How to Auto-wash Fossils

This is an Instructable on how to make an automated prototype sieve. The goal is to make a machine that cleans fossils in a sieve found in the ocean and assesses the water to check when they are clean.

We have aimed at not being wasteful with resources, especially with water and power. Given this, we have made as much as possible driven by the water instead of being dependent on more power sources.

Below is a list of the materials, machines, and settings we used to manufacture our prototype:

1. Fusion 360 Autodesk to make the different components
2. Bambu Studio to convert the files from Fusion from the file type 3fm to the type gcode. Settings: Bambu X1 Carbon printer, 0.4 diameter nozzle, textured PEI plate, PLA basic filament, default (0.2mm) layer height. Always add automatic support trees to make sure the structure holds while being printed.
3. Bambu X1 Carbon or similar 3D printer
4. Sieve from our case owner that the prototype should include
5. Two wooden sticks with a diameter of 6.8 mm
6. Clear tube with a diameter (outer) of 9.5 mm

Below is a list of all the electrical-related components (sensors, actuators, microcontrollers) we used to make our final prototype:

1. Arduino Uno microcontroller
2. Breadboard
3. Wires
4. LED light
5. Piezo speaker
6. Relay module
7. Solenoid valve
8. Turbidity sensor
9. Arduino IDE

Above shows our Fritzing wiring diagram for the final prototype. The green dots have no meaning. We soldered different wires so that some of the wires would be more stable (not falling out of a breadboard) and also more usable for other people when assembling. All black cables are for GND and all red cables are for 5V.

All other wires are for signal straight to the Arduino.

Attached is the file "sensors.ino" which shows the microcontroller code for the final prototype.

All printed parts and the sieve are layed out on the photo above.

Below shows the steps of how to assemble our prototype, which is also shown in the above photos:

1. Put the bottom funnel in the sink.
2. Place the sieve in the funnel.
3. Place the interface between the sieve and the shower head.
4. Place the shower head on top of the interface.
5. Place the big cog on top of the shower head. The holes should align with the bumps on the shower head, making the big cog fall into place.
6. Place the stick in the hole of the interface.
7. Place the wooden stick with the two glued-on cogs, making sure that the stick is between the cogs.
8. Place the rectangular funnel's hole inside of the hole of the big cog.
9. Place the other stick with the glued-on cog and water turbine so that the turbine is in the rectangular funnel and the cog is on top of the identical cog.
10. Add the clear tube to the end of the bottom funnel.
11. Place the turbidity sensor between the tube.
12. Place the boards away from any water (assuming all wires are already connected properly).
13. Connect the solenoid valve to the water tap with a tube.
14. Add another tube on the other end of the valve and place the end of the tube in the rectangular top funnel, so that water can flow through the tube from the valve down to the turbine.
15. Plug the AC adapter into the power supply.
16. Connect the computer to the Arduino Uno and run the program.

Above shows photos on how to interact with our prototype. Following the Illustration Taxonomy, we have used the "Choosing a Frame Structure (SS1)" and "Choosing a point of view (SS2)" structural strategies, since this provides guidelines on how to deal with our prototype. We also made use of "Sub-framing" (SS3).

For SS1, we first decided that we need multiple frames, as the assembly has (arguably) many steps to it. The number of frames we decided to include is 6. We then organized the frames so that they would be "seen" from left to right with line breaks between them, making the pictures large enough to decipher. We did this by numbering the steps which is another example of SS1.

For SS2, the view we chose was the over-the-shoulder point of view, since we think that it makes it easier for others to see and follow the guide.

SS3 is also shown in step 5 where we used the Picture-in-Picture strategy to show that the user should also remember to plug the AC adapter into the socket as well as connect the computer and Arduino Uno board.

We also used "High-lighting interactive elements" (IS2) which is an interactive strategy. The use of IS2 is seen in the two steps, where we have added red circles to show interactive steps. In these steps we have highlighted that the user should put the turbidity sensor between the clear tube and in the other the solenoid valve is highlighted so that user makes sure to connect it with a tube.

The interactive strategy " Illustrating non-visual feedback" (IS5) is also used in the last step (step 6) shown with the symbol to show audio feedback which is a song the Piezo speaker will play.

Attached is a short video of our final prototype.

Attached are all of the files needed to print the whole device.