【Flower Blooming in Prosperity】Mechanism Flower Making

Samuel Lin

Jan 7, 2024 • 6 min read

Hello everyone, I'm Samuel. This is my first time writing a blog, and I'm a bit nervous. I mainly want to share with you how to make a flower mechanism that can open and close. I will divide the steps into four parts, from the center axis to the petals to the assembly on the large base plate to the final writing of the program to make it run. I hope you can gain something.

Step 1: Assemble the center axis

All components you need is down below

(The four black three-hole rounded rods in the lower left corner are assembled and fixed into two groups using black short pegs.)

Assemble four black short pegs on the motor and the universal adapter

Separate the head and tail of dual axle.

Assemble the two universal adapter (make sure that the six sides of the two universal adapters are aligned).

Reattach the head that was just separated (make sure that the universal adapter is pressed to the top of the head).

Then, connect the short pegs that were previously installed on the black three-hole rounded rods to the opposite side of the hexagon, and then assemble the motor.

Finally, install the warm gear on the white top.

Step 2: Assemble the flower petal gear mechanism

Six flower petals are needed, so please prepare six sets of the following components.

The blue 40T gear has been pre-assembled on the seven-hole rounded rod using a cam combination key.

First, take out the 11-hole rod and assemble the axle connecter and two short pegs in the first, fourth, and sixth holes from the left.

Take out the three-hole rounded rod and assemble two pegs on it, and finally assemble another axle connecter in the middle of the three-hole rounded rod.

Use static connecters to assemble the two five-hole super long rods together as shown in the figure.

Then, assemble two more static connecter

Then, assemble the seven-hole rounded flat long rod as shown in the figure.

Then, stack the five-hole rounded flat long rod and assemble a self-rotating axle connector on the seven-hole rounded flat long rod.

Finally, assemble the previously assembled gear.

Step 3: Assemble on the large base plate

This is the material that needs to be prepared. You can pre-assemble one static and two axle connecters on one of the fifteen-hole super long rods.

Then, assemble the other two fifteen-hole super long rods on either side.

Then, assemble the flower petal mechanism, making sure that the middle gear can fit on the warm gear

Assemble all six of them, making sure that the angle of each petal is consistent.

Then, assemble a 5x5 square on the edge of the motor at the bottom and assemble a three-hole long rod in the middle.

Assemble the same components on the other side and assemble it on the large base plate.

Then, insert the super long rod that was just assembled, aligned with the middle axle buckle, at the top of the shaft, and buckle the two ends on the large base plate.

We're almost there ~lastly we need to write some program to get it start moving

Step 4: Write the program

This is the program I wrote. Here, you need to pay attention to the fact that the Sensors block I used needs to be added from Extensions, the link is here(https://github.com/gigotoys/gigo-block)

Demonstration video:

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※Extended Creation - Flower Blooming in Prosperity

After completing the design of the mechanism flower, we will make it have new function and decoration through programming! We want to create a mechanism that allows the petals to bloom in welcome when people approach. Therefore, we need to use the smart controller 2.0, two RGB LED holders and an ultrasonic sensor from #1409.

The new smart controller 2.0 supports two 3.7V lithium batteries, enabling the simultaneous operation of four motors and sensors, providing a highly stable voltage. The RGB LED holder can change colors by program without connecting multiple LED bulbs. The ultrasonic sensor can emit ultrasonic waves and detect the distance between objects through the rebound of ultrasonic waves.

Smart controller 2.0(Left); RGB LED holder(Middle); Ultrasonic sensor(Right)

※Program Logic

First, we set the pins of the RGB LED holder, then use the function to make the LED to change colors randomly.

Next, we need to set up the logic for the ultrasonic sensor, which is quite simple. When a guest approaches within a certain distance (<100 cm), the RGB LED holders will change colors and the motors will activate to make the petals bloom. Conversely, if nothing is detected, the RGB LED holders and motors will stop.

The complete program is as follows:

The following is the pin position for the motors and sensors. Remember to place them in the correct positions to function correctly!

※Operation

Now, we use 2 cm building blocks to make "花開富貴", a Chinese New Year greeting used to wish for wealth and prosperity upon the listener . We also created borders, green leaves, and yellow flowers to make the overall design more colorful!

Put the RGB LED holder in the middle of flower.

Well done! All we have to do is turn on the power and let the mechanism flower bloom its petals for every guest!

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