research:automated_chicken_door

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research:automated_chicken_door [2018/04/24 15:23] martinpresearch:automated_chicken_door [2019/02/14 19:09] (current) – [Automated Chicken Door] aimeejulia
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-======= Automated Chicken Door =======+======= Automated Chicken Door - Research =======
  
  
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 The DC motor is powered by a 12v power adapter, and the Arduino by a USB cable plugged in to a mains adapter. The entire ensemble sits inside the chicken coop to protect it from the rain. In theory, the powering of the entire thing could be switched to a solar solution - We are in possession of a solar charger/battery in the form of a phone powerbank. It is capable of outputting up to 9v. Without the circuitry to 1) break out from the USB output provided by the powerbank and 2) Step up the voltage to 12v in order to power the motor, it is not currently a viable solution. This is worth investigating in the future, since the current chicken coop is mobile and it would be advantageous to not have it being tethered to the barn. The DC motor is powered by a 12v power adapter, and the Arduino by a USB cable plugged in to a mains adapter. The entire ensemble sits inside the chicken coop to protect it from the rain. In theory, the powering of the entire thing could be switched to a solar solution - We are in possession of a solar charger/battery in the form of a phone powerbank. It is capable of outputting up to 9v. Without the circuitry to 1) break out from the USB output provided by the powerbank and 2) Step up the voltage to 12v in order to power the motor, it is not currently a viable solution. This is worth investigating in the future, since the current chicken coop is mobile and it would be advantageous to not have it being tethered to the barn.
 +
 +=== Construction ===
 +
 +Generally, the construction is simple - The DC motor is part of a gearbox assembly that is connected to a winch. The winch is connected to the door via some fishing line/monofilament. The photoresistor is fixed in place somewhere useful (Ideally inside but pointing outside). The limit switches are placed in positions where the door will hit them on completely opening and completely closing.
 +
 +There are two important aspects of constructing and installing the chicken door. Firstly, the position of the motor must be such that there is as little friction when raising the door as possible - failure to do so could end up with the door beingjammed and potentially burning out the motor. Secondarily, the limit switches must be placed fairly carefully such that they are hit by the door when it raised and closed.
 +
 +Other than that, the construction is fairly simple - make sure to guide cables away from the floor as much as possible - chickens and ducks are curious and like to chew on/piss on/mess with your hard work.
 +
 +=== Troubleshooting ===
 +
 +  * Door opens/closes too early/too late
 +    * This can be resolved by altering the LIGHT_THRESHOLD and DARK_THRESHOLD values, respectively. LIGHT_THRESHOLD is the value to determine when it is 'morning', and DARK_THRESHOLD when it is 'night'. The higher the value, the more light the photoresistor needs to determine this.
 +  * Door continues to wind up/down
 +    * This is most likely caused by the limit switches not being hit successfully. I have had some success by adding tabs to the door in order to ensure a successful hit.
 +  * The cable connecting the door to the winch tends to stray to the sides, causing the motor to jam
 +    * I have fixed this using two nails placed just below the winch in order to guide the monofilament, so it cannot stray too far from the middle. This seems effective.
 +
 +=== Suggested Improvements ===
 +
 +While the chicken door offers basic functionality, it could be iterated on and improved in a couple of ways.
 +
 +  *. Display current brightness. Using a small LCD display it should be possible to display the current brightness received by the photoresistor, allowing us to more easily estimate when the door opens/closes
 +  *. Manual control. It would be useful to be able to manually control the door in some circumstances - debugging and when one might want to lock the chickens in/out regardless of the time of day. Using two buttons it should be simple to be able to toggle auto/manual control and toggle the position of the door.
 +
 +===== Interested in joining this team? =====
 +
 +Join our #ecohackerfarm iRC channel on freenode or send us an email on [[life@ecohackerfarm.org]]
 +
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  • Last modified: 2018/04/24 15:23
  • by martinp