Card Shuffler

Students

Jackson Cressey
ORFE, 2020

Derek Topatigh
ECON, 2020

Liam Grande
ECON, 2020

Project Description

For our project we have created an engraved wooden based, as well as, completing our automatic card shuffler. The purpose of our project this semester was to create a wooden framed holder that our card shuffler can sit in, not only to make it more esthetically pleasing but also to improve our structure. The black box, containing the electrical components of the automatic card shuffler, will be encased by the wooden holder. The inspiration for this projects comes from a hobby we all share, playing cards in our spare time. In the first semester we began the building of our automatic card shuffler. In order to finish the card shuffler and improve our project we decided to make something that would hold our creation and make it look more professional. We settled on making a carved wooden holder that allowed us to add our own personal touches to it. Furthermore, we wanted to work with wood this semester and learn to use the CARVEY machine. Last semester we spent a lot of time 3D printing our parts for the card shuffler, therefore, to further improve our skills and knowledge in the Epics lab this semester, we wanted to move onto a project that is a little more hand on. This project was very challenging for us as we had very little experience working with Arduino projects or circuits in general.

Technical Background

An automatic card shuffler consists of structural components and electrical components. The structural components used, consists of pieces that were created using a flash forge 3D printer, wooden casing and a plastic black box that houses the electrical components of the device. The pieces that were 3D printed were designed on simplify 3D software and assembled using hot glue. The 3D printed components consist of the two bases that hold the cards and two quarter wheels that were attached to motors. The two bases were assembled so that they hold the cards at an angle, this is done so that they can be fed through more easily. Furthermore, the surface of the base that is in contact with the cards, was also covered in tape to reduce friction for the same reason. The electrical components used consist of a battery, Arduino UNO circuit board, potentiometer and a L298N motor controller. The Arduino UNO circuit board is able to read inputs and turn them into outputs. The circuit board was programmed so that when the device is turned on (input), the motors start to rotate the quarter wheels (output). The L289N is a dual motor controller that allows speed and direction control, of the two 15.8 V DC motors simultaneously. The motor controller was programmed so that the motors would accelerate from 0 to approximately half of each motors maximum speed. The power source consists of 8 AA batteries that is attached to the on/off switch that connects the circuit in the on position and breaks the circuit in the off position. The automatic card shuffler works by placing half of the cards in each base. When the device is turned on the motors underneath the base spin the quarter wheels to push individual cards through a slot. The 3D printed bases are positioned across each other so that when the cards are fed through they land in a pile in the center.

Instructable, Spencerphs, and Instructables. “Automatic Card Shuffler.” Instructables, Instructables, 6 Dec. 2017, www.instructables.com/id/Automatic-Card-Shuffler/.

Design Drawings

Fabrication Process

For our project we had two separate parts, the automatic card shuffler and the engraved wooden base. For the card shuffler we had to create our own Arduino code to control our electrical system. We encased all of our electronics in the Blackbox, except for the motors that shuffle the cards. In order for our circuit to connect to the uxcell DC Motors 15.8V 2900RPM which are resting beneath the cardholders and above the Blackbox, we needed to drill holes on the Blackbox so the wiring could be connected. In our code we had to decide how fast the motors should run to optimize the card shuffling. We also added a potentiometer to our system, that sticks out of our Blackbox, so we could control the speed after our project was complete. We had our Arduino code set for 7 different values for the potentiometer, therefore we essentially have 7 different potential speeds to shuffle cards. For our power source, we settled on using a 8 AA batteries connected to our circuit that powers both the Arduino Uno and the motors. We connected the Arduino Uno to two L298N Motor Drive Controller Board Module Dual H Bridge DC Steppers for Arduino, which is then connected to the two motors, one on either side of the card shuffler. We added a switch to be able to turn our card shuffle on and off without hassle. To connect the different elements of our circuit we had to strip and connect wires. We downloaded the design for the 3D printed parts. We used the Flash Forge 3D printer with orange filament to produce the necessary parts. We printed multiple separate pieces that after assembled became the two card holders from which the cards fall. The other 3D printed pieces are the two 45-degree wheels, which when connected to the motor, spins and pushes the cards to fall and become shuffled. The two card holders are lifted above our base to allow room for the cards to fall.
To create the wooden base, we first had to carve out a hole the size of our Blackbox for it to sit in. We had to use two pieces of wood due to the depth of our Blackbox. We created the hole for the Blackbox by first drilling into the wood with the drill press. Then to get the proper shape, we used a battery powered jigsaw to carve out the wood. We then designed an engraving we wanted to put on the piece of wood that is showing on our final project. After settling on a design, we used the Carvey machine to complete our base engraving. Finally, we used wood glue to attach our two pieces of wood to finish the base. We clamped the two pieces of wood and left them overnight for the glue to dry. To finish our project, we just inserted our Blackbox, with the cardholders and motors on top, into our engraved wooden base. We now have a fully functional card shuffler.

Students

Project Description

Technical Background

Design Drawings

Fabrication Process

Final Result