DIY Levitation Kit

This is a mini ultrasonic levitation device that can suspend foam balls. The device consists of a single-chip microcomputer, a driver chip, and two ultrasonic transducers.

It has a power indicator and an ultrasonic suspension indicator, and you can see the working status of the device by observing the indicator. Mainly used for students or DIY electronics enthusiasts to learn about ultrasonic standing wave suspension. This is a very basic kit, though it does require skill in soldering SMD components.

Getting Started

The schematic helps with the build, however, there are a few issues with the schematic. You can see that a few items are missing their reference designators. You have to use the parts list to ensure the right parts are installed in their respective places.

Build Photos

On the main PCB, note that the two ICs (U1 & U3) are not oriented in the same direction, as is typical on most PCBs. Instead, they face opposite directions. In the second photo above, the SMD components are installed. R3 is missing in this photo, because I lost it! I did get a replacement later. But this serves as a reminder to be careful with all the tiny SMD parts.

In the third photo above, the through-hole components are installed (there are only three). The transducer boards are both through-hole, but even with the schematic and parts list, it’s not clear which way to install the transducers so that the polarity is correct. The last two photos above show the assembled unit and a close-up of the lower section.

Here is a video of the device in action. The little white balls are polystyrene foam, which are very lightweight.

Resources

DIY Levitation Electronic Kit on Amazon.com (this is the kit I purchased)

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