Description:

The Drink Zip Line was created to solve the problem of carrying drinks when your hands are too full to hold them. This is a problem that appears in daily life all too often and can be cured by an Arduino and a stepper motor. This project is a belt driven zip line that is attached to a holder designed to carry drinks to a predetermined location. This is all in an attempt to eliminate the need for sketchy carrying situations or having to make multiple trips back and forth from the kitchen. The creation of this project was meaningful to me because it gave me a chance to solve a real world problem by using code to control a motor by way of an Arduino Uno. This was overall a very fun experience in which I learned how to do basic 3D modeling using Fusion 360 and how to bring these creations on the software to life through the use of 3D printing and a laser cutter. 

Steps of Creation:

When I began the project, I was planning to use a 3D printed gear that would fit to the motor and turn a chain that the holder is connected to. This took a lot of my time at the beginning and ended up not working. 

The next step was to find and alternate method that would work for moving the holder across the divide. This was tricky until I realized that the belt and gear that came with the motor would be strong enough to support the weight of the holder and drinks. This can be seen in the finished product. 

Next I had to find a way to mount the two ends of the zip line. This would prove to be difficult since I couldn't actually mount the zip line to the tables permanently. But I 3D printed the mounts to give the zip line the ability to be mounted but the clamps were used to do this temporarily.

I then used the laser to cut the box to hold the Arduino and motor controller, as well as the holes to hold the buttons on top of the box. I also used the laser to cut the carrier and included the holes which the belt was fed through on the carrier. 

Now the final step taken was to take each of the components that were created and put them together into the final project which can be seen here: