If you’re blessed with high water pressure at home, you probably love how it helps blast grime from your dishes and provides a pleasant washing experience. However, it can also cause a wonderful mess when that water splashes all over your countertops. [vgmllr] has whipped up a simple solution to this problem by installing an automatic splash guard.
The concept is simple enough—install a pair of flat guards that raise up when the sink is running, in order to stop water getting everywhere. To achieve this, [vgmllr] grabbed an Arduino, and hooked it up to a piezo element, which acts as a water sensor.
The piezo is attached to the bottom of the sink, and effectively acts as a microphone, hooked up to one of the Arduino’s analog-to-digital pins. When water flow is detected, the Arduino commands two servos to raise a pair of 3D printed arms that run up and down the outside of the sink. Each arm is fitted with magnets, which mate with another pair of magnets on the splash shields inside the sink. When the arms go up, the splash shields go up, and when the arms go down, the splash shields go down.
It’s an ingenious design, mostly because the installation is so clean and seamless. By using magnets to move the splash shields, [vgmllr] eliminated any need to drill through the sink, or deal with any pesky seals or potential water leaks. Plus, if the splash shields are getting in the way of something, they can easily be popped off without having to disassemble the entire mechanism.
It’s a tidy little build, both practical and well-engineered. It’s not as advanced as other kitchen automations we’ve seen before, but it’s elegant in its simple utility.
Neat!
“simple”
It’s very cool, don’t get me wrong. But that’s definitely not the word I would choose.
“Simple” == “Goldbergian”, right? =))
It’s an actuator that moves an arm when it detects ADC input noise over a threshold on an elderly 8 bit microcontroller with ~50 lines of code including bracket lines. Is that not simple enough for you? What would be simple enough, plugging in an LED and running blink?
I would agree the mechanical build is “not simple” for your average electrical hacker, but it’s really not complex either. Freshman mechanical engineers make way more complex things, and I would still consider those “simple”.
That said I think the article describes it as simple largely because the UX is so elegant. No buttons, no switches, the shield moves on its own and is super easy to detach and reattach. It’s a very elegant solution in many ways.
I have a feeling it is very noisy though and it will leave marks on the sink, but honestly this is the kind of thing that has enough product and industrial design thought that I expect the author is a professional in a related field.
Awesome build though, I’m surprised I haven’t seen something similar on high end sinks before, though I guess the people that can afford this kind of stuff in uber expensive Kohler form or whatever have dishwashers and paid help.
Super cool hack, it’s so rare we get to see a simple hack that is also elegant and has an excellent UX.
Simple would be the plastic splash guard running in small 3d printed tracks on the edge of the counter. Slightly more complicated but keeping the clean look, splash guard with magnets on it, and magnets on the other side holding it there, and some 3d printed tracks on those to hold them there if you remove the guard entirely. Pull it up when you need it, push it down when you’re done. Or you can have two sets of magnets, one high and one low, fixed in place, alleviating the “scraping magnets on your sink surface” issue. Bonus feature, the guard can be in place before water starts flowing and potentially splashing, instead of being reactionary. No microcontroller or code necessary. Not even a 555. But it wouldn’t make it on HaD.
I agree this is really well built, and simple usage once built. I don’t begrudge anyone wanting to do this. I just said I wouldn’t use the word simple to describe this solution.
Simple enough would be just using less water so it doesn’t spray everywhere.
Like this one a lot.
Fore years I’ve been wishing for something that turns a normal kitchen sink into something almost like a sandblasting cabinet.
Not necessarily with the gloves and stuff == maybe with the front part missing.
And of course a faucet(?) hose(?) with a nozzle that is a bit like the ones from power washers (a single line).
Probably the most unnecessary gadget ive ever seen.
Have you seen the rabbit r1, humane ai pin, or the “friend” necklace?
You clearly haven’t seen aftermath after me washing the dishes. I’m taking almost as much time drying around the sink afterwards as doing the dishes.
Neat idea, but why all the rigamarole with a sensor, actuator, microcontroller, software and electrical supply? Just put a hydraulic cylinder in, powered by the water pressure itself. Gravity return. No muss, no fuss.
I SO wish someone invented a sort of a valve specifically for the purpose of reducing pressure.
Srsly? In what alternate timeline do you live that has not had pressure regulators for the last century or more?
Autism-level sarcasm recognition.