Squeegies 5000
Dining halls are the bane of a freshman’s college experience. The same food served day in and day out, frequent flecks of mold, meat so fresh it is raw – these standards are nowhere near a fine dining experience. If we can eliminate even one problem in the dining halls, we owe it to the future generations of freshmen whose expectations of college have not yet been shattered. Our product, The SqueeGies 5000, tackles a classic – but important – issue: the dirty table. The typical 18-year-old, fresh off the minivan, is unlikely to have even completed a load of laundry on their own. How is anyone to honestly expect they know how to leave their table clean?
With the SqueeGies 5000, prior experience is unnecessary. At the push of a button, a motor wipes away all worry and leaves a clean, sparkling, and crisp surface. It’s patent-(soon-to-be)-pending wiping technology ensures germs are of no concern and the next diner will have an experience rivaling that of a 5 Michelin Star restaurant.
I know what you are thinking.
How can I get my hands on this before it becomes a common household item? How many of these can I set up throughout my home? What are you charging and when can I pick it up??
Worry no longer. Follow the instructions below to create your very own SqueeGies 5000.
Supplies
To build the SqueeGies 5000 you will need only a few materials. While we cannot promise your materials will be the exact price of our final product, we believe we are able to provide you with an exact list of what you need and where you can buy them from. Below you will find a detailed list accompanied by a direct link to the materials, tools, and hardware we purchased as a reference. Combining the materials for physical assembly and the electronic components, you can make your very own SqueeGies 5000 for about $74.00!
Where Does the Trash Go?
A custom-built trash can will collect left over food, napkins, and general trash off the side of the table. As the SqueeGies 5000 works, it deposits the trash it collects into the bin attached to the table. The bin also holds the wire box, which consists of our Arduino board, battery, breadboard, power cord, and the motor box sitting on top. Follow the instructions below to build the whole trash bin set up, including the wire box.
Step 1: Get at least a 24x24 plank of 1/8 inch plywood, or an equivalent amount of wood
Step 2: Have access to a laser cutting machine
Step 3: Go on https://www.festi.info/boxes.py/ to find a box template that best matches that of a secure, open-faced box. For the trashcan, we went with the BasedBox and removed the top of the box so that it turns out open. For the wire box, we used the BasedBox while keeping all sides. The dimensions of the trash bin are 14x7x4in, while the dimensions of the wire box are 6x6.5x3in. Once you enter the dimensions on boxes.py, you can download the templates as a svg.
Step 4: Once the box template is downloaded, you want to open it on Adobe Illustrator, or a similar editing application. You must make the fill empty, but the stroke of the lines must be pure red (RBG: 255, 0, 0), and at a 0.001 in thickness.
Step 5: For the trash bin, you do not have to change anything else. However, for the wire box, we must add holes using the shape tool in one side, as well as the top facing side, so the power cord connected to the Arduino, the wires connected to our motor, and the push button are able to fit through the box.
Step 6: Add a 6.75x4 rectangle onto the design platform you are using to act as a divider between the trash and the wire box, that are both located in the trash bin. Change the stroke features accordingly.
Step 7: Once that is all set, print the design onto the job control that is connected to the laser cutting machine.
Step 8: Start up the laser cutting machine and make sure there is enough wood for it to cut through. This is a video of our wire box being cut:
Step 9: Once the machine is done cutting the boxes, take it out and assemble them all together.
Step 10: Once assembled, take the rectangular piece and glue it vertically inside the big box so the sides are touching the faces of the trash bin. Make sure there is enough space on one half for the wire box to fit.
Step 11: Place the wire box in the smaller half.
Step 12: Attach two clamps to the corners of one side of the trash bin, using duct tape.
The assembled result should look a little like this:
This is an image of the clamps attached to a table:
What Cleans the Table?
A 3D-printed four-bar linkage attached to a casing of the motor moves the wiper back and forth to clean the table. Follow the steps below to 3D print your own linkage system and motor casing.
Step 1: Download the following files as STL to 3D print the components of the system.