Input Devices

Announcement

I had a far-less-than-usual amount of time to spend on class this week, so I prioritized the Final Project. You will see here the input device I would like to use, as well as a preliminary start of making a board to test the device.

Device

I picked out a load cell that would be able to weigh small amounts of material. In my final project, I would like to hand-cut roughly sized pieces of clay, but use the machine to verify whether or not the clay is the right amount. Manually, the use could add or remove small amounts of clay until the sphere is close to the right size. This way, the amount of clay could become parameterized in the design input along with the other functions that are controlled by the machine.

I want there to be three LEDs that show whether or not the clay is too light, too heavy, or correct. If I can get this to work, this could also be used to measure proportions clay in different colors to create controlled color gradients.

Schematic

I started working on a schematic that has three LEDs and an input from the load cell. I had also wanted to include a button so the lights could be reset between weighing the clay; however, I quickly realized that there are not enough pins on the ATTiny44, so I will have to switch to a different microcontroller if I want to have all of these.

I was told I would also need a load cell amplifier.