3D-Printed Slot Machine Puts a New Spin on Piggy Banks
Max 3D Design's Arduino-powered device uses a screw conveyor mechanism to transport coins.
Have you ever wanted to have a slot machine in your home? While you could scour online listings for a used or even new machine, buying one wouldn’t be nearly as much fun as making your own, as seen in the video below by Max 3D Design.
The machine is modeled modeled in Fusion 360 for 3D printing, and is dominated internally by a large screw conveyor. This is advanced by a 28ByJ-48 servo motor and driver, which moves coins from one side of the “piggy bank” to the other. At the end they're ejected through an exit hole and onto the tray below.
On top, four 8x8 LED matrices simulate wheels rolling from symbol to symbol that are hidden behind a thin film to make them appear as a single display. The game is started by dropping a coin into a slot, which pass by two wires that are configured to act as a button input. Everything is controlled by an Arduino Uno.
It’s quite a clever mechanical design, and a large enough item that it took quite a bit of 3D printing finesse. In fact, the device was printing for roughly a week, and was interrupted by two failures that cost roughly 32 hours of print time. Despite those setbacks, Max 3D Design expertly finished the build off with putty and paint, producing a piggy bank that looks fantastic!