Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Weekend Projects – Toothy Toothbrush Timer”.
Hi, i’m laura assistant editor at make. Let’S be honest, we could all use a little help, maintaining better teeth, brushing habits. Experts recommend that you brush for two minutes twice a day, but most people don’t even come close to that kids or adults. The toothy toothbrush timer by steve hofer, will help you get those recommended 120 seconds each time you brush every time your toothbrush is lifted from the holder. The teeth start chomping and continue cheering you on until your time is up when the teeth finally come to a stop, just replace the toothbrush in its holder and the timer. Will it works by using the famous and versatile 555 timer chip in conjunction with a modified servo? We could have designed this project using an arduino or other microcontroller, but it’s so simple that all you really need is the 555 timer. Let’S get started making one. You can pick up the electronic components for the build at your local radio shack. You might find a pair of wind-up chattering teeth at a local party shop or you can easily source them online check.
The project page for advice you’ll need a day to complete this project. It is moderately difficult and requires a basic understanding of schematics and soldering to complete. The project only requires a few tools, most of which you probably already have access to chattering teeth come in several different designs, which will determine how you prepare them carefully. Pry the hinge apart or remove the hinge, pin or spring in either case remove all the parts except for the hinge mechanism.
Next, we need to convert the servo motor into a mandible moving gear motor start by putting a piece of tape around the top of the servo to keep it from spilling its gears everywhere. Next, remove the screws from the back of the servo and desolder the two solder points that connect the circuit board to the motor. Once desoldered, you can remove the circuit board and solder two wires directly onto the motor.
Now we need to modify the gears, so the motor can spin continuously start by carefully removing the front cover of the servo hold it upright. So the gears don’t fall out. You’Ll notice, a large gear with a small nub that prevents it from turning a full 360 degrees. Take a photo to help. You reassemble all the gears later and then remove the large gear use wire cutters to cut the nub away, replace all the gears in their proper places and reinstall the covers with the screws.
The last modification to the servo is to cut off the mounting wings from both sides of the case. Now we’ll make the toothbrush holder start by cutting a four inch length of three-quarter inch pvc pipe and sliding it into the reducer bushing next cut the flanged end off of the pvc plug. The remaining part should fit smoothly inside the pipe. Now it’s time to wire up all the electronics, we will start by soldering wires to the two outside terminals on the switch.
Next, we need to use needle nose, pliers and carefully bend a loop in the metal lever on the top of the switch to mount. The switch drill three holes to match the terminals at the bottom of the switch in the project case thread the wires through the case and hot glue, the switch into place. Next, we can use a small piece of perf board and wire up all the components as described in the schematic on the project page. You can find the link at the bottom of the screen when the circuit’s complete put batteries in the battery holder and test.
If everything is working correctly, the motor should turn for one to three minutes and then stop pressing and releasing the switch should start the motor. Turning again now that the electronics are ready, let’s get the teeth. Chattering, connect the round servo horn to the servo and secure it in place with a screw hot glue, the servo to the inside of the case mounting it, as shown then glue the lower jaw of the chattering teeth to the top of the case. Next drill a hole through the jaw and the top of the case, it should be lined up with the center of the servo horn, straighten a paper clip and pass it through the hole and then bend the paper clip wire to attach it to the servo horn.
Rotate, the motor, so the wire is in the lowest position and reattach the top jaw of the teeth then to loop in the wire, so it just barely touches the inside of the top teeth. Now the turning servo will make the teeth. Chomp. The last steps of the build are to glue the circuit board inside the enclosure and the toothbrush holder over the switch and then slide the plug into the holder to calibrate the timer start the motor and measure how long it runs turn the trim pot as needed To get the run time to about two minutes now you can tuck the battery pack inside the case and close it all up.
Placing a toothbrush into the holder should open the switch you’ll, hear it click or it will stop the motor. If it’s running, if your toothbrush isn’t heavy enough, you can add small coins to the bottom of the toothbrush holder for extra weight. Now you have no excuse for not brushing your teeth long enough. Whenever the toothbrush is picked up, the teeth will start chomping and then stop when the brushing time is up.
Returning the brush to the holder turns off the timer and readies it for the next brushing you’ll love it, and your dentist will, thank us, be sure to check out more details about the toothy toothbrush timer build on the project page. You can find the link below it’s also a great place to share your build and ask questions until next time. So you .