Projects – Hobbybotics Reflow Controller Quad V1.0

March 12, 2013March 12, 2013 hobbybotics Projects Arduino, Arduino Bootloader, Arduino Development, Arduino Prototyping, Bluetooth, Bootloader, Hobbybotics, Projects, Reflow, reflow controller, Reflow Oven, Thermocouple, XBee

Here’s a quick update to the new reflow controller project I introduced earlier. I have fully populated one of the prototype boards and began to write test sketches to ensure it functions properly. The project is moving a little slower right now as I am in the process of closing on a new house and that has been taking up a lot of my time.

The last picture shows an early prototype for the LCD/Button interface for the controller. I am in the process of redesigning the LCD/Button interface to use a 4-way rotary navigation switch with a center select button. I borrowed this idea from the Viki LCD project over on Kick Starter. I’ll post more updates in the coming weeks.

Projects – Hobbybotics Reflow Controller Quad V1.0

February 19, 2013March 12, 2013 hobbybotics Projects Arduino, Arduino Bootloader, Arduino Development, Bootloader, Hobbybotics, MAX31855, Projects, Reflow, reflow controller, Reflow Oven, technology, Thermocouple, wireless programming, XBee

I’ve been working on a redesign of the original reflow controller. Here are the features for the new board:

Four MAX31855 Type-K Thermocouple interfaces
DS3234 Real Time Clock with battery backup
FT231x USB
XBee or Bluetooth Wireless
MCP23008 I/O Expanders for 2-wire expanded communication
ULN2803 Darlington buffered output relay/SSR control
Internal or external micro SD interface
External LCD I2C interface/input
ATMega 1284P TQFP AVR with Arduino bootloader
16 MHz Crystal

Take a look at the new board:

I’ll post more on this project in the coming days. I’ll be offering this project as a full kit for those who are interested.

Project – Internet Enabled Multi-zone Thermostat (DesignSpark Challenge Entry)

June 18, 2012March 9, 2014 hobbybotics Projects Arduino, Arduino Development, DesignSpark Competition, DS18B20, DS3234 RTC, Hobbybotics, I2C, I2C LCD, MAX6675, MCP23008, SHT15 Humidity Sensor, TEMT6000 Light Sensor, Thermocouple, XBee

I’m currently working on documenting this project but, here is a link to my entry for the DesignSpark Challenge. The competition has already been decided and my entry garnered an honorable mention award! This was the first competition that I entered and to win an honorable mention out of over 1000 entrants means a lot to me. I also won a Community Choice Award during the competition for the most popular project. I have to say this was a difficult competition as there was a lot of requirements. For instance, I had to learn how to use DesignSpark PCB as it was required to produce an extension board for the ChipKit Max32. I had to learn the ins and outs of the Max32 as it is/was not entirely compatible with all of the Arduino libraries. This meant some modifications to libaries in order to make them compatible with the Max32. Lastly, there was a long wait for the PCBs to be shipped from China which meant any mistakes in the board files meant lost development time (I made a few mistakes). Time management was definitely crucial in this competition and I ran all the way until the last few minutes for project completion trying to get everything together. A few mistakes kept me from adding all of the software features that I had intended but, I have pretty much completed them since the competition. Check out my entry here and be on the look out for full documentation on my blog to include some extension projects (There’s a lot of goodies in this design that can be carried over into other projects).

Gallery – Hobbyduino XBee Plug V1.0

November 25, 2011May 3, 2012 hobbybotics Gallery Gallery, Hobbybotics, Hobbyduino, wireless arduino programming, wireless programming, XBee, XBee series 1

I’m pretty sure the majority of my projects will never be considered “Complete” as I’m always tinkering with the firmware to add or refine features. However, I like to give my projects a finished look which means they will be inside of enclosures or integrated into other devices. It would be nice if I could update the firmware without having to dissect the project to get at the controller. To accomplish this, I created a XBee plug for my Hobbyduino Mini V3 Arduino clone. Check out the gallery here and the tutorial here.