Record Cleaning *Robot*

[shimniok]

I am lazy. There is NO way I am going to manually clean the hundreds of classical records I just acquired. So instead of going thru all that work, it makes way more sense to spend dozens and dozens of hours building a record cleaning machine from scratch...

But wait... why just build a manual machine when I can spend even more time adding a microcontroller and programming the device to automatically spray, scrub, and vacuum records, all by itself! Ok, ok, I know this has been done, it's your basic one-side automatic RCM. And there are lots of posts on here by far more skilled individuals who have built nice RCMs.

So I am calling mine a record cleaning robot. A mechanical minion. Silicon slave. Sort of a vinyl cleaning kobold, like the mythical Biersal, only for records!

Ok, it probably won't be able to pick the record out of my hand with a clenching plastic fist and pull it out of the cover and sleeve and scrub away with charming personality like some kind of Rosie the Maid... at least not for some time.

But I guarantee I'm not stopping until I can -- at a minimum -- slap a record on the platter, press one button, wait a few minutes, and pull a perfectly sparkly half-cleaned record back off, with no other intervention.

Laziness requires a lot of hard work! So far: just finished a workable chassis last night that may end up being a prototype but it'll let me prove out the other subsystems. Right now it is totally fugly, yes, but I promise it won't stay gruesome for too long...



The plan: gutted bread machine supplies drivetrain for the platter and some electronics. Free platter from a Garrard (thanks Ed). MOSFET driver(s) interfaced to the MCU. More electronics form an old, dead, linear tracking TT. $2 portable handheld vacuum with fittings and hose to suck the fluid from the LPs, controlled via Triac interfaced to microcontroller. MCU will either be a discontinued Pololu Baby Orangutan based on an AVR ATmega168 or just a raw 168. Fluid dispensed by... automotive window washer squirter and garden drip system sprayer? Hmmm

If anyone's interested I'll post more detail on the chassis. I don't want to bore anyone Meanwhile I've been writing up the build on my robotics tinkering blog.

Here's a video version of the build up thus far: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6jwGVVszFc

[similost]

Too cool.. I really like your drive unit there. I had mounted the larger gear to my platter, and it's way too fast... I may just have to go your route...

Can you post some pictures of the underside to show how you mounted the drive plate?

[SPL db]

[hifi_nut]

Can´t wait to see some more. Great stuff.

[shimniok]

Thanks all

Here's a pic of the drive mechanism. It's mounted on a vertically oriented 'axle' to allow it to pivot so that I can spring load it to press the idler wheel into the platter. It uses two bushings, now, instead of one because my earlier mockup was too wobbly.



Here's a pic of the underside with the top platform on.



Excerpt from da blog

The new version uses a 3/8" threaded rod as the axle, with two bronze bushings to control wobble. I started with a 3/4" plywood base of 13"x15" based on some mockup measurements. The base houses the lower bushing. A hole with chamfer makes it easier to hammer the bushing into place. A wood tower houses the topmost bushing and the threaded rod goes through both.



Lock nuts will cinch against the thrust surfaces of the bushings and hold the threaded rod and bushings in place and allow for end play adjustment.

[similost]

so I take it the rubber part is riding against the bottom of the platter spinning it on the inside or outside? How did you get such a slow speed like that? Did you have to slow the motor at all?

[shimniok]

PS: I should add that if your motor is spinning too fast and you really feel like going thru the electronics hassle, you can probably put together a PWM motor controller to control speed.

With the idler wheel driving against the rim for the belt, speed is ok, but maybe a little slow, I don't know. In my case since it is to be MCU controlled anyway, I'd probably be better to have it directly driven or have the idler wheel on the motor itself and then run whatever speed is needed (faster for scrubbing, slower for vacuuming?)

Michael

[shimniok]

Originally Posted by similost

so I take it the rubber part is riding against the bottom of the platter spinning it on the inside or outside? How did you get such a slow speed like that? Did you have to slow the motor at all?

Not a bit. The motor doesn't run too fast and is further geared down by the giant sprocket. I was trying to drive the platter from the outer edge and found it glacially slow so had to drive it off the belt surface.

[similost]

Interesting.. Like I said, I just attached the large pulley to the bottom of my platter to the center spindle hole. Yes, it's a lot slower than the motor alone, but not like yours at all.. My problem is I threw out the plate they all mounted to, and also bored out the center hole of the large gear, so no going back for me. I might look for a new maker though... The speed looks perfect to me..

I did put a dimmer switch on mine, but the dimmer don't get it.. once the speed drops, the torque is gone, and the motor won't keep spinning..

[shimniok]

Originally Posted by similost

Interesting.. Like I said, I just attached the large pulley to the bottom of my platter to the center spindle hole. Yes, it's a lot slower than the motor alone, but not like yours at all.. My problem is I threw out the plate they all mounted to, and also bored out the center hole of the large gear, so no going back for me. I might look for a new maker though... The speed looks perfect to me..

I guess one of the main reasons I didn't mount it direct to the sprocket was the shaft is sort of bent so the platter would wobble I honestly thought the idler wheel would be moving a lot faster based on how it behaved with the original electronics.

In case it helps, the brand on my breadmaker was Toastmaster. I don't know about what bread maker brands are out there so maybe that brand is one of thousands. I don't know how you'd find one with a similar design other than I notice mine was lighter than others available at GW at the time.

I also had a thought about using a juicer as those are high torque and slow speed... that might work for direct drive.

Michael

[similost]

hhhmm.. kinda like the juicer idea.. I think mine was a GE, but looks almost identical to yours.. the motor looks different, and the larg gear a little different, but over all the same.. yes, your's could hae had a lower speed though..

[shimniok]

Hope this isn't too much of a hijack but...

... how do you do a mitre cut on a board that is wider than your miter saw can handle?

So, I have 4 boards, 3/4" x 8" x ~15-25" and I want to use them to build a box into which my RCM will be placed. They will be the sides of the RCM.

So I need to make a 45° cut on the 8" wide ends of the boards...

Should I get a table saw? Is there any way I can make an accurate miter cut with a circular saw (I am guessing no). I'm at a total loss... been googling up a storm and the only thing I found was a jig for a table saw...

Thanks...

Michael

[meggy]

Originally Posted by shimniok

Is there any way I can make an accurate miter cut with a circular saw (I am guessing no). Michael

Doesn't the plate on your circular tilt? It won't be as accurate as a miter, but if you can run some test cuts on junk boards first...

I've done some crazy stuff like clamping a circular upside down (blade up), in the absence of a table saw. I sure wouldn't recommend it though.

[shimniok]

Originally Posted by meggy

Doesn't the plate on your circular tilt? It won't be as accurate as a miter, but if you can run some test cuts on junk boards first...

Hm, yeah maybe I'll give that a whirl Thanks!