first semester individual project

https://learn.adafruit.com/instant-camera-using-raspberry-pi-and-thermal-printer

One of the projects I am considering is this instant camera using a raspberry pi and thermal printer. I like it because either I would use it to show off to my friends or I would give it as a Christmas gift (more likely than not it will be too cool not to keep). I think that my family would be impressed that I made it all at school and would appreciate it even more than a store-bought gift. This project would use laser cutting (the basic structure of the camera), 3D printing (any of the parts of the camera), and vinyl cutting (stickers to make it more visually appeasing). It also includes intelligence by programming the raspberry pi to handle the shutter button and move the images from the Pi camera to the printer. The only “con” about this project is the cost. There are many parts that need to be bought from adafruit including raspberry pi, raspberry pi camera board, thermal receipt printer, Perma Proto HAT, and microSD card. However, because Mr. Dubick is ordering a bulk order with everybody’s parts and materials, he will get a discount and the cost will hopefully decrease. Also, Mr. Dubick is willing to swap our arduino for a raspberry pi.

https://learn.adafruit.com/secret-knock-activated-drawer-lock/parts-and-tools?view=all

Another project I am debating about doing is this knock activated drawer. This project would use laser cutting to construct the drawer, 3D printing to print an awesome handle, and vinyl cutting to make a sticker to decorate the drawer. This project would be something that I would make just because I can and because I have access to the fab lab. It probably wouldn’t serve any purpose in my house but it could entertain for hours. The only “con” would be the bulkiness of the drawer. Instead, I could make it like a box more or less to put jewelry in and keep it safe.

I decided I am going to do the Instant Camera. The camera will have an enclosure made of laser cutted pieces that will be pressed fit. The raspberry pi will be programmed to control the shutter button and will move images from pi camera to printer. In addition to the camera script, CUPS (common UNIX printing system) needs to be installed. The last thing we need to add to finish system setup is configure for auto start. The wires need to be soldered onto the board and everything connect. Lastly, the battery pack is the power source. I chose this project because it was unique and interesting. Instant cameras first made an appearance in 1948, so it would be mind-blowing to see a 9th grader recreate the technology 6 decades later. If my project is successful, it will take and print a black and white image captured by the camera. We were told to guess how many setbacks we were going to have. I think that I will have at least six major setbacks. Even in my calendar of dates by which I will start and finish things, I included two days of "troubleshooting" because I doubt that everything will work the first time.

I am going to use an adafruit tutorial which is done by Phillip Burgess. However, I am going make my camera box using the laser cutter instead of using scrap cardboard, so it will be clean around the edges. Besides the new and improved outside, I am going to do the connections and system setup the same.

Parts and Costs spreadsheet (in google drive folder too):

Calendar (pdf in google drive folder):

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Timeline for project has changed. When crafting my calendar, I did not realize that our semester doesn't end until Jan. 13. However, it gives me needed extra time to complete my instant camera.

November 9-22, 2016:

I built my box using the software inkscape. Although it took two weeks to complete, the final product is a tightly fitted box where there is no excess hanging over the sides. The lid to the box can be pressed into the notches on the sides of the box, and it stays in place without adhesive. The parameters for this box included being big enough to hold the battery pack, printer, raspberry pi, and perma proto HAT board, and I had to make sure I laser cut holes that were the correct dimensions for the buttons, printer, and LED. My first setback occurred after my first laser cut of my box. Even though I measured the printer using a digital ruler, both the length and width of the hole for the printer were short by a millimeter. Along with having to fix the dimensions of the hole, I also had to alter my box design. I had put three tabs on the front and back sides, but the center tab had to either be a little bit left or a little bit right. When duplicating the sides, I apparently lost track of which sides needed to be flipped and/or rotated. Furthermore, I needed to elongate the pair of short sides so that the tabs on the long pair of sides could press fit into the corresponding gaps. One thing that was new was using Corel Draw. Instead of downloading and printer a PDF file of my box design, I downloaded the SVG version. Then, I opened it in Corel Draw and printed it from there. Two very important details to check on Corel Draw are: 1) change page dimensions to that of the laser cutter (30in x 20in) and 2) change the width of the lines that you want the laser cutter to cut through to “hairline” (to cut through a line change width to .001 on Inkscape and “hairline” on Corel Draw). I also learned how to manually focus the laser cutter, which works better than auto-focus in settings.

(Camera working)

(Problem fixed!)

[A small task that I needed to check off my list was making sure my printer worked, so I plugged it into its power source and pressed the button. It printed like it should and the video is posted below]

(Printer working)

December 12-14, 2016:

To begin connecting all of the parts, I soldered wires to the ends of the buttons and the LED. I also soldered the GPIO header onto the breadboard which is the means of connection with the Raspberry Pi. After Christmas break my plan is to solder everything to the board and test to see if it works. However, anticipating that it will not be perfect the first time, it might take up to a week but hopefully not longer. My last finishing touches will be making a sticker to decorate my camera and a 3D printed box to hold the pictures and to meet all of the requirements.

January 3-5th, 2017:

When I had first connected everything and turned the power on, the breadboard had started smoking and smelling really bad. At first I didn't know what smelled burnt, but Mr. Dubick caught my careless error of forgetting a resister for my LED. However, even after adding a resistor to the LED, something was still burning and finally I saw that a little stream of smoke was coming out of my breadboard. Luckily, it was an easy fix. I had excess wire hanging out and it was shorting the circuit, so I placed a piece of foam between the wire and pi. Another problem I am still having is the camera not printing out a picture even though the LED tells me a picture has been taken. I think that the root of the problem is a disconnect between the pi and printer because everything else seems to work. I tried to research others who have experienced a similar problem but my search was fruitless. Mr. Dubick told us he is trying to get a professor to come in and work with all of the students who are having issues, so I am hoping he will be able to find the problem. While I was taking a break from the camera issue, I used the time to make a 3D printed label to keep on my camera. It only took me one class period and I completed my 3D print requirement.

Screenshot of label:

(I made my label in 123D Design. I used the text tool, extruded the text, and then subtracted it from the larger base.)

Result:

Timelapse of printing:

Workflow (google doc in google drive folder):

1. Design laser cutted box
2. Download the latest version of Raspbian Jessie Lite
3. Write the OS to SD card and insert into the Raspberry Pi
4. After powering up Raspberry Pi, run the raspi-config utility
5. Complete the following setup
6. Expand file system
7. Enable camera
8. Under “advanced options” select serial and disable the serial console
9. Reboot the system when prompted after tabbing over to the button
10. Login in again as the “pi” user
11. Install printer support (CUPS- the common UNIX printing system)
12. Install raster filter for CUPS
13. Add printer to the CUPS system and set it as the default
14. Write code that handles the shutter button and moves images from the Pi camera to the printer
15. Write code to make the camera script launch automatically when the system boots
16. Backup the SD card after system is completely configured
17. Connect the camera to the Raspberry Pi using this link
18. Solder wires to the ends of the LED and buttons.
19. Starting from the outside feed the wires through each hole and press the buttons and LED into place (secure them w/ washers and nuts or hot glue)
20. Use minimal hot glue to hold down camera board from the back (I did this at the end in case I needed to shift things).
21. Arrange the battery pack on the right and the Pi on the left. Make sure to place the 4 Eneloop NiMH batteries in the battery pack.
22. Remove Perma-Proto HAT from the Pi (temporarily)
23. The camera cable needs to snake through the slot on the Perma-Proto HAT then into the raspberry Pi
24. Solder the RX and TX to the board, but remember to criss-cross them
25. Solder the hot and ground (red and black wires) of the printer to their corresponding rails
26. Solder the red and black wires of the battery pack to the +5V and ground respectively
27. Solder the red wires/hots of the buttons and LED to their pin numbers and solder their black wires to a ground
28. Reconnect the Perma-Proto HAT to the Pi
29. Find a stable position for the Pi and battery pack
    1. Battery pack can be held in place using hot glue or foam tape, but should be able to be lifted out for batteries to be replaced
30. Try to power it on and after 30 seconds or so (after LED flashes a few times) aim and press the shutter button!

*NOTE: do not solder anything to the Perma-Proto board until everything is fitted in the case

Final materials list:

• Raspberry pi (I ended up trading out the one I bought with a 2)
• Perma-proto hat (is absolutely necessary but makes the connections easier)
• 2 push buttons
• Mini thermal receipt printer (any type of receipt printer may do but steps may vary)
• Raspberry Pi camera board
• 4xAA battery holder
• MicroSD card
• 4xEneloop NiMH rechargeable batteries
• Battery charger (only needed for the long run when batteries need to be charged)
• LED
• Extra black and red wires
• Cardboard to make enclosure
• PLA for 3D print

Conclusion:

Setting out to do a two month project seemed quite intimidating at first. The sky was the limit when it came to what we wanted our projects to be. Furthermore, after we had chosen a project, we had to make a cost spreadsheet, understand all of the steps to completing the project, and plan a work calendar. When I first saw all of the project ideas on adafruit, my first thought was, "can a design method 1 engineering student really recreate such an advanced piece of work?" I soon learned that if I "ate the elephant one bite at a time", the assignment did not seem as impossible.

The tutorial on adafruit laid out the parts of the project excellently. The first page "Overview" listed the materials and the parts that I needed to buy. The second page went through the computer setup and programming. They had code written to be copied, but they also explained what each line of code did. The third page "connections" explained what needed to be soldered and helpful nuggets of information about the use of each part and how to modify, if necessary. The last page "assemble and

customize" showed how the parts fit, and at the bottom, it had troubleshooting tips. Although I didn't exactly know how to do each and every thing going into the project, I learned along the way. For example, using a raspberry pi was never in my repertoire, but through trial and error I figured it out. One thing that I learned not to shy away from was researching the problem on the internet because more than likely, someone else has run into the same issue.

Working on a large and long project can become very frustrating and stressful. There are points in the process where one wants to throw their hands up and quit. Other times it seems like there are a million things to get done but only 24 hours in a day. However, note that I referred to it as a process. A process has its ups and downs, but perseverance, hard work, and commitment pay off in the end. Although a

successful product would be an exclamation point to the end of the sentence, the learning and growing that happened during the process trumps any outcome possible.

Next, after getting it to work like I want it to, this project could take on many different directions. Making the enclosure for the camera out of wood would add to the camera's sophistication. Also, with more time, I would enjoy playing around with the code and maybe adding a timer before shooting the picture or adding a display to see the picture before printing. These are only some of the ways to refine and better this project, but the possibilities are endless. All one needs is a little curiosity and creativity.