Electronic Mouse Trap - servo driven

thingiverse

I use a mini servo to swing open or shut the trap door and activate it with a through beam photo sensor. I cut out a piece of 1/4-inch plywood to fit over the bucket, then trace out the enclosure on this material and cut that out too. The trap door is glued onto the enclosure, which is mounted to the plywood. Next, I install the thru-beam sensors on the enclosure and attach the servo mount to it as well. A closing arm is connected to the servo, and I fasten the servo to the plywood. Now, the servo is wired to the arduino, while the photo sensor is connected to the arduino too. I stick a large washer to the bottom of the trap door and glue a rare earth magnet from an old hard drive onto the plywood to keep the trap door shut firmly in place. The position of this magnet must be tweaked to hold the trap door closed but not so tightly that the servo can't pull it open. A piece of string is tied to the closing arm, with one end attached to the trap door; its length will need adjusting as required. Program the arduino, spread some peanut butter on the far end of the trap enclosure and give it a test now. Wiring schematic and Arduino program are included below. The following parts were used: (all available from amazon.com) Servo: MG995 Arduino: Nano Arduino Nano screw terminal adaptor Adafruit Accessories IR Break Beam Sensor - 3mm Wallwart 9v 2000ma Plywood 12"x12"x1/4" Glue 5-gallon bucket Rare earth magnet Miscellaneous screws, bolts, nuts Watch this video for more information: https://youtu.be/QkyBTy8h40s