Skip to main content

SPIROMONST3R - Robot Remix #4


SPIROMONST3R 

by Guiherme Constantino

This Robot Remix is a combination of the LEGO MINDSTORMS set 31313  & LEGO Technic 42066 Air Race Jet. For this remix design, Guiherme Constantino designed a spirograph.  A spirograph is a geometric drawing toy that produces curves. A traditional spirograph requires the user to move their pen in a gear wheel. This remix version is powered by LEGO MINDSTORMS.

SPIROMONST3R was displayed at STACK IT in the United Arab Emirates where many people got to see it in person.


The Design Phase:

I began with just a hand-drawn design of my idea. I was inspired by Jason Alleman's spirograph design that uses a Power Functions motor.  I decided to build a spirograph because it is a fun toy that brings back memories of my own childhood. It reminded me of playing with my grandmother which had a great impact on my life.  I thought a MINDSTORMS version would be something fun to engage children and their parents.

Turning my idea into reality turned out to be much more challenging than I expected. There are lots of existing designs for a spirograph and I wanted to make mine a little different. It took several iterations before I came up with the final design.





How it Works:

SPIROMONST3RS effectively uses pieces from both sets. The power functions components of in the Air Race Jet is used in a special way. The power functions motor continuously turns the turnable. The medium motor disconnects and reconnects the system when a touch sensor is pressed, using a gear shifter. The large motors move the arm with the pen. To change the pattern that is printed, simply move the liftarm that is connected to the motor. 


The user can insert up to three pens at a time to make their colorful design or draw with one pen at a time.





If you want to make one too:

Build instructions and code can be downloaded here.

Acknowledgements:

Thank you to Guilherme Lima for providing assistance with the design and programming. Thank you also to Asha Seshan for assistance with writing this article.

                                           






Popular posts from this blog

MINDSTORMS Retires!

2023 is the 25th Anniversary of the MINDSTORMS brand. For 25 years, MINDSTORMS has educated and inspired a generation of robot builders, both children and adults. Unfortunately, the LEGO Group decided to end the line on December 2022. Many ROBOTMAK3RS have been passionately involved with the development of MINDSTORMS through the MUP and MCP programs. Even with the newest Robot Inventor line, several ROBOTMAK3RS were invited to submit additional bonus models that were included in the official app. Regardless of the retirement of a major LEGO robotics product line, ROBOTMAK3RS continue to MAKE-SHARE-INSPIRE using all LEGO robotics platforms available to us. Here is the official statement from LEGO. Since its launch in September 1998, LEGO MINDSTORMS has been one of the core ‘Build & Code’ experiences in the company’s portfolio, carrying with it significant brand equity and becoming a stand-out experience for the early days of consumer robotics and leading to current Build & Code

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix Part 1

In honor of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we asked ROBOTMAK3RS to combine a LEGO set of their choice with a MINDSTORMS set. Here is what these five ROBOTMAK3RS came up with.  MINDSTORMS Chess Assistant by Arvind Seshan Overview: When you are new to chess, it can be a challenge to remember which pieces go where. Now, you can use machine learning and LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor to build a tool to help you learn where all the chess pieces go on the chess board. Sets used: LEGO® Iconic Chess Set (40174) and MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor (51515) Review: I really like how the chess set base can store all the pieces underneath and that the board neatly splits in half for handy storage. The chess pieces themselves are very sturdy and well built. My only criticism is the building of the box itself. It was quite difficult to see what pieces to use and since the entire box is made mostly of thin plates, it took a lot of time and patience. I would have liked the storage area to be sliding dra

Machine Learning Meets MINDSTORMS

Machine Learning Extension LEGO MINDSTORMS announced today a brand new feature that is sure to excite all users. Machine Learning Extension is coming to the software in August 2022. This will allow users to implement new applications that were not possible before. Machine Learning has become exceedingly popular in recent years with applications in all sorts of industries from robotics to financial services to climate change. Now, even the youngest of robot enthusiasts and programmers have access to the world of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Comparing two classes Machine Learning on MINDSTORMS will work with both images and audio. For instance, you could train your model to recognize smiles and frowns on your face and have the emotion displayed on your hub. You could train your model to recognize when a red ball is present or not or identify a particular LEGO element. You can control your robot with audio commands that use your own voice. It is exciting to see what new p