SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
Wall-E Toaster Oven
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“...because at BnL, space is the final FUN-tier!”
My love for engineering and interactive design has always been heavily influenced by Disney. In particular, the Imagineers that fuel invisible magic behind Disney parks through art and technology. Disney’s stories, characters, and unbelievable environments always fascinated me, and as I grew up I was even more amazed by the idea that engineering made this magic exist in our reality.
“Caution: Rogue robots. Caution...”
After ideation and sketching, I used Fusion 360 to create a 3D model of the Wall-E toaster oven. Although there are many 3D models of Wall-E on the internet, it was important to me that I modeled each piece myself referencing the designs used in the movie.
The body of the Wall-E is comprised of six different sides, all with specific engravings and openings for wiring and electronic fittings. Additionally, the body contains spaces for the arms, neck, and wheels, to be press fit and glued.
The most challenging part of this process was creating functional wheels and treads to attach to the the body. I went through many iterations of the wheels to achieve a functional and aesthetically pleasing design. Overall, each wheel was composed of six different parts designed to fit together and allow for rotational movement of the two bottom wheels about one axis. The parts were specially designed to fit within the constraints of a 5″ x 5″ 3D printer, which was the accessible tool at the time of building. The wheels were held together using custom designed tread that are comprised of 3D printed links.
“Please remain stationary. A service bot will be here to assist you momentarily”
After 3D modeling was complete, part production began. The majority of the parts were 3D printed including the arms, head, and the entirety of the wheels. The body, however, was CNC milled out of MDF.
Due to COVID-19 conditions, maker labs in the area were closed to the public, so I took the opportunity to build a DIY CNC machine at home using pipe and more 3D printed parts. The CNC was completed by following a tutorial from v1engineering.com/lowrider-cnc/. The sketches of each side of the box were exported from fusion 360 as a DXF file and cut on the CNC mill using a Dremel tool as the head. Each side of the box took approximately 3 hours to cut out and engrave while the 3D printed parts ranged from 3 to 48 hours to complete.
Once all the parts had been produced, I painted each one by hand using acrylic paint. I worked closely off of Wall-E reference photos in an attempt to achieve the same beat-up and rusted appearance that metal would have. The parts were then sealed with a paint finisher to protect against scratches in the future.
“putting the "star" in executive StarLiner!...”
I believe that the electrical integration was the most challenging and informative part of this project. This is mostly because I do not have the same background in electronics as I do with mechanical engineering and design. The challenge was integrating the Arduino, both servos, LED light, fan, 5 volt transformer, and the toaster oven into the same power cord.
The knob on the toaster served as a switch that completed the power circuit when the knob was turned. This turned on the light, fan, toaster oven, and 5 V transformer. An Arduino Nano read the voltage going through the 5 V transformer and sent a signal to the servos when the voltage dropped from 5 V to 0 V, indicating that the toaster oven had finished.
Ultimately, all the wiring was done with the 3D parts disconnected and then tested. Before assembling the whole thing, I trimmed the wires, and used a combination of clamps and 3D printed parts to organize everything inside the body against the walls. The walls were then lined with carbon fiber to help protect the MDF, electronics, and 3D parts from the heat of the toaster oven.
