Children can be a great source of daily inspiration, especially when they are just beginning to speak in full sentences and starting to let their little personalities show.
[Franklinstein] has the cutest toddler, and she loves her toy espresso machine, especially the little milk carton that came with it. Well, one day, Daddy made a glug-glug sound that delighted her, and he was inspired to build an entirely new milk jug that would make that special sound whenever it was turned over.
In order to keep the build relatively simple, [Franklinstein] used a sound module with an SD card and a tilt switch to activate it. There’s not much else to the build, really — just the usual suspects like a boost converter, a charging module, and a speaker, of course. In case you couldn’t tell, the enclosure and the internal skid that the electronics assemble onto are 3D printed.
This is really cute, and [Franklinstein]’s daughter seems to love it. Everything is available, including some nice instructions if you want to make one of your own. Be sure to check out the neat build video after the break.
The things we do for kids. Seriously.
Sweet idea, nice execution. 👏🏻
What are the three switches on the sound module for?
They allow for various playback modes – keep playing after button release, stop playing after button release, etc.
Wonderful project, a super-dad move!
A thought… Suppose you removed the tilt switch from the sound card trigger line (hard wired the trigger on) and instead wired the tilt switch to the sound board’s power rail? That way, the toy would never actually draw power except when tipped to “pour”.
At the rate children grow, you might get her from toddler to high-school in a single charge. ;)
If the sound card will only trigger on a transition, maybe use two tilt switches… one for power, one for trigger.
Ah, I like this idea! Would really simplify things – I’ll have to try it out!
That’s so cute. Now all I need is a small child to entertain. Wait a minute, I can always entrain myself.
Great idea, nice build. I may turn it into a pumpkin that’s goes boo!
“toy espresso machine” wow… what times we live in. In my days I only had rocks to play with.
But seriously now, what a fun little project and how heartwarming must it feel to see it used. These kind of projects are so much fun. There isn’t always enough time, as projects like these have to be finished before the potential user has grown up (or out of it). In this case, mission accomplished, well done.
The toy espresso machine is great training for the future employment most kids have to look forward to.