Week 17

Applications and Implications

The seventeenth lecture on Wednesday May 24th was about Applications and Implications showing and discussing examples about electronics, test equipment, consumer electronics, phone, terminal, laptop, network, satellite, machines, robots, inflatables, boats, bicycles, drones, cars, environement, energy, food, biology, microscope, prosthetics, shoes, clothes, toys, art, musical instruments, furniture, houses, labs and even CITIES. Assignment given by Neil for this seventeenth week was to answer to a series of questions about the proposed Final Project MailPlus, as a way to integrate the range of skills acquired units covered during Fab Academy weeks.

What will it do?

Project MailPlus is going to be a Smart Mailbox that digitally interacts with it's owner; it will have a sensor (Hall Effect Sensor) and one or more actuators (LEDs, and maybe someday also radio) to tell the owner if new mail is (potentially) in.

Who has done what beforehand?

Some years ago my physical mailbox got full and some important mail went lost. Since then, I was unsuccessfully looking for a "smart" mailbox, able to interact with me and give some advice about its state; I searched without particolar success on normal distribution channels like malls in Italy where I come from, and also on popular e-commerce website like Ebay or Amazon. At the beginning of Fab Academy, when planning and scketching a potential Final Project, I also searched the web for "Smart+Mailbox" and this gave in result a lot of software-only project, being related to management systems for e-mails; now at the end of Fab Academy I for "IOT+Mailbox" and this turned out at least three interesting projects:

What materials and components will be required?

BOM is going to be as simple as:

  • 6 mm Plywood Panel x 1 m2
  • 1.75 mm PLA Filament x 30 g ~
  • 3 mm Stainless Steel Screws x 20
  • 10 mm Round Magnets x 7
  • ATmel ATTiny 84A-SSU microcontroller x 1
  • A1302 Hall-effect sensor x 1
  • FR-1 Sheet x 25cm2 ~
  • Resistors x 3
  • Pin Headers x 3
  • Hall Effect Sensor x 1
  • 5mm Green LED x 1
  • 5mm Yellow LED x 1
  • 5mm Red LED x 1
  • Wire
  • Solder
  • Wood Glue

Where will they come from?

Almost all material will come both from the standard Fablab inventory; in case Fab inventory or local and/ecommerce stores

How much will it cost?

Total cost of BOM -as described in advance- it's expected to be around 20,00 EUR

What parts and systems will be made?

The system will consist in:

  • Main Mail Container
  • Mobile Door Panels with Magnet x 2
  • 3D Printed PLA Hinges x 4
  • Electronics (Board, MCU, Sensors, LEDs)
  • Decoration Sticker/s

What tasks need to be completed?

This will be the task list:

  • Main container design and lasercut
  • Doors design, lasercut and assembly
  • Hinges and magnet holders design, 3D Print, assembly and mechanical test
  • PCB design, production (mill, stuff, program) and assembly
  • Wireholders design, 3D Print and assembly
  • Stickers design, cut and set-in-place
  • Overall system tests

What questions need to be answered?

This are going to be the main questions:

  • How to make the doors opening/closing correctly?
  • Where's best position for Hall-effect sensor?
  • What is going to be the way/procedure to reset the LEDs?
  • How to make electronics stay safe and clean?
  • How to make cables to stay safe and tidy?
  • How to make it durable for outside/everyday use?

What is the schedule?

This are going to be the possible timeline:

  • Week 1: main container production
  • Week 2: mechanical assembly and testing of moving parts
  • Week 3: electronics and stickers

How will it be evaluated?

This are going to be some good points:

  • Does it work well?
  • Does the doors open/close correcly?
  • Does the sensor work fine or fail?