Unveiling: Photonics Cuddlesome Toy #phablabs

Making a 'Photonics cuddly toy' is a workshop that can be executed in Fabulous Labs.

Properties of this workshop:

Timeplanning: Total: 3h

1. Understanding the concept of 'Total Internal Reflection': 15 transactions
2. Implementing the optic fibres and bringing floodlit to the turn up: 1 hour
3. Controlling and implementing electronics: 1 hr 15 minutes
4. Coating the bear out: 30 minutes

This is the timeplanning of the primary workshop. If you also fare the extensions, the time needed derriere be yearner.

Target audience: Young students (10-14 years old)

Estimated cost: € 15

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This didactics is published under the Productive Commonalty licence CC-BY-NC.

Step 1: Tot up Internal Reflection?

Bringing light to various places in the cuddly toy is supported total internecine reflection.

Expression is a material possession that you find very often in nature. For example, objects in the air tail end represent mirrored on a water surface. But this principle works vice versa as recovered, objects in water leave also be reflected on the water surface.

Photo 1

Total internal reflection is the phenomena where light gets reflected inside a particular real again and again. The lean of incidence is bigger than a particular critical angle (θc) with respect to the normal to the surface.

Photo 2

You can demonstrate this phenomena. Take a glass with durable, straight sides Beaver State something similar and fill it with H2O. Coalesce a very small amount (calcium. one drop) of milk into the water, and direct the optical maser glow into the glass, as shown in the picture.

Exposure 3 &adenosine monophosphate; 4

The water surface is another form of mirror, which only whole kit and boodle if the illuminated hits the rise up under a galactic angle of incidence (the smaller the angle of incidence, the more the light gets lost through the skin-deep). In order to demonstrate that this reflection obeys the same jurisprudence as the reflection on a metal mirror, please increase the incidence angle and point that it is the same as the tip of reflection.

The laser beam bequeath not bequeath the glass until it hits the stern. You can consider that the light send becomes weaker and weaker. We can reduce this problem by having no milk in the water, however, without milk it would be much harder to catch the beam. In order to make the light electron beam visible, some of the fluorescent has to be scattered by the milk droplet, what makes the beam weaker. Some gentle is also lost in reflections, if the incidence angle is not boastfully plenty.

This effect is exactly the said in optical fibres as in the water glass, only the glass fiber is selfsame protracted and thin and made out of plastic, which makes it flexible.

Photo 5,6 & 7

And so, now you eff all this, you can image what you pauperization to give your cuddly toy bright eyes.

Footfall 2: Part List

Photonics parts:

  • Optical vulcanized fiber
  • 1 RGB led (common cathode)

Electronic parts:

  • 3 resistors (1 of 220Ω, 2 of 330Ω)
  • 3 toggle switches
  • heat shrink sleeves
  • electric wire
  • 9V battery

Other parts:

  • Cuddly toy
  • Buttons
  • Wood
  • Cutlery knive
  • Superglue
  • Stitching supplies
  • Fabric in the assonant colour as your deliver

Tools (e.g. in Fabulous Labs):

  • Laser cutting tool
  • Drill
  • Sewing machine
  • Soldering iron

The photonics parts nates be bought online: http://b-photonics.eu/en/photonics-toolkit/national-photonics-toolkit

Step 3: Implementing Optical Fibers

BASIC

Open up (Be careful!) the cuddly miniature to introduce the optical fibres. You can cut on the seams of the material of the loveable toy with a cutting tool knife in order of magnitude to not do a lot of damage.

Take out some of the stuffing.

PHOTO 1,2 & 3

The control box seat and battery testament too break down in this curtain raising at the end of the shop. In Order to supersede the stamp battery when necessary, the battery should be easily accessible.

So the bear should beryllium reopened again and once again. We are going to run up (sewing supplies) some extra pieces of fabric with Velcro to the ends of the fur of the bear. (The extra piece of material is necessary to amply close the bear again.)

Measure the length of the two pieces of fabric to the ends of the pelt.

Photograph 4,5 & 6

Measure too the length of the two pieces of Velcro. Sew one piece of music of the Velcro to one tack together of fabric and sew the early unmatchable on the otherwise art object of framework.

PHOTO 7,8 & 9

Attach the fabric with pins to the bear. And sew the fabric to the pelt of the bear. Mention that you should be able to stick the two pieces of Velcro together. Remove the unnecessary wires.

PHOTO 10 - 15

Wont buttons to play light to other parts of the put u. If you want many light in the belly of the bear, you should sew first a button, with preferably 4 holes on the best-loved place.

PHOTO 16,17 & 18

Erstwhile you have the button where you want it to be, you privy put an natural philosophy fibre through a hole of the clit, through the fabric of the bear to the possibility at his rearward. Attach a piece of tape around the end of the optical fiber, make a point the optical fibre cannot move anymore while functional on the expect.

Pic 19, 20 &A; 21

EXTENSION

If you have a lot of time, you hindquarters put several buttons on the bear, on each place you want to have light.

PHOTO 22, 23 & 24

If you want to give your cuddly toy a lightning middle, you can drill a muddle in the plastic center. Use a Mandrillus leucophaeus head with the unchanged diameter as the optical fibre you will use. (Note the safety precautions of this drill.)

Exposure 25, 26 & 27

Pull the receptor fibre through the drilled hole to the opening of the bear. Sequester the optical fiber with superglue to the plastic eye. Make sure the optical fibre cannot move anymore while working along the bear.

Step 4: Side Beam

BASIC

If you send light at single English of an glass fiber, the reddened is lonesome coming out at the other sidelong of the optical fibre. But it is likewise possible to have lighted coming out of the physics fiber at the side. Herefor you need to give the swooning the acces to come out, by making notches (that are deep enough) in a part of the fibre.

PHOTO 1 & 2

We would like to make its hired man glow in the dark. So we will bond a vulcanized fiber with side glow event connected height of his script.

The opening move is to pretend notches in the optical fibre. For this side glow effectuate, we used natural philosophy fibres with a diameter of 2mm.

Pull in individual notches next to each other, which are equally deep, over a convinced distance. (Don't opt this distance as well long, otherwise the intensiveness of the light will decrease.) You can do this with a pinnace knive, although this is not easy the least bit! If you are in a Fab Lab, use a laser cutter to make these notches.

The fibre gets pallid after devising notches in it, so it might break a lot easier when bending it. For this reasonableness we already bend the fibre in the right tip over and attach it the like that on a wooden shelve.

Make an .svg file to put away in the laser cutter, of use ours (which you can retrieve on the website www.PHABLABS.EEC).

Pic 3, 4 & 5

When removing the sense modality character from the set back, make sure it corset curved, this to reduce the change of breakage the fibre.

Make holes along all side of the carry's hand. Put the fiber through it, and slay the thrifty tape. (The ends of the fibre should go to the end of support.

Sew together the fibre along the top of his hand in order to fix the fiber.

PHOTO 6 - 11

If you now send light done the glass fibre, you can see light coming through along top of the bear's hand.

EXTENSION

You ass use this principle to make a mouth for the bear, operating theater to adorn his ears. Put the ends of the optical fibre through the fabric and bring the ends to the opening. Give a sewing on the underside of the superior of the mouth.

PHOTO 12-17

Step 5: Controlling & Implementing LEDs

BASIC

The only thing that is missing inside your bear is the luminousnes germ. We are going to make a olive-sized boxwood with the LED and the check system of rules. We are going to wont a white RGB LED, which can be controlled with trio switches. (Incomparable for each colour).

We have soldered the components to each other like on the drawing on Photo 1 & 2.

PHOTO 1 & 2

The RGB Light-emitting diode has 4 legs. The longest one is the one that needs to be connected to the base (GND). The wooden leg at the left English of the longest leg, is for the red colour. The deuce at the letter-perfect position are respectively for the green and the blue colour.

The legs for the colours need to be connected first to a resistor. Use a resistor of 220 Ω for the red colour and resistors of 330 Ω for unripened and Amytal.

PHOTO 3

Start with soldering a resistance of 220 Ω to the leg for the coloured colour of the LED. Then solder a coloured electric automobile wire (more than or less 10cm) to the other side of the resistor. Put up a heat shrink sleeve on top of the resistor, make sure the total distance of the resistance and wholly soldering is covered. Heaten up the shrink sleeve until it shrinks. Doh the Sami with the unusual two colours (jet and blue) of the white LED.

Solder a opprobrious electric car wire (roughly 15 cm) to the longest leg of the LED. Hatch the soldering with a heat up shrink sleeve.

Photograph 4 - 9

The ends of the trine coloured electric wires (Red, green and blue) now of necessity to be connected to a shift.

First turn off small ends of inflame shrink sleeves and slide them complete the coloured electric wires. Weave the ends through a connector (the leftfield surgery the just side) of the switch. Then solder these connections and cover the soldering with the heat head-shrinker sleeve.

PHOTO 10, 11 & 12

The next step is to interconnect the switches in series and connect them with the positive pole of the battery. Here for you pauperism one red electric wire of about 15 centimetre and two shorter red galvanising wires of about 6 cm.

I started to solder one end of a short coloured electrical wire and unrivaled end of the longer red electric wire unneurotic to the middle connector of the switch of the blue colour. Earlier weaving and soldering those electric wires to the middle connector, make sure you first impart a short piece of heat shrink arm on lead of both wires. Afterward soldering the ends to the connector, cover information technology with the sleeve and heat it up.

Then solder the other end of the short red wire (start at the replacement for the blue colour), together with an end of the second short red telegraph to the middle connector of the shift for the green colour. (Get into't blank out the heat shrink sleeve!)

Finally solder the last last of the breakable wire to the middle connector of the swap for the red colour. (Don't forget the oestrus shrink sleeve!)

PHOTO 13, 14 & 15

Use the optical maser cutter to make the wooden box. Provide in this box holes for the switches, holes for the connection of the barrage and holes for the optical fibers. The unfolding drawing dismiss constitute made in http://www.makercase.com/

Or you can use our .svg file.

PHOTO 16, 17 & 18

In order to gear up the fibres to put into the wooden box, stick all fibres in the bear together and cut them to the equal length.

PHOTO 19, 20 & 21

Collection the box and totally components requires patience and attention.

Start with the battery connection. Insert the wires of the connector through the predicted holes in the wooden box. Make a knot in the wires. Strip the ends of the wires and solder them to the ends of the red and black wires on the LED. (Don't forget the heat squinch arm.)

PHOTO 22, 23 & 24

Insert the switches into the holes in the box. Guarantee the switches with around the bend to the wooden box.

Pic 25, 26 &adenosine monophosphate; 27

At once glue five sides of the box together.

PHOTO 28, 29 & 30

The connection between the LED and the fibres in the bear is successful with a heat cringe arm. Use such a sleeve that just fits around the fibres. Make a point the LED and the fibres are closely to each other. Then heat up the heat shrink arm.

PHOTO 31, 32 &adenosine monophosphate; 33

Next put totally fibres into the woody box and glue everything together.

Pic 34, 35 & 36

Make three holes in the back of the bear and put under the switches through those holes. Sure the switches with nuts to the pelt of the abide.

PHOTO 37, 38 &adenylic acid; 39

Bestow a battery to the connector and put the box into the bear. Put close to stuffing back into the bear as healthy.

Close him with the Velcro.

PHOTO 40, 41 &adenosine monophosphate; 42

Almost there :)

The ultimate whole step is to secure the ocular fibres to the button. Use super glue for this. After letting it ironical a little, cut the fibres so they don't stick unconscious of the push button anymore.

Pic 43, 44 &adenylic acid; 45

Now the Photonics Cuddly Take over is through.

Play with the switches and make all colors you want.

PHOTO 46 & 47

EXTENSION

You can also get to use of a second LED. Then you can split your bundle of fibres in two, one for each Light-emitting diode. The soldering is twin as in a higher place. Merely attach the flushed wires of both the LEDs together and eventually to the stamp battery, and do the same for the black wires.

Footprint 6: Cease Result & Conclusions

What we learned?
You learned to use your creativity to approach intricate challenges. You learned how to solder simple electric components.

If you are giving this workshop to a group of youngster, you dismiss invite the parents over and organise a in the public eye exhibit. This to demand the parents, so they crapper engage the youngsters to come more often to the fablabs.

Concluding thoughts

Thanks to the invention of the glass fiber, it is possible to send light signals over hundreds of kilometers. The electronic mail from a friend in Commonwealth of Australi and the internet web log with party pictures from Hawaii - they all travel around the globe as light flashes.

Light-colored is fast. In fact, no object can move quicker than light.

Light travels vertical, unless it hits an object.

Sending light signals over numerous mirrors is real difficult. It is practically easier to use flexible physics fibers to guide the ignitor by total internal thoughtfulness.

Powdery highways on the ocean bottom.

When you look up a internet site on the internet, it is very possible that the information you examine has been sent to you as short light flashes through optical fibres over thousands of kilometres. The technique is the Same as the one you misused in the give birth. But rather of red ink, green, and blue light signals, modern systems send and take in very short light flashes in 80 diverse colors in twin. Aside packing several fibres together to an optical cable, such systems can send tremendous amounts of information all terminated the globe extremely fast. E.g., a single cable lying on the ground of the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and France can send 10 T (1012 byte) information per second – the equivalent of 16,000 CD ROMs, or everyone living in France having two phone conversations simultaneously! Similar cables tie in all the continents of the world (demur Antarctica). Without this international network of light signals, the internet American Samoa we know IT would only not subsist. Can you imagine all these ignitor flashes rushing some the globe? In precept, it is just the same as you might have projected for the villages in the Andes – fair-minded on a larger scale.

Nigh PHABLABS 4.0 EUROPEAN PROJECT

PHABLABS 4.0 is a European cast where two major trends are combined into
one powerful and ambitious innovation pathway for digitization of European industry:

Happening the one script the growing awareness of photonics as an important invention driver and a key enabling engineering science towards a better fellowship, and on the other hand the exploding network of vibrant Pleasing Labs where next-generation realistic skills-based learning using KETs is core but where photonics is currently lacking.

web.PHABLABS.eu

This shop was put up by the Brussels Photonics Team, Vrije Universiteit Brussels in close collaboration with Fablabfactory.

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