Schlagwort: arduino

  • OpenCat: 3D Print Your Own Robotic Cat

    OpenCat: 3D Print Your Own Robotic Cat

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    If you’ve always wanted a cat, but happen to be allergic to feline friends, fear not as you can soon make your very own robotic cat.

    Thanks to a design by Rongzhong Li, a programmer, the robotic cat combines artificial intelligence with some pretty exciting features. As part of his “OpenCat” project, Li designed a robot that combines an Arduino Pro Mini with a Raspberry Pi 3 model B. You can watch the artificial feline in the video below.

    Robotic pets have been enjoying increasing popularity. For example, the Sony AIBO made quite a splash when it was launched 11 years ago. However, robots are still super expensive. The AIBO will set you back $1,800. And the most of the Wowwee robots that you can buy in a store aren’t exactly smart.

    The OpenCat project might change that. It is available as part of a GPL3+ license. So far, there’s no documentation, but Rongzhong Li plans to have it ready as soon as his job at the University leaves him some time.

    The Arduino is used to control the movement of the robot, whilst the Raspberry Pi enables the robot to have a personality – well, sort of. Li explained on Hackster.io:

    “The Pi takes no responsibility for controlling detailed limb movements. It focuses on more serious questions, such as “Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?” It generates mind and sends string commands to the Arduino slave. Motion instructions can still be sent to the Arduino in a slower manner.”

    Robots for anyone thanks to open-source

    If you cannot afford the Raspberry Pi or want a simplified model of the robot, Li has also added the plans for a cat with just the Arduino part.

    Meanwhile, the full version provides enhanced AI perception and also includes an infrared, voice and night vision interface.

    Li adds: “You can imagine it as a legged Android phone or Alexa that has an app store for third-party extensions.”


    Robot cat in development. (Image: Rongzhong Li, Hackster.io)

    The full version cat needs multiple precisely printed structures with various filaments.  Add two day for printing and post-processing. The 3D printed part have to be assembled with specific accessories and tools. Some mechanisms are designed at

    The final robot can run at 2.6 meters/sec for 60 minutes or stream videos for multiple hours.

    Originally, Li created the OpenCat to test the Raspberry Pi and learn the coding hardware. He wanted to find out exactly what it could do. The final version, however, may even make it to commercial production as Li plans to start his own business.

    In addition, Li is now using his skill set to teach a robotics class at university. He hopes to sell even more kits to generate the revenue necessary to keep the project rolling.

    “I believe in the power of open-source if everyone could grab a robot and start to solder and code. Rather than a final product, it shows the potential backed by a growing maker community,” he added.


    Robot versus real cat. (Image: Rongzhong Li, Hackster.io)

    Source: Hackster.io


    License: The text of „OpenCat: 3D Print Your Own Robotic Cat“ by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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    Website: LINK

  • Measure RPM with an IR sensor and Arduino

    Measure RPM with an IR sensor and Arduino

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Measure RPM with an IR sensor and Arduino

    Arduino TeamFebruary 27th, 2018

    When dealing with robotics and other electronics projects, it can be important to know how many revolutions a motor is making. From here, you can infer the distance that your device has traveled, or any number of other important variables.

    If you’d like to get started with this type of sensing, this electronoobs tutorial will show you how to get things hooked up using an Arduino and a computer, along with an oscilloscope to verify measurements up to 10,000 RPM.

    In his setup, an IR emitter/receiver bounces light off a spinning object. When light reflects back, it opens the circuit, causing the output to be grounded via a pulldown resistor, telling you that a revolution has been made. The 3D-printed device also features an OLED screen.

    To emit infrared light we need a IR LED and to detect it a IR sensible transistor. Usually you could find those as a one unique module. To amplify the signal I’ve used the LM324 amplifier. You will also need a 100 ohm resistor and a 4.7k ohm one. To supply the system we will need a basic 9V battery and connector, an Arduino Nano, and an OLED screen. The case is 3D printed…

    You can find more details on the build process here, as well as a demo of the tachometer below!



    Website: LINK

  • Make your own 3D-printed robotic vacuum with Arduino

    Make your own 3D-printed robotic vacuum with Arduino

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    Make your own 3D-printed robotic vacuum with Arduino

    Arduino TeamFebruary 26th, 2018

    Tired of cleaning your house? A robotic vacuum may be the logical solution, but if you’re “theking3737” something off-the-shelf just isn’t quite cool enough. Created as part of a school project, he was responsible for the hardware design, while a fellow classmate took care of the programming.

    The DIY device uses an array of what appear to be ultrasonic sensors for navigation, and an Arduino Mega as the brains. It also features an HC-05 Bluetooth module that enables it to be controlled via an Android phone or smartwatch. All the electronics are housed inside a 3D-printed closure.

    Impressively, the team had “never done anything like this before,” and the results look great—encouragement for anyone hesitant to start on a project because of inexperience!



    Website: LINK

  • Let an Arduino notify you when the coffee is ready

    Let an Arduino notify you when the coffee is ready

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Let an Arduino notify you when the coffee is ready

    Arduino TeamFebruary 23rd, 2018

    Hacker “wesgood,” apparently not satisfied with randomly checking the office coffee pot to see if a fresh brew was available, decided to make his own notification system.

    His device uses a current sensor to monitor power usage of the coffee pot, and after some observation, he was able to pick out its brewing pattern—7A at 10 minutes, then quick cycling to keep the pot warm.

    The system features an Arduino Yún for brew tracking and sends an alert via his office communication tool to let everyone know that a fresh pot is ready. As with many projects, the first iteration started life on a breadboard, but now exists on a manufactured PCB as a shield. It even has a second channel that is slated for use with the office kettle.

    Once the Arduino side of the Yún detects the brew cycle is complete, it triggers a shell script under Linux that sends a notification to our office communication tool Hipchat. It also records the data about date and cycle stage so that Hipchat can query the database (on a webserver) and request things like what stage the brew cycle is on and when it brewed last.

    You can find additional build details on Imgur.



    Website: LINK

  • Strange vocal interactions with ‘you, me and all these machines’

    Strange vocal interactions with ‘you, me and all these machines’

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Strange vocal interactions with ‘you, me and all these machines’

    Arduino TeamFebruary 22nd, 2018

    Moscow-based artist ::vtol:: is back again with an interesting interactive exhibit entitled “you, me and all these machines.” His latest work, a collaboration with Lovozero, allows two participants to produce otherworldly vocals together.

    One participant wears the device, which points a directional microphone under the control of the other participant at her mouth using a servo motor. An array of LEDs signal the vocalist in a manner agreed upon before the performance.

    The head-mounted system is controlled by an Arduino Uno, and is meant to display the subtle interaction between two participating artists, as they must work together to produce the desired output.

    “You, me and all these machines” is a performance for voice and electronic devices. The vocalist puts on his or her head a specially designed wearable interface tool to interact with the voice and display a visual score. Technically, the device consists of several elements: a narrowly directional microphone driven by a motor; an LED strip that shows the vocalist score; remote control with a joystick used by the second participant to control the interface.

    Shifting the microphone against the mouth makes it possible to achieve interesting sound effects, and makes it easier to manipulate the vocalist’s voice. The LED line consisting of 10 diodes is a very primitive, but effective and convenient way of interacting with the vocalist, and the way of interpreting the values is predetermined before each performance. During the performance, a sound canvas is formed, thereby changing the dynamics, consisting of a set of looped fragments created within voice and interface processing elements, without using other methods to generate sounds.

    Check out “you, me and all these machines” in the video below!



    Website: LINK

  • Designing an Arduino-powered split-flap display

    Designing an Arduino-powered split-flap display

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Designing an Arduino-powered split-flap display

    Arduino TeamFebruary 22nd, 2018

    If you’d like a split-flap display with numbers and letters, options tend to be quite expensive. This though was no problem for hacker “scottbez1” who reports that after “only” two-plus years of work, he has produced a split-flap assembly that plugs into an Arduino Uno as a sort of external shield.

    The device employs inexpensive stepper motors to click through letters, numbers, and even some punctuation, using cutout PVC ID display stock to show the characters. Cleverly, the PCB he designed for it can function as a motor driver or be split in two to function as a sensor board.

    I’ve always loved these electro-mechanical displays, but you can’t buy them for a reasonable price, so I figured I’d try making them myself (plus it’s more fun that way!). Ultimately I wanted to design a split-flap display that can be built at home in small/single quantities and can be customized and put together by an intermediate hobbyist for not too much money.

    The design I settled on uses PVC ID badge cards for the flaps, store-bought vinyl stickers for the letters, and is driven by a cheap 28BYJ-48 stepper motor. The enclosure and moving parts are all made from laser-cut MDF, which can be easily ordered online. To control them, I designed a driver board that can be hand-soldered and plugs into an Arduino like a shield.

    The entire build story can be found here and more details including Arduino code are available on GitHub. If you’d just like to see and hear it flapping away, check out the video below!



    Website: LINK

  • Lunar landing conspiracy put to rest(?) with LIDAR

    Lunar landing conspiracy put to rest(?) with LIDAR

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    Lunar landing conspiracy put to rest(?) with LIDAR

    Arduino TeamFebruary 20th, 2018

    On July 20th, 1969 man first set foot on the moon with the Apollo 11 mission, or so they say. If it was faked, or so the theory goes, one would think that there were a few details that don’t quite add up. One such theory is that the hatch on the lunar module isn’t actually large enough to allow a fully-suited up astronaut to enter and exit the module.

    Rather than make assumptions, astrophotographer and hacker “AstronomyLive” took matters into his own hands and used a homemade LIDAR unit to measure the hatch of Lunar Module #9 at the Kennedy Space Center, as well as an Apollo spacesuit.

    The Arduino-powered device aims the laser, and transmits this information to a tablet that also provides a convenient user interface. This data was then arranged as a point cloud, proving that… You can take a guess, or watch the video below to see his conclusion!

    I used the Garmin LIDAR-Lite V3 along with a couple of metal geared servo motors to build a simple pan/tilt scanner, which pairs via Bluetooth to an Android app I built using MIT App Inventor 2 to control and receive data from the Arduino. It’s simple but effective. Although every tutorial I read suggested I couldn’t safely pull the voltage off the board for the motors, but I found that the vin pin gave me no problems, as long as I used a 5V 1.5A linear voltage regulator between the pin and the motors. I supplied 9V using AA batteries to the power jack on the Arduino. In the future I may upgrade the scanner by adding a small camera to grab RGB data for each point as it samples, and ideally I would change the whole thing to use a stepper motor for continuous spinning and scanning to generate a denser cloud.



    Website: LINK

  • Levitate water drops with RGB LEDs and Arduino

    Levitate water drops with RGB LEDs and Arduino

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    Levitate water drops with RGB LEDs and Arduino

    Arduino TeamFebruary 19th, 2018

    Water normally falls from the sky to the ground, the time fountain from hacker isaac879 appears to work much differently. As shown in the video below, water droplets somehow levitate from a circular orange apparatus to a blue one on top.

    The trick here is that the water isn’t actually falling up, but appears that way by carefully controlling the flashing of RGB lights using an Arduino Uno. If the lights flash at the same rate as the water drops, they appear to stand still, while if the light is flashed more slowly, they appear to rise.

    This is the prototype RGB LED Time Fountain I designed and built. It uses RGB LED strip lights to strobe a stream of water drops to make them appear as if they are levitating. By strobing the different colors out of phase with each other some incredible effects can be created.

    An Arduino Uno controls the timing of the RGB strobe and the PWM of the pump. Bluetooth communication was achieved using an HC-05 Bluetooth module and the “Arduino bluetooth controller” app by “Giumig Apps.”

    Be sure to check out the video to see it in action, especially the bit around 3:40 where drops appear to rise out of a cup while it’s getting filled with water.



    Website: LINK

  • Play Striker Air Hockey on a capacitive touch surface

    Play Striker Air Hockey on a capacitive touch surface

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    Play Striker Air Hockey on a capacitive touch surface

    Arduino TeamFebruary 19th, 2018

    After discovering capacitive touch interactions with a Makey Makey device and an Arduino Leonardo, Jason Eldred realized it could also be used to control the Unity game engine. After a night of hacking, he had a basic interface that could change the scale of a virtual circle. From there, he teamed up with Alex L. Bennett to produce an art installation called Bee that invited users to interact with it by physically touching a panel to change graphics on the panel itself and a screen in front of them.

    While not meant as a game per se, after more experimentation including work by Gabe Miller and Dustin Williams, this interactive display method was finally turned into a virtual air hockey table via a giant crisscrossing grid of copper tape and wires.

    In the game, two players push a virtual puck projected onto a horizontal surface for colorful AR interactions at a very low cost. You can see it in action below, and read more about the project on DigiPen’s website and in Gamasutra’s recent article.



    Website: LINK

  • Water speakers enhanced with an Arduino Mega

    Water speakers enhanced with an Arduino Mega

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    Water speakers enhanced with an Arduino Mega

    Arduino TeamFebruary 14th, 2018

    Maker “cool austin” is a fan of water speakers, which pulse jets of water inside plastic enclosures to the beat of your music, but thought they could be improved.

    What he came up with is a multi-tower setup that not only dances with light and water to the beat of the music playing, but splits up the pulses into frequencies a la a VU meter.

    The project uses an Arduino Mega—chosen because it has sufficient PWM outputs to control the water and lights in five of these enclosures via MOSFETs—to output signals to the water units for an excellent audio-visual display.

    Water speakers from the store are great to watch, but I felt they could do more. So many years ago I had modified a set to show the frequency of music playing. At the time I used the Color Organ Triple Deluxe II, combined with a set of photocells potentiometers and transistors I was able to get a set of 3 speakers to function.

    I then a few years ago had heard about the IC MSGEQ7 which has the ability to separate audio into 7 data values for an Arduino to read. I utilize an Arduino mega 2560 in this project because it has the required number of PWM pins to drive five water towers.

    You can find more details on the water speaker equalizer here, and see it in action below!



    Website: LINK

  • Video game head tracking with Wii Remote camera

    Video game head tracking with Wii Remote camera

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    Video game head tracking with Wii Remote camera

    Arduino TeamFebruary 14th, 2018

    While the Nintendo Wii has been on the market for well over 10 years, its controllers continue to provide a variety of tools for hacking. One component you may want to consider for your next hack is the camera from the Wii Remote, which senses the position of nearby infrared light spots and outputs them as X/Y coordinates via I²C.

    While that may instantly set off multiple use ideas, if you need inspiration, be sure to check out this setup by Jack Carter. He mounted one of these cameras to the top of a computer screen, and uses it to track an IR LED mounted to the top of his headset.

    From there, an Arduino Uno translates this information as joystick inputs to the computer, which is then configured to control an in-game camera as seen in the video here.



    Website: LINK

  • YouTuber creates an organ out of 44 Furbies

    YouTuber creates an organ out of 44 Furbies

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    YouTuber creates an organ out of 44 Furbies

    Arduino TeamFebruary 12th, 2018

    If you think Furbies have become extinct, think again, as musical hacker “Look Mum No Computer” has decided to revive a number of them to create his own Furby Organ.

    To make this horrifying yet awesome instrument, he placed 44—yes, 44—of these strange creatures on top of an organ frame with a keyboard and several dials, along with a switch labeled ominously as “collective awakening.”

    Each individual Furby is controlled by two Arduino Nano boards, and as you might imagine, the whole project took a massive amount of work to wire things together. You can see the incredible results in the first video below, while the second gives a bit more background on the device’s origin.



    Website: LINK

  • Recreate Optimus Prime’s blaster with Arduino

    Recreate Optimus Prime’s blaster with Arduino

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    Recreate Optimus Prime’s blaster with Arduino

    Arduino TeamFebruary 9th, 2018

    YouTuber Bob Clagett has dreamed of creating his own life-sized Optimus Prime ion blaster for years, and now after hours of 3D printing and finishing, he finally has something worthy of that universe.

    While he opted to construct it in a 1:2 scale, it’s still an impressive physical build, looking comically large, but not entirely unwieldy as a full-sized 8-foot blaster would have been.

    Inside, sound and lighting effects are controlled by an Arduino, which plays clips from the show and flashes in different patterns via an Adafruit sound board and RGB LED strip.

    I wanted the blaster to play sounds and have lights come out of the barrel so I rigged up an Arduino Nano with an Adafruit sound board and amp that would cycle blaster sounds and lights when a button was pressed. And because there’s always more than meets the eye, I had a separate button that played just Transformers sound clips. To defuse the LED strip when the lights fired, I printed a semi-translucent disc that would stand-off from the sides so that sound could still escape, but the light would be diffused. I decided to mount all of the audio components in the barrel so that the cannon could be taken apart to charge the battery back.

    You can see the entire process in the video below, or check out his post for a summary.



    Website: LINK

  • Pour Reception turns water into radio controls

    Pour Reception turns water into radio controls

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    Pour Reception turns water into radio controls

    Arduino TeamFebruary 8th, 2018

    Using a capacitive sensing arrangement, artists Tore Knudsen, Simone Okholm Hansen, and Victor Permild have come up with a way to interact with music with two glasses of water.

    One pours water into a glass to turn the radio on. Channels can then be changed by transferring water from one glass into the other, and fine-tuned by touching the outside of container. Volume can even be adjusted by poking a finger into the water itself.

    An Arduino Leonardo is used to pick up capacitive signals, and data is then sent a computer where a program called Wekinator decodes user interactions.

    Pour Reception is a playful radio that strives to challenge our cultural understanding of what an interface is and can be. By using capacitive sensing and machine learning, two glasses of water are turned into a digital material for the user to explore and appropriate.

    The design materials that we have available when designing digital artifacts expands along with the technological development, and with the computational machinery it is possible to augment our physical world in ways that challenges our perceptions of the objects we interact with. In this project, we aim to change the users perception of what a glass is – both cultural and technical.

    You can see it in action below, and read more about the project in its write-up here.



    Website: LINK

  • Scribble is an Arduino-controlled haptic drawing robot

    Scribble is an Arduino-controlled haptic drawing robot

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    Scribble is an Arduino-controlled haptic drawing robot

    Arduino TeamFebruary 8th, 2018

    As part of his master’s studies at Eindhoven University, Felix Ros created a haptic drawing interface that uses a five-bar linkage system to not only take input from one’s finger, but also act as a feedback device via a pair of rotary outputs.

    “Scribble” uses an Arduino Due to communicate with a computer, running software written in OpenFrameworks.

    For over a century we have been driving cars, enabling us to roam our surroundings with little effort. Now with the introduction of automated driving, machines will become our chauffeurs. But how about getting us around a road construction, or finding a friend in a crowded area? Or what if you just want to explore and find new places, will these cars be able to handle such situations and how can you show your intentions?

    Currently there is no middle ground between the car taking the wheel or its driver, this is where Scribble comes in: a haptic interface that lets you draw your way through traffic. You draw a path and the car will follow, not letting you drive but pilot the car. Scribble lets you help your car when in need, and wander your surroundings once again.

    You can learn more about Ros’ design in his write-up here, including the code needed to calculate and output forward kinematics to set the X/Y position, and inverse kinematics to sense user input.

    Be sure to check it out in the video below piloting a virtual car through traffic with ease!



    Website: LINK

  • Automated IC testing with Arduino Mega

    Automated IC testing with Arduino Mega

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    Automated IC testing with Arduino Mega

    Arduino TeamFebruary 5th, 2018

    Arduino boards by themselves are, of course, great for making a wide array of projects. Sometimes, however, you’ll need to add other integrated circuits (ICs) for extra functionality. If you want to be absolutely sure that the IC you’re using in your project is working correctly, this tester by Akshay Baweja will input the signals to the device, and analyze the outputs that it produces on a 2.4” touchscreen.

    While this type of equipment would normally be quite expensive, Baweja’s Arduino Mega-powered gadget can be built for around $25.

    I designed a shield for all components to fit-in and chose the Arduino Mega as my microcontroller board since both the ZIF Socket and LCD can be put side by side giving the build a compact and portable look and feel.

    Be sure to check it out being demonstrated below, and if you want to create your own, code can be found on GitHub.



    Website: LINK

  • Kid’s kitchen beeps with the help of an Arduino

    Kid’s kitchen beeps with the help of an Arduino

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    Kid’s kitchen beeps with the help of an Arduino

    Arduino TeamJanuary 31st, 2018

    While Roald Hendriks is quite pleased with the build quality of the IKEA DUKTIG play kitchen, it does lack one thing—the ability to say “beep.”

    This feature was requested by his daughter, who for her third birthday wanted “a kitchen that says beep, just like mommie’s.” Not wanting to disappoint, he dutifully installed an Arduino, along with a real-time clock module, buttons, and a speaker to allow her to set the cooking time, and have it count down just like the adult equivalent.

    The mods are extremely well done, and the buttons and time display on the front look like they were meant to be there. Hendriks even installed lighting inside the oven so she can see what she’s baking!

    Check it out in the video below!



    Website: LINK

  • Rotary encoders and Arduino combine for awesome universal remote

    Rotary encoders and Arduino combine for awesome universal remote

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    Rotary encoders and Arduino combine for awesome universal remote

    Arduino TeamJanuary 31st, 2018

    In his latest hack, “Matlek” has come up with an entirely new take on the universal remote, using a pair of rotary encoders instead of an array of buttons to output up to 400 individual signals.

    One 20-step encoder in his remote selects the device to be controlled, while the other picks the function, like changing the volume or channel.

    Pressing down on a built-in button on the action selection encoder executes a command, while if it’s held down for long enough, it can be programmed via an IR receiver. An Arduino is used to control the gadget because of its small size, and the project expands on several helpful concepts like SD card usage and IR signaling.

    Of course, the remote has an IR receiver to “absorb” the IR signals of the remotes you want to “clone”, and an IR LED to send them. These protocols are saved on a microSD card, therefore you can switch OFF the remote (and the Arduino board), it keeps the information concerning the signals on the microSD card. There are also 2 rotary encoders with 20 positions each, and that is how you can have 400 buttons. Each rotary encoder is also a pushbutton. There is a LED to inform whether the universal remote is receiving or sending IR signals. This device works on a Lithium Ion battery (18650 cell), so it is portable. And finally, there is a switch, so you can switch it ON and OFF.

    Want to create one of your own? You can find out Matlek’s entire tutorial here.



    Website: LINK

  • Automatic guitar strumming with Arduino Uno and chopsticks

    Automatic guitar strumming with Arduino Uno and chopsticks

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    Automatic guitar strumming with Arduino Uno and chopsticks

    Arduino TeamJanuary 31st, 2018

    If you like to make music, but don’t consider yourself particularly talented, YouTuber Make It And Fake It has come up with an innovative solution.

    Her device uses an Arduino Uno, along with a hobby servo motor to move a pair of chopsticks that holds the pick. This means that the guitar can literally strum itself, and thanks to a small control box, she can even select from one of three rhythm patterns.

    If you’re wondering what this could be used for, the answer comes at 1:40 in the demonstration video, where Make It And Fake It is shown drinking tea, playing another instrument, and even texting her mom while still producing music from the guitar. Code for the build can be found on GitHub.



    Website: LINK

  • Add an Arduino-based tachometer to your CNC router

    Add an Arduino-based tachometer to your CNC router

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    Add an Arduino-based tachometer to your CNC router

    Arduino TeamJanuary 30th, 2018

    In order to get a good cut with a CNC router, the cutting tool speed needs to be properly set. Since his CNC didn’t come with RPM feedback, Troy Barbour came up with his own solution using an Arduino Nano along with an IR emitter/sensor pair.

    The spindle was set up with a single reflective surface, enabling it to sense one pulse per revolution that is sent to the Arduino at up to up to 30,000 RPM. To ensure accurate measurement, the device was programmed using an interrupt, meaning that if another process is running, it will temporarily drop what it’s doing and count the incoming pulse.

    RPM is displayed on a tiny OLED screen, which shows both an RPM number as well as a dial indicator for quick reference.

    Build an optical RPM indicator for your CNC router with an Arduino Nano, an IR LED/IR photodiode sensor and an OLED display for less than $30. I was inspired by eletro18’s Measure RPM – Optical Tachometer Instructable and wanted to add a tachometer to my CNC router. I simplified the sensor circuit, designed a custom 3D-printed bracket for my Sienci CNC router. Then I wrote an Arduino sketch to display both a digital and analog dial on an OLED display.

    You can see it in action below, and find build instructions and code on Barbour’s write-up.



    Website: LINK

  • Dotter is an Arduino-powered dot matrix printer

    Dotter is an Arduino-powered dot matrix printer

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    Dotter is an Arduino-powered dot matrix printer

    Arduino TeamJanuary 29th, 2018

    While largely supplanted by more modern forms of printing, dot matrix printers still have their fans. Few, however, are more dedicated than Nikodem Bartnik, who constructed his own model that pulls paper up to 55cm wide and as long as he needs under a gantry that stamps each pixel with a marker.

    The device is controlled via an Arduino Uno, which takes input from a Processing sketch running on a computer to obtain the image to be printed.

    It uses a pair of stepper motors to advance the paper, as well as a third to position the marker to be stamped. A servo motor pushes the marker down as needed, producing a print that, as seen at 5:15 in the video below, is accurate and stylishly pixellated.



    Website: LINK

  • Fall asleep with the help of LEDs and an Arduino

    Fall asleep with the help of LEDs and an Arduino

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    Fall asleep with the help of LEDs and an Arduino

    Arduino TeamJanuary 29th, 2018

    While some fall asleep nearly immediately with no assistance, others need the drone of a fan or a dedicated noisemaker to help them relax. The Fall Asleep Device, also known as “FADing,” by Youz takes a different approach. FADing shines an LED onto the ceiling out via a piece of acrylic, so that you can use it whether you like to sleep on your back or side.

    An Arduino Nano controls the nicely-shaped wooden unit, and causes light to fade in and out at a pace that decreases from 11 to 6 pulses per minute, prompting you to regulate and relax your breathing accordingly.

    After being started by a button below, FADing is kept on by a relay until it finishes, meaning it uses no power in standby. You can check it out in the video below, and find build instructions and code in Youz’s write-up.



    Website: LINK