Coolsculptor/FrankenSculptor – PART 4

Part 4 of the FrankenSculptor build - final assembly, testing results, and lessons learned from building a DIY cryolipolysis (fat-freezing) device at home.

This is part 4 of a four part project.
Click here for Part 1
Click here for Part 2
Click here for Part 3

This part concentrates solely on the controller and cleaning up the prototype wiring to increase the ease of use of the machine.

The controller was created from scratch. The process used here was concept > breadboarding > prototyping/alpha > beta > final product. So what does this involve?

  • The breadboarding stage is experimenting with different circuit designs. You dont need to commit to anything as nothing is soldered. The wiring ends up looking like a mess of spaghetti and can easily fall apart if knocked around. This is not a useable circuit past the point of testing particular modules.
  • Prototyping/alpha. Everything is transferred from breadboard to a prototyping board (double-sided circuit board with pre-drilled holes) and soldered together. At this point we can use the product in our testing. This allows us to figure out what else needs to be added/removed from the design and shift things around to make it, well, better. During this stage I figured it would be best to include a speaker, extra LED’s and buttons for controls. Also, I decided to remove one of the larger relays and clean up some other bits in the alpha.
  • Final beta. Remove/add all components. Make sure it all works. Double-check the actual board is what you can see in your designs on the computer.
  • Final product. Extensive debugging and testing. Make a PCB design which can be printed/etched and put together parts list etc… Package everything in to a solid and nice box. WOO!

The source code for the project is on GitHub here: https://github.com/Aristocles/FrankenSculptor

I usedFritzing (free/open-source) to make the design. Check out the screenshots i’ve put below. Your own design might be different.
Once I am happy with the code I will post it online. Be warned, there are a few known bugs which I am not planning on fixing. You can work around them anyway (see the code for more info).
I also used Fritzing to print out the circuit design on glossy photo paper using a laser printer. The idea was to then transfer the laser printed image on to the copper-coated fibreglass (which ends up being the PCB after etching) using a hot clothes iron and following instructions I found on YouTube. But I couldnt get the image to transfer over no matter how many times I tried, so I ended up drawing the PCB tracks by hand using a permanent marker. It looks terrible, but it works.

Finally, the Arduino code was developed a little further to include a basic menu system and navigation using buttons. You can use my code found on GitHub. I’d like to see someone fork and improve it.I am interested to develop this further if others are too.

At this point the project is complete. This version is finished (for now) and currently under testing stages. Because it takes ~3 months to notice any difference after getting a Coolsculpting session done I cannot know if this works just yet. Pretty sure it will though (so long as the actual Coolsculptor works, I dont see why this won’t work. It abides by all the fundamental principals of how the actual device works).
This blog post is the final one for this machine. Any questions or comments, please post them as a comment on this blog.
I am thinking about building another Frankensculptor (if I prove that this one works to reduce fat) but this time with a vacuum system (using a cow bell and TEC’s), but not sure if I will go down that path. We’ll see 🙂 Good luck!!!

Edit: I have linked to some before and after photos in the comments section below. Results are good!

This is part 4 of a four part project.
Click here for Part 1
Click here for Part 2
Click here for Part 3

11 Comments

    • No idea. But I think the temperature should be -5 degrees. This is mostly based on the Chinese knock-off Coolsculpting devices which many clinics use are using -5 Degrees. You can check it out yourself on alibaba.com

    • Yes. No injuries (other than the initial ones I mentioned in my post) and results are mixed. There is nothing ‘obvious’ but there is definitely some reduction in fat. However, because the results occur across 3 months this could be attributed to other factors.

      Design improvements. I would replace the clamp mechanism with a suction mechanism similar to the coolsculptor. My idea is to use a copper cowbell (easily found on ebay) and use a rubber seal (similar to a snorkel mask) around the bottom. Then modify it to fit a industrial vacuum cleaner. Then place the peltiers to either side of it (the copper is a great heat conductor). This is all just ideas at the moment, but seems to be cheapest and easiest way I can think of.

      I am open to suggestions. If you build this project then please let me know about it.
      makeitbreakitfixit@enail.com.au

  5. Sorry about the delay in getting back to you all with results. I didn’t want to simply say, “yes it works” without any pictures.

    So yes, it works. But not to the degree I was hoping for. The changes are slight and definitely back up Coolsculpting claim (and namesake) that it is for SCULPTING and not really weight loss (although it does that too).

    My initial testing was many applications all over the torso. But it takes 3 months to notice any affects, and normally in that time it is near impossible to remain the same weight. I had actually PUT ON weight during those 3 months (quite a few kilos, unfortunately). So I decided to do another round of tests. This time I would sculpt only the left side of my torso and leave the right side untouched.
    The way in which my Frankensculptor is designed makes it very difficult to place the machine on the love-handles without help. Because I did all testing on my own, I only placed the machine in a few spots around my belly (and not on the love-handles), the pictures reflect this.

    3 months later you can see some changes! The pictures don’t really show too much, but the shadows are easily seen. NO RE-TOUCHING HAS BEEN DONE TO THE PICS!
    I can definitely see a larger depression (and one that begins from higher up my chest) on the left side. I can also see my gut protruding a little more on the right side than the left.

    http://makeitbreakitfixit.com/2013/11/15/diy-coolsculptorfrankensculptor-part-4/frankenbeforeafter-1/#main
    http://makeitbreakitfixit.com/2013/11/15/diy-coolsculptorfrankensculptor-part-4/frankenbeforeafter-2/#main
    http://makeitbreakitfixit.com/2013/11/15/diy-coolsculptorfrankensculptor-part-4/frankenbeforeafter-3/#main
    http://makeitbreakitfixit.com/2013/11/15/diy-coolsculptorfrankensculptor-part-4/frankenbeforeafter-4/#main
    http://makeitbreakitfixit.com/2013/11/15/diy-coolsculptorfrankensculptor-part-4/frankenbeforeafter-5/#main
    http://makeitbreakitfixit.com/2013/11/15/diy-coolsculptorfrankensculptor-part-4/frankenbeforeafter-6/#main

    Some additional changes have been made to the machine to assist in doing my love-handles. I hope to test a little more on the design and eventually come up with one that works without slipping off the fat (which this one was prone to do if you moved around too much).

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