Guidance on building an auto oiler

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi All, stone cold newbie here. I'm working my way through all the beginner tutorials that came with my kit, and I have an inspiration for my first project, that being an auto chain oiler for my bike.

Here's how I envision it working;

  • Set desired flow according to conditions (Dry, wet, dusty). Could be three position switch or potentiometer.
  • Count wheel rpm. Would like to use Hall Effect switch with magnet on the rear sprocket.
  • Depending on condition selected, activate a small micro dosing pump after a certain number of rotations to dispense a drop of oil onto the chain. Probably need a relay.

I've read quite a few posts on reading rpm, and this seems pretty straight forward. I'm not far enough along yet to understand the best way to turn this into an output. Any advice on the most elegant way to accomplish this, and any related material I could read to learn, would be much appreciated!

2

This should be quite easy to build and program.

Could you use a magnet attached to a spoke and a detector, either Hall effect or a reed detector attached to the forks.
This is generally how it's done on peddle cycles.

Have you found an electrically controlled oil pump you can use.

Counting pulses is very easy to program, and you can set three thresholds e.g. Turns needed for each of your conditions e,g. Dusty wet etc
Then when the pulse count gets to that value.
Trigger the pump for 1 sec, then reset the revolutions counter

3

rogerClark:
Could you use a magnet attached to a spoke and a detector, either Hall effect or a reed detector attached to the forks.
This is generally how it's done on peddle cycles.

Have you found an electrically controlled oil pump you can use.

Thank you very much for the reply!

I plan on using a Hall effect switch mounted on the inside of the swingarm, and a magnet attached to the sprocket, in order to keep the mass close to the center of rotation. Switch= Drew Hamlin

The micro-pump I'm considering is a solenoid actuated diaphragm. It's pricey new, but can be found used on auction sites for ~$25USD. Pump=http://www.biochemfluidics.com/Products/micro-pumps.asp
There are also some micro gear and peristaltic pumps available that actually might be better suited due to the viscosity of the oil, but I haven't found any that are reasonably priced.

I'm open for suggestions.