EEZYbotARM 7 Day Fish Feeder Food Tower

thingiverse

Here's a tower I assembled to feed my fish. There are 14 trays that fit in the tower, and I used the EEZYbotARM to pick up each cup and pour it into the feed hole of my aquarium. The video of the pull test can be found here: https://youtu.be/B-0GVr1DBs0 You'll need to create the script and delays to suit your setup. I discovered assuming each cup is out of alignment and using the arm (like in the video) to align each axis results in a very reliable process. Once perfected, I will post it up here. You can friction weld the sleeve to the base with ease, but it will remain securely attached throughout operation without any additional reinforcement. I posted the rotator servo mount design, which can be found here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1198016 The Pololu enclosure is also available for download here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1190596 This design offers a significant advantage - it can hold any shape or size of food up to 50mm. This feature proves especially handy with my African Cichlid tank (100 gallon), as they eat sticks, pellets, and flakes all mixed together in one feeding session. The existing drums on the market just wouldn't be able to keep up, so I designed a custom solution that meets their needs. UPDATE 12/21/15: * I revised the food cup design to prevent cups above from jamming the tower. * Added a receptacle to toss empty cups into. It's probably cheaper to use a cardboard box, but where would be the fun in that? * Added a funnel that I'm using to pour feed into my 100-gallon aquarium. Here's a video of the whole setup: https://youtu.be/CdDt1R2YPaA Regarding timing and control: I use a mechanical timer to switch on and off the lights, which power the outlets. I used an iPod transformer and a USB cable to synchronize the Pololu with the lights. 60 minutes after the lights turn on (power), the first feeding event occurs. Then, 840 minutes pass before feeding resumes one hour prior to lights being turned off. Each day features a new cycle, so two loops are executed with each day's use. Remember to power down all channels between cycles. Bench Testing: During "score" testing, make sure to give the servos at least a 15-minute cooldown period between cycles. I noticed that positional accuracy and repeatability drop significantly as the servos heat up. Even 15 minutes of cooldown is pushing it, since some variance in elevation occurs despite a longer wait time (30 minutes) being more ideal.