Published May 23, 2020 © GPL3+

Automatic Soap Dispenser with 20 second hand washing LED

An ultrasonic sensor activated Automatic Soap Dispenser. Uses a LED to prompt 20 sec hand washing. Design compatible with common soap pumps.

IntermediateFull instructions provided12,220

Automatic Soap Dispenser with 20 second hand washing LED

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino Nano R3

SG90 Micro-servo motor

Ultrasonic Sensor - HC-SR04 (Generic)

4xAA battery holder

AA Batteries

Jumper wires (generic)

5 mm LED: Yellow

Machine Screw, M4

M4x0.5 12mm

Machine Screw, M3

M3x0.5 6mm

Slide Switch, SPDT-CO

Resistor 220 ohm

Liquid handwash soap bottle with soap pump

any commercial liquid soap bottle with common pump applicable

0.2mm Diameter Clear Nylon Fish Fishing Line Spool

Cable Tie, Belt Ty™ In Line

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

3D Printer (generic)

Drill / Driver, Cordless

Story

Introduction

Since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic we have witnessed a warm, wholehearted response from Makers and the Open Source Hardware community worldwide. From 3D printed mask shields to ventilator designs and prototypes, the response from the communities has been exemplary.

I identified that what would complement well the community response would be a touch-less automatic soap dispenser device. We hear very often that the most effective measure against COVID-19 is, apart from social distancing, to wash effectively and often our hands. That inspired my idea to build an Automatic Soap Dispenser.

The device

An Arduino nano controls the Automatic Soap Dispenser which is triggered by an HC-SR04 Ultrasonic sensor upon detecting the hand under the soap pump. An SG90 stepper motor is used to push the pump by utilizing a lever mechanism and dispense the soap. After the soap dispensing process is completed, a blinking LED timer guides the user to wash the hands for at least 20 seconds - in line with the WHO guidelines. The design can be mounted on the most common soap pump in the market making it easy to re-fill or change the soap bottle. The device was made with 3D printed structural elements for quick, precise and replicable parts.

Design features summary

Touch-less, automatic soap dispensing operation of the pump triggered by an ultra sonic sensor.

Use of a LED indicator to prompt the user to continue applying soap on his/her hands for 20 seconds rubbing them thoroughly before starting to wash with water, as the World Health Organisation recommends.

Ability to mount on the most common soap pump in the market to allow for easy bottle refill/exchange.

Use of 3D printable materials and design geometry that allows users to replicate the design locally.

Use of cost effective electronics and motors as is the arduino nano or the SG90 servo motor.

Device is power grid independent using the most common AA type batteries.

Alternative program for dish washing liquids

ON/OFF switch

Device demo video

Arduino Automatic Soap Dispenser with 20 second hand washing LED

Device photos

1 / 8 • Device front. U/S sensor & LED

Project assembly guide

Start by 3D printing the device basic structural elements. Use of PLA filament material is recommended but ABS would do also. You can download them here:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4292022

1 / 2 • ASD_base.stl

Take the ASD_base and mount it on the soap bottle after removing the soap pump. Ensure it fits or trim the hole if needed. I have created the stl model with embedded tolerance to allow for a good fit when produced on an average 3D printer. Mount the soap pump and ensure all looks smooth. Remove the pump and the ASD_base from the bottle for further operations.

Take the SG90 servo motor and use the "cross" shaped arm. Mount it on the motor using the smallest screw that accompanies the motor set. Mount the SG90 servo motor on the ASD_base at the fork position and mark its position on the ASD_base through its mounting holes. Then remove the SG90 servo motor and drill the pads using an 1.5 mm drill bit for pilot hole. Re-mount the SG90 in position and use the two bigger mounting screws that accompany the motor in order to form threaded holes and stabilize the motor in its final position on the ASD_base. Ensure you mount the motor at the orientations that will allow the outer section of the arm to move 180 degrees on the vertical direction. Mount the whole sub-assembly on the bottle and fit again the pump. Your assembly should like the image below.

Take the ASD_lever component, mount the ultrasonic sensor and mark its position. Remove the U/S sensor and using the 1.5 mm drill bit open two clearance holes. Remount the U/S sensor and using the fish wire stabilize it in position. Stabilize the ASD_lever so that the U/S holder is in upright position and using a 3.2 mm drill bit drill carefully along the main holder axis. Ensure eccentricity of the hole. Make a pilot hole for guidance.

1 / 2

Screw the 12mm M4x0.5 bolt all the way in, leaving it protruding about 6 mm. This bolt is used to calibrate the pump flow. Feel free to experiment and adjust it for variable pump dosing.

Assemble the ASD structure by slotting the ASD_lever element into the top rectangular hole of the ASD_base. Get the fish wire through the ASD_lever end hole and around the SG90 servo motor arm. I found that using the 3rd hole from the rotor center gives the best torque results. Feel free to experiment here also and get a desiring pump calibration. Test the pump operation manually to ensure smooth lever function. You can see the assembly so far in the photo below.

The very next thing would be to connect the Arduino nano with the SG90 servo motor and the U/S sensor. Use the corresponding part of the full connectivity diagram below to make this.

Now that we established the basic mechanism connected to the Arduino nano micro-controller, we will load the hand washing program to validate the correct operation of the mechanism. If you are an expert, I recommend you comment the relevant lines to allow for shorter execution times and speed up debugging/micro-tuning.

The hand washing program The hand washing program will trigger the soap dispensing sequence upon trigger from the Ultra-Sonic sensor. To trigger the U/S sensor the hand needs to be in a distance less than 7 cm from it. Upon trigger the servo motor will pull & release the lever 10 times for equal amount of soap dosing. After the dosing sequence is completed the LED will blink for 20 seconds to prompt the time advised for hand washing.

You can download the Arduino source code file here: Automatic_soap_dispenser_hands.ino

(on the same repository you can find Automatic_soap_dispenser_washliquid.ino which can be used for dish washing liquid)

When you arrive at this point, the mechanism and the program work well. You may need to do some dosing tuning by adjusting the M4 bolt at the bottom of the lever.

As a next step you will mount the 4xAA battery holder on the rear of the ASD_base using one 6mm M3x0.5 bolt. I recommend marking the surface and doing a pilot drill with the 1.5 mm drill bit first. Connect the remaining jump wires and also solder the mini SPDT slide switch between the battery holder positive pole and the Arduino nano Vin pin. This is the device ON/OFF switch. Supplying voltage via the 5V or 3.3V pins bypasses the regulator, and can damage your board so ensure you will be using rechargeable batteries with net output close to 5V.

Fix the LED on the top position and use a resistor of 220Ω. This is required as the Arduino will operate at 5V and this will burn your LED without an appropriate resistor.

Conclude the assembly by grouping the jump wires and affixing them with the cable strips. I affixed the Arduino nano on the ASD_lever by using some of the fishing nylon wire.

Your Automatic Soap Dispenser is ready. Turn the switch ON and enjoy!

Documentation & more projects

All project details, 3D models, schematics and assembly guides can be also found along with other 3D printing and Arduino projects on my personal blog dimotha.wordpress.com for the benefit of the open source and wider communities. I am sure you will make some good use of it :)

https://dimotha.wordpress.com/automatic-soap-dispenser/

Schematics

Code

Automatic_soap_dispenser_hands.ino

/* 
program by dimotha 29/3/2020
controls the SG90 servo motor based on the U/S sensor trigger input
The SG90 is assumed to be mounted on the ASD_base and the U/S sensor
on the ASD_lever. The whole assembly shall be mounted on the soap pump. 
see project instructions here:
https://dimotha.wordpress.com/automatic-soap-dispenser/
This is the hand washing version of the device
upon trigger:
- 10 doses by the soap pump
- 20 second LED blinikng to promt hand washing duration
*/

#include <Servo.h>  // SG90 servomotor driving program

#define echoPin 7   // U/S sensor Echo Pin
#define trigPin 8   // U/S sensor Trigger Pin
#define LEDPin 13   // Onboard LED


Servo servo;
int angle = 145;          // servo test
int maximumRange = 200;   // Maximum range needed U/S sensor
int minimumRange = 0;     // Minimum range needed U/S sensor
long duration, distance;  // Duration used to calculate distance -  U/S sensor

void setup() {

 pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
 pinMode(LEDPin, OUTPUT); // Use LED indicator

  servo.attach(9);
  servo.write(angle);
  Serial.begin(9600);
  delay(2000);
}


void loop() {
  digitalWrite(LEDPin, LOW);  // LED starts OFF
  
  angle=150;                  // servo up angle
  Serial.println(angle);
  servo.write(angle);         // servo/lever up
  delay(2000);  

/* The following trigPin/echoPin cycle is used to determine the
 distance of the nearest object by bouncing soundwaves off of it. */ 
 digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW); 
 delayMicroseconds(2); 

 digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
 delayMicroseconds(10); 
 
 digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
 duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
 
 //Calculate the distance (in cm) based on the speed of sound in air
 distance = duration/58.2;
 
 if (distance >= maximumRange || distance <= minimumRange){
 /* Send a negative number to computer 
 to indicate "out of range" */
 Serial.println("-1");
 }
 else {
 /* Send the distance to the computer using Serial protocol
 to indicate successful reading. */
 Serial.println(distance);

/* when hand is at distance less than 7 cm from the U/S sensor
 * the servomotor will drive 10 pump soap doses. After this sequence 
 * the LED will blink for 20 seconds on a 0.5 sec ON / 0.5 sec OFF pattern. 
 */
if (distance<7) {         // condition trigger for soap dispensing

for(int i=1; i<11; i++){  // initiate soap dispensing
  angle=16;               // servo down angle
  Serial.println(angle);
  servo.write(angle);     // servo/lever down
  delay(1000);

  angle=150;              
  Serial.println(angle); 
  servo.write(angle);     // servo/lever back to up position
  delay(700);
       
}                         //end of soap dispensing

   
  for(int i=1; i<21; i++){      // Start blinking pattern
   digitalWrite(LEDPin, HIGH);  // LED ON
   delay(500);
   digitalWrite(LEDPin, LOW);   // LED OFF
   delay(500);
}
}  
}

}

Credits

Athanasios Dimopoulos

0 projects • 4 followers

Design Engineer, Maker, DIY, Open - Source Hardware enthusiast, 3D Printing & Mechatronics

Automatic Soap Dispenser with 20 second hand washing LED

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Introduction

The device

Design features summary

Device demo video

Device photos

Project assembly guide

Documentation & more projects

Custom parts and enclosures

Automatic Soap Dispenser structural files

Schematics

ASD device wiring diagram

Code

Automatic_soap_dispenser_hands.ino

Credits

Athanasios Dimopoulos

Comments

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Automatic Soap Dispenser with 20 second hand washing LED

Automatic Soap Dispenser with 20 second hand washing LED

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Introduction

The device

Design features summary

Device demo video

Device photos

Project assembly guide

Documentation & more projects

Custom parts and enclosures

Automatic Soap Dispenser structural files

Schematics

ASD device wiring diagram

Code

Automatic_soap_dispenser_hands.ino

Credits

Athanasios Dimopoulos

Comments

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