Automatic flag waving lets you show your loyalty without getting tired
A flag is a great tool to show your loyalty to a country, a sports team or even a philosophical movement. But you can't do much with a flag: you can either hang it somewhere or wave it to attract others to your cause. [Mellow] found that waving quickly becomes tedious and decided to design a machine that automates this task for him.
Now there is a bit more involved in designing a proper flag waver than just moving the flag back and forth. Ideally, the fabric should flow smoothly from side to side and show both sides equally, similar to how a human would when waving a large flag. After some research, [Mellow] settled on a design that generates rather complex motion using a single servo: the flagpole tilts left and right, while gravity rotates the flag around its axis. This is probably best demonstrated visually, as [Mellow] does in the video embedded below.
The flag waving mechanism is designed in Fusion 360 and 3D printed using white filament. Inside a small square box is a Wemos D1 Mini, powered by a lithium battery salvaged from a vape pen, along with a battery management system and power switch. The servo sits on top of the box and holds the flag in a small socket that allows the flagpole to spin freely. [Mellow] also took it a step further and built a two-flag float, which still only uses one servo but creates two opposing motions through a set of spur gears. Both waver types bring a lively atmosphere to their surroundings, and we can actually imagine them being useful in places like sports bars.
Auto flags are still rare devices, and as far as we can tell, this is only the second we've seen, after this hat-mounted example. That is, if you don't count the automatic "flag" on this mailbox.
A flag is a great tool to show your loyalty to a country, a sports team or even a philosophical movement. But you can't do much with a flag: you can either hang it somewhere or wave it to attract others to your cause. [Mellow] found that waving quickly becomes tedious and decided to design a machine that automates this task for him.
Now there is a bit more involved in designing a proper flag waver than just moving the flag back and forth. Ideally, the fabric should flow smoothly from side to side and show both sides equally, similar to how a human would when waving a large flag. After some research, [Mellow] settled on a design that generates rather complex motion using a single servo: the flagpole tilts left and right, while gravity rotates the flag around its axis. This is probably best demonstrated visually, as [Mellow] does in the video embedded below.
The flag waving mechanism is designed in Fusion 360 and 3D printed using white filament. Inside a small square box is a Wemos D1 Mini, powered by a lithium battery salvaged from a vape pen, along with a battery management system and power switch. The servo sits on top of the box and holds the flag in a small socket that allows the flagpole to spin freely. [Mellow] also took it a step further and built a two-flag float, which still only uses one servo but creates two opposing motions through a set of spur gears. Both waver types bring a lively atmosphere to their surroundings, and we can actually imagine them being useful in places like sports bars.
Auto flags are still rare devices, and as far as we can tell, this is only the second we've seen, after this hat-mounted example. That is, if you don't count the automatic "flag" on this mailbox.
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