Final Project¶
Slide:
Adressing Niel’s comments:¶
Updated video.¶
To address Niel’s comments during my final project presentation, he pointed out that the water could hardly be seen from the sprayer, especially how it closes. I have therefore updated the video which now clearly shows the closing of the water when the moisture threshold is reached.
For the updated video, I have changed the nozzle. This time I’m using a bigger nozzle which lets more water that can be seen even at a distance. Below is the updated video.
This week I worked on defining my final project idea and started to getting used to the documentation process.
It was very much emphasized that starting working on your final project the earlier the better as you utilize all the training aspects that propergates every week during class session.
a. Sketch of the final project idea¶¶
b. Description of the final project¶¶
I decided to develop an intelligent system for Solar watering Can. The idea is to develop a solar watering Can for watering gardens, adaptable to a mechanical, manual (hand operated) watering Can. This Watering Can will be somehow autonomous by using solar energy with the help of a small solar plate at the back. This device will be used for both watering the garden as well as spraying pesticides. The device will be carried manually to the field and controlled manually by a switch button to start. But it will be connected to a soil moisture sensor to detect moisture content. The pump will be intelligent enough to shutdown automatically if the soil moisture content is reached as well as when the pump is about to run dry and hence protect the pump. I think this idea will relieve farmers from hard work and make watering gardens very efficient.
Materials Required:¶
The following are the materials required for this project.
- Sprayer.
I designed the Solar Sprayer during my CAD week.
- Elctronics Box.
I also designed an electronic box during my 3D Scanning and printing week.
- Dc water pump.
- Moisture sensor.
Below is the system diagram for my project.
Below is the project schedule.
Final project requirements:¶
My project is a Solar water sprayer. It has been designed to replace the traditional watering can and pesticide sprayer. This device will be used for watering gardens as well as spraying pesticides by adjusting the Nozzle. It will contain an electric water pump that will be powered by solar. On the other hand, it will also contain a soil moisture sensor that will be in the garden to read the moisture during the watering process. The system will be intelligent enough to shut down the pump once the moisture threshold has been reached.
I think this equipment will be more helpful to small holder farmers who are far away and not connected to the municipality water, and they are still using the traditional methods of watering and pesticide spraying.
With the presence of this equipment farmers will be empowered to cultivate larger areas considering that part of their work will be done mechanically. It can also be seen that this device will help farmers to reduce time spent in field as well energy when operating manual watering Can.
Lastly, this device will increase their farm produce and eventually improve their income and alleviate poverty in general.
Who has done what beforehand?¶
The traditional watering Can are available, and the Pestcide sprayer are also available.
People have been using these methods for decades.
In my reseach I found some other people had realized this concept and here is the link
What I have designed:¶
- I have designed and produced two baords for input and output.
- I have modeled 2D and 3D of an electronics enclosure.
I have also modeled a 2D and 3D casing for my electronics boards to keep them tight in the enclosure.
- I have designed a solar stand.
I have modified the Sprayer box to accomodate the pump.
- I have designed a Label which carries the project name.
What materials and components will be used?¶
The following are materials and components to be used for my final project.
- Plastic canister.
- Plywood.
- filament.
- Solar panel.
- 12V dc water pump.
- RP2040 microcontroller, resitors, mosfet, regulator, capacitor, and connectors.
Where will they come from?¶
Regarding where the material will come from I can say about 90% will come from the Lab and some will be bought from different market.
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Things like plywood and the Canister will come from the local market.
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Materials and components like the Filament, RP2040 microcontroller, resitors, mosfet, regulator, capacitor, and connectors will come from the lab.
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The water pump and the solar panel I found them on Amazon.
How much will they cost?¶
Below is the cost analysis table describing the cost per component and the total cost of all.
| Description | Quantity | Source | Cost | link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12V 8W dc water pump | 1 | Amazon | $ 0.72 | Link |
| moisture sensor | 1 | Amazon | US$ 0.32 | Link |
| 10W Solar panel | 1 | Amazon | $19 | Link |
| Hand sprayer | 1 | Amazon | $12 | Link |
| XIAO RP2040 | 2 | Amazon | $18 | Link |
| Toggle switch | 1 | Amazon | $0.63 | Link |
| plywood 8.5mm | 1/4 | local | $10 | |
| 3D PLA filament | 200g | Amazon | $5 | Link |
| 4.99 Kohm Resistor 1206 | 5 | DIGI-KEY | $0.160 | Link |
| 0 ohm Resistor 1206 | 6 | DIGI-KEY | $0.12 | Link |
| 1x6 Female PinHeader THT | 1 | Amazon | $0.158 | Link |
| 1x6 Male PinHeader THT | 2 | Amazon | $0.2528 | Link |
| PTH socket, SMT | 3 | DIGI-KEY | $0.76 | Link |
| CONN HEADER SMD | 1 | DIGI-KEY | $ 0.4 | Link |
| N-Channel MOSFET, TO-252 | 1 | Amazon | US$ 0.08 | Link |
| CAP CER 1uF 1206 50V | 1 | elektronik | US$ 0.05 | Link |
| IC REG LINEAR 5V 1A SOT223 | 1 | DIGI-KEY | US$ 0.08 | Link |
| Total = $75 |
What parts and systems I have made?¶
- PCB controller boards for the electronics.
- Electronics enclosure for the interface.
- Solar stand to mount the panel
- I have also lasercut a Label which carries the project name.
I have also designed the fixture to hold the cables in place.
- Fixing the the pump in the Canister.
Fixing a solar panel and a canister on solar stand.
- Fixing the electronics enclosure.
Testing the pump after programming.
Packaging the moisture sensor.
System Intergration¶
In this project, I designed two main boards, both using seed xiao RP2040 board that manages the water pump and the soil moisture sensor.
After I was advised that it was better to create fittings and strain reliefs for the electronics management aspect of my final project, I decided to design electronics case along with wire mounts to reduce the likelihood of tangled wires and the incident where traces just ripped off.
I designed it using fusion 360.
Now let’s start connecting things together.
After installing the cables now it’s time to fix the boards into the fixture.
You can see how it looks after fitting and connecting everything.
Finally, I secured the top cover with screws.
What processes were used?¶
Electronics production.
- CNC milling of PCBs.
Computer Aided Design.
- 2D and 3D design of parts.
Computer controlled machining.
- CNC milling of a solar stand.
3D printing
- 3D printing of the electronics enclosure.
Networking.
- I2C communication of input and output.
System intergration.
programming.
What questions need to be answered?¶
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Will the Sprayer operate electrically powered by solar?
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Will the System be intelligent enough to shut down the pump when the moisture threshold is reached?
How will it be evaluated?¶
To consider the project successfull here are the essential key perfomance indicators.
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The solar powered Sprayer must be able to spray water using the solar water pump.
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The system must be able to shut down the pump when the threshold has been reached.