Light Up Musical Adaptive Toy

thingiverse

*What is it?* This adaptive toy features 4 light up buttons, each 30mm in diameter, a 3" 8ohm speaker, rechargeable long lasting 18650 batteries, and 16mb of on board flash storage. The device is programmable so that each button can make any sound play. The toy can say words, sentences, and play any song/loop. Each button can also play a sequence of several songs or recordings. It has a volume control and an on and off button. The device has rounded edges to prevent injury. You can adjust the design to add images and turn this into a communication device. *Who is it for?* This project is designed specifically for disabled children. Safety, ergonomics, durability, size, and playability were the main design points for this project. It's designed to be very robust, to survive abuse from throwing, drooling, and bashing. Each component separately is inexpensive, and it's designed to be easily swapped when not if it breaks. *Why?* Regular toys are not strong enough, and specific adaptive toys on the market are very expensive and wouldn't last the abuse from drooling and throwing. Also, you can't reprogram them if the child gets bored of the same thing. This toy is roughly $60, and compared to what's on the market that price is quite low. Building ====== What you need ------------- *Experience* Soldering experience Intermediate computer know how *Tools* - Soldering iron - Philips head screwdriver - x-acto knife - Drill - Hot glue gun - UV light - Conformal coating (optional) - Connectors - Lanyard (optional) How to build: ----------------- 1. Print and remove support material from case 2. Optionally, drill a hole into the side of the case to install para cord to use lanyard 3. Install Buttons and switches - x-acto may be needed to remove material from case for button to fit 4. Install Sound board, batteries + case, and Buck Boost Converter 5. Solder sound board, buttons, switches, buck boost, and speaker, according to diagram. I would recommend using plugs to connect all components, to facilitate repair ability. 6. Optionally, waterproof electronics with conformal coating. Use a UV light to see where you put it, and DO NOT put any on the micro USB port of the sound board, or it will be ruined. 7. Fix mesh screen to speaker, using hot glue 8. Load sounds onto sound board - Look on adafruit datasheet to properly load sounds onto the board, it's a bit involved. 9. Press fit nuts into case- Heating them with a lighter and holding them with pliers is the best way to get a good fit that will allow them to stay in place 10. Mount speaker using 4 screws How to use: ============= 1. Turn on the toy - use the switch 2. Adjust volume to preference 3. Push on a button and listen to the sounds go Notes: ======== V1 is larger and hard for a small child to hold. V2 is smaller, only 40mm tall so it's easy to hold. V2 also has a second foot thing on the button to prevent children from accidentally changing the volume or turning off the toy. V2 has two extra cutouts for an xt30 connector and a 3s balance plug. Fill these in if you are using a seperate 18650 charger, my charger allows you to charge the batteries using these connectors, so you don't have to take the batteries out. Safety Considerations ===================== The 2 18650 Li-ion cells are dangerous - if shorted/punctured they can catch fire or blow up. Follow their safety instructions and please monitor children when using the toy. Currently, the design doesn't use a BMS, which is a possible design upgrade. The toy can be quite heavy, so the lanyard is nice because it prevents the child from dropping the toy onto their feet or themselves.