Final Project Journal

Project Ideation

1- Tell us about the idea of your project. Why do you care about this? What were you inspired by? Include images and videos of similar projects

An RFID Audio Player 

I chose it because it can be used for many purposes such as entertainment or education.

I plan to use it personally by programming the RFID cards to contain my favorite sound clips, also I plan to add RFID stickers to the toys of my sister's daughter "Lina" to tell stories or to play animals' sounds, letters, ...etc.  A lot of ideas can be applied using this amazing device ^^ 

Here are the projects that I inspired the idea from:

https://www.instructables.com/Juuke-a-RFID-Music-Player-for-Elderly-and-Kids/

https://www.instructables.com/Interactive-Arduino-Amiibo-Stand/

Project Construction

2- Explain the CAD process of your project. How did you use the software to design your project? (List the softwares/tools/materials...etc that you used)

Tool Chain 

Fusion 360 software to design extrude, assemble all parts, and export .dxf  & .stl files. 

Ultimaker Cura 5.2.1  software to slice the .stl model and create the .gcode file for the 3D printer

LaserWork V6 software for nesting objects, setting the suitable parameters & creating .rld file which compatible with laser cutting machine

GrabCad to download the used components


Design/Preparation Process

Designing the outer faces

Designing the 3D parts

Virtual Assembly of all parts on Fusion360 & creating the suitable projects & slots

Preparing the 2.5 parts on LaserWork V6

Preparing the 3D parts with Cura software

The .stl files of all brackets & the cards holder were downloaded from Fusion360 & imported to Ultimaker Cura software, then choosing the printer ( PRUSA i3 MK2 )  & the material ( PLA)

I prepare 2 files as there was no available time slot to print them all together

3- Explain the fabrication process of your project. How did you use the machine to fabricate your project? (List the softwares/tools/materials...etc that you used)

Tool Chain 

Prusa I3 MK2 printer to read the .gcode file & print the 3D physical object

El Malky ML149 CO2 Laser Cutter to read .rld file then cut or engrave or speed cut the plywood sheet

Plywood sheet 3mm to fabricate the front face

PLA+ for the side arms 

Screws and nuts for the assembly

Printing the 3D parts (cards holder & brackets)

for more details, click here!

Cutting the 2.5D parts

for more details, click here!

Project Electronics & Power Management 

4- Describe your electronic circuit. What are the input and action components? What is the function of each? How do the components integrate together to form your smart system? (List the softwares/tools/components...etc that you used)

Software:

Input Components:

Output components:

Other Components:

Note: RFID system is supplemented by Input Output (I/O) Devices; it is capable of reading/writing data from/to an RFID card

It works by using RFID cards to play a specific audio clip from an SD card. the RFID module reads the programmed number on the card & plays the corresponding sound clip.

MP3 module player outputs the sound directly to the speaker

Also, it controls the sound volume with the potentiometer, or plays and pauses the  sound with the push button

5- What is your power source? How did you select the suitable power source for your project? (List the softwares/tools/components...etc that you used)

I chose an external power supply (9V adapter) with a DC power connector and an on/off switch to disconnect or connect the electricity to the Arduino board

9 volts because the voltages that can be applied to the Arduino UNO VIN pin is from 7 to 12V. The other components of the circuit don't need more than 5 volts, so power is supplied from the DC power connector to Arduino VIN pin then the other components feed from Arduino 5V pin

This link discusses the powering options of Arduino

Project Programming

6- Describe the code of your project. How did you program each function of the project?  


it is not tested yet, so it is deactivated  until the test is successful

Project Integration & Testing 

7- Demonstrate with text and visuals how did you integrate the project’s modules together? What are the testing results? (Include a Demo video separately, showing a proof of functionality)

Testing the mp3 module

firstly, I used the same wiring diagram without the 1k ohm resistor, but the sound wasn't clear, so I add it to the circuit.

Also, when the test code was uploaded to the Arduino board, it did not work until the deactivation of "while(true);" line

Then, I added a potentiometer to the circuit to control the volume, and a push-button to play or pause the sound

Testing the RD-522 (RFID) module

Then, I used this Testing_RFID.ino file to get the UID of each RFID card and add an ID label on each card (I got the test file from the previous tutorial)


Then, I used this CardProgrammer.ino file to set a unique number for each RFID card, then I added a label on each card, so card number 1 will play sound clip number 1 and so on

Actually, I write/program #2 on the card labeled with #1, because the first audio clip was for the welcome message

Wiring the whole circuit

I connected the 5v pin & one  of the GND pins of Arduino to the breadboard 

I started with RFID wiring as follows according to this tutorial:

Then, I added the mini mp3 module & the speaker according to this tutorial & this datasheet:

Then the potentiometer was added as follows:

Then the push buttons were added as follows:

Then the power connector & on/off switch were added as follows:

Note: Avometer was used to determine the +ve & -ve pin of the power connector

WhatsApp Video 2023-03-22 at 12.19.29 AM.mp4

Note: I used this website to create the welcome audio message  & the audio of the numbers

the speaker is fixed to the front side using screws & nuts

The Arduino board is fixed to the base, on/off switch & DC power connector to the back side 

The buttons & volume controller are fixed to the top side.

All parts are held together using brackets, screws, and nuts

finally, the cardholder is added to the top side

WhatsApp Video 2023-03-23 at 11.14.56 PM.mp4

Sharing & Collaboration 

8- Did you ask for feedback? What are the ideas that others have contributed or suggested? What was someone else’s idea that you built upon? How did you help your peers? How did your peers help you?

I would like to thank the sweetest Areej, she helped me a lot in exporting .dxf files from fusion sketches and she suggested me to convert the online design on the front side from .cdr to .dxf format, so that I can use it in LaserWork software

And of course, our amazing instructors Esraa, Nada and Abdelrahman helped me a lot (Thank you 🙏)

Overcoming Challenges 

9- When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this project?

It was a challenging project!

1- when I tested the mp3 module using the test code in this tutorial, it didn't work, and the problem was solved by disabling the "when(true);" line

2- when I wired the RFID module using different pins than that was mentioned in the testing tutorial (while preserving their type as analog or digital), it did not work, and I noticed that all the tutorials that I browsed used the same Arduino pins to wire this module, I did not understand the reason, but I adhered to the same pins.

However, during the assembly of the whole box, the leg of the jumper wire that connected to Arduino pin 11 was broken inside the Arduino pin No. 11, so I changed the wire and tried to remove the leg from the Arduino pin with a forceps, but it did not come out, then I tried to replace pin11 with any other pin on Arduino, but it did not work at all, so I decided to search for the reason and found that RFID model works through SPI communication, which requires Master Out Slave In (MOSI) connection and Arduino has only one pin for MOSI which is pin No. 11 (for more details check these links: https://www.circuitbasics.com/how-to-set-up-spi-communication-for-arduino/ , https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/boards/arduino-uno-rev3-with-long-pins#memory)

Solution: I de-assemble the box and take the Arduino board out & tried several tools to get rid of the leg from pin 11. the one that worked for me was the metal veil pin

3- When a push button is pressed, it is activated several times, causing uncontrolled behavior, so a delay is added to the code, which prevents several activations of a single click. (I discovered this problem using the serial monitor)

4- The most challenging thing is that during the assembly, I accidentally reversed the polarity of the electrical power connector (-ve pin to the Arduino VIN) which caused the 5-volt regulator of the Arduino board to burn (this is what I discovered later, as the VIN pin is directly connected to the voltage regulator & it does not have reverse polarity protection, for more details kindly check these links: https://docs.arduino.cc/learn/electronics/power-pins, https://forum.arduino.cc/t/i-reversed-gnd-and-vin/234305/2)

As a result, the device was working properly through the USB connector, but it didn't work using the 9-volt adapter as an external power source (the Arduino board itself was working, but there was a noise sound from the speaker and the mp3 module did not work, as it did not light up)

I tried to use the 5-volt adaptor instead, but it did not turn on the circuit. After many trials to fix the problem, I found a solution on the Internet to solder a new 5-volt regulator in place of the faulty regulator (for more details check these links: https://www.instructables.com/Fix-an-Arduino-That-Only-Works-Via-USB-blown-Regul/, https://hassanulmakers.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/tutorial-replacing-the-voltage-regulator-on-the-arduino/ )

Since I do not have a solder or soldering skills, I came up with an idea to use the 5v regulator (that we have in the kit) exactly as we used it at the end of week 8 session, I followed the same wiring diagram:

+ve pin of the power connector: to the regulator input pin

a jumper from the regulator input pin: to Arduino VIN

a jumper from the regulator GND pin: to the common ground drain on the breadboard

a jumper from the regulator output pin: to the positive drain of the breadboard

Finally, it worked successfully with the 9v adaptor Alhmadullah

Also, I faced many challenges in wiring, and I solved them by visual tracking and using the Avometer

Future Work

10- If you had more time, what is one thing you would change/ Do next in your project?

 Final Project Design Files

Click here to find all files