Published December 14, 2024

Automatic water dispenser

A project that automatically dispenses 8 ounces of water into your glass.

BeginnerWork in progress35

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Particle Photon 2

Linear Solenoid, 12 VDC

Solenoid varies for this project. Measure the amount of newtons needed to pull or push your target to dispense the water, then get a solenoid that exceeds that newton count by 1 or 2 more. For example a 12v 10N 10mm solenoid is what I used.

1N4007 – High Voltage, High Current Rated Diode

General Purpose Transistor NPN

Resistor 1k ohm

C&K Switches PTS 645 Series Switch

Software apps and online services

Particle Build Web IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

10 Pc. Jumper Wire Kit, 5 cm Long

Needs at least 9.

Story

My project is ultimately about making my filter in my house automatically dispense 8 ounces of water when a button is pressed which then activates a solenoid to push the lever that dispenses the water. Now let's discuss how I came to decide this project.

I am someone, who like most people in today's world, drinks a lot of water but doesn't really know the exact amount they drink. With that in mind I started brainstorming an easy way to track my water that utilizes an object in my household. Luckily, my dad had just bought a new water filter and that is when I had the brilliant idea to somehow make a mechanism that can utilize this filter to dispense 8 ounces of water, so that way I can easily track my water input. Now that I had my idea, it was time to get the fun started.

I first had to decide which mechanism could fulfill my project and with help from my teacher (Mr.Law), I was then able to decide on a push-pull solenoid. Side Note: although I decided on a solenoid I didn't learn until later on how weak a solenoid can really be, with this information, I advise if you are to do this project measure the force needed to pull a lever or push a button to have the water disperse, this saves a lot of time and money. After finding out I needed a 10 newton solenoid, it came to the wiring and setup aspect. This projects wiring is not at all complicated. We use a transistor and diode to regulate the voltage for the solenoid and then wire the solenoid and button needed to activate it(picture shown in the next slide).

After all wiring is done, then comes the code. The code is published in the next slide, but ultimately what it does is when the button is pressed, the code will activate the solenoid for 4.4 seconds to release the water, then it will pull back and no water will come out. I get the 4.4 seconds from averaging, out of five trails, how long it takes my filter to fill an 8 ounce glass of water. You can do this too by just grabbing a measuring cup and timing how long it takes to reach 8 ounces.

I would like to mention that at the end my project did not work, due to my filter not having a solid base to support my solenoid, causing the solenoid to not be able to push all the power into the lever that dispenses the water. So with that in mind, if you are conducting this project make sure you have a stable base/environment that can support a solenoid in order for the solenoid to release enough power.

Layout board for project

Code

Code to activate Solenoid using a button for a set amount of time.

const int buttonPin = 2; // Pin connected to the button
const int solenoidPin = 4; // Pin connected to the solenoid control

bool buttonPressed = false; // Variable to track button press

void setup() {
  pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT_PULLUP); // Set button pin as input with internal pull-up
  pinMode(solenoidPin, OUTPUT); // Set solenoid pin as output
  digitalWrite(solenoidPin, LOW); // Start with solenoid off
}

void loop() {
  // Check if the button is pressed
  if (digitalRead(buttonPin) == LOW && !buttonPressed) {
    // Button is pressed, activate solenoid for 4.4 seconds
    buttonPressed = true;
    digitalWrite(solenoidPin, HIGH); // Turn on solenoid
    delay(4400); // Keep solenoid on for 4.4 seconds
    digitalWrite(solenoidPin, LOW); // Turn off solenoid
  }
  
  // Reset the button state when released
  if (digitalRead(buttonPin) == HIGH) {
    buttonPressed = false; // Allow for another press
  }
}

Automatic water dispenser

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Schematics

Circut

Code

Code to activate Solenoid using a button for a set amount of time.

Credits

Nathan Aranda

Comments

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Automatic water dispenser

Automatic water dispenser

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Schematics

Circut

Code

Code to activate Solenoid using a button for a set amount of time.

Credits

Nathan Aranda

Comments

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