Ultrasonic Levitator

[amyCC]

Posting on behalf of student
Project: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... -levitator

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I followed the instructions in this page to create the ultrasonic levitator. I did the same wiring as mentioned in the page except for the power supply, as mentioned in the video, I added the power supply to the arduino and did the wiring based on the youtube video. I am using a 12v 3Amp supply like suggested. I used the same code for the arduino. It is not working for me. Could you please clarify which diagram I should be using? Is it the one in the view or the one in the webpage?

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... =procedure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd04o5yqSAU

[bfinio]

Hi,

1. For a 12V power supply, it does not matter if you plug it directly into the Arduino or if you plug it into the breadboard with an adapter. The video shows both options. The figures in the project show it plugged directly into the breadboard. In your case, either one is fine.

2. If you can upload pictures of your circuits (see the "Attachments" button below), we can help look for wiring errors.

Thanks,

Ben

[Jillcarrier]

We are trying to set up this same experiment and are having difficulty getting it to work. The board seems to get really hot when plugged into the computer. Any advice? I have tried the 9v and a 12v adapter.

[bfinio]

The Arduino should not be getting hot; this indicates that you probably have a short circuit on your breadboard somewhere. If you can upload clear, well-lit, in-focus pictures of your breadboard using the "Attachments" feature below your post, we can help you look. We recommend disconnecting power from the Arduino until we identify the issue, as this could permanently damage your Arduino if it has not already.

[Jillcarrier]

The board is not connected to power. Here is the wiring setup. Do I need to change the uploaded code in order for it to work?

[bfinio]

Hi -

I should have clarified - when you say "the board is getting hot":

- Which board are you referring to? The Arduino? The breadboard? One of the specific chips on the breadboard?
- How are you noticing that it's hot? Are you seeing or smelling smoke or noticing a burning smell? Are you touching it with your finger?

I'm not seeing any incorrect connections that would result in a short circuit on your breadboard, but I'd need to see everything with external power connected to see if you did anything wrong there.

Thanks,

Ben

[Jillcarrier]

The Ardunio board. I marked the part that is getting heated. Also, the jumper that connects the 5v to the breadboard gets hot to the touch. If all of my wires are correct, then why does my experiment not work when I upload the code? thank you!

[bfinio]

Hi,

I think I found the problem - you don't have a short circuit on your breadboard - everything looks like it's wired correctly. However, many of your alligator clips are touching - that can cause a short circuit and can make things get hot. Make sure the exposed metal parts of the alligator clips are NOT touching each other. See what I've circled in red here:

Screenshot 2025-11-10 131709.png (1.82 MiB) Viewed 2695 times

Note that even after you fix that, the levitator will probably not work when the circuit is powered by 5 volts. Even though your Arduino is plugged into an external higher voltage supply, right now your breadboard is still only powered by 5V from the Arduino. The project contains instructions to power the breadboard with a higher votlage, which should make the levitator work better.

Please let us know if you have more questions.

[Jillcarrier]

So, if I plug in the 12v to the Arduino then I need to put a jump cable in the vin port and run it to the left side positive breadboard? I’m a little nervous. We definitely short circuited something in this process because we saw sparks and smoke. I think it might have messed up when we tried to used the power connector for the breadboard. I was a bit confused if positive goes to positive or to negative.

[bfinio]

Hi - yes, there are two ways to connect power to the breadboard. See procedure step 6a:

"Important: there are two ways to provide a higher voltage to your breadboard. You can plug the power supply directly into your Arduino's barrel jack, then connect the Arduino's Vin pin to your breadboard's power bus. However, it is only safe to do this if your power supply's voltage is below your Arduino's maximum rated input voltage. For higher voltage power supplies, you should connect directly to the breadboard using the barrel jack adapter, as shown in Figure 5. "

If powering from the Arduino, then the Arduino's VIN pin goes to the left-side positive bus, as you mentioned. If powering directly from the power supply, then power supply positive goes to the left-side positive bus, and power supply negative goes to either negative bus (doesn't matter which one since they are connected by a jumper wire).

However, note that if you saw sparks and smoke, there is a chance that you permanently damaged something. It's hard to say what unless you say which specific component the smoke was coming from. There's a chance it was just coming from insulation on the wires or the plastic on the breadboard, in which case the rest of the circuit should still work; but if the H-bridge, inverter chip, or Arduino itself were smoking, they may not function properly anymore.

Please also note what I said earlier about the alligator clips. They come with insulated covers that cover much of the exposed metal, making it less risky that they will bump into each other. In your photos it looks like the insulated covers have slid off, exposing the entire clip. It's possible to cause a short circuit from the alligator clips bumping into each other, even if everything on the breadboard is correct.

[Jillcarrier]

Thank you!!

[bfinio]

You're welcome! Please let us know if you get it working.

[Jillcarrier]

We did it!! We ordered a new arduino from Amazon. It seemed to be much better quality than the one we had. Thank you so much for your help!