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Week 18. Project Development

Project tracking

  • Concept development

    • Research
    • Ideation
    • Concept testing

    Developed an idea of product, it’s purpose and function, considered possible electronics component which will be used, made a test board and tested components, figured out voltage consumption and control possibilities.

  • Design

    • Industrial sketching
    • Draft modeling in VR
    • CAD modeling

    I used 2D and 3D modeling capabilities for my project design. Used 2D to come up with ideas for product appearance as well to measure all the parts and components I use and to create full assembly in CAD program.

  • Fabrication

    • 3D printing
    • Laser cutting

    I used additive and subtractive fabrication techniques for making different parst and assemby them to one integrated system with separated zones for water, air and electronics component.

  • Electronics production

    • PCB design
    • PCB milling
    • Soldering
    • System integration

    Used PCB production tools in conjunction with CAD assembly to create a PCB with desired shape and dimentions. Made an according composition of components on the board to fit in the design. Made heating components upside down to pretend overheating in the narrow area and give more free space for cooling. Made an electronics box to cover all the electronics part and electronic devices in one integrated closed system.

  • Embedded programming

    • Microcontroller programming
    • Mobile application development
    • Wireless control interface development

    Wrote a program for microcontroller to control devices switching time. It’s still remaining to make a wireless control interface like mobile application.

  • Assembly

    • Water isolation
    • PCB isolation with epoxy
    • Finishing
    • Assembling

    Used silicone sealant to isolate water tank. Cleaned 3D print supports, connected electronics and devices, assembled. It’s still remaining to make an epoxy cover on PCB to make sure it’s protected from water.

Project development

  • Tasks completed / not completed

    • Water flow system
    • PCBs for electronics devices control
    • Power regulation
    • Wireless control application
    • Water refill hole
    • PCB isolation with epoxy

  • What worked / what didn’t

    • Mist maker switching control
    • Pump works as the water runs out
    • Addressable LEDs work programmed
    • Voltage regulator overheats
    • Mist maker pits and mist doesn’t reach high
    • Piezoelectric mist maker disk

  • What questions need to be resolved

    • Mobile application development
    • Control over WiFi (add WiFi module)
    • How to make the pump silent
    • Replace mist maker device with piezoelectric mist maker disk
    • How to make water refill hole and cap. What materials to use

Planning

What happened when

  • Week 2

    Sketched ideas, 3D modeled draft design.

    Computer Aided design

  • Week 9

    Tested out mist maker device, controlled with transistors.

    Output devices

  • Week 11

    Made water level sensor with copper sheets and tested.

    Input devices

  • Week 13

    Tested communication over WiFi. Between ESP12-F with wifi modules.

    Networking and Communications

  • Week 14

    Made a test interface in Blynk for mobile application and tested control ESP12-F over Wifi.

    Interface and Application

  • Week 16-20 - Final project page

    Finished 3D model, started fabrication processes, made a final PCB, Programmed.

    Final project

What I learned

I learned to work with various microcontroller boards, including ATtiny1614, ESP-12F, and Seeed Xiao RP2040.

I learned programming and communication between microcontrollers. Learned how to create PCBs with multiple devices with different voltage consumptions.

I learned to do good slicing for 3D printing, experienced various slicers.