Bubbling Witches Brew
Bubbling Witches Brew
3D
Published 2017-10-23T09:38:08+00:00
This object was made in Tinkercad. https://www.tinkercad.com/things/kPxzSn2JLAR
Here is a video of it 'bubbling'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTC2JURFe7k
Phew! This was my biggest 3D printing project ever! But wow! It's soooo cool! This is for entry into the Trick or Treat contest, and I guess it's a 'trick' cause it 'bubbles', but what a treat to watch a 3D printed item bubble! WEEEE! This was my own idea and my own design. I have never seen anything designed to bubble with the method I came up with, (after trial and error, and error, and error...maybe one more error.). Now, LOOK AT IT GO!
What you need;
1. A toy motor (20mmx30mm from case to case) shaft can vary. I got one from a 1980's toy car and a 2016 toy car, EXACTLY THE SAME THING!
2. An on/off button switch with a base/shaft of 15mm diameter to fit into the cauldron.
3. Some small wires, such as 22gauge
4. 2 lengths of 14gauge solid copper wire, about 40-50mm long each.
5. 2 AA batteries.
6. 3, #4 x1/2" sheet metal screws or equivalent.
The logs house the AA batteries and you will be making the copper connections from the 14gauge wire by hammering them on an anvil or something hard. Watch my video in making a terminal block to see how I do it. https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3233
The batteries go in the SAME direction! It's only running on 1.5VDC, but it's double amperage so I suspect it should last a while.
Other than that, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
You will have to break up the parts to print them in different colors. Make sure to use supports when printing an item with a cavity underneath.
If you would like to print the cauldron and log(battery holder) in two seperate prints like I did, look up my item in tinkercad and you can find another version already broken into two parts that will have to be glued together. Furthermore, if you would like to print all the logs in one color, you can seperate the cauldron and print that way (in TinkerCAD).
The bubbles, I used aligator clips from a soldering stand to hold them and a dremmel to smooth the bottom round. Also used it to paint the eye.
The top cap of the cauldron is a snap fit, use a dremmel as needed to get the snap. Also, the brew top snaps into the cauldron top.
When installing the motor, make sure you have it even with the ledge, and I used some thin flexible foam sheet to help get a good gear teeth mesh.
When installing the bubbles, place the brew top in the cauldron top and place upsidedown on table. Place all bubbles and eyes. Use a stick or small screw driver and hold the ring gear (bubble mover) and put upsidedown onto the top. Hold together and snap in place, or else you will be cursing the little bubbles like a witch on halloween!
If you had a potentiometer or could build an ocilating circuit or PWM, you could turn the 'heat' on the bubbler up and down, mhu ha ha ha! When I have time later, I may install some red LED in the bottom, but they will need a joule thief or something, cause they won't run on 1.5V.
Any questions feel free to ask. I will post more pics or videos if you need it. I hope you enjoy!
I'm not sure how much material quantity it actually took, and the time really depends on your printer speed of course, it took me 25.5 hours (not including all the failed testing).
| Date published | 23/10/2017 |
| Time to do | 765 - 1530 minutes |
| Material Quantity | 200 |
| Dimensions | 140mmx100mmx60mm |
| Technology | FDM |
| Complexity | Easy |
| Support Free | YES |