About the robotic tongue drum
Jeremy Cook built a robot that plays a steel tongue drum. Eight solenoid strikers, one for each tongue, are held on flexible camera-style friction arms around a C-shaped frame, so you can aim each one at its note. An Arduino Opta Lite micro PLC fires them through a solid-state relay module, which is silent where mechanical relays would click. Notes come in over MIDI from a keyboard, a computer or the designer's own arcade-button controller.
This Printables upload contains the printed parts and the CAD for the build: a support for the drum, a jig for spacing the solenoids, a bumper support, a spacer clip, and the full model as STEP and Fusion 360 files. The solenoids mount with a zip-tie tripod mount from a separate Printables design. The frame itself is laser-cut MDF with PVC pipe uprights, and the write-ups describe the build rather than giving step-by-step instructions. It's a great reference if you want to make a percussion robot of your own.
What you'll need
Printed parts
- Drum support
- Solenoid spacing jig
- 3 mm bumper support
- Spacer clip
- Zip-tie tripod mounts for the solenoids (a separate Printables design)
Bought parts
- A steel tongue drum (the designer used an 8-note one)
- 8 push solenoids and adjustable camera friction arms
- An Arduino Opta Lite and an Opta digital expansion with solid-state relays
- A MIDI input adapter for the Opta and a MIDI controller
- MDF sheet and PVC pipe for the frame
- A power supply for the solenoids: not stated; the relay module is rated 24 V DC, 2 A per channel
Tools
- Access to a laser cutter for the MDF frame
- Basic electronics tools
Video
Play video: Robotic Tongue Drum with Arduino Opta and MIDI (loads YouTube)
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