17. Application and Implication¶
Assignment Overview¶
The objective for this week was to propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered. The project should incorporate:
- 2D and 3D design
- additive and subtractive fabrication processes
- electronics design and production
- microcontroller interfacing and programming
- system integration and packaging
- Where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project. Projects can be separate or joint, but need to show individual mastery of the skills, and be independently operable.
What will it do?¶
My project is to develop an automatic irrigation system using a connected valve motorizer and a humidity sensor, all controlled from a mobile application. Concretely, how will these two devices work together?
Temperature data capture device¶
The humidity sensor, composed of a humidity sensor connected to a microcontroller with Wifi connectivity, will be placed in the garden to collect information about soil moisture in real time. This collected information will be sent directly to the motorization device of the valve and to the mobile application.
The valve’s motorization device¶
The valve motorization device is composed of a stepper motor connected to a microcontroller with wifi connectivity. Connected by wifi to the humidity sensor and to the mobile application, its role will be to process the information received and to activate the opening or closing action of the valve according to certain events: - The user sends the opening command - The user sends the closing command - High humidity values - Low humidity values
The mobile application¶
The mobile app will allow real-time monitoring of system operation and application of actions to open or close valves remotely.
Who has done what beforehand?¶
After a long search through the fab academy project database, one of the projects that came closest to what I want to do is William Whitaker’s project that did the fab academy in 2016. His project called Wireless Irrigation is a system consisting of a solenoid valve and a moisture sensor that communicate with each other wirelessly from two nRF24L01 wifi modules.
Here is the page of his final project
What will you design?¶
The valve’s motorization device¶
electronics design and production¶
For the dipositive of motorization of the valve, I had designed an electronic card for the control of the stepper motor but it does not have wifi connectivity. So I will have to redesign a card with the wifi module. In addition to that I will have to add to this card two limit sensors to better control the on/off positions of the motor.
2D and 3D design¶
After completing the electronic board for the stepper motor, I will need to design a gearing system that will allow the motor to have enough force to open or close the manual valve.
After this step, I will be able to design the final housing of the motorization device.
Finally, I will have to design the support for a suitable plate as well as a place for the battery on this same support.
microcontroller interfacing and programming¶
For this part, I will have to develop the final program of the motorization device. This program must allow to receive the incoming information, to analyze them and to trigger opening or closing actions according to the events.
Temperature data capture device¶
electronics design and production¶
Concerning this part 98% of the work has been done. However the device will be powered by solar energy so just added a small solar plate of 6 watts maximum in addition to a small battery.
2D and 3D design¶
For this part I will have to design the final box of the device.
microcontroller interfacing and programming¶
I will need to set up the final program that will be responsible for collecting and sending the humidity values from the sensor to the valve actuator device and the mobile app.
The mobile application¶
I will have to develop the interface of the application that will control the valves and that will allow to observe the humidity values.
What materials and components will be used? Where will they come from? How much will they cost?¶
To answer these different questions a table will be established below, but the point to specify is that all the material to be used will be found locally and that 97% of the material is already available in the laboratory.
| Description | Quantity | Source | Cost | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nema17 | 1 | Amazon | $8.33 | Link |
| DRV8825 Stepper Motor Driver Module | 1 | Amazon | $3.7 | Link |
| 18650 rechargeable lithium battery | 1 | Aliexpress | $5.11 | Link |
| Moisture Water Sensor | 1 | Amazon | $8.53 | Link |
| Espressif ESP32-WROOM-32E | 2 | Amazon | $16 | Link |
| TP4056 Battery Charger Board Charging | 1 | Amazon | $1.7 | Link |
| Drip kit | 1 | Local market | $40,10 | — |
| Ball Valve 15x21 | 1 | local market | $6,90 | — |
| Threaded end | 1 | local market | $0,59 | — |
| Rechargeable battery 12V 9AH | 1 | local market | $31,36 | — |
| ATTiny 412 | 1 | Microship | ??? | ??? |
| 3.3V 1A Linear regulator SOT223 | 2 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 5V 1A Linear regulator SOT223 | 1 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| Switch Slide AYZ0102AGRLC 100MA 12V | 2 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| Limit Switch | 2 | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| Button Tactile B3SN-3112P 0.05A 24V | 2 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| Red Led 1206 SMD | 2 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| Blue Led 1206 SMD | 2 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| Diode Schotty 40v 2A 1206 | 1 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 100 uF capacitor 1206 | 1 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 0.1uF capacitor 1206 | 2 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 10uF capacitor 1206 | 3 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 1uF capacitor 1206 | 3 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 10 Kohm Resistor 1206 | 8 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 4.99 Kohm Resistor 1206 | 6 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 0 ohm Resistor 1206 | 14 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 1x2 Female PinHeader SMD | 3 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 1x4 Female PinHeader SMD | 1 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 1x2 Male PinHeader SMD | 1 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 1x3 Male PinHeader SMD | 1 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 1x4 Male PinHeader SMD | 2 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 1x6 Male PinHeader SMD | 2 | DIGI-KEY | ??? | ??? |
| 1x8 Female PinHeader THT | 2 | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| 1x3 Male PinHeader THT | 7 | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| 1x4 Male PinHeader THT | 1 | ??? | ??? | ??? |
What parts and systems will be made?¶
- Device housings
- the mechanical system of the motorization device
- Custom PCB controller board
What processes will be used?¶
- 2D & 3D Design for all the parts
- CNC milling for the support of the solair panel
- FDM 3D Prining for the electronic boards boxes
- CNC milling for the electronic board production.
- Programming
What questions need to be answered?¶
In order to achieve the project goals some questions need to be answered:
- Communication protocol for the communication between the two ESP32 modules
- The percentage of humidity to activate the valve
- The duration of the valve opening when the humidity percentage is low
- The size of the solar panel to charge a 3.7V battery
How will it be evaluated?¶
The project will be considered successful if:
- the actuator device has sufficient force to open and close the valve
- the motorization device works autonomously by communicating via wifi with the humidity sensor.