Computer Controlled Graphical Fountain

[khalid]

This time i am making proper hardware and hope it will be success. I just completed 16valves electronics controller for solenoids. These modules will be added as solenoid valve increases.

[mikeacg]

As always, I am amazed by your work! Thanks for sharing!

Mike

[dana_swift]

khalid - that is cool looking!

This weekend I was working on an arduino project with bipolar drives for running a stepper motor. The magical blue smoke got out.. the trouble was I did not design the drives using a darlington pair so the NPN ran in the linear mode and dissipated too much heat.

It did make a satisfying crackling sound tho.

What I re-learned, is use darlingtons for drivers. Then the drive current from the CPU should be adequate for your fountain valves. What results is a design that is almost immune to HFE or Beta variations in the transistors.

Redesign time for me. The coils I expected to pull 100ma actually pulled 500ma.

[khalid]

Mike,
Thanks
Dana,
Interesting but question is why you are designing bipolar stepper drive. You know a good stepper drive cost you 14US with free shipping.
I always afraid of Blue smoke so taking very care in electronics design. I wish you a good transistor's no-smoke day.

[khalid]

I found the blue smoke in above circuit. A lot of etching, drilling and soldering and end result blue smoke Investigated the failure and found that the MOSFET legs were wrongly wired in the PCB. That what happens to me always
Left that circuit, more simplified circuit evolved from the mistake. Hope this time i will not see the blue smoking stuff.

[dana_swift]

One would suppose that with all this modern technology, we could purchase electronics with different color smoke in them. So conceptually not only would we have to select the case color, and specific buggy features, but the color it emits in its final moments!

Something like: I would like to order the new model gizmo that doesn't quite work, is loaded with things I dont want and cant get rid of, in the gray case with the green smoke option..

[khalid]

Here is a brief update:
1- Handshake protocol is one of the difficult thing as the Picture converted into every type of EXTENDED CHARACTERS. So making protocol was a bit difficult task however the software is now working great:
Protocol is like:

> XYZ%

> = Start of byte
XYZ = three bytes i.e. 8x3= Solenoid valves
% = end of byte and send to shift register

We have all sort of ASCII characters incoming in serial port from VisualBasic to Arduino. We have to make a protocol so that we know that the bytes that are coming having START OF LINE > and END OF LINE% character as per protocol defined above. We have to precisely pick the two bytes between > and %. for example
Lets see a simple protocol:
>XX%

Now there is a chance we get the data like:
>>%% or
>%>%
or
>a%%
or any combination.
but we have to pick the two middle values.. and we know its a serial data, some time computer through garbage values especially when the device is connecting or very fast data..and the data is coming like >>>%>aa%>we%%%%.......
However, the above job was done proffessionally Took lot of coffee and few nights..


2- Prepared the electronics and tested with the software and its performing brilliantly.
3- One of my friend sent me the waterfall pre-fabricated and now its in washroom for test purpose. it has 8 valves only will be very less resolution but i hope this time we will succeed.

[khalid]

Here is the video. Unfortunately, the mobile camera was laying horizontal throughout the video. This video has small clips in which i am manupulating and optimizing my software for better results. The first clip showing arrow fall. In the subsequent videos various testing to optimize setting.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s00hajwkpp...2521_MPEG_.mpg

Unfortunately 8 valves gives bad resolution. i sent the video to fountain guy and he was amazed to see the results. He started fabricating 40 valves watefall. Morever i told him to add strong LED lighting just at each valve so that visibility come clear.


Few improvements he will do , i am sharing so that anybody interested can get it right for the first time.

1- Waterfall must have atleast 24 solenoid valves

2- Waterfall height must be 8ft or bigger

3- LED lights on each valve will make the falling water vsible and beautify the look of falls.

4- Add black curtain behind.
5- I am doing no more testing as my software and hardware prooved themselves. I am going to empty my washroom

[khalid]

Okay,
We have tested 64 solenoid valves waterfall all day long in our FunFair community show for charity fund raising. Lightning and background still needs improvement however technically we have a very good response from the computer-electronics-hardware communication.
Here is the video. The header is at atmospheric pressure and outlet of solenoid valve is 6mm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CXB0o599Hk

[myxpykalix]

Very cool Khalid! That must represent a TON of work.....good for you!