DIY - Alexa Curtain Control System - (3D Printable, Echo, Adafruit Feather Huzzah ESP8266)

[@DIYMachines]

I hope you enjoyed the project, let me know what you think in the comments below. Please like it (if you did) and share with anyone who might want to build one of their own. Thanks for watching. Lewis - DIY Machines.

[@darknessblades]

just a question. i want to make something similar but am going to use a wemos D1 arduino version, with a reprap shield, how do i program it so it will run for X minutes, and stop when time is over or endstop is reached?

[@nitin9411166]

Thanks

[@MARLONDALEY]

I Believe I have an idea to make this commercial maybe a kickstarter project going to see if I can do a rough project with your example.

[@arfan521]

Thanks for a great video and inspiration. Just wondering can the same be done with andriod and Google devices? Also is it possible to buy the 3d printed molds as a kit? For those who don't have a 3d printer :'(

[@madriz475]

@@arfan521 search for 3D printing services,I sent them to print it for me .

[@ocedarappa]

By far the most elegant DIY automated curtain design. Congrats!

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks. :)

[@JointerMark]

I was just talking with my daughter about automating our living room curtains. Thank you very much for this.

[@EKLAVYAVEER]

You sound like such a polite gentleman. Thanks a lot for this!! Wish you all the success.

[@DIYMachines]

Thank you. :)

[@tanmaywho]

Truly genius Idea for rod curtains. This is exactly what I needed as I was brain storming ways to push/pull two curtains using single motor. Thank you 😊

[@ranadheervakkalagadda9925]

I am a newbie to alexa and trying to make one automatic curtains like this. I am using rod curtains too. Can we use it as roll up and roll down using single motor instead of pushing and pulling with all those threads nonsense.? please help in making this. I dont know the circuit

[@aceboogie959]

This is definitely one of the best educational videos if seen so far. Thank you so much for your content

[@DIYMachines]

You're very welcome!

[@Zhak7]

As for the wifi issue you don't need to keep connection alive the whole time the motor spins, you can do it in between. Once the command has been received, let the motor open/close the curtain fully, then re-check wifi connectivity. Very nice project well done !

[@cytokynesys]

Hello, have you any idea exactly how I could do this?

[@tejasmd8143]

Wow! Your channel deserves a lot more attention! Suggestion: I would have loved it if there was an animation about the way you tied the threads. It was a lil hard to get that logic right the first time.. Anyway, wonderful! Thanks.

[@DIYMachines]

Thank you Tejas. :) Yes an animation would have made it much more easier to follow. It was tricky to explain.

[@siriponga7911]

Thank you for this tutorial, I have implemented this on an ikea rail curtain with a worm-gear motor instead of a stepper motor with reed switches as end stops. The only unfortunate thing is I used mono fishing line instead of the braided line as recommended in this video description. This caused stretching of one line as the motor is pulling the curtain, resulting in one taut, and one slack line. Due to this, the slack line gets reeled into the wrong slot by chance, causing the whole thing to fail. In conclusion, use a zero stretch braided line as mentioned in the video description. Don't go the cheap route and get the mono fishing line as it stretches a lot.

[@MarcelFuzii]

Awesome! The whole video is great, but the line thing in the middle of the video for opening both curtains was worth the like!

[@curiosityandchaos7171]

I noticed a couple people saying that their capacitors exploded when they were trying this out. If your capacitor explodes, here's the three most likely reasons and how to fix them: 1. Your capacitor is plugged in the wrong way. Make sure that the negative terminal (the shorter leg) is in the same row as ground. 2. There is too much voltage running through the capacitor. I'm not an electrical engineer, but I used a 50v capacitor and it worked fine. Since it's running off a 12v battery pack, I suspect you could also use a 25v or 35v capacitor without any issues. 3. Your motor driver is overheating and heating up the capacitor. If your motor driver came with a heat sink, you can stick it straight to the top of the board, and it should help cool it down.

[@DIYMachines]

Thank you for sharing some advice. It's appreciated.

[@curiosityandchaos7171]

@@DIYMachines No problem! Thanks for the awesome video! I really enjoyed the build

[@eclecticlife]

This is definitively the best tutorial on DIY automated curtains on KZbin! I have done a lot of search on the topic. Thanks again for the great video. I am still waiting for the 3D printed lawn mower. :)

[@DIYMachines]

Hello, thanks. :) I'm still working on its design. I want to make it as good a value and simple as possible.

[@kevindevrome1663]

Stunning quality! Really nice explination! Liked and subscribed in the hope the KZbin algorithm's will promote your channel a bit more :)

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks. :)

[@tratzum]

another actually useful use of a 3d printer. and a very clever project. Thanks for sharing.

[@DIYMachines]

Thank you Matthew. :)

[@anthward1972]

Great instructional video mate. This is the way instructional videos should be done. Cheers.

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks 👍

[@donnyf12]

Just a suggestion, define a variable near the top of your code for the travel time setting from line 91 and use the variable on line 91. Also do the same for the switch name (line 60), the SSID and Password. In essence, you will be defining a config block that will allow the user to be able to make all the definitions necessary and have it at the top of the code so they don't have to go digging around trying to find things.

[@DIYMachines]

Very good suggestion Donny. I will do that on my next project. It would make it much easy for the user and for me to explain in the video. I won't amend this one as people will still try to follow the instructions in the video. Thanks.

[@Kevin-tc3ob]

LOL. when you were saying alexa commands, my alexa in the kitchen started playing music and the one in living room said she couldnt find device called curtains!!!!! I so want to make this now that i have added everything to a new list in my 'long river' account ;-) BTW, liked & subbed :)

[@DIYMachines]

Yes, I should blank out the trigger words like 'Alexa' next time I publish a video using the voice assistants.

[@leglessinoz]

If you use a routine within the Alexa app, you'll be able to say "Alexa, open curtain" and "Alexa, close curtain".

[@isabellejetson5341]

Thank you I've been looking for smart curtains I won't have to replace my rod for this is perfect, your instructions are clear and easy to follow. Great tutorial

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks Isabelle. :)

[@Toms275]

Brilliant! We really enjoyed watching this :)

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks Mr Shepherd. :)

[@mbrock5532]

I love your projects. So clever and useful. It was funny though when you blurred out your SSID but then later the code comment had the SSID! :D

[@DIYMachines]

Oops, well spotted.

[@ronen124]

you have genuine ideas in general as well as at the 3d printing design 👌🙂

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks. :)

[@shannonrobertson7212]

This is fantastic!! Thank you for such wonderful clear videos! one suggestion I would love is if you could design an automated hydroponics garden with a water level sensor ;) thank you!

[@errorserver3000]

Awesome and informative tutorial! I'll be trying this soon. Thank you so much!

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks. :)

[@sayvibes3393]

Hey did you make it ? Can I use a generic esp8266 ?

[@agastyaaneja6569]

sir your tutorial is really good,,each step has been described well..awesome idea

[@--EEE-YUVARAJK]

Thanks for wonderful vedio...you are clearly explained about this vedio... Very useful for my project

[@gayanmax00]

Bro u are doing great.keep it up

[@MarkSnop]

Very well done..thank you

[@fastbike9845]

Very inspirational. I'd be wary of automating it for when the house is not occupied as there is no fail safe mode (limit switches, over current detection, motor temp cutout etc) And very nice use of a custom printed enclosure to protect and hide the gubbins behind the fabric. However it fails on the WAF, there is no way I could use such noisy motors in my house. I think it may be caused by the cheap and cheerful motor drives, maybe a Trinamic based drive would quieten things down.

[@xainisheikh]

14:20, you mislead because if you bring the string from over the center hanger and then tie the left curtain it will obviously pull the curtain towards the right side.

[@jeevakkuwar]

nice video I was wondering how can I add support for Google Assistant and/or Apple Home.. thanks

[@kendesign3622]

23:33 I'm no expert on Arduino but.. it sounds like the stepper motor is stalling out. That tiny driver is very current limited. As far as blaming it on your band width I can't see that to be the case. The wifi is sending a simple on or off command, once the microcontroller receives that it executes the code that's stored on the microcontroller. Put in a stepper driver that can handle more current and I bet you your "bandwidth" problem goes away.

[@bonelifer]

Only thing I'd like to see different is using MQTT to control it via Home Assistant. Not quiet something I can bring about myself. That said, the hardware implementation is great and an easy to understand tutorial.

[@DIYMachines]

That would be cool, likewise that's not something I have the knowledge to do - though I think other have added it themselves. Glad you like the hardware.

[@lukas1495]

Do i need to have a computer always conected to the ESP? if positive, what can i do to get free from it? i think this should be as clean as possible and almost imperceptible to see something wired to the dispositive. In the other hand, congrats and thanks for your job, its quite impressive! you deserve a lot more subscribers, please dont stop making content like this.

[@DIYMachines]

Hi Lukas, thanks for the compliment. You do not need to leave a computer plugged into the ESP. In this project, once completed, the ESP is the computer.

[@arabianmenace527]

if the battery pack is used directly to the driver to power the nema17.. then the usb to esp needs to be in at all times right?

[@arabianmenace527]

Otherwiae what powers the esp?

[@mo1tard743]

Very clever. Thanks!

[@DIYMachines]

No problemo. :)

[@syedsulaiman8380]

u r actually great

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks!

[@mxmxjrjr]

You are genius!

[@passion-techelalbilo4113]

Thanks for the great project. I'll attempt doing the same thing using z wave switch.

[@mrfaso714]

If I want to change tha batteries for a power adapter. What should i search for? volts and amperes?

[@markvk42]

I wish id found this before i started to automate my curtains! im almost finished the project but might mod it to include some of your ideas, im curious to know how long your batteries lasted.

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks Mark, the batteries lasted at least three weeks (I had to scavenge its parts for another project). Some other have modified the project to run entirely without batteries which could be an option.

[@nishenfernando3186]

I like it Can we use Nodemcu insted of Feather Huzzah and what are the pins? Thnk you ✌

[@mIkeyGermita]

yes, google nodemcu pinout and feather huzzah pinout put both pictures side by side and compare the numbers if any are different change them in the code or wiring as long as both microcontrollers are esp8266 based, that's all you should have to change if you want to use an esp32-based MCU, you may have to change a couple of libraries but I haven't started this project yet so I will let you know I'll be using an ESP32 devkit

[@najmunnisanisar3316]

Innovative idea. 😉

[@michaeldiamond2269]

Nice project. A bit noisy, but very inventive. BTW, the word is "taut", not "taunt".

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks Michael, I often find I've not got a word quite right. That's another one corrected in my vocabulary. Last time is was saying 'chimley' instead of 'chimney'. :/

[@michaeldiamond2269]

@@DIYMachines you're doing fine. Great project. I'm working on my own project for doing the same with roller blinds. Interesting you're using batteries. Any idea how long you'll get from them? Days? Weeks?

[@DIYMachines]

Someone on reddit calculated for me that you can expect about two to three months from the batteries. To be clear the batteries are there to power the motor when it's required. The ESP8266 and A4988 are powered through the USB cable. I tried powering them as well from battery but the life expectancy fell dramatically.

[@dvd123123]

@@DIYMachines can USB be used to power the motor as well?

[@DIYMachines]

@@dvd123123 Not on this project. The motor requires more torque from more power.

[@madriz475]

I just ended Mine yesterday, My curtains and Alexa were opening and closing while watching the video over and over again to spot details that I missed since at that point it had the original voice command, the length and running time fits Ok with my window size, need to replace the phone charger I used to power it has too low voltage and mha so the nema has more torque, while that, used oil to smooth where the curtains got stuck because of friction, I have wood rings so I passed the stings along the center of the whole setup and made the strings go in a straight line, at the ends I used a piece of curved straw to ease friction and maintain in place the string ,My setup was about 26-28 Us

[@DIYMachines]

Yes, maybe next time I make a video which includes Alexa commands I'll beep out the word Alexa in the video so as not to create havoc with peoples devices. :)

[@roystervi]

Hi there is no manual operations? if not you are relaying on alexa 100%?

[@OscarRuiz]

Hi, It´s amazing proyect!!!, I have a question, if i wish to add two push buttons to open and close curtains without internet, how do you do it?, Thanks

[@User-gr8ks]

I think add a little more edit and u deserve to hv a million subscribers sir

[@marcoweiss2307]

what do i need to change in the code if i want to do this with an esp32? I get many compilation errors with no such file or directory found Should of bought the correct one :D

[@jofie2302]

How do you cater for when something goes wrong, e.g. the curtain gets stuck before it reaches the open/closed position? Especially when adding limit switches, you don't want that motor running all the time when you're away on holiday. Thinking in terms of adding overcurrent detection, but is that not a build-in feature somewhere already?

[@james300481]

What code would I need to add a manual push button as well?

[@MPElectronique]

Amazing!!!

[@LeagueofHu3]

it is possible to use with Google Home / nest devices?

[@davedujour1]

I'd assume so but the code might need to be significantly different.

[@gustavoenriquejimenez8098]

It is possible, with IFTTT.

[@wilmercb]

Thanks for your tutorials! ...wondering would you do one using iOS Siri? It would be same? Thanks

[@matthewventures]

For the capacitor should it be 25 volts or 16 volts?

[@tamildesan837]

After 5 years, wondering how you have done this self made design and 3D printing 5 years ago.😮 I have a question now, not sure you will be looking in this comment. How are strings/threads connected at the end of the screen fixtures? Are there any pulleys or gear that you route them through? If we put them directly on the curtain brackets they may be cut after few operations, damage the area it’s in contact with ?

[@chanchalsakarde]

How can we use Nodemcu instead of this... If so what pins to be used.. Thanks in advance

[@HFMach]

Love the video, built it but i have a google home setup and not alexa? How can i make it google compatible?

[@gggg-bk7md]

se puede hacer esto con Google Home?? Me gustó mucho tu video!!!

[@gregorcernigoj9918]

Very nice project. What happend is for some reason we lose position somewhere in the midle? Then is there no procedure how to align system again

[@DIYMachines]

Thank you. If it loses position in the middle we are ok. The next time the curtain tries to move and it gets to the end of its run the stepper motor will just 'slip' a few turns. It's noisy but OK. After this everything should be back to normal.

[@DuckysCollection]

i was wounding how much torque i would need for the curtains. thanks

[@danwilson9684]

I'm looking to create my own system like yours, I have bay windows which use a curtain track rather than a pole. I'm going to see if this is suitable (need to figure out how much it weighs in total), or if not, something like a wall mounted box that will simply pull the blinds open with a time based condition.

[@g34r9]

Brilliant

[@DIYMachines]

Thank you. :)

[@gamersguide8096]

I am too lazy 😔😔 so I thought I will make my room automated 🤭. But after watching this video 😂 gezzz I don't want to do it anymore.

[@ArjunRajput-ts8ko]

How will it sense, the curtain is closed or open? What will happen if we command open curtain when it is already open

[@onurtan1642]

Does it have to stay connected to laptop when we want to use it ?

[@tonysouthern3017]

Doesn’t need a pulley where the braid goes around the end poles?

[@tamildesan837]

I too have same doubts year later while I am watching this video. May be sewing machine’s bobbin can do the trick but need some kind of 3D printed mount to keep the bobbin in the end poles.

[@TheFlyingKiwiNZ]

Would an esp32 work better than esp8266 for retaining wifi connection while driving the curtain? It has more processing power

[@Jespertheend2]

Would it be possible to power the stepper motor with a 12v power adapter? You'll have to have a cable running to the outlets for the chips anyway, and then you won't have to change the batteries every once in a while.

[@bertrum2k]

I'm going to try this when the parts I ordered get in from AliExpress. I'm going to try with a 5V 2A USB brick first because from what I'm reading input voltage isn't as important for stepper motors as current, and the rated current for the one he lists is 2A

[@lukewelch440]

@@bertrum2k did you get this working with a USB brick?

[@graychenault1435]

@@bertrum2k Make sure you meet the stepper motor's minimum voltage spec. The one I got needs at least 8V so I'm using a 12v adapter.

[@prithwirajp]

Great project, i'm going to try this as soon as my 3d printer is delivered! Can this automation done via MQTT? I use hassio as my main automation hub and would love to have it integrated with it!

[@Ed19601]

Yes but you need to alter the software to include response to mqtt. The PubSub client is good for that. As you use hassio intake it you already have an mqtt broker

[@lavitz8762]

Will this system only work if you have a centre bracket? My rod is only supported at the two ends :(

[@technotroll-pro]

Good job! But why you use а4988? maybe better use noiseless driver?

[@cytokynesys]

Hello, did you ever determine a way to eliminate the 'pause' from the spinning of the motor? I've modified your design slightly, but the pause could cause damage, as it is not predictable! Thanks.

[@DeadBySweat-cj3ev]

i bet you could make this a lot smaller with using a custom pcb or these hole pcbs

[@CUBoulderFootball]

Tried to find the product but he built this himself

[@arabianmenace527]

I guess you can add limit switches and command it to turn till it reaches the switch... that will fix the issue of steps to close the curtain.. not sure if that cud fix the wifi connection issue because via the code you may not need the the constant communication whilst stepping

[@diegosoulreaver]

it is not completly clear on the video hor the capacitor should be connected, doesnt show exactly how it is, from this point of view i see the negative leg is connected to the 12V possitive when you are connecting the batteries, so thats why i dont understand, please help me clarify this, I clearly see the negative leg being connected with the possitive on 5:58

[@tamildesan837]

I know this is old post but for anyone looking for diagram check the thingiverse link, scroll to your write side thumbnails. He has put the connections with necessary colored lines and components mentioned.

[@GabrielMagalhaes-gf1jc]

I searched for some items on aliexpress, but I couldn't find any similar items. Can you help me with which item to buy? I'm from Brazil

[@troyfortner9949]

Hi! Thank you for your projects! I have a slightly different board (NodeMCU 8266). Can I use the same code with a different board as long as I switch to the correct board in Arduino IDE?

[@lukewelch440]

Hi, I have followed your tutorial but Alexa is unable to discover the device, do you have an idea of what I could try?

[@thegamer26]

Hi, I found the spindle part file on thingsiverse a bit different to the vid, I printed it too and the rod on top is a bit shorter on thingsiverse(missing a level). Can you please help solve the issue?

[@ammardelreal3802]

could i use a tmc2209 for more silent motor operation?

[@DIYMachines]

Yes, indeed you could.

[@TheMilkMannnn]

Hey man! I can’t wait to give this a go. I’m just thinking, is there any way to connect it to a 12 V power supply/outlet? That way there’d be no need to go through batteries.

[@colincassidy9128]

yup, use a cheap buck converter. Attach it to your supply but not the board until you meter out the correct voltage and your done.

[@TheSgriffith2]

Do you need to keep the PC hooked up to the Feather Huzzah? I would like to say I have this running on my bench. I have not hooked it up to any curtains yet. I have to say this is awesome! My only problem is that you could say "turn off" or "turn on" multiple times in a row and cause all kinds of havoc with the curtains and pulling mechanics. I am thinking of adding some kind of limit switches but I am no coder.

[@DIYMachines]

Hi S Griffith. You don’t need to keep it hooked up to your PC after you have uploaded the program. Limit switches would be a good idea. You would just need to change the section of the code that controls how many times the motor turns forwards or backwards to go until it detected a contact at one of the limit switches. I don’t have the time at the moment but plenty of people have made some excellent suggestions for improvements so I hope to do a V2 next year.

[@TheSgriffith2]

@@DIYMachines I am looking forward to checking out your V2.

[@TheSgriffith2]

I took your electronics design and combined it with another persons mechanical design on thingsverse and came up with something. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYPLcnqQh9hrjsU I am still a little nervous about giving it duplicate commands and the motor going the same direction twice. I tried pulling a motor wire to simulate a electrical stop but the motor just goes crazy. Still....cant wait for V2! :)

[@TheSgriffith2]

@@DIYMachines Could you point me in the right direction as to what I need to change to get Alexa to respond to the commands correctly? Is that what they are referring to the callback function?

[@StePhanMckillen]

10 out 10 bro

[@Kuno_23]

Would this work with the hue smart plug principle on zigbee network or does zigbee make a component of sorts ? Great videos, keep it up 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@divyanshjinger1587]

Can I use Lua amica?

[@pixelsafoison]

Nice lil' video :) - I was curious on the ammount of brainpower required to emulate a smart device

[@Hopeinformer]

Is it possible to set this up using TMC stepper drivers instead of the A4988 and a ESP8266 ESP-01S? I have a lot of the TMC2130 & TMC2208 & TMC2209 and ESP8266 ESP-01S ESP01S from past 3D printer builds.

[@DIYMachines]

You totally could use TMC drivers, and probably should. All my newer projects used the TMC drivers. I think they are worth the additional cost.

[@Hopeinformer]

@@DIYMachines thank you. Do I need to change anything in the code?

[@henrybarratt1626]

Would this step motor work for a vertical curtain?

[@AndrewBristol]

Any chance of a roller blind version ?

[@DIYMachines]

Hi AJ, it is on my list of projects to make. I have blinds in several rooms in my home. It may be a little while though before I get onto that project.

[@divyanshjinger1587]

Can I still open the curtain manually ??

[@arabianmenace527]

Good question... usually the stepper motor siezes when powered

[@colincassidy9128]

Hi, great video! Anyway to have this put the curtain in 3 positions? Open, Closed and Cleaning for instance? Is it due to the the restrictions of it emulating the Wemo plug?

[@truthless7634]

Will manual operation of moving curtains require significant extra effort after this?

[@DIYMachines]

Yes, manually moving them is not possible with this design.

[@mafiousyt]

Excelent Project. Works with Google Home?

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks Kadu. Unfortunately I don't have a Google Home to try it with.

[@bacardi3393]

@@DIYMachines any try on google home ? Is it using mqtt ?

[@Kampela99]

, this is lovely.... but I still may end up buying ready stuff... :-)

[@james300481]

Is it possible to make this work with apple HomeKit?

[@DIYMachines]

This is something I have done, but others have found ways using alternative software.

[@Mietitore]

Hi and thank you for the great tutorial! Is there a written guide that I could follow, or did you only publish the video?

[@DIYMachines]

Thanks. I also write out my projects as instructables: www.instructables.com/member/DIY%20Machines/instructables/

[@savioluis7431]

I loved this project. Well explained. Thanks a lot. I have a couple of questions/suggestions: I see you used a 100 microfarad 50v capacitor. Can I use a 100 microfarad 35v capacitor instead? Will the voltage matter in this project? Also in some other videos if you can explain how the voltage on a capacitor matters.

[@graychenault1435]

Yes, 35V is plenty good. As long as the cap rating exceeds the voltage it's seeing (12v in this case) , you are GTG.

[@hcFDX]

Hi is there any alternative if i do not have a housing

[@nitin9411166]

Great bro 👍👌.. can you please help me about 3D printed part weight?? Because in my city 3D printing depends on product weight

[@DIYMachines]

Hi, the printed parts are not very heavy. I don't have just the printed parts available to weight but I don't expect it to be more than 100g. Probably closer to 60g. This is a guess though.

[@madriz475]

I just had in hand mine are,91.6g,box69.2g,cover 12.9g,big wheel 4.0g, center wheel 2.9g,flat wheel 2.4g they don't have the support structures maybe with them they are 100g