Motorize & Automate Blinds | DIY Smart Home Automation

[@jefflanier-r8b]

I automated my blinds using info from your project. Thanks for making it available!

[@DrZzs]

Glad to help!

[@willhutcheon4144]

Fantastic use of the magic smoke component....!!!

[@DrZzs]

Thanks! I was very happy I could fit that in somewhere. Fun times!

[@robetpuchi5737]

Wouldn't using stepper motors and programming start and stop points just work better?

[@partypat2375]

Awesome! I did something like this too, except I 3d printed a wormed gear and attached it to a FS90R, and control it through a Pi Zero W. Thank you for sharing.

[@themagiceye6723]

Would love to see you sell kits for these type of projects. Great way for us to support the channel and get something in return

[@DrZzs]

Thanks! Maybe someday I'll get them together.

[@dablet]

@@DrZzs put your kids to work! time to get some ROI from them. hehe

[@DaveWard-xc7vd]

You need counterbalance springs. Which are complicated. Venetian blinds get heavier on the way up, but lighter on the way down. You can actually get by with one motor for both the tilting and lifting, but it can shorten the life of your lifting lines due to ware from the lines rubbing.

[@digiblurDIY]

Great video! Definitely want to do part of this on 2 of my blinds that face west. Open then slowly close as it gets closer to sunset. I can probably run cat5 and get away with it given we rarely pull them up.

[@bryanhickman7663]

I live in a climate where the heat varies greatly. Too hot in the summer, cold in the winter. I was thinking that I've seen so many people that monitor sunlight over the years. But in this case, one would want to monitor the amount of sunlight in the room as well as sunrise / sunset, temperature, and set a temperature range and/or Heating/Cooling mode to use the blinds to maximize light, and passive heating and cooling of the room that they are in. Sensor could be anywhere in the room that would tell the blinds what to do. Each blind being programmable to the most critical mode.... for instance ambient light from the north, while limiting the South, East and West exposures for Heat/Cool.

[@DrZzs]

There are extra pins on the D1mini that we could use for a light sensor. It has to be on the one and only analog capable pin though.

[@bryanhickman7663]

@@DrZzs I was thinking "something for The Hook Up to do," then you did a bit of a more comprehensive approach. :-)

[@digiblurDIY]

@@DrZzs as long as there are two open it's a job for i2c sensors, easy to throw on a LUX sensor, temp/humidity, etc on the 2 pins.

[@digiblurDIY]

@@bryanhickman7663 great idea on the temperature thing. Would be easy to adapt to your needs. That's the whole fun of doing these projects...adapting them to your needs then sharing back with the community and possibly inspiring someone else with a different set of ideas which starts the process all over. Keeps the innovation "train" going.

[@samellagreen1059]

Yes make it available. Thank you

[@TheHookUp]

I guess opening your blinds up to a beautiful mountain vs a McDonald's has a lot of influence on whether you want to roll them up vs just tilt them, who knew? Lol.

[@bryanhickman7663]

Rob, check out my comments under DigiblurDIYs post above... You still have a chance to blow all away. :-)

[@TheHookUp]

@@bryanhickman7663 That part is all just automating, I could actually already do that since I have a temp and lux sensor in the bedroom already. A few minutes in node-red and you'd be all set.

[@DrZzs]

So true Rob! I'm not just letting in the light :) Do you have a view of a McDonald's from your house? That would be dangerous for my teenagers.

[@TheHookUp]

Not from downstairs, but we have a glorious view of the arches from our bedroom.

[@MarkSnop]

all I need to do is tilt my blinds unfortunately I think they’re too heavy to be lifting up and down the whole thing. I saw one of your other videos where you were having trouble with the servo motor for the tilt. Is this video good to go so I could follow the directions on here to try to make my blinds just simply tilt, or do I need to do something different?

[@linsaywang396]

Waiting for the kit

[@kylegurney8610]

Is there a version 2 of this?

[@EpicLPer]

I'd love to see a video where one takes at least 2 Philips Hue motion sensors and 2 Hue lamps and controls them via Home Assistant if movement is detected. Thing is I have a long hallway here with 2 lamps and sensors at each side, one end has windows but the other one doesn't. Problem now is that both lamps always turn on despite there being enough light on the other end of the hallway. I'd love to be able to detect how bright it is with one sensor and if it's bright enough it should only trigger one lamp but not the other.

[@DrZzs]

That's an interesting idea. Do you have light sensors? I can think of a way to do it if you have light sensors at each end of the hallway. We could use the light level as a condition in the automation. If the light is above X then that light doesn't turn on. It would mean separate automations for each bulb, but that's not a problem. I'm thinking I'll add a light sensor to v2 of these blinds too. That might help you get what you're looking for.

[@EpicLPer]

DrZzs The Hue motion sensors are actually awesome in that regard and have a Lightsensor, obviously the motion sensor and even a temperature sensor in them so yup :) I'm also on both HASS Discord servers, the official one and the Community Addon one if you're there too. Same username.

[@sanjayjagani2241]

I like this project for my home. Will try to get everything and start working on it. I have a question - can i use smartthings to control rather then home assistant? Can i add light sensor to control tilt automaticlly? Can I put five blinds power supply in a series or parellel ? Please give me input on this. Never have i done this automation. Only thing I have so far is Remote controlled Custom Projector mount from scratch.

[@ishmaelchibvuri]

DrZzs at it again. I enjoy how u explain

[@DrZzs]

Thank you! I explain things the way I understand them. Might not always be 100% accurate, but usually I can get the major concepts right.

[@MarkSnop]

I saw another video you had where you were having trouble with the servo motor not working properly. Does this video come after the other one like have you fixed the problem in this video or should I try to find another video? All I want to do is tilt, the blinds.

[@vCloudInfo]

@Drzzs Summer Job Idea for the Older kids : Open up Business where people send in their blinds + Cash and the kids retro fit the blinds and send back. :) Great Video as usual Doc!

[@DrZzs]

Genius!

[@chriswisselo4329]

Blinds v2.1 idea: Make sure the blinds are horizontal before opening/ closing... Just an extra safety feature to prevent any harm. You could use a state parameter to return back to that state after the movement has stopped? Thanks Dr Zzs!

[@DrZzs]

That would be cool. Thanks!

[@kremicfein]

Your Hair really gets swirling around by the fan at the end of the video 🌪

[@randyclark583]

OMHG!! I've been trying to do this for months and getting no where with it. I would like to buy a board already programmed to run. I have the motors and such already in the blinds and I only want to tilt them open and close no raising or lowering them. Can you make a flash a esp8266 board to run this and I will pay you for it?

[@andrewlhoover]

Seems like the metal box that the blinds are in would make a Faraday Cage. How's your signal strength on your D1?

[@RobNisters]

That's exactly what I was thinking, but it"s not a Faraday Cage if the top is open. is it? I was thinking of getting an external antenna connector for the D1, have the antenna stick out of the metal rails, and drill a hole in the drywall recess for it. www.aliexpress.com/item/1PCS-D1-mini-Pro-16M-bytes-external-antenna-connector-ESP8266-WIFI-Free-antenna/32811458041.html But because I have to connect wires for the PSU, buttons and endstops, to the blinds, through the drywall. I thought I'd just stick the D1 mini inside the drywall so it gains signal strength without much fuss.

[@andrewlhoover]

@@RobNisters no, not entirely a cage but the signal must come and go through the top (line of sight pointing up) which would likely seriously degrade the signal. Unless the router was on the floor above the blind, it would have to entirely rely on signal reflection.

[@bryanhickman7663]

Where the wifi gets through becomes a wave guide? ;-)

[@nodustechnologies3989]

using the same board and its chinese brethren in all kinds of metal enclosures around the house and also don't have a problem. they do not seem to be any slower than the others. the d1 mini outputs quite some power - in the house i think i'll be fine, outside maybe not.

[@MoAnwar]

This is amazing! Would it be possible to do a video of only the tilt function in can someone didn't need the full roll up or down?

[@DrZzs]

check out TheHookUp's channel. He did a really good video on just doing the tilting.

[@kotgc7987]

Love the automation, however I'm amazed at habitual behaviour of homo sapiens. I used to have horizontal blinds, but they tangle and need dusting. The move to vertical blinds makes life so much simpler with no dusting needed and much less tangling, if any.

[@ronsum232]

Window blind's cords are a serious risk to toddlers. I'd post a link, but a quick Google search should suffice. This of course is just another great reason to do the upgrade.

[@DrZzs]

Good point!

[@404-UsernameNotFound]

0:54 Woah... Is that AF Canyon?

[@dcregistered]

Cool video! Any thoughts on how to do plantation shutters?

[@DrZzs]

Thanks how do they work? I'd bet it would be a similar solution. D1mini + L298N controller + Geared Motor.

[@Ed19601]

Great video. I got that same motor but at 5rpm. Great torque

[@drewmassiha65]

is there a way to turn the slider to a dummy switch? just to have a full open tilt and full close option to add to homekit

[@MrMduzee]

We still need you within the Community. Don't die please !!

[@DrZzs]

ha! Thanks. I will try not to :)

[@madrian_hello]

LOL. 😀

[@randomicon918]

“This is my actual view” Me: “Gorgeous mountains and the Latter-Day Saint church across the way. Hey! You’re in Utah, too!” 🤣🤣

[@smarterthanyou9090]

I wonder if you could run the string through a small pulley in order to multiply the torque. In that case you could likely use the higher RPM motor for faster speed but with the pulleys' effect it would even be easier on the motor. What do you think? SUBSCRIBED

[@lottelt]

Hi, is there a easy way (maybe written down or in a video) for only tilting?

[@johnwalker3180]

Is there any way to retain a manual option for this? My SO isn't keen on software/voice as only method to control stuff around the house? Maybe some kind of pull chain wired to a GPIO pin? Not sure where to start.....

[@almcpherson233]

Would you share the code for esp device, found the Yamamoto but how to program esp. thanks, al. Great job!

[@kennygordacki1461]

I would be interested in a kit.

[@rickz6006]

Seeing many examples of smoke being released on different home automation videos I have to ask, are there no current limiting power supplies available. All the ones I used for many years at work had built in crowbar circuits to disable the power in the case of overcurrent. Not sure I want to take a chance of buring down my house because a blinds up switch failed or something jammed the blind. Thanks for the videos.

[@DrZzs]

To be truthful, the d1mini I burned up in this video I did on purpose during one of the live streams. It was already broken so I connected the 3v pin to 12v just to see what would happen. These little boards have tiny tracings or components that will effectively act like a fuse. That d1mini stopped smoking after a few seconds because one of the tracings burned away like a fuse would have. The current needed to blow one of these control boards is really low. The gpio pins are only rated for like 12mA on each GPIO pin. Even that motor controller is rated for 2 amp max. I suppose you could put a fuse there if you wanted to protect the motor controller. I don't think it would be enough of a flame up to start a fire and burn your house down. Maybe I should fry one and see what really happens. That would be educational.

[@rickz6006]

Thanks for the follow up, recently started down the road of home automation after a career of industrial automation. I am amazed at the low cost of many of the components compared to the stuff I am used to working with, but then most of the industrial gear just released smoke and seldom flared up like I have seen in a few videos now. I will have fun experimenting. Cheers!

[@leblancexplores]

Any reason you didn’t end up using a stepper instead of the stepper or dc motor?

[@bryanhickman7663]

Dr.: One might be able to use something as simple as a drinking straw (may need to flare the ends with some heat) or the like as a guide for the draw strings in those tight areas.

[@DrZzs]

Good idea! Simple is best

[@tomwilliam5118]

That's great gives me plenty of ideas. You could have used some flexible tubing to run the pull string through so it doesn't catch on any of the electronics or rubs on any of the metal parts. I'm trying to come up with a good way to automate my patio door so I can open it for the dogs and close it when I'm not home. I'm thinking about using an RFID tag on the dogs to tell when they're outside or in so I don't accidentally lock them out. patios on the third floor so I don't think I have a problem with them wandering off. if anybody has any ideas how to motorize an outside door inexpensively let me know thanks

[@DrZzs]

Thanks! Is it a sliding door? I saw someone use a linear actuator to open/close a sliding door for pet entry. I'm planning to use one to open/close a window in the very near future. Stay tuned for a video.

[@ZorikBedrosian]

Grate video. I like your project. I was thinking how about use two 24rpm motors, each can carry 4.2kg cm to distribute weight, where as your 10rpm have torque of 8.5kg cm but all the weight is on one side. Also can you tell me what 3D printer you are using and what software use to design the parts?

[@jothain]

Cool. I've been tempted to try something like this controlled by light sensor and Arduino.

[@DrZzs]

There's an extra pin for a light sensor on the D1mini! It has to be the Analog pin (and there's only one on the D1mini). I'll include that in v2 :)

[@truetech4158]

Using a pressured wheel at the motor point with a spring, would be alot like how the filament feeds into your 3d printer. Another option that comes to mind would be to replace the string, with chaindrives, or go with white neoprene belts coupled to the motors. That would allow for more exact control, and of course, it could all be done with stepper motors, hooked up to play midi files for the concert effect. Rolling computer desk with motors like that drummer used. The drywall could also be designed to move with motors slightly to the music. Everything in the room parks itself in the walls like a swiss army knife, and the pool table appears from the floor, and the office/pool parlour/concert holodeck door is that of star trek, also with full automation. Sorry, haha, got carried away.

[@DrZzs]

I love it! MrsZzs said I can do whatever I want in my office... Dancing Drywall sounds like a great next project!

[@RobNisters]

You forgot the magnetically levitating, vibrating and rotating bed kzbin.info/www/bejne/npisZp2JeJiBrbs

[@patsjoholm]

Brilliant! This has been a project I was supposed to already have completed a year ago. I went the route of trying to build a tilt mechanism only using battery operation, but I gave up on it after a while. It's doable, but I didn't have a 3D printer back then. This has sparked my interest to get back into building this and I might just use your design, without the lift portion, and only do the servo. I should be able to get away with just the power brick, a D1, and the servo, right? and maybe momentary switch to open close at the blind... Was also just thinking. If you have, let's say, 5 blinds next to each other. You could use only 1 D1Mini to control all 5 blinds. The D1 mini shouldn't use more than .5 amps, each servo about 2-3 amps (guessing), so getting a 10amp 12 volt power supply should also suffice for all 5 blinds. Again, talking just tilt. Might still need a separate buck converter at each blind. But, cutting the D1 mini down to one and the PSU down to one, would give nice price drop to do all 5 blinds.

[@DrZzs]

You could use 5v from a power supply for the servos without the buck converter. If all you're doing is tilt you can do everything with just 5v. using 1 d1mini for 5 blinds may run out of gpio pins if you put an endstop switch on each one. You can probably get 11 devices connected so 5 servos, 5 endstop switches and one button. You'll need to use GPIO-0 and Rx/Tx, so you'd have to make sure those aren't grounded when the board restarts. Should be possible though.

[@mdgrown9739]

Any advice for a bay window with 5 blinds? Can I use an Arduino to connect all of them instead of doing it individually

[@greg778123]

A back window wiper motor would be a lot stronger. I think I’ve seen some small ones in a ford car

[@twychopen22]

Are you able to use voice activation to control it?

[@joesilverstein9402]

You can use Rhasspy with Home Assistant to do that: dev.to/jeikabu/home-assistant-voice-recognition-with-rhasspy-1jb2

[@explosiveenterprises1479]

Any options for plantation shutters?

[@DrZzs]

hmmm. I'm not familiar with those? Show me what they look like and I'll think about how we could make this work with them.

[@explosiveenterprises1479]

@@DrZzs s7d9.scene7.com/is/image/JCPenney/DP0125201804155676M?resmode=sharp2&op_sharpen=1&wid=550&hei=550

[@keblee2443]

I'm currently working on "the hook up"s project of automating blinds. Its just for tilting (so far) but... even with his modifications of a step motor it still wont close the blinds all the way shut. It needs more torque for that last little bit. But here's the thing... I was thinking, when I pull the strings I don't need to put in so much effort to close and hold the blinds shut so why does my motor need to be so strong? Well... in all the designs I have seen INCLUDING this one, everyone seems determined to connect the motor directly to the rod. Well... I busted up the little pulley device that tilted my blinds to see how it did it and all it is, is a simple worm gear system. So I thought again, why don't I just replicate this? Instead of connecting the step motor to the rod itself, I put a worm gear on it, which rotates the above gear that turns the rod. It will go much slower and the step motor will have to rotate much more to get there... but this makes much more sense. It's like when you're riding a bike and you shift down to a lower gear to go up hill because you don't have the strength to push the pedals... So when you do you wind up pedaling much more, but with less resistance... and it gets you uphill. I just decided to change up the project to do it this way last night, so I have only designed the gears, I need to redesign the assembly that holds everything still which is basically taking me back to square one on the cad drawings... but I should find out soon if my idea is sound. After I'm done with that and I have seen how that works, I will look into raising and lowering the blinds as well... that may wind up being a bit more complicated but....... I might be able to figure something out.

[@francisudeh1393]

How did it go?

[@pargoff]

so this will not work for cellular blinds?

[@DrZzs]

I'm not sure. I'd expect you'd need to make some modifications. The mechanism for getting the motor to spin in either direction, and the integration into HA would be the same or very similar. Connecting the motor to the blinds would be the part you'll have to figure out. I don't have blinds like that so I can't say much about how they might connect to the motor. Let me know if you get it working. Good Luck!

[@coolguymatt]

I followed this with cellular blinds. The motor is outside as there wasn’t any space, but i was able to turn the blind around so the pull chord hole was facing the window, and you can’t see any of the gear. I skipped the servo setup as it wasn’t needed. Let me know if a picture would be helpful or any of the wiring.

[@pargoff]

@@coolguymatt pictures and a diagram would be great?

[@AngryBugsBunny]

Hey, can you share again the 3D parts link ? The existing one is not working :(

[@DrZzs]

That's odd. here it is: www.thingiverse.com/thing:3570840

[@sewashburn0529]

So is automating and motorizing blinds the fact that it NEDS to be done or that it CAN be done (and the fun of doing it)?

[@DrZzs]

I certainly doesn't need to be done in every situation. We have lots of blinds that we never open. But we have a couple windows that we open and close several times a day. For those it's a "need" :)

[@rio9999]

I'd be down for a kit. Don't have the free time like i used to these days.

[@rio9999]

But, maybe with an option to just do the tilting. The raise and lower is actually not important to me personally.

[@blindman9600]

Drzzz will this work since all big box store blinds will soon be cordless?

[@DrZzs]

I don't know exactly. I'll have to see what the mechanism looks like on these new cordless blinds. I'm sure we can find a way to motorize them :)

[@blindman9600]

@@DrZzs Yea thanks to the almighty government and them knowing how to run our lives better than us they all have to be cordless. I am in the commercial end of the blind ad shade business and when we sell a large job it has to be stated in the contract that they assume all liability if corded. It has left many people in this business with obsolete stock.

[@InfineDrift]

When are you gonna make a automated roller blinds configuration?. Been searching for something like that for ages, but having trouble finding it. Your work is amazing though.

[@DrZzs]

I don't have any roller blinds. I would expect they would work like my shades, with one motor that moves in different directions with the polarity is reversed. What blinds do you have? i'll look at them and see what I think might work.

[@InfineDrift]

@@DrZzs I got something similar like this. 5.imimg.com/data5/BC/HS/MY-28784807/roller-blinds-500x500.jpg. I tried using only one motor in your configuration with a H bridge, but couldn't get it working. I can print some parts to make it working on my existing blinds, like a motor mount and gear that connects in the beads for the drive. So that wouldn't be the problem. The problem itself lays with the configuration which is giving me problems

[@antoanyanev]

You could've easily made it work with one of the faster motors if you had used a better speed controller. The L298N is an ancient and low-power solution. When used with such a big motor, the big voltage drop accross the driver allows the motor to work at about 10 volts and thus, the current is smaller than what it's supposed to. In conclusion, you're only utilizing about a third of your motor's power and converting the remaining 2/3 into heat, lots of heat. The solution - buy a cheap hobby ESC from ebay or one of them chinese H-bridges rated at 50 amps or so. Regardless, great work!

[@DrZzs]

oh cool! I didn't know that. I'll look for another driver. Thanks!

[@DrZzs]

Could you share a link to something that would be better? I just keep getting the l298n's

[@antoanyanev]

@@DrZzs A simple Hobbyking ESC would do the job just fine. I built a battlebot with a similar one. Here's a link: hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-x-car-45a-brushed-car-esc.html Keep in mind that there are numerous sellers selling the same product under different names but they are all relatively cheap. Another option which can also be used in high current application is the BTS7960 Motor Driver. I know that is available on AliExpress but I couldn't really find it. Usually voltage ratings for ESCs are given in number of cells (Ni-Mh or Li-Po) while there is a specified voltage range for H- bridges. That's why I'd suggest you to go with the BTS7960, since I'm not 100% sure that Hobby ESCs can operate on voltages generated by standalone power supplies. The only downside both controllers posses is their rather chunky heatsink. I still think that there are some smaller form factor ESCs but if you fail to find some I'd suggest removing the heatsink for the BTS7960. There's a pretty big chance the current draw will not be high enough to build up any alarming heat. Anyways, thanks for the response and feel free to ask if you have any more questions!

[@coolguymatt]

Would this project work with a nodemcu or it needs the 5v pins?

[@DrZzs]

It would work with NodeMCU. The NodeMCU can take 5v input too. Some can take higher, even up to 12v.

[@coolguymatt]

@@DrZzs It worked great! The channel at the top of my blind wasn't big enough to house the gear, so I have it outside the blind, but I have it fairly well hidden so the WAF is high

[@davidbeiler6364]

is it noisy at all?

[@md.mottahiralam2470]

Please provide the circuit diagram. Thanks in advance.

[@larryc5226]

Drzzs Great work, can you share, your config for that d1 mini? Please? All i see are the yaml files....

[@supperka2]

@Drzzs Great work, can you share, your config for that d1 mini? Please?

[@DrZzs]

I'm an idiot. I somehow missed posting the gist in the description: gist.github.com/Snipercaine/7ef43369de1accfa861b765bb1b3319c

[@karecar12345]

Id be very interested to buy some kits if you do sell them plz send me link!!!

[@donnyf12]

Great video. Here's something totally unrelated: What video editing software do you use for your videos? They are TOP notch. I mean the transitions, shadows, everything. Really really nice!

[@DrZzs]

Thank you! I really appreciate hearing that. I put a lot of time into these. I use Final Cut Pro on a macbook.

[@donnyf12]

@@DrZzs Thanks for the info. Yes, the time you put in is definitely noticeable!

[@milokur]

why you didn't try to put two 45 rpm one on each side of rod.. You will get double strength

[@RobNisters]

Good idea, I got 2 10 rpm motors, but I wonder if one will lift my heavy wooden Luxaflex 2 X 1,5 meter blinds. It might be difficult to fit them inside the rails. I could have a part of the 2nd motor stick out, nobody will see that, anyway, and I could put the D1 mini in that bulge too, so the wifi signal isn't obstructed by the metal of the rails

[@sonicjon9993]

Dude you live in utah?

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

You & Rob competing? 😂 I'd need 4x the motor power for the livingroom. About 6ft wide & afraid I'll pull it down any time I try to lift it.

[@DrZzs]

Complementing, not competing. He's got a better way of doing the tilting for sure. I expect he could come up with a better way to do the lifting too if he wanted to. I put a link to his video at the end. He's a genius!

[@TheHookUp]

Yeah, the nice part about KZbin is that there's not much competing that needs to happen. If our average subscriber is anything like me they are not thinking "Okay, I've got 15 minutes set aside to watch youtube this week, better choose my videos carefully". Last night I watched like 2 hours of videos from a guy who makes depression era beverages... no regrets.

[@ronsum232]

I suspect these guys share a lot of subscribers.

[@jeffkeowns5476]

Yes, please sell the kits

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

Oh, it's pricey, but geared steppers have some torque to them.

[@korygollan]

Go Blue!!

[@localbroadcast]

i really don't see the need to make design concessions for making the thing revertable back to 'caveman control' if desig z uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinhb nk bin timel g]

[@DrZzs]

ya. good point.

[@patrickdoyle1832]

Would it be possible to post the STL files for the 3d printed parts somewhere? I can't figure out how to export from Onshape without creating an account.

[@DrZzs]

Yes sorry. I should have done that already - www.thingiverse.com/thing:3570840 and I fixed the links to OnShape. I didn't see the little box that lets people export parts. You can do that now too if you want.

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

Towards the end I'm thinking... It's like a garage door opener.

[@dablet]

yes, please have a DIY kit ready so we can just buy from you with all the parts necessary. no need to shop from multiple vendors just to do 1 blind.

[@DrZzs]

I'll work on it. Thanks!

[@salim.studio]

Amazing

[@DrZzs]

Yo brother!

[@garrox84]

I like the project. But it's not super cheap compared to a ready buyable solution when u take in mind that you get alot of comfort (speed) from those. I also think u are gonna frustate to death when u can't stop watching the blinds lift up while working and it takes forever. at that point u are not using you arms, but the blinds keep you from using your head either hahaha

[@DrZzs]

They are slow, I can't debate that. I don't know of any ready buyable solution for these kinds of blinds. I looked for blinds like these that are motorized with wifi control, and they start at hundreds of dollars, (I showed a screen shot at the beginning of the video) so I'd say this is a pretty cheap solution compared to that. There are simple motors available for the roller shades, but not these horizontal blinds. If you know of something, I'd love to see it.

[@garrox84]

@@DrZzs you came alot further than i would have time for in the coming yrs. but ive seen (and you also said it) that the blinds go easier down than up.. they dont have to lift weight going down. maybe its possible to let them lift some iron weight while going down. that way the weight works for you when lifting up. and maybe then the faster motor is possible..?

[@timderks5960]

Oh crap, he's not just a floating head :O

[@DrZzs]

Ahhhh! He's got legs! :)

[@timderks5960]

Legs, arms, a torso, I'm freaking out here! In all seriousness, you could probably do without any endstop for the downwards run. If you time it, it should be pretty consistent for lowering the blinds. Even if it overshoots a bit, that's not too bad, since it will just start raising the blinds again, and eventually hit the endstop on top. Even if the blinds currently don't know where they are, after a reboot or something, they could just go up completely, and have their zero position again.

[@DrZzs]

Very true. I decide to use the physical button and I’m glad I did. It works really well. I put it under my desk so I just press the button and control the blinds from my seat.

[@timderks5960]

Fair enough. Also a good way to stop it half way, if you ever would so desire.

[@Grandwizardx]

Goooo blueeeeee!!!!

[@ashleyzumstein4927]

Lich King background! Sorry got distracted :)

[@DrZzs]

There must always be a Lick King

[@ashleyzumstein4927]

@@DrZzs mine are sylvanas, totally understand :)

[@Dew_-km7gr]

Wow how lazy has the human become to find hard to just a simple task as opening a window wow