Planet Arduino

[Robin Reiter] needed a better way to show off his work. He previously converted an electric TV stand into a full 360-degree display turntable, but it relied on an external power supply to get it spinning. It was time to give it an upgrade.

Putting his spacial organization skills to work, [Reiter] has crammed a mini OLED display, rotary encoder, a LiPo 18650 battery and charging circuit, a pair of buck converters, a power switch, and an Arduino pro mini into the small control console. To further maximize space, [Reiter] stripped out the pin headers and wired the components together directly. It attaches to the turntable in question with magnets, so it can be removed out of frame, or for displaying larger objects!

When first powered on, the turntable holds in pause mode giving [Reiter] time to adjust the speed and direction. He also took the time to add an optical rotary encoder disk to the turntable and give the gearing a much needed cleaning. Check out the project video after the break!

[Reiter] is looking to add a timed stop feature, and — taking advantage of that rotary encoder — a rotate to target angle option, but it performs admirably at present.

We can see this display coming in handy for any 3D scanning needs too!

Musicians have an array of electronic tools at their disposal to help make music these days. Some of these are instruments in and of themselves, and [Wai Lun] — inspired by the likes of Choke and Shawn Wasabi — built himself a midi fighter

Midi fighters are programmable instruments where each button can be either a note, sound byte, effect, or anything else which can be triggered by a button. [Lun]’s is controlled by an ATmega32u4 running Arduino libraries — flashed to be recognized as a Leonardo — and is compatible with a number of music production programs. He opted for anodized aluminum PCBs to eliminate flex when plugging away and give the device a more refined look. Check it out in action after the break!

[Lun] designed the project in Fusion 360 and KiCad with plenty of room to spare for some electronic art — gotta love Daft Punk. He’s using Sanwa OBSC 24mm arcade buttons for their premium quality and two SK6812 mini LEDs apiece for a slick lighting effect when they’re pressed.

After receiving the manufactured boards and parts, a quick test fit flowed right into final assembly. With the ATmega32u4 flashed and programmed, he was ready to rock. Down the line, [Lun] wants to have a GUI to configure the notes each button plays without tinkering around in the code, but it works great for now.

For an astounding acoustic to electronic instrument conversion, check out this MIDI accordion!