Project Presentation

Final project SLIDE

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Final project VIDEO

What does it do and what did you design?

I designed and fabricated an autonomous wall system consisting of a fassade wall element that integrates temperature sensoring and servo-controlled ventilation gates, the wall is designed to automatically allow convection (cooling) when outside is hot, while automatically closing convection (thus enhancing natural heating via radiation) when outside is cold. In the following I explain what it will do in the simplest possible way I can:

• Outside is hot -> then open the gates -> air convection -> cooling.
• Outside is cold -> then closet he gates -> air tightness -> enhanced thermal insulation plus heat radiation -> heating.

Who’s done what beforehand?

Home automation and energy efficiency in buildings are to massive technological fields that include many investigations and innovations. Therefore, inventing completely new concepts is not easy. The physical working logic of the wall being proposed was invented by the French architect Félix Trombe, labelling this wall as the Trombe Wall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombe_wall). However, even Félix Trome took many concepts of a previous inventor, the American professor Edward S. Morse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_S._Morse) who designed several air heaters using a similar princple.

Regarding the application of domotics in Trombe walls, the previous works are more limited, but still there are previous investigations and commercial products. For instance, the company Domintell in Spain offers a Trombe Wall that is controled trhough domotics. The wall uses relatively complex/expensive components, for instance it uses a shutter control module (the DTRV01 https://www.domintell.es/persianas/modulo-control-4-motores-de-persiana), designed to automate devices such as flaps, valves, or motors that costs about 275 Euro each. Other individual projects can also be found, for instance this building in Gijón (Spain) that also used a Trombe Wall with some domotics https://www.ecubo.net/proyecto/proyectos-de-instalaciones-de-climatizacion-muro-trombe/).

Regarding similar applications in the academic field, some investigators of the Autonomous University of México designed a similar system that also included sensoring and automation. The researchers bought the most electronic parts and used the Arduino board, details can be seen here: https://www.academia.edu/38239208/Propuesta_de_sistema_pasivo_automatizado_para_el_acondicionamiento_del_aire_en_casa_habitaci%C3%B3n.

Sources, materials, components, processess and costs

Regarding the machines to be used, they are detailed in the following table:

Regarding the software I will use for design and fabrication, it entails the following tools and corresponding versions/builts:

What parts and systems were made?

I fully fabricated the following parts (you can freely download all the relevant design and fabrication files here:

1. PCB, and soldering of components.
2. Wooden parts by parametric design in Grasshopper and CNC machining.
3. Metacrylate parts by laser cuting.
4. PLA parts (PCB box, servo box and servo arm) by parametric design in Grasshopper and fabrication via 3D printing.
5. Embedded programming used for controlling the sensors, monitoring and displying of temperature and servo-moving of the ventilation gates.

What questions were answered? What worked? What didn’t?

• The prototype of autonomous wall worked as intended.
• All parts can be manufactured with conventional lab equipment.
• The ventilation gates can be servo-controlled with conventional micro servos of small size.
• The solar cell energy supply did not worked because the amperage of the external bateries selected was not high enough for moving the servo with the required torque.
• The overall design of the prototype allowed for correct assembly of the different parts, however future works and refinements should further enhance the air-tightness of the system to assure no any convection of air occurs due to small cavities/tolerances. This can be improved for instance assuring the correct sealing of the diferent junctions with sealings, as well as using magnets for assuring closing of gates where needed.

How was it evaluated?

• This project is conceived as a first step prototype for evaluating the global working of the system.
• After the system idea has been proved, the next step will be refining the prototype enhance the weak points encountered such as improving air-tightness as well as implementing external energy supply.
• After the second validation step, the prototype will be applied into a real building which will serve as demonstrator.
• After real world validation the prototype could be commercialized or exploited as a technological system.

Links to the assignments related to the final project for further details

• First draft of the parametric design of the wall Week2: Computer Aided Design

• CNC cutting of the wooden pieces Week7: Computer Controlled Machining

• PCB first draft design Week06: Electronics design

• PCB first draft fabrication Week08: Electronics production

• Temperature sensoring Week09: Input devices

• OLED and servos programming Week10: Output devices

• Schematic of system components Week13: Midterm review

• Design of box top for accomodating OLED screen Week12: Mechanical design

• PCB, servos and wiring integration Week16: System integration

License

This work is lincensed under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike](CC BY-SA) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en). It allows any individual or organization to remix, adapt, and build upon this project even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit this work and license their new creations under the same terms.

Credits of the work done by others

This project contains all orignal and self-made parts and designs except the top of the PCB box design which was adapted from the design of RajPShinde for a camera slider, see his repository at https://github.com/RajPShinde/CamSlider, which is licensed under GPL-3.0 license.

Also for designing the box of the servos I used the servo model of lylesvendsen available at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2641076#google_vignette under Creative Commons - Attribution - Share Alike.

I also need to credit the use of puntual AI assistance that served me to better understand electronic concepts and facilitating the coding of some related embedded programming. This use of AI was punctual used as assistance only and the codes were made by me.

ACKNLOWLEDGEMENT

I want to sincere thank the research project of Xunta de Galicia (Spain) led by IP Pablo Guindos ED431F 2024/17 as well as the excellence program BERCE Code 00958 of the IP Pablo Guindos Bretones of University of A Coruña for the financial support. Without them it would not be possible the opportunty to enroll in the FabAcademy.

I want to thank my team mates Francisco Ruz and Pepe Vazquez for their huge support and patience of this, my first contact, with digital design and fabrication.

Finally, I want to thank my local Luis Diaz-Faes (A Industriosa, Vigo, Spain) and global advisor Yuichi TAMIYA (FabLab Kannai, Japan) for their guidance and support. Of course also thanks to all my other mates at this FabAcademy 2025 and, big thanks, to Neil for all his master classes and good vibes during all the learning process.