Hey! This thing is still a Work in Progress.
Files, instructions, and other stuff might change!
The Anywhere Organ v3.1
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Published on November 2, 2011
Description
I've been creating a sculpture, the Anywhere Organ anywhereorgan.tumblr.com , for the past year or so. It's gone through many iterations, modifications, revisions, and changes over time but is finally coming together into a predictable, robust sculpture.
I designed these parts as a system to take salvaged organ pipes and create them into a huge extended instrument, networked together and controlled by MIDI. Organ enthusiasts have been saving dismantled pipe organs from the dumpster for years, but many don't have the time or resources to use all the parts they acquire. I've found they've been very eager to have me take random or incomplete sets off their hands. As my own collection grows I'm hoping to add to the Anywhere Organ, eventually having the mobile equivalent of a cathedral organ I can take anywhere from an underground cave, to an abandoned theater, to a fire escape and play.
I've been doing a Kickstarter trying to raise funds for the next bigger, better version. Please give it a look, tell your friends, and donate. kck.st/anywhereorgan
All of the DXF's are designed to be cut centerline on an industrial laser out of 3/4" nom. (.719") indoor plywood.
This document was created as a way to release what I've learned and built through designing the Anywhere Organ. It is not intended to be a tutorial. It is intended to help folks get on their way to building their own organs, laser cut instruments, and huge awesome things. At some point I may tutorialize, but the path to the design I now have has been so long and winding it is difficult to put down concisely into a Thing.
I designed these parts as a system to take salvaged organ pipes and create them into a huge extended instrument, networked together and controlled by MIDI. Organ enthusiasts have been saving dismantled pipe organs from the dumpster for years, but many don't have the time or resources to use all the parts they acquire. I've found they've been very eager to have me take random or incomplete sets off their hands. As my own collection grows I'm hoping to add to the Anywhere Organ, eventually having the mobile equivalent of a cathedral organ I can take anywhere from an underground cave, to an abandoned theater, to a fire escape and play.
I've been doing a Kickstarter trying to raise funds for the next bigger, better version. Please give it a look, tell your friends, and donate. kck.st/anywhereorgan
All of the DXF's are designed to be cut centerline on an industrial laser out of 3/4" nom. (.719") indoor plywood.
This document was created as a way to release what I've learned and built through designing the Anywhere Organ. It is not intended to be a tutorial. It is intended to help folks get on their way to building their own organs, laser cut instruments, and huge awesome things. At some point I may tutorialize, but the path to the design I now have has been so long and winding it is difficult to put down concisely into a Thing.
Instructions
General Notes:
Pipe measurements - docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuWvxqr4pSoPdEh6S2tBc2F5dDJHay1QMG pQeXhDVnc
J-Omega datasheet - docs.google.com/open?id=1qrDPlLQ-b_A5NW8xqN-bVMHawieXjgAGcUsercOHIYpsrcDmXVQVB3 DpKhNW
Example wiring diagram - docs.google.com/open?id=1C_NjTzRz5Y2gF9UQd_zc5OEGZFNR1PHSNUK5nNTj1AGVSJbiNWzJ-83PTrat
Major parts:
49 Diapason pipes
10 AC mattress inflator motors
49 Reisner direct action magnetic valves - mmdigest.com/Tech/mValves.html
1 rectifier capable of sinking a large variable load (I sourced a small organ rectifier)
1 J-Omega MTP8 midi to parallel converter - j-omega.co.uk/MTP/mtp.shtml
49 diodes
7 5ft M/F DB9 extension cords
7 25ft M/F DB9 extension cords
500ft outdoor lighting cord
Design notes:
The original design called for 12VDC blower motors. I found they drew way too much current when hooked in parallel. I believe AC motors with rheostats would work better, but am not absolutely certain. I ended up modifying my own prototype to work with a small organ blower piped to everything through 3" flexible duct. This eliminates the need for the motors and outdoor lighting cord.
I haven't found a reliable way to put LED's in series with the magnetic valves to get a visual indication of what note is playing when. The current generated by the valve flipping back off seems to damage them no matter what arrangement I try. The holes in the front of each box were originally intended to hold the LED's.
I've provided files without legs or scrollwork as the design is simpler to understand and assemble. As I continue developing the current version I will release more designs and iterations.
All screws (the ~1/8" holes strewn about the design) are 1 1/2" wood screws and should be counter sunk flush. Given the weight of the baritone and bass boxes, the support structures for the pipes have a habit of stripping their screws. I found putting a dab of urethane glue on the tip of the screw before returning it to its hole helped fill in the stripped material and prevented delamination and splitting.
Each box containing the valves was sealed internally with silicone caulk. The access panel on the front has a gasket of adhesive foam to keep air leaks to a minimum. The brackets holding the pipes also have foam padding to keep the pipes from getting scuffed and damaged in transit.
The zip contains all of my Solidworks files and spreadsheets. They were designed in SW09 Sp0. Most parts are either derived from the assembly or configurations that are selected by that assembly. It has a habit of breaking in a cascading mess if you don't rebuild the individual parts when changing constraints on an assembly. Changes to the spreadsheet should directly reflect on the pipe box assembly. This should making boxes for new pipe sizes fairly simple.
Pipe measurements - docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuWvxqr4pSoPdEh6S2tBc2F5dDJHay1QMG pQeXhDVnc
J-Omega datasheet - docs.google.com/open?id=1qrDPlLQ-b_A5NW8xqN-bVMHawieXjgAGcUsercOHIYpsrcDmXVQVB3 DpKhNW
Example wiring diagram - docs.google.com/open?id=1C_NjTzRz5Y2gF9UQd_zc5OEGZFNR1PHSNUK5nNTj1AGVSJbiNWzJ-83PTrat
Major parts:
49 Diapason pipes
10 AC mattress inflator motors
49 Reisner direct action magnetic valves - mmdigest.com/Tech/mValves.html
1 rectifier capable of sinking a large variable load (I sourced a small organ rectifier)
1 J-Omega MTP8 midi to parallel converter - j-omega.co.uk/MTP/mtp.shtml
49 diodes
7 5ft M/F DB9 extension cords
7 25ft M/F DB9 extension cords
500ft outdoor lighting cord
Design notes:
The original design called for 12VDC blower motors. I found they drew way too much current when hooked in parallel. I believe AC motors with rheostats would work better, but am not absolutely certain. I ended up modifying my own prototype to work with a small organ blower piped to everything through 3" flexible duct. This eliminates the need for the motors and outdoor lighting cord.
I haven't found a reliable way to put LED's in series with the magnetic valves to get a visual indication of what note is playing when. The current generated by the valve flipping back off seems to damage them no matter what arrangement I try. The holes in the front of each box were originally intended to hold the LED's.
I've provided files without legs or scrollwork as the design is simpler to understand and assemble. As I continue developing the current version I will release more designs and iterations.
All screws (the ~1/8" holes strewn about the design) are 1 1/2" wood screws and should be counter sunk flush. Given the weight of the baritone and bass boxes, the support structures for the pipes have a habit of stripping their screws. I found putting a dab of urethane glue on the tip of the screw before returning it to its hole helped fill in the stripped material and prevented delamination and splitting.
Each box containing the valves was sealed internally with silicone caulk. The access panel on the front has a gasket of adhesive foam to keep air leaks to a minimum. The brackets holding the pipes also have foam padding to keep the pipes from getting scuffed and damaged in transit.
The zip contains all of my Solidworks files and spreadsheets. They were designed in SW09 Sp0. Most parts are either derived from the assembly or configurations that are selected by that assembly. It has a habit of breaking in a cascading mess if you don't rebuild the individual parts when changing constraints on an assembly. Changes to the spreadsheet should directly reflect on the pipe box assembly. This should making boxes for new pipe sizes fairly simple.
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More from gianteye
You need to post the electronics design, then maybe we could help you with the LEDs!
When those magnetic valves turn off, there's a large amount of energy stored in their electromagnets - it basically forms an LC resonator, with a very large L and very small C values - creating a very large spike of reverse-voltage (for 12V motors and solenoids, this can be in the 50-300V range!),
and in addition it "rings" down for a few milliseconds, with secondary and tertiary voltage spikes in the plus and minus directions...
Chances are, you need a back-EM clamp diode across the LED (anode-to-cathode, so to speak) I *think* you would include the LED resistor in the circuitry you're br
idging with the diode, but I'm not so sure it really matters... you can also hook up a capacitor across the magnetic valve leads to soften the spike (this would be in addition to, not an alternative of, clamping diodes)
Howdy. Thanks for the advice. This is roughly what I'd pictured with running LED's, but this configuration universally blows them out. The motor symbols here represent the magnetic valves, and the MIDI controller is pretty much just a bank of relays providing a path to ground.