Yup, it plays the Somerset Wassail!
It still needs a set of pushbutton controls and a wooden case, but it’s finished enough to play tunes.
Continue reading The Robotic Glockenspiel Plays “Somerset Wassail”
Monthly Archives: December 2014
A router is a most wonderful power tool
In my previous post I pointed to my Open Source code for the project. In this post, I describe the mounting of the solenoids to the frame.
The conundrum of the project has been how to mount the solenoids to the glockenspiel. If I were a metalworker, I’d probably tap the solenoid holes and fasten them with 2mm screws into a metal strip. My 2017 future self says to design a 3D printable holder. Not knowing how to tap such tiny holes and not (yet) knowing how to design 3d printed parts, I’ve been thinking and thinking about how to mount the solenoids to wood.
One day I was wondering out loud how to fasten the solenoids, and Linda said “Why don’t you just buy a router? They’re perfect for that sort of thing.” So I did.
I bought a Dewalt DWP611PK compact router set and a starter kit of router bits so I could route channels in a bar of wood, then mount those solenoids into those channels. I originally picked the DWP611 because it fits in a CNC router I have my eye on (but no money for yet).
My first attempt with a router was pretty sad. I had imagined that since I knew the basics I’d be fine. A few unintentionally-diagonal cuts later, I realized that making the solenoid channel cuts freehand wouldn’t work: I’d need a jig to let the router cut exactly the width channel I needed.
So using the router and a makeshift fence, I made a little height-adjustable jig. The first attempt at the jig turned out badly, but I’m happy with the second try:
If I were to make jig revision 3, I’d change a few things:
- use wider wood to give the router more base to glide on
- make the gap large enough so I can clamp the wood to be worked to the jig.
- use a plunge router so that the ends of the jig are solid rather than open. Doing that will make the end less likely to warp and bend apart over time.
At any rate, I made a test slot using this jig, and it turned out great!
Now I’ve marked the real solenoid bar, and am ready to route the 19 solenoid slots.
In my next post, I describe the last steps to a functional robotic glockenspiel.
Robotic Glockenspiel and Arduino Midi File Reader library on GitHub
In my previous post I pointed to some sources of information about how to read Midi music files. I’ve now Open Sourced my working code.
I’m a total newbie at Git, but even so I’ve managed to create repositories for the Robotic Glockenspiel and the Arduino Midi File Reader library it uses. See My GitHub repositories for the current state of things.
The repos are far from ready for prime time, but they have the essentials for this project-in-progress:
- The Arduino Midi File Reader library I wrote to deliver Midi events from the file in sequence. I’m hoping others will find this library useful. It currently has no documentation at all, other than the comments in the code.
- The Fritzing circuit diagram for the glockenspiel controller so far (no physical user interface)
- A Bill of Materials (parts list) for the electronics and a few other things. I still need to add the wood and work out e.g., the number of conduit pipes I needed to build the 19 chimes.
- The Robotic Glockenspiel Arduino program, as-is. It currently will play a hard-coded list of Midi files that reside on the MicroSD card, with what seems to be the correct timing (although I know it will end each song abruptly). There’s much left to add, such as using a network card to read the playlist and the Midi files from the net, and code to control the player using a set of pushbuttons.
As an added benefit, all this is now under a real revision control system rather than being backed up nightly to my USB fob.
In my next post, I show how I mounted the solenoids to the frame.
Party On!