Motorized Spin Art Machine
Source: Stemoto Original
Build your own electrical art studio! Kids wire up a DC motor to a battery pack to create a high-speed spinning canvas, using centrifugal force to paint wild, splattered masterpieces.
Categorisation
Props & Materials Required
- •Small 3V DC hobby motor
- •2x AA Battery holder (with batteries)
- •A small piece of cardboard (for the spinning platter)
- •A cardboard box (to catch the paint splatter!)
- •Washable liquid paints or wet markers
- •Paper circles (cut to the size of your platter)
- •Hot glue or strong tape
Step-by-Step Instructions
Build the Platter
Cut a 4-inch circle out of thick cardboard. This is your platter. Poke a tiny hole exactly in the center and push it tightly onto the metal shaft of your DC motor. Add a dab of hot glue so it doesn't fly off.
Mount the Motor
Take a large cardboard box (your 'splash box'). Poke a hole in the bottom center. Mount the motor underneath the box so only the spinning platter sticks up inside the box.
Wire the Circuit
Connect the red wire of your battery pack to one metal tab on the motor, and the black wire to the other. When you touch the last wire, the platter should spin really fast!
Prep the Canvas
Use rolled-up tape to stick a blank paper circle securely onto the top of your cardboard platter.
Spin and Paint!
Turn the motor on so the paper is spinning at full speed. Carefully drip drops of liquid paint or touch the tip of a wet marker to the spinning paper and watch the centrifugal force pull the colors outward!
Why It Works & Notes
This project perfectly blends simple circuits with physics (centrifugal force). By closing the circuit, electrical energy spins the motor. When paint hits the spinning paper, inertia causes the heavy paint drops to fly outward in a straight line, creating explosive spiral art!
Very safe, no-solder project, but it is MESSY! Make sure the spinner is mounted deep inside a cardboard 'splash box' before they start dropping paint onto it.