Remote Controlled Wiitar

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Team Members

Nathan Hirsch
  • Nathan Hirsch - Mechanical Engineering - Class of 2010


George Randolph
  • George Randolph - Mechanical Engineering - Class of 2010


Overview

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The goal of our project was to create a system that allows a user to use a remote control to play a guitar. The Remote Controlled Wiitar uses a Nintendo Wii Remote to control an array of solenoids and a motor that are capable of playing several different chords on a guitar.

Mechanical Design

Our design consisted of two major components. The solenoid bridge, which was responsible for depressing strings on the neck of the guitar, and the strumming bridge, which was responsible for strumming the strings of the guitar.


Solenoid Bridge

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The solenoid bridge was constructed out of wood. Its table shape was designed to allow the neck of the guitar to fit under it, with enough clearance for several solenoids to be attached to the underside of the bridge.


Brackets made of eighth inch aluminum sheet metal were fashioned to mount the solenoids on the bridge. The brackets also included holes where elastic cable was attached. The elastic cable retracted the solenoids when they were not powered.


The solenoids were originally attached to bridge using nuts and bolts. Though this worked, it was difficult to attach the solenoids precisely enough to accurately depress the guitar strings. In the final design, Velcro was used instead of nuts and bolts. This allowed for more precise mounting of the solenoids on the solenoid bridge and facilitated easy reconfiguration of the solenoids into different chord shapes. A second solenoid bridge was added in the final design to allow additional notes to be fretted near the body of the guitar.


Strumming Bridge

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The strumming bridge was also constructed out of wood. Two 2x4 legs were cut and connected at the top by a strip of plywood. The strumming bridge was designed to allow the body of the guitar to fit underneath, with enough clearance for a strumming arm to sweep across the strings.


The motor was attached at the center of the top of the strumming bridge using nuts and bolts. A thin plywood strip that served as a strummer was attached to the shaft of the motor using a set screw. The circular motion of the motor caused the strummer to be closer to the guitar strings in the center than the guitar strings on the outside. For this reason, a rotational spring was attached to one side of the strummer which deflected as it swept across the springs resulting in an even strum.


A hall effect sensor was mounted about six inches from the motor on the strumming bridge. A magnet was attached to the strummer that aligned with the hall effect sensor when the strummer was parallel to the ground. When these components were aligned, the hall effect sensor sent signals to the pic, providing feedback on the position of the strummer.

Electrical Design

Code

Results and Reflections