The EggPainter

In this post I describe how I have realized the EggPainter and I show all the steps in a video

Then I show how to test the EggPainter and how to print on some eggs and some table tennis ball

Building Steps

In the below video all the necessary steps to build the EggPainter from scratch. In the remaining part of the post some additional details and useful information

Egg Painter

The EggPainter is a full project available on githiub. Its creator has shared all the necessary elements to build the EggPainter project

In order to realize the EggPainter project the following components are mandatory:

• Arduino Uno
• Stepper motors
• Case
• Supporting components

A key characteristic of this project is that all the STL file for 3d printing have been provided by the author. In other words a user can print with a normal 3d printer all the necessary elements to build the project. Obviously the Arudino and other electronic or mechanical components should be procured elsewhere.

Kit

The Kit I have used (I didn’t print it myself) is coming from Russia and when I have open it looked like that:

As it is possible to see all the necessary components to build the EggPainter are available in this kit

Disclaimer:

During the building of the EggPainter I have faced a major problem with this kit. Once I have closed the case with the bolt and nuts the remaining space for wiring it was absolutely not enough. In other words I was not able to properly close the case with the original kit.

For this reason I have thrown away all the provide cabling and rebuild it from scratch. In any case for a maker with some basic capabilities it should not be a complex task.

Below the EggPainter fully assembled after my modifications 

Firmware

The EggBot firmware is available here

Let’s now follow the below steps:

1. Download the .zip file and unzip it in a preferred directory 
2. Open the EggDuino.ino file in the Arduino IDE
3. Compile the code and upload it to your Arduino Uno
4. Quit from the Arduino IDE

At this stage the controlling software of the EggPainter is fully loaded on Arduino control board.

Printing Software

In order to print some vector art drawing it is necessary to instruct the Arduino board with the proper commands. This can be achieved through the use of a software called Inkscape.

Perform the following steps:

1. Download Inkscape from here (Note:windows user should download 32 bit version)
2. Install Inkscape and run it
3. Download the EggBot extension from here 
4. Unzip the file and copy its content in the directory shown here Edit > Preferences > System: User
5. Restart Inkscape

If the above steps have been successfully completed you should see EggBot in the Extension menu

Testing

Now we can move into testing phase as we have all the necessary elements to operate the EggPainter

In the below video I show how to test the EggPainter and check that all the motors are properly working.

The test is executing from the Manual tab in the EggBot menu

If everything works fine and the pen is goin up and down, the horizontal and pen motors spin in two directions then the EggPainter is ready for printing

Stampa

In order to print let’s import a SVG file in Inkscape (File menu -> Import) and let’s adapt the drawing area to:

• 3200 x 800 px for eggs
• 4150 x 600 for table tennis balls

I really suggest you to experiment with those values and to find the right one for your print.

Below some pictures and video of printing done by me

Happy Egg Printing everyone!!! :)

Kit EggPainter

Alcuni giorni fa' il FabLab Pavone di Torino mi ha gentilmente fornito un Egg Painter che e' un clone dell'original EggBot.

In questo post descrivo come ho realizzato l'Egg Painter e faccio vedere in un video tutti i passaggi.

Alla fine effettuo anche il test e poi stampo su delle uova e su delle palline da ping pong.

Montaggio

Ecco qui il video completo del montaggio. Nel resto dell'articolo i dettagli e altre informazioni utili

Egg Painter

Questo Egg Painter e' un progetto completo disponibile su githiub. Il suo autore ha condiviso tutti gli elementi necessari per realizzare l'Egg Painter.

Per realizzare l'EggPainter sono necessari i seguenti elementi principali:

• Arduino Uno
• Motori passo-passo
• Involucro
• Supporti

La particolarita' di questo progetto e' che il suo creatore fornisce i file STL per l'involucro e per i supporti in modo da poterli stampare con una normale stampante 3D

Kit

Il kit da me utilizzato e' stato acquistato dalla Russia e alla sua apertura si presenta cosi':

Come si puo' vedere include tutti i componenti necessari per assemblare l'EggPainter

Nota Importante:

Ho personalmente riscontrato un gravissimo problema con questo kit. Una volta chiuso l'involucro con le apposite viti lo spazio per i fili del cablaggio e' assolutamente insufficiente.

Per questo motivo ho dovuto rifare tutto il cablaggio da zero e NON ho potuto usare i fili forniti nel kit in quanto inadeguati.

Tuttavia questo per uno smanettone con un po' di manualita' non e' un problema.


Ecco qui l'EggPainter completamente assemblato e pronto per il primo utilizzo

Firmware

Il software da caricare e' disponibile qui

Ora seguite i seguenti passi:

1. Scaricare il file .zip e scompattatelo in una directory a piacere.
2. Aprire il file EggDuino.ino nell'IDE Arduino
3. Compilare il codice e caricarlo su Arduino Uno
4. Chiudere l'IDE Arduino

In questo modo abbiamo caricato il software di controllo dell'EggPainter sulla scheda Arduino Uno contenuta nel EggPainter stesso.

Software di Stampa

Per poter stampare e' necessario fornire alla scheda Arduino Uno i comandi corretti.

Per fare questo utilizziamo un software che si chiama Inkscape.

Eseguite le segueenti operazioni:

1. Scaricate Inkscape da qui (Nota: per gli utenti Windows scaricate la versione a 32 bit)
2. Installate Inkscape e lanciatelo
3. Ora scaricate l'estensione EggBot da qui
4. Scompattatela e copiate i file nella directory indicata qui Edit > Preferences > System: User
5. Riavviate Inkscape

Se tutto e' stato eseguito correttamente dovreste vedere EggBot nel menus Extension

Test

Ora abbiamo tutti gli elementi per verificare se il nostro EggPainter funziona.

Nel video faccio vedere come testare il funzionamento dei vari motori dell'EggPainter. Per farlo basta andare nel menu Manual dell'estensione EggBot

Se tutto funziona correttamente, se la penna va su' e giu', se il motore orizzontale gira in entrambe le direzioni e se il motore della penna gira in entrambe le direzioni allora sei pronto per la stampa.

Stampa

La stampa avviene da Inkscape importando un file SVG e adattandolo all'area di stampa.

Per la stampa su uovo settare le dimensioni dell'area di stampa a: 3200 x 800 px

Mentre per la stampa su palline da ping pong impostare l'area di stampa a 4150 x 600 px

Tuttavia dovete sperimentare e trovare le impostazioni piu' corrette per il vostro EggPainter


Di seguito alcune foto delle fasi di stampa ed il video della stampe che ho effettuato

Buona Egg Stampa a tutti!!! :)

Remote Control a nodeMCU with RemoteXY - Led Control

In this post I describe a simple and intuitive way to remotely control a nodeMCU through a mobile application from iOS and Android devices.

More in detail I will show how to remotely pilot a led through the  RemoteXY application

RemoteXY

RemoteXY includes: 

• a Web application to easily design and build a graphical interface and to generate the necessary source code for the controlling board (ESP8266, Arduino, ...)

• a Mobile app for iOS and Android to remotely control over Bluetooth or WiFi the remote board

In order to create a complete application with RemoteXY it is necessary to follow 4 simple steps::

Step #1 : Graphical Interface

Building a graphical interface with a simple drag&drop editor available here

Step #2: Source Code Configuration

Configure and generate the sketch source code to be uploaded on the control board  (ESP8266, Arduino)

Step #3: Upload Sketch

Compile and upload of the generated sketch on the control board (ESP8266,Arduino) through the Arduino IDE (or other supported IDE)

Step #4: Download Mobile App

Download the mobile app and install it on your client device (iOS, Android)

Configuration

After the design of the graphical interface it is necessary to configure the tool in order to generate the proper source code.

There are 4 different aspects to configure:

• Connection

Four (4) type of connections are supported

Note: the iOS app only supports Bluetooth Low Energy aka BLE

• Device (the control board)

The following platforms are supported

• Communication Module

The following communication modules, to be paired with the control board, are supported:

Here some example of supported scenarios: Arduino Uno with Bluetooth HC-05 module, Arduino with ESP8266 or  nodeMCU with ESP8266

• IDE environment

Three (3) different development environment are supported:

LED control with nodeMCU

Let's now implement a simple use case: remotely control a LED through a mobile app and nodeMCU

GUI

Use the online editor to design a simple user interface by adding a label and a switch as depicted below

Now selecting the switch (ON/OFF) it is possible to configure some simple parameters in the  Element section

For the sake of simplicity let's stick to the default parameters

Configuration

Now let's configure the code generator in the following way

This way we are telling to RemoteXY that we want to use a nodeMCU board as controller and the on-board ESP8266 as communication module and that our programming environment is Arduino.

The Connection is set to WiFi Access Point (AP) hence we are telling to RemoteXY that we want our nodeMCU to behave as a WiFi Access Point.

In such case it is necessary to configure the Module Interface section by specifying the SSID which will be broadcasted by the nodeMCU AP.

Let's also specify the TCP port on which the nodeMCU server will be listening for incoming connections.

Again for sake of simplicity let's check Open point meaning that we want an open WiFi network with no authentication.

Source Code

Now press the following button

RemoteXY will redirect us to a new page in which the generated source code is available for the user.
The source code and the RemoteXY library are available for download as zip files.

Let's now download the RemoteXY library and install it on Arduino IDE through the proper menu.
The download the source code

As we can see in the generated code some information from the previous config phase are present:

• SSID of AP WiFI
• Listening port

The RemoteXY_CONF[] section contains a description of the graphic interface. It will be transfer to the requesting mobile app once a connection with the nodeMCU is established.

Circuits

Now let's build the simple circuit depicted below by connecting a LED on the D4 pin of nodeMCU. Let's not forget the 100-220 Ohm limiting resistor.

Testing

Now let's compile the code and upload the binary to nodeMCU through the Arduino IDE.

Now on your mobile device (smartphone o tablet) join the new WiFi network called LedWiFi

It is now time to run the RemoteXY app on mobile and then click on the top tight + sign

Now select the WiFi point option

Now press the Connect button and the app will connect to the nodeMCU and it will download the GUI description

Now you are all set to remotely control the LED wired to the nodeMCU control board