Hi I am really new with Arduino but want to learn.
My project needs to be as follows:
Using an Arduino Uno board with a LCD keypad shield a water flowmeter with 2 wires and a stepper motor.
I would like to measure flow of liquid and be able to use the "select, left right, up down" buttons to specify a rate of flow. The LCD must display current flow from reading the flow meter and then using the stepper motor to actuate a valve control the flow using the values entered using the buttons. In essence regulating the flow of liquid from a set value and comparing a red value.
Is this possible to do using the Arduino Uno and the Keypad LCD Shield? If not should I go for a Arduino Mega and a keypad LCD Shield or other equipment?
Yes. The overall project is very, very challenging for a beginner. Take small steps, like reading the keypad, and make sure that each step is working perfectly and fully understood before moving on to the next.
This is what i have and to link it to a normal stainless steel ball valve will be easy to do, as i am more mechanical able than electronical.
what other option do you recommend to use?
Ball valves are quite hard to open/close completely, you need beefy stepper setup to do that. I would go with motorized ball valve, they have gear motor built in and are quite inexpensive.
Ok, so in an attempt to start small and work from there, i found alot of challenges, for my at this stage melted brain.
I have tried to figure out to find code to get something on the lcd, seems to figure how to do that.
I have tried to figure out to find code to get the buttons to show their designation on the lcd, massive problem, I figured out that this DFRobot LCD Keypad Shield is not that easy to get the buttons to just show their names, the "select" button does nothing, the "up" button shows down, the "down" button shoes left, the "left" button shows select, the "right" button shows right, the only one that works.
Guys, to be honest, I would love to learn Arduino but to get stuck the whole time is a tad degrading mentally.
Where do I start? What then from there piece by piece. I know this project is heavy for a beginner, but i need to start somewhere, and I know the mental reward will be awesome if i get it to work.
Please direct me in the right direction, piece by piece. I really appreciate you giving your time to assisting me.
All ball valves are extremely non-linear in fluid control. They are designed for either on or off. Use a valve specifically designed to regulate flow in a linear method.
You need to tell us that the water source is under a constant pressure, otherwise your system will be constantly making flow adjustments.
I agree with you, but he is trying to make his first arduino project, probably not a nuclear plant cooling system. He was looking for manual flow control, not automatic.
To start with..
Start with the simplest tasks, like reading a button, then reading the flow meter (which acts like a button) and scaling the results. Learn about switch bounce and how to deal with it.
Next step: attach and display data on something like an LCD or TFT.
Next: select valve, a motor driver and power supply. Finally, learn about and implement PID control.
A complete beginner should plan on spending weeks to months to get an ambitious project like this working properly. Expect ideas and approaches to change as the project progresses.
You can get motorised ball valves (that turn on or off by providing a voltage to turn on and reversing it to turn off) or proportional (or servo) valves that you control with a variable current or as a PWM signal. You can get these made of chinesium relatively cheaply. Either of these avoids the whole stepper motor control aspect (i.e. how do I work out the valve position etc) and all the worries about motor torque and stuff.
That's why I recommended those, to make the project little bit easier.
I have one made of 24K chinesium and it has been running for years. It's highly geared so you don't need beefy PSU and it has limit switches so you only need one relay to drive it.
I have started small and at a point, small steps and google later. I have identified the buttons and they work now displaying their names on the LCD.
I need a valve that can proportionally open to regulate the flow of fertilizer.
The fertilizer is going through a pump so the pressure is constant, but i need the flow to be controlled, according to a value entered into the unit via keys/buttons.
so for example the flow needs to be 892lt/h so i need to set that into the Arduino and it should then keep it there via the valve that is variable/proportional.
If something were to happen, ex. the filter gets clogged but flows less, then the valve needs to adjust by it self to attain set flow value.
later on this can be upgraded with a cell sim, or comms in a sort of way to notify me if there is deviations from flow or errors etc.
i know its complicated, but it is do-able, and i would like to do it.
