APPLICATIONS & IMPLICATIONS, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Applications & Implications
Assignment
Plan a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered, answering:
- What will it do?
- Who's done what beforehand?
- What sources will you use?
- What will you design?
- What materials and components will be used?
- Where will it come from?
- How much will they cost?
- What parts and systems will be made?
- What processes will be used?
- What questions need to be answered?
- How will it be evaluated?
Your project should incorporate:
- 2D and 3D design
- Additive and subtractive fabrication processes
- Electronics design and production
- Embedded microcontroller design, interfacing, and programming
- System integration and packaging
Where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project
Project Management
Assignment
- Prepare drafts of your final project summary slide
- (presentation.png, 1920x1080) and video clip
- (presentation.mp4, 1080p HTML5, < ~minute, < ~25 MB)
- Put them in your root directory
- Check that they are linked in the final presentation schedule
What will it do?
Pilly is a triple-disc automatic pill dispenser that dispenses medication at scheduled times. Three rotating discs, each driven by a stepper motor, hold pills in individual compartments. An ESP32 microcontroller reads and triggers the correct disc to rotate when a dose is due. An OLED display shows the current time, next dose schedule, and confirmation when a pill has been dispensed. The device runs on a LiPo battery and is designed for daily autonomous operation without user intervention.
Who has done what beforehand?
I searched online and I could find a number of products that is similar to the product I had in mind.
What materials and components will be used?
Electronics
| Component | Quantity | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| ESP32C6 | 1 | Main microcontroller |
| 28BYJ-48 stepper motor | 1 | Disc rotation |
| Servo Motor | 1 | Slot door |
| ULN2003 driver board | 1 | Motor driver |
| 0.96" I²C OLED (SSD1306) | 1 | Status display |
| LiPo battery 3.7V 2000mAh | 1 | Power |
| TP4056 charging module | 1 | LiPo charging |
| Tactile push button | 2 | Manual override / menu |
| PCB (custom KiCad) | 1 | All connections |
Fabrication Materials
| Material | Process | Use |
|---|---|---|
| PLA filament (white) | FDM 3D printing | Disc trays, enclosure body |
| Acrylic sheet 3mm (clear) | Laser cutting | Side panels, chute |
| FR4 PCB blank | PCB milling (Roland) | Custom circuit board |
| M3 bolts and nuts | Assembly | Structural fastening |
Where will it come from & How much will they cost?
What processes will be used?
- 2D design: Inkscape / Adobe Illustrator for laser cut panels
- 3D design: Fusion 360 / FreeCAD for discs and enclosure
- Additive fabrication: FDM 3D printing (Bamboo)
- Subtractive fabrication: Laser cutting (acrylic panels), PCB milling (Roland SRM-20)
- Electronics design: KiCad schematic and PCB layout
- Electronics production: PCB milling, soldering, testing
- Embedded programming: C++ on ESP32 via Arduino IDE
- System integration: Mechanical assembly, wiring, firmware calibration
How it integrates Fab Academy units
| Unit | Application in Spindo |
|---|---|
| 2D Design | Laser-cut acrylic panels and chute |
| 3D Design & Printing | Disc trays and enclosure body |
| Electronics Design | Custom KiCad PCB |
| Electronics Production | PCB milling and soldering |
| Embedded Programming | C++ firmware on ESP32 |
| Mechanical Design | Disc mechanism, motor mounts |
| System Integration | Full assembly and packaging |
| Input Devices | Buttons for manual override |
| Output Devices | OLED display, stepper motors |
Presentation Slide
For creating the presentation slide, I used the software Figma.
I used this image as background. Our instructor had provided us with the logos of Fabacademy and Fablab Kerala. I put those in the poster.
Then I added some details about the project. The first version looked like this.
I saved the image as presentation.png in the root folder named 'public'.
Loading presets
I added the Fabacademy preset to the Handbrake software.
Choose the file and click ok.
You can see the Fabacademy preset under the custom presets tab.
