Arduino Slot Machine

I made an interactive, hardware-driven slot machine featuring three physical reels, automated coin detection, a joystick lever mechanism, and a custom payout dispenser.

Getting the physical wheels of the slot machine to spin was the first challenging part. I originally planned to have two Arduinos, one to control the wheels and one to control the rest of the components. However, I am not very experienced with Arduino communication, and it didn't end up going anywhere. Instead, I had to go for the easiest solution, which was to wire everything to one Arduino instead, which had its caveats, such as not having enough pins. Also, making sure that the step motors did not jam was a huge issue, as we had a 12V 5A power supply that was on the lower end to power these motors that perform much better on 24V. To fix this, I ended up just running them at a slower speed and acceleration.

The part I am most proud of is the look of the slot machine. Even though I didn't end up getting all of the 3d prints I needed, I compromised with cardboard, and the design of it still ended up looking pretty cool. I am also happy about the fact that all of the components work together as it goes from the different game states, completing the game loop.