Tinder Robot Prototype

Here is the prototype for my soon-to-be-fully-realized Tinder Robot.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/109085943 w=640]

It’s pretty basic: a 555 timer that drives a solenoid through a TIP120 transistor. I use two potentiometers and a 100uF capacitor to control the speed of the solenoid, and voltage regulator that allows me to power the solenoid at 24 volts.

Here’s the Eagle schematic:
Screen Shot 2014-10-15 at 9.22.29 PM

The board layout:
Screen Shot 2014-10-15 at 9.21.44 PM

And the finished circuit:
IMG_2036

I messed up the Eagle schematic a bit – the base pin for my transistor was different in real life than what showed up in my schematic, so I had to do some weird wiring to get the thing to work.

Here are the parts I used:

  • 555 timer
  • 100uF capacitor
  • 10k ohm resistor
  • 2 10k potentiometers
  • TIP120 transistor
  • LM7805 voltage regulator
  • Solenoid