I am very new to Ardunio (haven't got my hands on it yet) and my knowledge only consists of some Youtube tutorials. But I want to make a crash dive with a comprehensive project.
I want to make a 3D printed cat feeder which will selectively open its lids by my fury friends' chips.
I am planning to use one Nema17 with powerboard to control pinion gear mechanism, one AVG TTL long range RFID reader and 2x16 LED screen with I2C/IIC.
First of all, I want to buy the part list but not sure if Nano's pin layout is adequate for this setup?
Is it possible to find library AVG long range TTL?
I am familiar with coding so, I am confident that I can handle the configurtion part. Maybe I can ask for help later for pin connections.
It's recommended to do that before spending money on large dreams.
Sum up the number of I/O pins needed. Then read the specifications for Arduino boards.
I've seen them side by side but don't remember the link.
Nema whatvever number tells us nothing.
It specifies the mechanical mounting face....
You didn’t specify which Nano you’re considering, but any version should be capable of handling your project. There are already several versions of "cat feeder" projects posted on the forum. To find them, use the search box in the top right and enter "cat feeder." You’ll see several results—read through them and choose the one that’s closest to your requirements, then build on that.
This is a good first end goal, but understand that there will be many many projects along the way. That's the best path to success.
Get your Nano, you won't be sorry. I would start with the motors, or like @LarryD said a servo would be better, and learn how to control it. Start with a project just to make it move back and forth.
Next is the LCD. Do a simple project with it all by itself. Maybe make a countdown timer. Or just make it show how many seconds since the board was started. Something simple just to learn how it works.
As for the RFID reader, you should maybe give a link or something. I'm not sure which one you're talking about just by that name. That part will be a bit more challenging, but with the knowledge gained in the first few projects you'll be better suited to figure it out. You might not even need a library for it.
I am aware that it is a standard for mounting interface but stepper motors usually have 2 control pins per coil. So it should not make much difference.
Yes, I meant LCD, sorry.
Yes, I know what is a search box and how to use it. But I want to go for my own project for my own needs. I have some money to burn for my new hobby. That's the way I learn things, trial and error.
I feel some form of mocking culture is present here but this is a topic for another discussion. But don't forget that, this will slowly degrade the user experience of the forum and push users away rather then come and seek for some help by time.
First of all, thanks for your decent answer. Absolutely @LarryD is right. I had an old design which was requiring a full rotation. That's why I was continuing with a stepper motor. However, since the new design uses a rack and pinion mechanism, a servo will do totally fine. I don't know where my mind was.
I am leaving links for RFID reader that I am planning to use. I am looking forward for your comments.
Sorry if I offended you; I could only work with the information you provided. Based on what you’ve shared, it seems like this might be a challenging project as you don’t have much experience.
Good luck with your project, I’m stepping out now!
I am sorry if I reacted oversensetive about the responses. I just wanted to express what I felt, no intention to offend anyone, apologies.. Anyway...
I switched to LCD with keypad shield because I realized that I will need some kind of menu in the future that will ask "Do you want to register your pet?" or "Do you want to delete your cat?" "Yes", "No", etc..
I think Ardunio Uno will be the unavoidable choice at this point.
This is the servo I want to use. I know it's a bit overkill but I want to stay on the safe side. My only concern is, will I be able to control its speed?
This is the only problematic part that will read cats' microchip from a reasonable distance while they are approaching to feeder. I am not confident that this card will work with 2mm microchips. It is advertised as "ear tag reader" in everywhere. I am open to suggestions.
In the end I am aiming to copy the following design that will work only for two lids. I will put different amounts of food each side. One of the lids will open according to cat's id:
I browsed several forums yesterday. The keypad shield uses pin 8 and 9 for RX and TX. But pins 0 and 1 are marked as RX and TX on Ardunio board. As I told you before, I have no experience with Ardunio.
Do specific devices have to use specific pins or can I assign any pin I want? As far as I see, I send the pin numbers as parameter in initialization functions. Can I assign any pin at that point?
My another concern is, I read about some change interrupt problem yesterday. Will rfid card be able send information while the keypad shield is connected?
Can I connect the RX and TX pins of the card to the 0 and 1 pins of Ardunio while keypad shield leaving those pins available?
I am really confused. It is to much information for me to digest in one week. I will appreciate your help. Thanks in advance!
I mean, I read too much within this week and it was too much to digest. I don't have a deadline.
I just wanted to show you component models. I thought they are generic parts so Turkish pages will be OK. I am leaving English links for the items in Turkish:
Keypad shield occupies pins from 4-10. I don't think 10 and 11 will be available for me to use with SoftwareSerial.
In this diagram its shown as the digital pins 0 to 3 - 11 to 13 and analog pins 1 to 5 will be available. Can I use SoftwareSerial with these?
Yes this is my intention, too.. To buy them one by one and tackle one problem at a time (If I can).
Their diet is different. Amout, type of food, etc...
In my design, the lids will be freely held up with a short lever arm. Even the lever is down, the lid can rest on the cat's leg freely if any pawsies are involved.
You can use any of the digital pins. I gave just two examples (that you would have seen widely used in the scores of examples here in the forum).
Will they conscientiously adhere to their diet? Not try out the other container? And I was referring to their using their paws to continue the meal, despite your attempt to lower the lid.
OK, no deadline, understood. It should be a fun project, albeit a lengthy one. Look forward to hearing your progress.
A weak spring may be integrated to prevent the exploit you have stated. I think this will snap the lid quick enough before they discover how to keep it open.
What do you think over all? Is it manageable to make Ardunio, LCD, servo and RFID play together? I am wondering about your personal opinions? Should I dive into it?
You’re obviously serious about it, given that nice 3D print design. But, as I think I implied earlier, I would start by satisfying yourself that the RFID part will work reliably. Either through research or ideally by making a purchase and experimenting.
The reader datasheet claims it can read 2mm glass-tube microchips. For the first tests, I will use my company card. I think it will do the trick. I may not convince my cats each time for the trials.
The only thing is, I have no clue how to read and what to read when I connect the reader's serial pin to, let say, pin 11 of ardunio. I will use this library. I don't know what should I do to see some readings in Serial Monitor.
This reinforces what we've been suggesting about not making "a crash dive". Start by learning how to actually do the very basic stuff, like seeing "...readings in Serial Monitor."
