ProGrow Update #4
I completely revamped the layout and configuration of the modules on the front of the ProGrow. I designed and printed some basic enclosures for all of the different little modules to help isolate each unit and tidy it up. It’s still a mess of wires, but I’m making progress on the overall design. I used 3DS Max to design the basic enclosures, and then I used my Kossel Delta printer to make them. Most of the things were printed using white PLA, but I ran out and used black PLA to print the 9V battery enclosure.
3D Printed Enclosures
I’ve successfully added an SD card module to store data for the long term. I have a spare 16gb MicroSD in there right now, so I have a few years worth of samples that I could store. I’m going to change the SD card to a smaller, more robust one to help avoid catastrophic accidental corruption. I use the SPI.h and SD.h libraries in order to read/write to the SD card and I store the sensor data in a .txt file. I’m working on graphing the data automatically, but it’s not a priority right now.
I removed the 4 digital buttons that I was using for manual control. I made a circuit that outputs an analog signal instead of a digital one, and connected the buttons to a free analog pin. This freed up 4 digital pins for future use. I use a few series resistors to create different analog signals that gets sent out through the purple wire in the image above. The buttons are placed so that they will see different levels of resistance from the chain of resistors when pressed. The programming simply reads the analog value and then makes decisions based off of the value. Much more pin-efficient than before!
The LED display made the old RGB indicator light obsolete, so I removed it. This gives me even more digital pins for future use.
I’m going to work on reducing the power draw, and implementing batteries next. I’ll be publishing a parts list sometime soon.