How Does It Work?

Some of my previous projects taught you how to use an Arduino, so for this project, we'll skip right to the nitty gritty.

Solenoids are electromagnetic devices, for this project, are the driving force behind the toaster's dancing. A magnetic field is generated when voltage is applied to the solenoid's winding. Solenoids are designed to concentrate this magnetic field along the interior of the winding, causing the plunger to forcefully move when voltage is applied.



The solenoids used for the toaster are designed for 12V. I used a hefty (8.5 amp) power supply to ensure that we have plenty of power available for the solenoids. The Adafruit motor shield contains the high-current drive circuits that deliver power to the solenoids.



Driving a solenoid isn't much different from driving a motor, that's why the motor shield works as a solenoid controller. The 12V supply is connected to the motor shield and the Arduino can be powered from a separate USB port or the DC barrel jack— as long as the "VIN Jumper" on the motor shield is 't connected. All we have to do is plug each of the solenoids into an M-port on the shield, which can drive up to four separate DC motors (or solenoids).

