Arduino controlled damper system.

[iNeedMeds]

I made this damper system to regulate heat and humidity in the grow room.
Basically two stepper motors controlling the dampers. One damper is store bought, made for recovering heat from dryer exhaust. I designed and printed gears to turn the damper with the motor. I designed and printed the other damper.


Modified damper. Controls exhaust rate.

This one directs recirculating air through a humidifer. Not attached in spring summer.

The brains. Arduino controlling stepper motors. Esp-8266-12e nodemcu to view the current states over wifi.

Some happy girls.

And this is how I monitor my room remotely in my house. The damper readouts tell me current position as a percentage from closed to open.

Under the lights, temps are a steady 24°C and 55% RH. The 600 watt hps doesn't put off enough heat to raise the temp to 25°C. Probably add a dehumidifier in the future. Plan to make proper boxes for the microcontrollers.
Here's a shot of the damper housing being printed.

Hope you enjoyed.

 

[TurboBucket]

Nice. I've been looking at getting a printer lately for these kinds of projects. I was looking at something from creality, relatively affordable, seem to be decent units. Any input would be much appreciated.

 

[iNeedMeds]

Nice. I've been looking at getting a printer lately for these kinds of projects. I was looking at something from creality, relatively affordable, seem to be decent units. Any input would be much appreciated.

Yeah, those look like pretty good units. My advice is to get one with a large printing area. I bought my solidoodle 4 because it was 8" X 8" X 8". It was the largest hobby version at the time. As long as the unit is heavy enough not to shudder, and has a decent nozzle construction, it should work.

If you want good parts, it's mostly done in the settings. I have several shapes I print to setup the printer. A cube, a single wall box, and a circle. The cube and circle gives dimensional accuracy. The single wall box tells me if the width of a single line is correct. I check with calipers, and expect about 0.02mm accuracy.


Once dialed in, it really comes down to how creative you can be to design parts that are functional, built within the limitations of the printer. I design my parts with freecad. It's free, and it works great for 3D parts. Takes a bit to learn how to use it.

 

[TurboBucket]

Yeah I've used AutoCAD and solid edge in the past but I obviously can't afford those at home. I just started playing with freecad a few weeks ago I'll have to spend more time on it.

That's been my biggest focus, finding something with a large print area that has the necessary frame to handle it.

I need to stop waiting and just get my feet wet. Thanks!