Hey,
Let’s build a Skittles Sorter!
Ever stared at a pile of mysterious bits and bobs, each with a cryptic number, and wondered, “How on Earth do these become… anything?” Well, you’re in the right place! Right now, there’s a jumble of components just begging to be transformed.
In this tutorial, we’re going to dive headfirst into this glorious mess and show you exactly how all those numbered pieces click, twist, and slot together to create something incredible. Think of it as a treasure hunt, but instead of gold, the prize is a working, fantastic machine!
And hey, if you’re the kind of builder who likes to peek under the hood, all the code you’ll need for this adventure is waiting for you right here!
Ready to turn that pile of potential into a masterpiece? Let’s get to building!
First up! Let me show you how to glue up.
Just a dab of glue on each tab, front and back. Less glue is better than too much!
Assemble the tray:
Here’s the pieces and where they go. I know it’s hard to see but there’s three #4s and six #1s.
Image is clickable if you need to enlarge.
Here’s pics of the build. Ignore the stick glue. It didn’t do as well as the tacky glue. Otherwise, just follow the build pictures.
Notice that #2 tape side is down, towards the table. Don’t remove the non-adhesive backer layer to the tape yet.
These last small pieces? Put the deeper notch to the outside.
Two small pieces to each inside radial so the notches are 1/2 size. The outside joint gets the whole radial to itself so the notch has to be twice as thick. Be careful!
Now to finish it out:
Apparently I forgot to take a picture of the finished tray. I’ll try to remember to add one in later. Anyways, that’s the tray assembled. Pat yourself on the back! Congratulations!
Now to build the lower servo mount:
Bend part #11 at the score lines to make 90 degree angles.
Dab glue on the tabs of #24 and insert it inside of the folded over tabs.
Apply glue to tabs of #11 and insert into plates #12 and #13.
Set aside to dry.
Build the Chute!
The one’s pretty easy, just make sure to put the servo arm in the forward position, closest to the front of the shoot as possible. parts #7,8,and 9
Sensor and Tube mount:
UPDATE: It’s much easier to insert 17 into 16 and then 16 into 18, finally folding the side of 18 over onto 16.
(In the pictures it shows a slight different assembly method and it’s a little more fussy that way.
parts #16,17,18,
Bend #18 to a 90 degree angle.
Insert 17 into 18, then 16 into both and then fold over the backside of 18 into 16.
Now we put it all together.
parts #19,20,21, 22,23,24 Bottom Servo Assembly, Tube Assembly
Very gently remove the Upper Servo and rotor TOGETHER from the stand. Be very careful to not separate the two at any time during the machine’s assembly. If the rotor accidentally comes off, revisit the rotor install page to get the orientation right again.
Put Top Servo down through 22 into 23, glue tabs and insert into 20 as shown.
Line up top servo PERFECTLY to top left corner so that the front and top sides are flush to the sides of part #20. There should be no angles, no deviations. STRAIGHT.
Fit bottom servo assembly into #20.
Seat 21 onto both sub assemblies’ tabs.
Fit #19 as shown.
Slide tube into hole and fix in place with a rubber band.
Put a piece of tape where we bent 18 and where it meets the servo mount to keep reduce stress on the frame and help keep the side from bending. (sorry no picture. Come ask me if you have a question).
Locate both #24s on either side of the body to the closest angle in the tray. Attach with tape.
DO NOT ATTACH CHUTE YET!!!
Wiring diagram is included with the code.
Turn the machine so that the AA8 logo is facing you.
Remove the non-adhesive backer layer to the tape located under the logo.
With the USB port facing to the rear of the machine, place your Arduino on the tabs and fit your Arduino to the tape.
Zip tie the Arduino to the machine.
Pics of the install process coming soon!
Congratulations!!! What an accomplishment! You should be proud of yourself!
Get your copy of the Adruino code here:
https://avxpro.org/skittles-machine-code/
Hook the wiring up per instructions in the code.
Upload the code to the Arduino from Arduino IDE
Open the serial monitor, top right hand corner of the screen.
Type “setup” to enter setup.
Type “top” to access the top rotor.
Type “160” to put the top servo at 160 degrees.
While holding the machine by the servo so that you don’t crush any of the delicate cardboard construction plates, VERY CAREFULLY install the rotor so that the hole is in line with the hole the skittle will drop down the chute. The rotor has splines so if it doesn’t match up with the hole perfectly, set the rotor one tooth back towards the sensor if all else fails with the alignment.
Type “10” in the serial monitor to swing the rotor close to the drop down tube. line up the rotor
Run the Arduino to put the bottom servo in the correct position.
Attach the chute pointing straight out at the middle bin, 90 degree angle.
Enter Setup
run “Misfire” to find oops values.
run 5 skittles of each color and then record the values in the table at the top of the code.
type “start” to run your machine for the first time.