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Auto Xylophone with Homemade Solenoids

rachad47.github.io

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Re: Auto Xylophone with Homemade Solenoids

#31

Post by iancmceachern »

thrtythreeforty wrote: post #19
Palomides wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why would you buy solenoids from amazon instead of an actual electronics distributor?

Sometimes, because you Just Don't Care™ about any particular manufacturer spec, and you're unwilling to pay egregious Digikey/Mouser markup times 24.

It's not that Digikey or mouser is taking those inexpensive overseas solenoids and marking them up.

The products on mouser and digikey are from reputable industrial component manufacturers. They have warranties and datasheets, support from the mfg, traceability and trustability, etc.

They're simply different products. You can't compare a quality made product from a quality supplier and manufacturer to cheap crap you buy on amazon

Re: Auto Xylophone with Homemade Solenoids

#34

Post by uoaei »

Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W81jQN__88

The artist is Grandbrothers and one of them is a jazz pianist and the other one is a roboticist. The latter sets up systems to control solenoids striking the strings and body of a grand piano while the former plays on the keys. It's a duet between human and machine.

Re: Auto Xylophone with Homemade Solenoids

#36

Post by throwaway-42808 »

garba_dlm wrote: post #32

would it be possible to induce the vibration of the metal piece (assuming it's magnetic) without nails? using very rapid magnetic oscillations (like a speaker??)? I think the electronics would be different, but is it possible?

probably!

You might like the Magnetic Resonator Piano: http://instrumentslab.org/research/mrp.html

Re: Auto Xylophone with Homemade Solenoids

#37

Post by perilunar »

throwaway-42808 wrote: post #36
garba_dlm wrote: post #32

would it be possible to induce the vibration of the metal piece (assuming it's magnetic) without nails? using very rapid magnetic oscillations (like a speaker??)? I think the electronics would be different, but is it possible?

probably! You might like the Magnetic Resonator Piano: http://instrumentslab.org/research/mrp.html

Cool device. The electronics for "continuous note shaping" would be a lot more complicated than just 'hitting' a note, which could be as simple as a single pull and release (probably not very loud without a much stronger electromagnet).

You could send a plain sine wave matching the frequency of the bar above it, but at that point you've just invented a single frequency speaker.

Re: Auto Xylophone with Homemade Solenoids

#39

Post by thrtythreeforty »

iancmceachern wrote: post #31
thrtythreeforty wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes, because you Just Don't Care™ about any particular manufacturer spec, and you're unwilling to pay egregious Digikey/Mouser markup times 24.

It's not that Digikey or mouser is taking those inexpensive overseas solenoids and marking them up. The products on mouser and digikey are from reputable industrial component manufacturers. They have warranties and datasheets, support from the mfg, traceability and trustability, etc. They're simply different products. You can't compare a quality made product from a quality supplier and manufacturer to cheap crap you…

It's both. The product on Digikey is quantifiably better in many regards. It's also got a price premium on top of the increased price from the OEM. You have to pay Digikey enough to make it worth their while to ship 1 of something to you.

Re: Auto Xylophone with Homemade Solenoids

#40

Post by iancmceachern »

thrtythreeforty wrote: post #39
iancmceachern wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that Digikey or mouser is taking those inexpensive overseas solenoids and marking them up. The products on mouser and digikey are from reputable industrial component manufacturers. They have warranties and datasheets, support from the mfg, traceability and trustability, etc. They're simply different products. You can't compare a quality made product from a quality supplier and manufacturer to cheap crap you…

It's both. The product on Digikey is quantifiably better in many regards. It's also got a price premium on top of the increased price from the OEM. You have to pay Digikey enough to make it worth their while to ship 1 of something to you.

And if you value your wn time above even minimum wage it's a trade well worth taking.
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