Making a Motorized Washing Machine for Children With Arduino

Hello everyone !

For Christmas I made 2 small wooden washing machines to offer 2 children, one for our daughter Colyne and one for her friend Noah. The "Magic Wash" are made of wood (MDF) and really work (without water of course).

It is powered by a 12V battery and is controlled by an Arduino Nano.

The video:

https://youtu.be/nIPeU1Od5qg

Characteristics :

• Scale: 1/2
• Dimensions: width 30 cms, height 40 cms
• Weight: 6 kg
• Digital display of remaining time and other info
• Drum rotation in 10-second increments (max. 60 seconds)
• Progressive acceleration and reversal of direction of rotation every 10 seconds
• Immediate stop of the motor when opening the door (display PO)
• Displaying the child's first name at startup
• Automatic standby after 5 minutes
• End of Wash Beeps
• Rechargeable battery powered 12V
• Controlled by microcontroller (Arduino Nano)

Purchasing:

• Gearmotor 12V 300rpm: 7,86 €
• Rotating Bearing 3 inches: 3,11 €
• H-bridge motor Module L298N: 2,88 €
• Battery + charger 12V 1800mA: 8,54 €
• Ikea bowl 602.892.39: 2,99 €
• Arduino Nano: 3,10 €
• Hinge 60mm: 2,30 €
• Push button: 1,90 €
• 2 boards Medium MDF 6 mm 80x40 cm: 6,80 €
• Chrome vinyl: 3,53 €

TOTAL: 43,01 €

Already in stock

• 2 x 7-segment displays
• 2 x 74HC595
• 2 x 16 pin DIP support
• 14 resistors 470 ohms
• printed circuit board
• Sensor + magnet ILS
• buzzer

Other (recovery or consumables):

• Metal can (drum)
• 4 bottles of water bottles
• Screws
• Glue
• Painting
• Wood chopsticks

Tools :

• Circular saw
• Table saw
• Jigsaw
• Drill
• Screwdriver
• Compact crosscut saw
• Router
• Glue gun
• Hand tools (hammer, files, saw, screwdriver, cutter, pliers, chisels ...)

Production time: approx. 30H

The drum is made from a recovered can of product.

It is cut with a cutting disc and covered with vinyl sticker imitation chrome.

The edges are protected with electric cable sheath.

And to be sure to fix the bearing in the center, I printed a drilling template.

The door is cut with a router in 3 steps:

1. First circle to embed the porthole
2. Second circle for external cutting
3. Third circle for internal cutting

The contours are then rounded with a suitable cutter

For glass, I used a serving bowl purchased from Ikea :
VARDAGEN, $2.99, Article Number: 602.892.3
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/6028923...

The carcass of the machine is made of 6 mm MDF.

The front face is cut and the elements are assembled together with glued and screwed rods.

The machine then receives 2 coats of white paint.

To detect the opening of the door I glued an alarm sensor (reed switch) behind the facade, and a magnet on the door.

The feet are made with 4 water bottle caps.

The hublot is glued with windshield glue.

A simple hinge allows the door to open.

And I recovered the red window of the display in an old alarm clock.

For the rotation I used a geared motor of 12V and 300 rpm with a roller of rubber recovered in a old printer.

I created a height adjustable bracket to adjust the pressure on the drum.

For the display part I followed this article of madebyjoe: https://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-powered-7-...

To control the engine I used an all-purpose H-bridge: a L298n.

Then there are very few components because everything is ensured by an Arduino Nano (the code is available for download).

Note: I removed the power LED from the Arduino and the L298 to conserve battery power.

For the printed circuit board it is classic:

1. Creating a transparent typon
2. UV insulation
3. Pass into a developer ban
4. Engraving in iron perchloride
5. Drilling
6. Welding of composters.

For power I used a rechargeable battery of 12V and 1800 mAh with switch.

The drum is attached by a turntable bearing.

By putting cloth in the drum, I realized that it was sliding instead of being trained. So I added 3 wooden triangles covered with chrome to train the clothes. Looks like Toblerone! lol

And finally, a lid comes to close the back.

This is how to please 2 children for Christmas!

Strangely it is more fun to "wash" toys rather than clothes (Playmobil, car, ball...) lol