While we wait for our Intel Edison Kit, we started preparing the washing machine to become the rotary grower.
The first step was removing the counterweight. As a rotary grower, the drum will turn at a very low RPM so no need for those 2 pieces of concrete weighing more than 20kg. We thought that would be the easiest part of the project. However, due to rust and hard access to the bolts, we had no other option than using a grinder and a jackhammer in order to get rid of this dead weight. We can say this is the first electronic project we had to start with a jackhammer. It was a good fun, though!
Next step is removing everything else we are not using. We are keeping all relays, solenoids and water pump aside as they might be useful later on on the project. The plan is using the original motor and the variable speed controller but we first need to check if we can get to the low RPM required using the original components.
We hope to have the heavy job completed this week so we can start working on the sensors and interface with the Edison Kit.
We will be posting other photos of the washing machine striping as we go.
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