will help you visualize where each cell is.
  2. Sand the copper wire to remove the protective coating.
  3. Hot glue 2 pieces of copper wire the length of the middle surface for every row of cells. Make sure you have one copper wire on each side of the cell.
    1. These wires will be the hot and ground lines for the project.
  4. From the LED strip, cut individual LEDs out. There will be one LED per cell.
  5. Lay the one LED and one infrared sensor in each cell and mark holes to drill.
    1. I laid the LED in the middle of the cell and the sensor to the bottom left of the LED.
    2. You want one hole on either side of the led and one hole near the terminal ends of the sensor.
    3. Once completed, the copper wires should be on one side of the middle panel and the sensor and LED on the other side.
  6. Drill holes where you marked.
    1. You want to be able to fit 3 wires through the holes.
  7. Solder the LEDs together in the cells.
    1. You want a power and ground line connected to the copper wires and the bottom of the LED.
    2. You then will connect the output pad on the top of the led to the input pin of the next LED in the next cell over. This will essentially “reconstruct” the LED strip but the LEDs are spaced out now.
  8. Solder the sensors in the cells.
    1. You want a power and ground line connected to the copper wires.
    2. For the output line, make the wire extra long since it will eventually be connected to the Arduino.

Coding

Final Code.PNG

Coding:

  1. Make sure you test each sensor before soldering them.
  2. Upload the final code to the Arduino once everything is completed and plugged in.

Table Legs

leg_clamped.JPG

Table legs.

  1. Using a Miter Saw, cut 2 12-inch pieces 2 16-inch pieces from a 2x4.
  2. Then using a table saw, cut each piece in half vertically.
    1. You should now have 4 12 inch pieces and 4 16 inch pieces.
    2. The 12-inch pieces are the legs and the 16-inch pieces are the supports.
  3. Using a pocket jig, drill one pocket hole into each side of the supports.
  4. To each side of the supports, glue a leg onto it and screw a screw into the pockets you just created.
    1. Use a clamp and let dry.
  5. Repeat this step until you have a set of legs for your table.
  6. Once the legs are done drying, stain with a wood stain of your choice.

Assembly

stained legs.JPG
final.JPG

Assembly:

  1. Plug all of the sensors and LED into the Arduino.
  2. Connect the 5v port to the power copper wire and ground to the ground copper wire.
  3. Upload your code to the Arduino.
  4. Slide the middle panel onto the stilts.
  5. Place the interior dividers on top of the middle panel.
  6. Place the acrylic top on top of the interior dividers.
  7. Using 90-degree brackets, screw the table legs into the bottom panel.
  8. Plug the table in and admire your work.