From the Archives- Spin Art Machine

    The two spin art machines in the picture were a summer project in 2017. Griffin invited kids in the neighborhood to have fun and make some art with him.    

    Griffin has made many spin art machines in the past. He would start with an old motor, usually a large one. He has even used small motors like one from an electric toothbrush, or ones that came with electronics kits such as Snap Circuits (Amazon Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3nnbYIy ) which already have experiments included for optical illusions with spinning circles.

    No matter what type of motor Griffin uses, he always makes sure that he applies the correct voltage for that type, so that it works well and doesn't get damaged. These spin art machines from 2017 were very basic, just a motor with alligator clips to connect to power. The motor shaft punches through the sheet of paper, and that can be enough to make the paper spin. 

    Markers work to make designs, but the patterns aren't very interesting. Paint makes great patterns, but is very messy! Griffin had the idea of putting the motor in a plastic bin to contain the splatter, but he didn't want to cut any holes in the bin. For this setup, he attached the motor to a heavy block of wood to anchor it, and then ran the wires out the top of the bin. The next step to prevent splatter was to add a lid with a target hole cut in the center. He made a lid from cardboard so he didn't have to cut a hole in the plastic lid that came with the bin, since this was temporary. 

    For smaller spin art machines with a tiny motor, Griffin would pre-cut the paper into circles. For larger setups with thinner paper, he would attach a cardboard circle to the motor shaft. He could use tape to attach it to the motor shaft more securely. It also supported the paper when it got wet and floppy from the paint. One time he tried a setup that could spin a two-foot circle. Unfortunately, it didn't spin very fast. 

Alarm Clock Repair

In college, it's important to wake up on time to make it to class. So my dad bought me a new battery-powered digital alarm clock. I liked this design because it uses a single AA battery which is easy to replace. Unfortunately, it was broken right out of the box. The one feature that is essential in an alarm clock- the alarm- did not work. My dad didn't want me to open it up to diagnose the problem because he thought he was going to return it or file a warranty claim instead. He procrastinated and did nothing, so after a year there was nothing stopping me from fixing it. I unscrewed the case and took a look at the circuit board. I used my electronics microscope to record what I saw. The problem with the sound was obvious. One of the pins on the piezo had no solder connecting it to the board. This was a quick fix. I resoldered it, and now it works.

Towel Repair and Decorations

 Although new fluffy towels are nice, the old ones are softer, dry faster, and take up less space in the wash. My favorite set that I have at college is the same set my dad took to college! It is starting to wear out, and needed some repairs and reinforcement.

I sewed white thread in zig zag stitch over a few holes. Then I couched over yarn in a wave pattern to keep the end of the towel from fraying. The triangle wave pattern was inspired by the standing wave reflection graphs from my engineering lab class.