Coin Operated Phone Charger

thingiverse

Bar-top Coin Operated Phone charger ===================================== Over the course of nearly two years, my custom-designed chargers have been generating revenue at a bustling Scottish pub. Now, I'm releasing the design for public use. Insert these chargers in a high-traffic area where patrons sit, and they can charge their devices by inserting coins into the top compartment. The chargers dispense 15 or 45 minutes of charging time per coin inserted. [Consider supporting my future projects with a small donation here](https://paypal.me/shipwreckedmonkey) How much money could you make? -------------------------------- Set your goal to generate £3 per day, and over the course of a year, that would translate to just over £1000. The key to success lies in strategic placement – these eye-catching chargers will attract attention once they're placed in front of potential customers. The coin-operated mechanism is gravity-fed, using British £1 coins and 50p sterling as standard. However, the design may accommodate other countries' coins; if there's enough interest, I'll develop future iterations tailored to specific currencies. Printing --------- This print is designed for in-place printing, allowing you to complete the entire project in a single session. Nevertheless, be prepared for some post-processing work, and have your flush cutters ready. To speed up printing times, reduce material usage, and enhance structural integrity, I've incorporated several cutouts for plywood inserts. In addition to the electronics, you'll need a small quantity of 3mm plywood to complete the build. A bill of materials is provided as a guide to ordering necessary parts. I'll also tidy up my Arduino code and make it available for download, although I'm not a programmer myself; I'm sure you can create something more elegant from scratch. Alternatively, you may use perfboard instead of a custom PCB – this will require some extra effort but works just as well. Printing Tips -------------- This print is quite lengthy, with challenging overhangs that demand a well-calibrated machine to complete successfully. Bed adhesion is critical, and given the prolonged printing time, it's essential to have faith in your machine's performance. The Design in Brief ---------------------- I set myself several design goals: the project should be printable in one go, two units should fit on my build plate, and both units should consume less than 1kg of filament. While I've achieved these objectives with varying degrees of success, I'm pleased with the final outcome. Notes on the Coin Mechanism -------------------------------------------- The coin-operated mechanism relies on gravity feeding and a simple physical test to verify coins are genuine. Although it's theoretically possible for someone to bypass this security measure using an exact washer replica, this has never occurred during their two-year operation at the pub – users find it more convenient to insert a coin than to carry washers around.