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The Thurber Feeder 5000 — Parallax Forums

The Thurber Feeder 5000

JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
edited 2014-11-05 00:30 in Robotics
It's the Thurber Feeder 5000 - A custom built, home CNC'd / 3D printed robotic dog feeder.

Our dog (Thurber) eats so fast he's constantly getting food stuck in his throat and choking. It terrifies my girlfriend, so I built a thing to deliver his usual amount of food at a trickling pace, forcing him to slow down. It's been so effective, he actually eats slower even when we *don't* use it, which was an unanticipated (but very welcome) side effect.

Tech specs:
- Parallax Propeller microcontroller to run the priming / feeding cycles
- CNC'd polycarbonate enclosure (home built CNC machine)
- 3D printed part interfaces between the pulley and the chocolate fountain auger
- 44 oz-in stepper, with a 6:1 belt reduction
- LED's - GLOWING, PULSING, LED's!
- Feeding and priming cycles can be interrupted or restarted, all with a 1-button interface
- Also, it actually does feed the dog
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Comments

  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2014-09-15 08:50
    Awesome! and well done!.
    Sure looks like the dog likes the idea.:thumb::thumb:



    -Tommy
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2014-09-15 09:03
    You win!! Whatever contest Parallax has next, YOU WIN!!

    The video is brilliant, the project itself is totally awesome and the edge lit logo panel is not over the top at all!

    Now, about Thurber's hair stylist.........
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2014-09-15 09:28
    That's pretty neat Jason!

    Good combination of CNC, 3D printing, and the Propeller.
    Now, about Thurber's hair stylist.........

    +1
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2014-09-15 09:32
    Original and awesome! Great work! Nice video too! :thumb:
  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2014-09-15 10:28
    ...well done, Sir - well done. :thumb:
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,934
    edited 2014-09-15 10:56
    Excellent work! This is a well done project all around, can't wait to see a full blown write up! (hint, hint) This would be a hit on Hackaday! Looks similar to my uncle's pellet stove auger that steadily feeds the wood pellets into the top of the stove. Yours is well laid out as a professional product, too. Looks cleanly assembled, components placed wisely, parts well proportioned, etc.

    Questions:
    Any jams of kibble in the auger yet?
    Has Thurber figured out to press the red button himself yet? :lol:
    Where did you get the chocolate fountain auger?
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2014-09-15 12:57
    Where did you get the chocolate fountain auger?
    I'm assuming out of a chocolate fountain!!!! Great job!
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2014-09-15 13:06
    I'm not even sure what I'd put in a full write up. Coding wise there's almost nothing to it - the bulk of the build is in the mechanical parts.

    Basically I thought about different ways to do the food delivery (robot arm, conveyor belt, small pushing platform with a linear slide, etc,) and a friend of mine suggested an auger because he'd seen one used to move grain. I did a Google search for "small auger" and found the one I used as a replacement part for a chocolate fountain.

    From there, I started with a very small motor and a crappy funnel that I hot-glued to the top, just to make sure it would all work, food would advance, etc. This motor was one of those teeny little steppers with the 64:1 gear reduction built in, so it was already slow as molasses. I started designing the body around the auger, 3D printed a motor mount for the auger, assembled it all and started testing. I left a little extra room behind the auger because I suspected I'd need to use a different motor even then. Even after adding an extra 2:1 gear reduction on it, the small motor would stall if food got stuck between the auger and the opening.

    I changed to a proper 44 oz-in stepper with the 6:1 belt reduction so it would have the force needed to break food instead of getting stuck, and I could mount the stepper under the auger as you see in the video. Everything else just worked. It was completely designed around the dimensions of the auger and some wild guesses. :-)

    Belts and pulleys were sourced from SDP-SI. I've used them in the past for my robot arm, so I had a bunch on hand already, and made mounts to fit what I had. I 3D printed the piece that interfaces between the auger and the large belt pulley. It's basically just a 3/8" shaft with a 1/2" flat paddle through it on one side, and a 1 1/2" diameter flat disc on the other side so I could screw the belt pulley onto it. Getting that darn pulley centered took as long as anything else.

    And we only put a single meal worth of food in it at once, so even if Thurber figures out to hit the button it won't do him much good. If we made the system work on-demand, he'd be "Thurber the Hutt" in no time.

    Thanks for the compliments, all - It was a lot of fun to make, and it's already changed Thurber's life for the better, which was really the whole point. Also, I like to play with LEDs and Acrylic, so any excuse will do. :)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,257
    edited 2014-09-15 13:44
    Fabulous project all around, Jason. As ever, you don't do anything half-Smile. JD setting the pace!
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
    edited 2014-09-16 04:46
    That deserves a place on the Parallax Home Page!

    Awesome and entertaining to boot!

    Great work Jason!

    Doc
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2014-09-16 19:36
    @Doggiedoc, shouldn't you be working on that Wild Thumper?????
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
    edited 2014-09-16 20:18
    It's built. Just been refreshing my company web page: http://www.tegacayanimalhospital.com and my spinneret powered coop web server: http://208.104.39.5:5000 :D
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2014-09-16 21:02
    It's built.
    So how about some video??? What are you controlling it with?

    EDIT: I still think you need a live video feed on the chicken coop.
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    edited 2014-09-16 22:16
    Okay.. if there would be a kit available I would buy it. Next I would look into feeding the feeder.. when the neighbours take care of the dog when we're away they wouldn't have to bother with the actual feeding (the dog lives outside, so looking into a bit of weatherproofing would be next).
    In any case, one of the best projects I've seen on Youtube yet! Thumbs up!

    -Tor
  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,768
    edited 2014-09-17 06:22
    Great project ! How do you cut the Acrylic? I have a project on hold because I have not found a good way to cut Acrylic.
    Jim
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2014-09-17 06:24
    Since you already have a working prototype, and requests, and it looks cool, and you have an excellent reputation for quality work:

    May I suggest a kickstarter?

    1) kit
    2) assembled
    3) custom engraved
    4) weather upgrade stretch goal

    I know a lot of folks with dogs.
  • ratronicratronic Posts: 1,451
    edited 2014-09-17 08:14
    mindrobots wrote: »
    Now, about Thurber's hair stylist.........

    I think Thurber's hair style is great and it's a very good project for Thurber!
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2014-09-17 09:33
    Rs_jim: I cut acrylic with bits made for aluminum. The flute volume is larger (they have big channels) so they tend to gum up less. Slow down your spindle a bit to reduce friction, and actually speed up your cutting speed. The material being ejected will pull heat with it, and it gives what's there less time to cool and get stuck. You can also do more passes with a shallower cut.

    Do a few simple profile cuts in scrap to find a combination that works. Going faster instead of slower is the strange part - it's counter intuitive.
  • FredBlaisFredBlais Posts: 375
    edited 2014-09-18 06:01
    Congrats Jason, that's the kind of projects I like to see, really elegant :)
  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,768
    edited 2014-09-19 07:54
    JasonDorie wrote: »
    Rs_jim: I cut acrylic with bits made for aluminum. The flute volume is larger (they have big channels) so they tend to gum up less. Slow down your spindle a bit to reduce friction, and actually speed up your cutting speed. The material being ejected will pull heat with it, and it gives what's there less time to cool and get stuck. You can also do more passes with a shallower cut.

    Do a few simple profile cuts in scrap to find a combination that works. Going faster instead of slower is the strange part - it's counter intuitive.
    Thanks. I assume you are using some form of rotary cutter?
    Jim
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2014-09-19 13:52
    RS_Jim wrote: »
    Thanks. I assume you are using some form of rotary cutter?/QUOTE]

    Yes, sorry - I suppose that's kind of the important part. :) I have a CNC machine I built, and the head is just a standard woodworking router. You can control the speed of the cut, and the RPM of the router, so when I say "faster feed speed" I mean the head movement, and "slower spindle" means lower the RPM. I made the assumption that you had a CNC as well - lots of people have trouble cutting acrylic with a CNC because it melts and gums up the cutting bits.

    Jason
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2014-09-24 06:17
    you made hackaday! congrats!

    now you MUST do a kickstarter
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2014-09-24 12:51
    wrote:
    Hahaha... I dunno - Making this thing properly food safe and inexpensive to replicate would be tricky. I could sell them as kits though... It *has* worked remarkably well for us.The link:http://hackaday.com/2014/09/24/the-thurber-feeder-5000-helps-to-slow-fido-down/
  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,768
    edited 2014-09-25 08:03
    Thanks Jason,
    No,I don't have a Cnc, and my wife made me get rid of my router table. I have to figure out how to cut 2 six inch circles in some .25" acrylic.
    Jim
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2014-09-25 13:07
    wrote:
    You could probably use a circle cutter for a drill - typically used for cutting holes for things like door knobs, but they're cheap. I bet that'd do the trick.Something like this (they're called hole saws):http://toolsandmore.us/porter-cable-pc212l-hole-saw.aspx?gclid=CI2io76V_cACFUZbfgodCXIAjg
  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,768
    edited 2014-09-26 06:26
    I have not seen a 6 inch hole cutter!
    Jim
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2014-09-26 06:49
    4"-6" hole saws typically used for dryer vent holes. They can do a number on your wrist if they catch! :)
  • turbosupraturbosupra Posts: 1,088
    edited 2014-09-26 10:30
    wrote:
    Absolutely awesome ... I think this actually has commercial/retail value! With a dog named Thurber, I would expect him to inhale food :)
  • keblakebla Posts: 2
    edited 2014-10-06 16:25
    wrote:
    very impressive
  • Mark_TMark_T Posts: 1,981
    edited 2014-10-11 04:41
    Nice project.

    Do you power down the stepper inbetween servings? I thinking about power consumption and battery operation...

    [edit: Oh, BTW laser cut acrylic would be another construction technique, I think this is relatively cheap commercially,
    local hackspace would likely be able to help]
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