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Woodworking
The structure of the ball is based on the skyscraper in Times Square where the real ball drops each year. The frame is made completely out of wood, and the joints use dowels to hold the frame together. At the top of the pole is a pulley system in a pointed wooden tower that changes the direction of the string going from the ball to the motor. The structure also holds the circuit boards, motor and wireless base station. The tools I used for the woodworking part of the project were saws, planes, rasps, clamps, stop blocks, sandpaper, a drill and a dowel jig.
The structure of the ball is based on the skyscraper in Times Square where the real ball drops each year. The frame is made completely out of wood, and the joints use dowels to hold the frame together. At the top of the pole is a pulley system in a pointed wooden tower that changes the direction of the string going from the ball to the motor. The structure also holds the circuit boards, motor and wireless base station. The tools I used for the woodworking part of the project were saws, planes, rasps, clamps, stop blocks, sandpaper, a drill and a dowel jig.
Glass
I used glass to make the mini-ball because the real ball is made out of glass (Waterford Crystal). Like the real ball, the mini-ball is made up of triangles. I cut stained glass into the shapes I needed by scratching the glass with a scribe and breaking it with glass pliers and by cutting it with a glass saw. I soldered the glass pieces together by putting a thin metal tape on the edge of each piece of stained glass and used a small plastic sphere to get the right shape.
I used glass to make the mini-ball because the real ball is made out of glass (Waterford Crystal). Like the real ball, the mini-ball is made up of triangles. I cut stained glass into the shapes I needed by scratching the glass with a scribe and breaking it with glass pliers and by cutting it with a glass saw. I soldered the glass pieces together by putting a thin metal tape on the edge of each piece of stained glass and used a small plastic sphere to get the right shape.
Mechanical
To make the ball work, I needed a high torque, slow RPM motor that didn’t break when we moved the ball up and down many times. I tried four motors that didn’t work. The fifth motor worked, but I had to change the motor design completely. Also on the fifth try I changed from a monofilament line to a braided line, which worked much better. Before I started working on the actual ball, I made a small prototype with a pole, string, plastic ball and pulley.
To make the ball work, I needed a high torque, slow RPM motor that didn’t break when we moved the ball up and down many times. I tried four motors that didn’t work. The fifth motor worked, but I had to change the motor design completely. Also on the fifth try I changed from a monofilament line to a braided line, which worked much better. Before I started working on the actual ball, I made a small prototype with a pole, string, plastic ball and pulley.
Circuits and Programming
I used Arduino to build and program the electronic components of the ball. I needed to write code for the 60-second countdown, the flashing 2015, and Auld Lang Sine. I also needed to program the motor so that the ball would go up, down and stop. In the code I used pulse width modulation (PWM) to slow down the motor so that the ball would hit the top of the building at exactly 60 seconds. Getting the code right took a long time. There is a wired remote that can control the ball from 15 feet, or I can control the ball over a wireless network using an app on my phone which was called Roomie but now Simple Control.
I used Arduino to build and program the electronic components of the ball. I needed to write code for the 60-second countdown, the flashing 2015, and Auld Lang Sine. I also needed to program the motor so that the ball would go up, down and stop. In the code I used pulse width modulation (PWM) to slow down the motor so that the ball would hit the top of the building at exactly 60 seconds. Getting the code right took a long time. There is a wired remote that can control the ball from 15 feet, or I can control the ball over a wireless network using an app on my phone which was called Roomie but now Simple Control.
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Mini Ball
Weight 2 lbs 4.5 oz Height 6 in Total Glass Pieces 127 Length of Drop 50 in Speed of Descent .833 in/sec First Drop 2014 |
Times Square Ball
Weight 11,875 lbs Height 12 ft Total Glass Pieces 2688 Length of Drop 141 ft Speed of Descent 2.35 ft/sec First Drop 1907 |
Times Square Ball Location
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