Any questions can be asked in the forum, by messaging me, or by commenting below.
Diy automatic feeder free#
Feel free to post adorable pictures of your pets. You could even make a vending machine set up! Let us know how your projects turn out by posting them on the corkboard. There are a bunch of ways you could use this linear actuator to serve pet food. Please enable JavaScript to watch this video. In a final version, it is a good idea to seal the top somehow to prevent industrious food thieving cats.
Time to set up your feeder and hope it doesn't scare your pets! My cat jumped on the opportunity for extra treats when I tested it. The farther away from 90 degrees, the faster the servo spins. When set to above 90 degrees, the servo will turn right. When set to 90 degrees, a continuous rotation servo should stay still. Instead of being set to a specific angle like 45 degrees, continuous rotation servos are set to a direction at a specific speed. This will vary depending on your servo and glue stick.Ĭontinuous rotation servos are programmed differently from regular servos. To do this, we need to tell the servo what direction to spin and for how long.
Diy automatic feeder code#
That's it!Īll our code does is lower and raise the platform every 12 hours. Connect the white wire to Arduino pin 10.
Connect the black wire to Arduino ground. Connect the red servo wire to 5 volts on the Arduino. The platform will lower every 12 hours allowing food to spill out. I experimented with inclines to help push the food toward the exit.īelow, you can see food peaking out from the top of the platform. When the actuator is all the way up, the top of the box is sealed and ready to be filled with pet food. Below, the platform is at the top of its range of motion. The top and bottom of the hole should be at the low and high points of the actuator platform. Push the actuator arm into the box and seal the bottom with hot glue or tape.Ĭut a hole in one side of the box. Glue the bottom of the servo to a cardboard base. Make a box slightly larger than your platform to allow the platform to slide inside the box. I hot glued a circle of cardboard to the arm and then glued the platform onto the circle. There are many methods you can use to attach the moving platform to the actuator arm. The total length of the linear actuator is 7 inches. It is important to make sure the glue dries while the servo and glue stick are perfectly aligned. Make four notches in the handle of the glue stick and fit them over the servo horn. The brass tube fits easily back into the glue stick. Hot glue the tube into the small plastic cup from inside the glue stick. We are replacing the glue with a brass tube to make it sturdy. The rotational motion exerted at the bottom of a glue stick causes a stick of glue to travel up a spiral rod and out the end of the cap. To attach it to our servo, we must first get rid of the glue. We will be using the glue stick case as a linear actuator. Today, we make an automatic pet feeder from cardboard, a glue stick, and an Arduino. However, by enslaving robots you can keep your pet happy and enjoy a stress-free holiday. Usually, you need a friend or neighbor to come over everyday and feed your pets. If you are a pet owner, going on vacation can be stressful.