The table has LED mood-lights that can be controlled in the app. The marble speed can also be controlled in the app also. Playlists can have up to 20 designs with them that will cycle as the day progresses. I enjoyed going downstairs and seeing a new design in process. The preset designs have an impressive amount of variety and appeal to everyone. You can get creative if you’d like for design, but the pre-sets allow for this to not be a necessity. The mechanics of this device are amazing and the sand table is engrossing and hypnotic and fully engaging. I can't fathom how a company spent so much attention to mechanical detail while creating an application that is practically unusable. There is no excuse for a modern device to have such embarrassing applications - HoMedics is not a new company and the user's experience should not be an impediment to use. mindfulness made easy: A metal sphere rolls silently through sand, carving mesmerizing patterns and creating mindful moments; helps increase relaxation, inspire creativity, boost mood, and enhance focus This is an amazing product. I have been looking at a similar product for several years but finding this one makes me glad that I never pulled the trigger on buying the other manufacturer's version. I bored a 1/2" hole in the center of the circle for the slip ring, and drilled 4 other holes for the screws that will secure the flange bearing to the base. Before securing the flange, you need to insert the slip ring in the 1/2" hole and secure it with wood screws so that the flange and the free-spinning node is facing upwards.

I had no problem running the device day after day. I’m not sure it will break down eventually over extended use, but for now, that little ball keeps plowing through the sand. It’s quite enough to run all day long. Unless the room is dead silent, I can’t hear it creating a pattern. When the room is completely quiet, my daughter likened the little bit of sound it does make to that of light rain. It’s completely personal whether this noise level is acceptable at night in a bedroom. I put Drift next to a record player, and it paired nicely with this old way of listening to music. At first, I set Drift’s light to pulse and change colors every 60 seconds. The novelty of that lighting combination wore off fast, but I did find that changing the lighting color and hue does have a real effect on how the patterns look and the feelings they produce. After some time, I found myself gravitating toward a warm light hue for most uses. Clone the Sand-Table GitHub repository: git clone https://github.com/RGroza/Sand-Table.git After choosing and cutting the length for my "40x20" V-slot, I began mounting the necessary hardware for gantry plate slide: I am extraordinarily satisfied with this new addition to my home. It is not only art but also wellness. The table is designed to boost mood, inspire creativity, enhance focus, and increase relaxation, which I can agree does it all. I am so thankful to own this statement piece that invites serenity.I put Drift next to a record player, and it paired nicely with this old way of listening to music. At first, I set Drift's light to pulse and change colors every 60 seconds. The novelty of that lighting combination wore off fast, but I did find that changing the lighting color and hue does have a real effect on how the patterns look and the feelings they produce. After some time, I found myself gravitating toward a warm light hue for most uses. A guidebook is available online, but it offers little support. Suffice it to say that you need to install an app to fully interact with this unit. I tend to like the look of the table without the interior lights on. Ultimately, you can control color and brightness very well using the app but I thought it looked more meditative in ambient light. Also: there were very tiny imperfections in the white coating on the glass cover for the unit - little pinholes that transmitted little distracting fragments of direct light from the box - and little distracting fragments of direct light aren't particularly meditative (see picture below). At first I put the Drift table onto a large wooden bowl, on the floor of my living room. The bowl raised it up from the floor and acted as a pedestal. It actually looked really cute and makes me think HoMedics should sell a few different types of stands for this, for those who want that option. After a couple weeks, and a few dog toy drops onto the surface of the table, I decided to move it onto my curved Umage cabinet where the round Drift table fits nicely onto the surface of the cabinet. It almost looks like they were made for each other. Plus it adds just the right amount of adjustable lighting to that corner of the room. I love it!

Another unexpected lover of the Drift is my cat, Fern. I had moved the Drift from a side table to the floor so that I could take a few more photos of it from above. Once it was moved, I would hear it, turn to see what design was playing, and find her sitting there, staring at it. Glue the strips into the channels of one surface, and use clamps to hold them in place while they dry.The only library that you should need is the "rpi_ws281x" for LED strip. Install the library onto the Raspberry Pi by using: sudo pip install rpi_ws281x

It took roughly 5 minutes to set up the table. I added the sand, used the rake to level it, dropped the ball into the center, and powered it up. It immediately began a "cleaning" cycle, meaning it produced what appeared to be a coil, the purpose of which is apparently to further spread and level the sand. Then it began creating designs. Whenever I return to the device and open the app, I have to tell it again which device I have. Really? I was first exposed to the idea of a kinetic sand table through a "Dope Tech" video from YouTuber MKBHD. He had a large and very expensive version. The HoMedics Drift is a smaller and more affordable option that may be able to find a place in the living room, bedroom or small business. TL;DR I was first exposed to the idea of a kinetic sand table through a “Dope Tech” video from YouTuber MKBHD. He had a large and very expensive version. The HoMedics Drift is a smaller and more affordable option that may be able to find a place in the living room, bedroom or small business. TL;DR Overall - the HoMedics drift Meditation Sand Table is fun to use, definitely a conversation starter and help take away your stress while you watching the image unfold.

To me, this speaks to how organic the Drift’s operation is. Fern loves watching the rain, and families walking down the sidewalk, and the way the grass blows in the wind—and she loves watching the Drift. Digital toys and TV shows have never held her attention, but with the Drift, she can’t look away. Its peaceful, repetitive patterns feel like watching the tide come into shore: even busy professionals and lazy cats, neither of whom could express if or why they like the Drift, are drawn to it. app controlled: choose from hundreds of different types of mesmerizing pattern designs and ambient lighting color options, set your speed, or create a custom playlist, all from your phone and the easy-to-use app I've looked around a bit with no success, but I was wondering if I could import pictures into the app and have it render it into a drawable item. Doesn't seem like that functionality exists yet. Hoping for something like it in the future. Using a horizontal V-Slot arrangement would allow for a slightly stronger attachment point to the metal pipe rotation axis, but it forces you to design the timing belt system on top of the belt. I will go more in depth to how I designed my custom linear slide, but if you choose to use the V-Slot kit from OpenBuilds, you will have to follow their guide for more information. Once you’ve selected a pattern it begins to draw, between drawings, it may “clean” surface. And you can have it pause after each drawing is complete. They say it is soothing to watch the ball move silently across the table, but in all honesty, you can hear this thing “quietly” moving the ball from across the room. Maybe the white noise it makes is soothing, but you can hear it.

Cut two strips from a 1/4" sheet of wood, that are as long as the circumference of the table surface.For the generating and feeding the designs to the Sand Table to draw them, I started out by making my own "movement plans" by hand. I used some movement plans that were generated by Tom Dilatush in his GitHub project JSysiphus. The Sand Table uses (theta, rho) coordinates for movement, so I converted .thr files to .txt and placed all of the files in the "pending" folder of the repository, so that python can easily read them. The "read_files.py" program then converts the coordinates to simple number of steps and speed commands for the stepper motors to perform. The 21” Homedics Drift Meditation Sand Table is such a calming, aesthetically appealing feature to add to the home or office. This is honestly one of my favorite decor pieces based on ambience. I obtained this sand table for my home and I will soon have my own office which I plan to get one for there also! The 21” sand table is adequate size, appearing larger than I had expected. Fills out a normal size coffee table well. Uses innovative technology to add the perfect touch to a room. The cream color is a subtle off-white. It’s a great build that focuses on the smaller details like noise that can make a big difference to the final experience. We’ve seen similar projects before, too. Video after the break. Overall, I am really enjoying watching that little metal ball make art in the sand. Also, setting it up was very simple and took less than 10 minutes after removing from the box. I thought when I received the Drift, that it was a bit of a shame that we were losing the art of sand raking to an app. However, with my impatient temper and unsteady hands, I saw immediately just how much sense the Drift makes. This beautifully assembled product lets you watch mesmerizing designs come to life before your eyes. Each movement is slow and soothing, and the soft, mechanical whirr of the kinetic components draws you in and settles your chest.