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You look like the author of this? Could we get some more info on the scale and dispenser please?
by elitistphoenix 7y ago
You look like the author of this? Could we get some more info on the scale and dispenser please?
- barryfandango 7y agoYes, I'm the author. Happy to share. The dispenser is a "dry food/cereal dispenser" like the kind you would see at a hotel breakfast bar. They can be found on amazon in various configurations. (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=dry+food+dispenser&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=dry+food+dispenser&ref=nb_sb_noss...). A continuous-rotation servo is attached to the crank, allowing the Raspberry Pi to turn the crank to dispense food. The scale is a cheap kitchen scale (also amazon, I think mine cost $9.) These scales contain a device called a Load Cell. I cut the four wires to the load cell (bypassing all the other electronics in the scale) and ran them to an HX711 chip, which can be had for a few dollars. If you google "raspbery pi hx711" you can see the people's instructions on how to make a Pi scale for various reasons (weighing people, luggage, etc.) So the scale, the dispenser, the servo, and Pi Zero are put together with a few pieces of wood. Most of the work has been getting the software side working. Hope this helps!