19. Project development¶
Assignments for week 20 :¶
- This week assignment is simply to document how im working on my final project and answer those questions .
what tasks have been completed, and what tasks remain?¶
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3D Modelling for my final project is done .
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3D printings for my final project are done .
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Electronics design is done .
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PCB milling and soldering is done .
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PCB testing is done .
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Laser cutting the final project is done .
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connecting the servo with a laser is done .
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connecting the speaker to the microphone is done .
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All the codes are working perfect but still the weight sensor is not done yet.
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connecting the stepper motor to the weight sensor is not done yet .
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Assembling and making the slide and video are not done yet .
what has worked? what hasn’t?¶
- So far everything is working 100% perfectly but im still having an issue with connecting the weight sensor to my ATmega382p circuit .
what questions need to be resolved?¶
- I think the only question i have at the moment is why my weight sensor is not sending the right data to my ATmega382p circuit and how im going to fix that although i have been working and researching about for weeks because its a main feature in my final project and with what i can replace the weight sensor that will act great with my final project .
what will happen when?¶
- I need one day which is sunday or monday to assemble and take the video of the project working so i will present on Wednesday [7 / 15 / 2020] .
What does it do?¶
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I will start by the name “LASER CAT”, Laser cat is an automatic cat food dispenser that will help cat owners who spends most of their times away from their cats, and that will be done by the “LASER CAT” This machine will serve the cat its food whenever the food is less than the required amount, each portion will have 60 Grams of dry cat food, and when the food is being served a speaker will be turned on in order to call the cat by the owners voice, also after 20 to 25 minutes a laser will be turned on and starts to move in random directions to entertain the cat.
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This machine will have an ultrasonic sensor connected with the dispenser to measure the amount of food in the plate, the food will be served whenever the foods amount is less than required .
Who’s done what beforehand?¶
- I have found out that there is a similar project as mine and it is Toni F. Barreiros final project
What did you design?¶
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I have designed the case using fusion 360 and inkscape and you can see the process by Clicking here
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Next i have designed a plate, a cone to hold the food in, the dispenser and an ultrasonic housing which you can see By clicking here
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Also i have designed all the electronics needed in my final project which you can see here
What materials and components were used?¶
| Input | Output | Power supply | Materials | link for each component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 x ultrasonic sensor | 1 x Stepper motor | 1 x 12VDC 74mA for the stepper motor | Acrylic | for the Ultrasonic |
| ---- | 1 x speaker | 1 x 12VDC 74mA for the servo motor | PLA | for the stepper motor |
| ---- | 1 x Servo motor | -------- | -------- | for the 12V Power supply |
| ---- | 1 x Laser | -------- | --------- | for the speaker |
How much did they cost?¶
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12 Volts Supply = 20 $
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ball bearing = 0.25 $ per piece
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stepper motor = 15 $
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Ultrasonic = 1 $
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Servo motor = 2 $
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speaker = 8 $
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acrylic sheets = 18 $
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Total spending: 64 $
What parts and systems were made?¶
The major parts will be done by me such as :
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The microcontroller that will connect the ultrasonic sensor to the stepper motor and the speaker.
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The microcontroller that will connect the laser to the servo motor.
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The food dispenser, the food holder, a plate, ultrasonic housing are designed by me and 3D printed.
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The case for the final project is designed by me and cut using the laser cutter.
What processes were used?¶
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Laser cutter for the acrylic .
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Ultimaker3 for 3D printing .
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Monofab SRM-20 for milling the Boards .
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Networking and communication .
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Embedded Programming .
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Interface and Application Programming .
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Input and Output Devices .
What questions were answered?¶
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i have finally finished .
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My project is helpful indeed .
What worked? What didn’t?¶
- I wanted to use the weight sensor at first but this module delayed me 3 weeks so i have replaced it with ultrasonic sensor which worked perfectly .
what have you learned?¶
Through out my journey in fabacademy i have learnt so much things such as :
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I have learnt more about the digital fabrication machines and methods and how to connect between my expertise with electronics and those methods in order to come up with great ideas and translate those ideas into reality .
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I have learnt how to manage my time because in fabacademy we have 20 weeks of tasks and assignments and in each week i had to learn about a new machine or a new Technique then i have to apply what i have learnt and test if my Techniques works or not sometimes fail but eventually each fail made me learn more and more .
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I have learnt how to work in a group and how to accept ideas .
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I have learnt that being a ZERO is not a bad thing because sometimes if you dont the machine coordinates to ZERO you might damage the machine or if you dont set the voltage to ZERO in some places you might burn the piece of electronics you working on .
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I have learnt that fabacademy community is a strong community and sharing what you know with others is a great idea that helps a lot of people that may be stuck on something you know and have dealt with before .
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I have learnt how to work under pressure, generate ideas and solutions in order to overcome any obstacle that i may face and remember always to work smarter not harder because there are two ways to solve any problem the easy way and the hard way so choose carefully .