Park Assist

Particle 2 Tutorial - Park Assist

Prepared for: Particle.IO

INTRODUCTION:

Objective

The purpose of this tutorial is to build a parking assist sensor to help park your car in the garage. This is a simple solution to an everyday problem for many people. Simply pull into your garage and watch the LED panel to know when to stop without having to worry about bumping the front of your car :)

Prerequisites

• You should have a basic understanding of Particle WebIDE or Visual Studio Code and how to import libraries.
• You should also have some knowledge of setting up Particle WEBHOOKS. You should have a Particle Photon2 and a Particle account. If you do not have an account, visit https://www.particle.io and register and account.
• You should have at least one Particle Photon2 claimed and active on your account.

Project Files:

You can find all the files you need from the GitHub Repository below:

GitHub Repo:

https://github.com/friedl1977/Park_assist

CODE (.ino)

https://github.com/friedl1977/Park_assist/tree/main/src

Enclosure CAD files, Schematics, BOM and GERBER

https://github.com/friedl1977/Park_assist/tree/main/CAD

STEP 1:

Order your PCBs from JLCPCB

To get started, following the link below. If you do not have an account with JLC yet, sign up now and receive some free coupons !!!

• https://jlcpcb.com/EDA/particle

Once logged into your new account, simply click on the Add Gerber file icon and browse to the.ZIP file you downloaded from the Github repository.

You can leave all the other settings in place, no need to adjust anything, unless you have specific QTY’s or colors you would want to order. Keep in mind things like Solder mask color and Surface finish can add to the cost of your PCB.

Follow the Checkout steps as you would with any other online purchase. Production should take ±2-3 days. Shipping can vary depending where are you situated.

While you wait for the PCB’s to arrive, proceed to start printing the enclosures and ordering the parts from your chosen suppliers. All the product codes are on the BOM found in the Github repository.

STEP 2:

Printing

Download all the parts from the repository HERE. There should be 4 files;

• LED_Panel_Top
• LED_Panel_Base
• Senor_Top
• Sensor_Base

If you do not have a 3D printer or do not have access to one, do not dispair, JLC’s 3D printing service is great and very affordable. Head over to the following link below to order your prints. I would recommend SLA as it is very cost effective. If cost is no issue, the MJF option is GREAT!!

• https://jlc3dp.com/3d-printing-quote

Simply upload the models and choose you printing method as well as material of choice.

For the purpose of this tutorial, I used my Ultimaker S3 and printed the enclosures using some PETG I had left over from testing out Fiberlogy PETG.

STEP 3:

PCB Assembly

STEP 3 assumes you have received your PCBs and all the components needed to populate the board.

I have a stench printer (makes like a little easier) so the first step is to apply solder paste.

Next, carefully follow the PCB layout and place the components on the board. Be sure to confirm polarity of the components.

After you placed all the components, it is time to reflow the PCB (Reflow oven or PCB Reflow Plate). After reflow, let the boards cool down and then hand solder the Through Hole Parts. Once done, your boards should resemble the ones in the picture below.

Repeat these steps for both PCBs.

STEP 4:

Assembly

Now that you have assembled your PCBs, it is time to put the in the enclosure.

Once both have been assembled, you can close both units. The next step is connect the two devices. To do this simply follow the terminal markings on the enclosures.

WARNING!!! (Mains voltage)

After you mounted the sensor in place, the last step is to connect the device to MAINS VOLTAGE. Connect both Live and NEUTRAL to the dedicated 2pin connecter mark ”L” & “N” on the Sensor.

STEP 5:

WORKING PRINCIPAL

The ideal with this build is to make a sensor to assist with parking you vehicle in your garage.

The sensor uses 5 different ‘zones’

• Safe
• Near
• Stop
• Danger

You can easily set the values for each of these according to you needs.

SAFE: The safe zone will be the default when no vehicle is present. This will produce a green light on the LED panel.

NEAR: When something is detected in the NEAR zone, the LED panel will turn yellow and start blinking slowly.

STOP: The STOP zone is the ideal zone for you to park you car. This will produce a red, rapidly blinking LED panel.

DANGER: When you breach the STOP minimum threshold, the LED panel will turn SOLID RED.

SLEEPY MODE (to be implemented)

The device will blink PURPLE slowly when in sleepy mode. Sleepy mode will activate once something is stationary n the STOP zone for more than 2 minutes.

IMPROVEMENTS:

Consider using PWN pins to allow for breathing LEDS as apposed to blinking and solid colors.