2015-04-03 (F) Weekly Summary

This week started off strangely because I was in a meeting for Twin Cities Plus for which I am the secretary. Our first public meeting was a MeetUp event and we got a dozen people together to hear about where we'd like to take the group. If you live nearby and want to volunteer we can keep you busy! The meeting was recorded and starts at 20:55.


A lot of work was done on the Self Contained Haptic Distance Sensor particularly the 3D printed enclosure. A servo mount was added to the outside of the enclosure, then moved, then given a hole to pass the servo wire directly into the enclosure. The distance sensor was given a bump on the inside of the enclosure so it would sit levelly but that was changed to a hole in the front of the enclosure so the component which necessitated a leveling method could fit through. The first version of the lid was too flexible and gave an unprofessional appearance when fastened since it bowed out so it was thickened. These changes have been compiled into a single animation across several days of work.

Animation of enclosure changes

First print of enclosure

Code was written and revised but not finalized. Another animation was made however the files have been made public so the animation is not for the sake of copying code from, merely for appearances sake. The first draft of the code intended to directly transpose the distance readings to angles of a servo motor every tenth of a second. The revisions have all sought to debug the original code.

Animation of Arduino code

Soldering connected the distance sensor, USB power cable, and servo to the Arduino. Power from the USB cable ensures that only 5V will be applied to the device and gives a wide range of portable power options and extension cables. Many portable USB chargers are also rechargeable so this should be an economical and waste-free option. A 6V supply could be used to power the servo and hooked to the RAW pin of the Arduino but 6V power supplies are less common.

Thicker lid and soldered components

Please see the Self Contained Haptic Distance Sensor pages for the downloadable files.

The rest of the weekly summaries have been arranged by date.

Completed projects from year 1.
Completed projects from year 2.


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