How does a sugarcane juice press work?

A motor in the cabinet drives a V-belt and a reduction gear that turn three fluted steel rollers slowly and with force. The cane is crushed twice as it passes two gaps between the rollers; the juice runs into a tray and through a strainer into the cup, and the fibre comes out at the back.

Why do claw machines miss so often?

The prongs are closed by a solenoid coil, and the control board decides how much power that coil gets. Operators can set the grip strength and how often it grips firmly, so on most plays the claw holds only loosely. In the figure on this page, four losses in a row make the next play grip firmly.

What is the safety switch on a blender for?

It sits in the base and only closes the circuit when the jar is seated properly. With the jar lifted off, the motor will not run, so nobody can reach a spinning blade.

Do I need to install anything?

No. All three machines run in the browser, phones included. Drag to turn, use two fingers to zoom, and press See-through to see the mechanism.

What are these machines built with?

Each machine is one HTML page drawn in code as SVG, built on Colorfigures, an open-source drawing engine by April Zhu (MIT licence). Golden Sea modelled the three machines, their inner mechanisms, the buttons and all the Vietnamese text.

Can a business get a page like this for its own product?

Yes. Golden Sea builds interactive product pages like these for machines and appliances, so customers can turn a product, press its buttons and look inside it on the website itself, with no app to install.

Construction: look inside a sugarcane juice press, a claw machine and a blender

Three machines from Vietnamese streets and kitchens, drawn by code. Drag to turn one all the way round, press its buttons to run it, switch on See-through to watch the motor, belt and gears work, and switch on part names to see what each piece is.

The part names drawn inside the machines are in Vietnamese; everything else, buttons included, is in English.

How to look around

Drag / one finger: Turn the machine all the way round
Ctrl + scroll / two fingers: Zoom in and out
See-through: The case fades and the mechanism shows
Labels: Part names, lit while that part works
Front view / Turntable: Back to the front view, or a slow turn
Colour: Change the body colour

Sugarcane juice press

A Vietnamese street sugarcane press uses three fluted steel rollers set in a triangle. A motor in the cabinet drives a V-belt and a reduction gear, so the rollers turn slowly with a lot of force. The cane is crushed twice as it passes the two gaps between the rollers; the juice runs into a tray and the crushed fibre comes out at the back.

How it works

Switch on: the motor turns, the belt drives a large pulley, and a small gear driving a large gear slows the rollers down and adds force.
Feed the cane into the gap between the first two rollers. The ribs on the rollers pull it in and crush it once.
The flattened cane goes through the second gap, is crushed again, and the fibre (bagasse) drops into a basket at the back.
The juice runs down the tray, along the spout and through a mesh strainer into a cup of ice.
For a sour note, a kumquat is squeezed through the strainer.

Main parts

Rollers: Three fluted steel rollers held between two side plates, they grip and crush the cane
Motor and capacitor: In the cabinet; the capacitor helps the motor start
V-belt and pulleys: Carry power from the motor up to the gears
Gears: Reduce speed and keep the three rollers turning together
Bearings, adjusting bolts: Let the rollers turn smoothly and set the gap between them
Tray, spout, strainer: Collect the juice, lead it to the cup and hold back the pulp

Buttons in the figure

Motor on / off: Motor, belt, gears and rollers start turning
Feed a cane: A stalk from the rack goes through the rollers, about 180 ml of juice
Add kumquat: Squeezes a kumquat into the cup, two at most
Take the cup: Serves the cup and puts a new one with ice in its place

Plush claw machine

A claw machine has a gantry on the ceiling of the cabinet. Two motors drive the claw front to back and side to side, a winch lowers it on a cable, and a solenoid coil pulls the prongs shut. How hard the claw grips is set by the control board, and operators can adjust it, so a missed grab is often not the player's fault.

How it works

Insert a coin: it passes the slot, the coin acceptor checks it and drops it into the cash box, and the machine adds a credit.
The joystick sends commands to the board, and the two motors move the claw along the rails.
Press grab: the winch lowers the claw, the coil is powered and pulls the prongs shut, then the winch reels it back up.
If the prongs still hold a toy, the claw travels to the chute corner and opens, and the toy drops to the prize door.
In this figure, a normal play has a weak grip, and after four losses in a row the next play grips firmly.

Main parts

Rails: The ceiling gantry the claw runs on
Two drive motors: Move the claw in two directions
Winch: Lowers and raises the claw on its cable
Coil: An electromagnet that pulls the prongs shut; its power sets the grip
Control board, power supply: Count credits, read the joystick, set the grip
Coin slot, acceptor, cash box: Take in and keep the coins
Chute, sensor, prize door: Bring a won toy out and tell the board it fell

Playing the figure

Insert coin: Adds a credit and takes one coin
Arrows or keyboard: Steer the claw front, back and sideways
Grab or space bar: Drop the claw and grab
Take toy: Opens the prize door after a win

Blender

A blender has a fast motor in its base. A drive coupling on top of the base turns the blade assembly at the bottom of the jar, and the blades both cut and create a vortex that pulls the fruit down. A safety switch only lets the motor run when the jar is seated properly.

How it works

Put fruit, ice and milk in the jar and close the lid.
Turn the speed dial: current flows through the carbon brushes into the coils and the motor spins, while a fan under it blows cooling air.
The coupling on the base meshes with the one under the jar and turns the blade shaft in its bearings. A gasket keeps liquid out of the base.
The blades create a vortex that pulls pieces of fruit and ice down to the bottom, where they are cut smaller until the mix is smooth.
Lift the jar off and the motor cannot run, because the safety switch opens.

Main parts

Motor, coils, brushes: A universal motor, fast and strong for its size
Fan: Cools the motor during long runs
Thermal fuse: Cuts the power if the motor overheats
Safety switch: Closes the circuit only when the jar sits on the base
Speed switch: Selects a speed or pulse
Coupling, bearings, gasket, blades: Carry the drive up to the blades and seal the bottom of the jar

Buttons in the figure

Add ingredients: Pick mango, strawberry or avocado, with ice and milk
Put the lid on: Puts the lid on the jar
Blend: Speed 1, speed 2 or pulse, with RPM and smoothness shown
Pour: Tips the jar and pours into the glass

Frequently asked questions

How does a sugarcane juice press work?: A motor in the cabinet drives a V-belt and a reduction gear that turn three fluted steel rollers slowly and with force. The cane is crushed twice as it passes two gaps between the rollers; the juice runs into a tray and through a strainer into the cup, and the fibre comes out at the back.
Why do claw machines miss so often?: The prongs are closed by a solenoid coil, and the control board decides how much power that coil gets. Operators can set the grip strength and how often it grips firmly, so on most plays the claw holds only loosely. In the figure on this page, four losses in a row make the next play grip firmly.
What is the safety switch on a blender for?: It sits in the base and only closes the circuit when the jar is seated properly. With the jar lifted off, the motor will not run, so nobody can reach a spinning blade.
Do I need to install anything?: No. All three machines run in the browser, phones included. Drag to turn, use two fingers to zoom, and press See-through to see the mechanism.
What are these machines built with?: Each machine is one HTML page drawn in code as SVG, built on Colorfigures, an open-source drawing engine by April Zhu (MIT licence). Golden Sea modelled the three machines, their inner mechanisms, the buttons and all the Vietnamese text.
Can a business get a page like this for its own product?: Yes. Golden Sea builds interactive product pages like these for machines and appliances, so customers can turn a product, press its buttons and look inside it on the website itself, with no app to install.

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