The “all in one box” aquarium feeder using Arduino

The all in one box aquarium feeder

Step 1: Things you will need

the images show you what you need.

  • you will also need (but is not shown in picture
  • soldering iron
  • shrink tubes
  • lighter
  • 5 volt power supply
  • usb cable (to program you’re arduino)

 

The all in one box aquarium feeder

info on the foamed pvc sheet

This is a material that is very easy to cut whit the stanly knife.i found it at the local hardware store.its 6 mm thick and is 50 cm on 100cm in dimension.if you can’t find this you can also use 6mm thick plywood.however you need to apply a layer of varnish to protect it against water

info on the motor

the 28byj-48 stepper motor is used because it have build in gearbox and have (relatively to its size) a high torque
it is found on ebay (or other site’s) for around 3 euro’s. most of the time the ULN2003 Driver Board is included when you’re buying it.

info on the arduino

basically you can use any 5 volt arduino,i used a nano because otherwise it will not fit inside the box

Step 2: Making the motor coupling

Take you’re silicone cap and cut off a small piece on the narrowest side

press the cap onto the motor axis

make sure it is a snug fit

its better to cut of a small amount of plastic at a time and check if the axis will fit

then put the dribit into the other side of the cap

Step 3: Preparing the box

glue the plastic sheets off 5×7 cm together

take you’re sheets of 7×7 cm and place them in a V shaped way inside the box

NOTE THAT THE LENGHT OF THIS SHEETS DEPENDS ON YOUR DRILLS LENGHT

(SEE PICTURE FOR DETAIL)

then glue the plastic sheets to the box as shown into the picture

Step 4: How to glue the peaces in place

this step shows you ho to glue the plastic sheets into the box

this is (i think) pretty self explaining

make sure you seal all the seems with glueThe all in one box aquarium feeder

if i only had a 3d printer this would make this much more professional looking 🙂

Step 5: Inserting the drill

drill a hole just above V shape with the drill bit that will be embedded into the box

also go trough the two plastic sheets KEEPING THE DRILBIT STRAIGHT

after the drill is in place make sure you can spin in free whit your hands

if not make the holes a tiny bit bigger

Step 6: Assemble the Drill Bit Assembly

put on you’re gloves and start to knead the glue stick (i used a halve portion)

drop a little ball into the large end of the cap and put the drill inside

press firmly

next put the rest of the glue around the drill and the cap

keep the drill and the cap perfectly aligned

cut of the glue while it is still soft to make a flat edge

 

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