1. Implementation: Compressor hack
I got the air compressor in the mail, opened it up, and soldered wires to each of the three buttons used to control the pressure and on/off mechanism. Below are some photos of the hacking process, and a video of the air compressor, as I connect wires (manually) to adjust the pressure and turn the compressor on and off.
The compressor with the cover removed:
The underside (well, the top, but the underside once the cover is taken off), after I removed the screws holding the display and circuit board down.
Testing the polarity of the circuit: which contact is the positive side, and which is the negative side:
Video of the compressor:
2. Look and Feel Prototype: Housing for the compressor
Below are photos of the iMac G3 CPU after I attacked it with a few screwdrivers, a pick and a hammer. Seriously, I spent ages pounding out rivets to get a support platform out of the case so that the compressor would fit inside.
I wanted to send the compressor cable through one of the upper holes, but even after I cut the barrier between two of them, I still couldn't get the head through. Even at the bottom slots, I had to cut across a barrier in order to get the compressor valve through:
3. Implementation: Circuit to control the air compressor
I made a circuit using NPN transistors to control the circuits in the compressor controls. I just need to send a positive signal to the base of the transistors to send electricity flow to the buttons. I used pins 7, 8, and 9, since 10-13 will be controlled by the ethernet shield when it arrives in the mail in a couple of days (it shipped yesterday or the day before). A photo of the circuit is below. My apologies that it looks so messy—I tied a string around each of the positive wires so that I wouldn't get them confused. I would have used red string, but I couldn’t find my sewing kit—just my black button thread:
4. Look and Feel - USB plug
Below are a couple of photos from building the USB plug to go on the compressor cable. The Exploding Twit Bird will have the USB plug in its beak:
5. Look and Feel: Feet made from sponges:
I cut the feet out of sponges and glued them together:
6. Implementation: Different tape for the balloon-covered wings
In my first 'look and feel' prototype of the wings, I used the only double-sticky tape that I could find at the store I went to. It happened to be 'removable' tape, which is practically worthless. The balloons didn't stay on well enough. I used standard tape in a second prototype, and it worked a lot better. The second photo is of the wing as I am shaking it. No balloons fall off.
Also, FYI: I've spent as much time researching and working on code as I have all of the above prototypes, but I still have some work to go before it is ready to show. Next week, I hope to have everything up and running so that for the final week of classes, I can just tweak some final details and focus most of my energy on making a polished presentation.
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