17. Project Development¶
What tasks have been completed?¶
I have worked on trying to get electronics to work for the most part up until this point. I knew that this would be the major struggle, but after iterating through many boards for both the step response and the hall effect sensor, I have come to realize that this method is proving harder than expected. Because of this, I have not done much else, but the insight this has brought me has been helpful.
What tasks remain?¶
Most of the physical things remain such as the designing and milling of the container, the designing and 3D printing of all 3D printed parts, the laser cutting, and any additional issues as well as their resolutions which I encounter along the way.
What has worked? What hasn’t?¶
So far, through much trial and error, I have certainly gotten the step response to work, both through the ATtiny412 and the RP2040. However, in both of these instances, usually only one of the two step responses I have attached is consistent enough, and even then probably not to the extent that I wish it to be. The same problem was also encountered with the hall effect sensor. Additionally, the variability of the ‘stylus’ in the x and y axis is not accurately or in any way displayed in the values, even those given to the ‘x’, ‘y’, and ‘z’ axes by the hall effect sensor. All of this was only found out after rigourous research with Dr. Adam Harris, a knowledgable in the field of electronics acquaintance of Mr. Dubick, to get the thing to even work in the first place.
What questions need to be resolved?¶
How will I get the Raspberry Pi to work? How will I create a case for the wireless controller? How will the electronics in the wireless controller be integrated?
What will happen when?¶
I plan to simplify the electronics as much as I need to in order to have time to get the other stuff done. I will first need to CNC the container for the gantry system, then I can put together the gantry system, then I will do other various tasks such as 3D printing all parts, laser cutting, and getting a Raspberry Pi working with MQTT and serial printing to the Arduino Uno controlling the gantry. After everything pertaining to engineering is completed, I can add sand and a magnet in and test it out.
What have you learned?¶
Mainly, I have learned that I will always struggle with getting electronics to work correctly for much longer than I would have thought. I certainly have learned a lot about electronics along the way, but not enough to warrant the time spent.