Applications and Implications
My Final Project
What will it do
For my final project I want to continue on with my Machine week project and make it much better. It is a Soda machine that automatically gets your drink for you. It will do this by moving a plate in the X axis controlled by stepper motors. These stepper motors will be controlled by Model Predictive Control at the suggestion of Neil Gershenfeld and a Raspberry Pi Pico W. For control over the soda/liquid I will be using pumps to pump out the amount of liquid needed. This will happen when a person selecting a drink on the control panel or connecting to the Pico w over Wi-Fi. It will then use the Stepper motors to move over and get under that pump using a Time of Flight Distance Sensor to find out when it is under it. It will then pump out the soda or liquid from its container a 2 Liter bottle, and then it will move to the end which will have a z axis stepper motor controlling a DC motor's up a and down movement which controls a mixer to mix up the soda after it's poured into the solo cup.
Here is a video of what I would like my project to look like.
Who has done it before.
My inspiration for this project was from Patrick Jaruschowitz's Fab academy 2019 group project cocktail mixing machine except maybe a little more kid friendly and using pumps instead of gravity to let out the liquid. While this is a great base I want to make mine have a much more refined appearance with also no bottle containers being visible. I will also being using a different board, so I will have to completely re-code all in python, but I should be able to use it as a reference for my own code.
What Will I design
- 2D gantry carriage system. (3D print)
- Stepper motor holder and control system (electronic production and 3D printing)
- Gantry Carriage Case (Laser Cut or CNC)
- Pump holder (3D print)
- Mixer (3D Print or mold and Cast)
- PCB board for all the electronics (milling and electronic production)
- Time of flight sensor holder (3D print, Networking, and Input devise)
- Bottle holder (Laser Cut)
- HTML Web-server hosted by Pico w to control it all on a phone (interfacing, embedding programming, and Networking)
- control panel (3D print and Output Devise)
What Materials will I use and where will they come from.
| Part | Amount | URL | Cost per Piece |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeelo 5M GT2 Timing Belt 6mm Width + 4pcs 20 Teeth 5mm Bore Timing Pulley Wheel + 4pcs Idler + 8pcs Tensioner Spring Torsion + 4pcs Gear Clamp Mount Block with Allen Wrench for 3D Printer | 1 | Amazon Link | $16.99 |
| uxcell DC 12V 300mA 1300ml Water Flow Self Priming Diaphragm Micro Water Pump for Coffee Machine, Water Dispenser | 3 | Amazon Link | $16.34 |
| STEPPERONLINE Stepper Motor Nema 17 Bipolar 40mm 64oz.in(45Ncm) 2A 4 Lead 3D Printer Hobby CNC | 2 | Amazon Link | $12.99 |
| Qunqi 2Packs L298N Motor Drive Controller Board Module Dual H Bridge DC Stepper For Arduino | 1 | Amazon Link | $8.99 |
| Vis Viva Raspberry Pi Pico W (Wireless, WiFi) + Raspberry Pi Logo Sticker (1Pack, Wireless) | 1 | Amazon Link | $12.95 |
| ALITOVE AC 100-240V to DC 12V 10A Power Supply Adapter Converter Transformer 12 Volt 10 Amp 120W with 5.5mm x 2.5mm 2.1mm DC Output Jack for 5050 3528 LED Strip Light CCTV Cameras 3D Printer | 1 | Amazon Link | $20.99 |
| T-Bar Aluminum Track | 2 | Walmart Link | $26.00 |
| Time of flight Sensor | 2 | Amazon link | 9.99 |
| Buttons | |||
| Switch | |||
| Wires | |||
| PLA plastic | |||
| PCB boards | |||
| Wood | |||
| Clear Plastic Tubing | |||
| lever action switch |
What Processes or Weeks will I use
- 3D printing
- Laser cutting
- Milling
- Electronic production
- Networking
- Interfacing
- CNC
- Embedding programming
- Output Devises
- Input Devises
- Mechanical/Machine design
- Mold and Cast
Questions
What is the best way to use Model Predictive Control with the rest of my design. How will I be able to integrate it into the rest of my systems code and which type should I use. Will need to look more into this, because I just learned about this from Neil Gershenfeld and will need to learn about how it can work as a whole with my project.
How will it be evaluated?
It will be evaluated on if it goes to the correct pump and fills up a cup with the selected liquid. And will also be graded on if the final product looks presentable.