The project started out with the idea to replicate the MagicBand scanner that can be found at the entrance to Walt Disney World parks and rides.
The first step was creating a puck that fit in the Disney provided wristband. The puck needed to fit a passive RFID card in it so there is no need to change the pucks.
The Disney provided pucks have battery powered RFID tags and only last for 2 years max.
Since this was for a gift, I made the pucks based on their favorite rides. The pucks are printed in two parts, the front half with the Mickey logo and back half with custom text.
The passive RFID tag is placed in the void between the two halves then glued together. following that, they are painted.
I built version one on a bread board by combining the RFID reader, speaker, and LEDs controlled by an Arduino Nano. I ensured the C++ coding and each of the individual components worked before combining them.
One major issue I ran into was the RFID reader stopped registering the RFID tags. I needed to solder the connections on the RFID board directly to the Arduino. The RFID reader I ordered had some unstable connections; soldering fixed the issues.
The front side of version one was a flat pattern with the clear patterns pressfit into the purple ones, then hot-glued on the back side.
For the next version, I made the front a dome shape. This is more representative of the ones in the parks. The dome shape also provided more room for the circuit to go so it wouldn't stick out as far from the wall.
The individual hardware pieces are press fit into 3D printed holders and all are held together with M3 fasteners.
All the wires were cut, stripped, and soldered to connect all the hardware. The fully assembled circuit can be seen here.
The back cap screws onto the front and the 3D printed housing is a stand alone unit that can be swapped between any wood shapes for easy maintenence or style changes. The 4 tabs keep the scanner from falling out of the wood frame after it is inserted from the front side of the wood frame.
The hexagonal wood shape is used to represent the hexagonal bricks at the entrance of Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World.
Another version made to represent the Disney Cruise Line with the diamond shape.
Here is a video of the final product in use. Each RFID puck was programed to play a unique display corresponding to the puck.
The scanner is currently setup just for display, but could be easily paired to turn on/off anything or unlock/lock a door.
The first step was creating a puck that fit in the Disney provided wristband. The puck needed to fit a passive RFID card in it so there is no need to change the pucks.
The Disney provided pucks have battery powered RFID tags and only last for 2 years max.
Since this was for a gift, I made the pucks based on their favorite rides. The pucks are printed in two parts, the front half with the Mickey logo and back half with custom text.
The passive RFID tag is placed in the void between the two halves then glued together. following that, they are painted.
I built version one on a bread board by combining the RFID reader, speaker, and LEDs controlled by an Arduino Nano. I ensured the C++ coding and each of the individual components worked before combining them.
One major issue I ran into was the RFID reader stopped registering the RFID tags. I needed to solder the connections on the RFID board directly to the Arduino. The RFID reader I ordered had some unstable connections; soldering fixed the issues.
The front side of version one was a flat pattern with the clear patterns pressfit into the purple ones, then hot-glued on the back side.
For the next version, I made the front a dome shape. This is more representative of the ones in the parks. The dome shape also provided more room for the circuit to go so it wouldn't stick out as far from the wall. The individual hardware pieces are press fit into 3D printed holders and all are held together with M3 fasteners.
All the wires were cut, stripped, and soldered to connect all the hardware. The fully assembled circuit can be seen here.
The back cap screws onto the front and the 3D printed housing is a stand alone unit that can be swapped between any wood shapes for easy maintenence or style changes. The 4 tabs keep the scanner from falling out of the wood frame after it is inserted from the front side of the wood frame.
The hexagonal wood shape is used to represent the hexagonal bricks at the entrance of Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World.
Another version made to represent the Disney Cruise Line with the diamond shape.
Here is a video of the final product in use. Each RFID puck was programed to play a unique display corresponding to the puck.
The scanner is currently setup just for display, but could be easily paired to turn on/off anything or unlock/lock a door.