Homemade Cat Feeder - 3D Printed & Arduino Control

[@ELECTRONOOBS]

Arduino Course LEVEL 2 (Spanish): bit.ly/2ZNWgqy Follow me on FACEBOOK for more: facebook.com/Electronoobs Help me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/ELECTRONOOBS

[@ressamendy]

Congratulations. I have reviewed many cat feeders. I have never seen such a beautiful project before. Especially making the physical parts or finding the parts was a big problem. Here, this problem is solved with 3d printing. Thanks.

[@Lucho24cr]

Nice project! Thanks again. i'll suggest adding a side container for the silica gel packet. If that bag breaks you'll feed silica to your cat.

[@alexbries1582]

poke holes in the top

[@kevinbissinger]

They generally won't eat anything they don't already absolutely love and even then sometimes they just change their mind and won't even eat the same food you've bought them for years. Hiiiiiiiighly doubt they'll touch the silica gel. Still not worth the risk but it's definitely very low risk

[@peterknoll8906]

Genius 🌻 What a clever engineering. On my system I chose a other type of feeding system: one main container, a secondary container which is connected to a weight sensor. That uses much more space! I didn't have it on battery power, and I add to your statement: "Cables are never a good idea, when cats are around" 😅 Not sure yet, if the cable is the problem or the cat ❤😺😂 Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I've just found your channel! This is real advanced engineering! I can learn a lot from your videos! Brilliant work! 🍀

[@PedroFNMartins]

Nice project! Btw you don't need to hack an servo for a 360 rotation, you can just buy the MG996R servo that has the same price as MG995.

[@desmond856]

What if i use MG90S motor is it okay?

[@PedroFNMartins]

@@desmond856 not sure if that one has enough torque. And that servo only does 180° rotation, you will have to hack it too

[@desmond856]

@@PedroFNMartins Mine actually rotate 360 without hack

[@desmond856]

@@PedroFNMartins and it's about 1.8 kg of torque.

[@santopino2546]

Good job, I would suggest you cut the 3mm rod to size, it wouldn't be nice having a one eyed cat.

[@ELECTRONOOBS]

True. I've already did that but is after I've recorded the video. HAHAHA that rod is dangerous.

[@NiHaoMike64]

If a cat is stupid enough to poke out its own eye on a stationary rod, it probably would have already done so on a fallen twig outdoors.

[@julianjaimes197]

@@NiHaoMike64 the rod spins at random times throughout the day, could be some bad timing

[@desmond856]

​​@@ELECTRONOOBS Hi. May I know how long the 3M threaded rod is needed in this project ? and I also need to know what type of bearing are you using

[@shashankks1962]

He literally uploads the exact same project idea I usually have. Crazy. First the SMD Hotplate, now this. Great job mate!

[@no1slisteninganyway]

Nice. I like this idea a lot. The only changes I'd make are to hide the stepper motor wires from curious paws and alternate the rotation of the feeder paddle to clear any potential clogs.

[@tcrenegade]

This is by far my favorite project you have ever done and I don't have a cat

[@easternpa2]

Absolutely cool. I have three commercial feeders now and their clocks are terrible. They vary by seconds each day. My DIY replacement plan is to skip the Arduino, though, and go with Shelly modules. Then, I can use HomeAssistant or Alexa to schedule the feedings.

[@alkmdomeke8704]

I’m building a similar project with some 3d printed parts but i have hygiene concerns about it. Some filaments like PLA themselves are organic but the small crevices on the part might cause bacteria buildup in time, so you have to apply coating for it to be foodsafe. You might want to consider applying coating for your kitties’ health!

[@julianjaimes197]

What type of coating should you apply if you want it to be food safe?

[@jenuvian2880]

@@julianjaimes197 ^

[@desmond856]

just wrap with food grade plastic on it or sanitise it with a layer of pure alcohol.

[@TheAoab50]

Electronoobs always have useful and fun projects, thank you

[@makkam7575]

An esp8266 would be a great addition to this amazing project

[@kerplunkboydotNET]

Another cool use: A group of those to prepare dosage for hydroponics nutrient slur. They are dosed and fall into a pre-mixing container. Mixed for X seconds to guarantee total dilution and then this pre-mixer just open to the min mixer where all parts will be combined. The big conainer should also have a mixer for extra dilution. Then after X seconds, it is sent to the plants. A task that will take a farmer a couple hours, done automatically.

[@DanieleCappelletti]

Another awesome project! Keep the good work!

[@HvdHaghen]

I was thinking about making a cat candy dispenser to give my tomcat his reward every time he sprays in the tiled bathroom. He loves to go spraying together with me in the bathroom, but when I'm not at home he does his biological duties in a less rewarding way on places where it is more difficult to clean. I already bought an amonia detector module. I think I can modify your design for this special use. Thanks!

[@PhG1961]

Nice video. Of course we all prefer the DIY approach !

[@arifqurbanov2159]

thank you man for all the great videos i have learn so much from you. Loves from Azerbaijan

[@fprocyon1]

Hi i am in the process to finish this great project, I only suggest the use of servo.detach() in the code to remove the jitter due that is very annoying, also i recommend to print the blades in PETG, it helps a lot..

[@anisia9358]

how did it turn out? because i read some comments telling it didnt turn out so good..

[@Alchimystic]

The part list recommends a DC 12v adapter, and a buck converter to lower it to 5v. Why not to use a DV 5v adapter, supressing the need of a buck converter? Is it equivalent? Any disadvantages? Thank you

[@electronic7979]

Excellent project 👍

[@BilalKZKVCTR]

Güzel proje. Gerçekten işe yarar bir çalışma olmuş.

[@KK-fh1ds]

Amazing project and awesome production

[@hicham_ben_omar]

Merci beaucoup pour votre sympathique création, c'est très intéressant bon courage 😀

[@paryzfilip]

Awesome video, great quality and interesting project! Also... Those cats

[@RequiemForABuckeye]

Those cats are adorable

[@RogerTannous]

Nice, your cats are lucky to have you care so much about them 😃 Maybe also you can make it play miaw sounds when food is to be served, to call the cats for meal time 🤣

[@ShahZahid]

it would be a good idea to add an esp32 cam so that u can check on the feeder and the cats remotely

[@andreamitchell4758]

esp32 cam is not even worth it they have blink mini on sale right now for $10 it's just not worth the price with consumer electronics being so cheap thee days better of with a wyze v2 or blink mini

[@desmond856]

Is it possible to add online control buttons by replacing the nano with esp8266 via Internet and Blynk ?

[@analuiza2677]

I was looking for something like that with an arduino, thanks :D

[@izama.m4063]

Keep up a good job bro.... love your idea and what u did...

[@gabiruman]

Very cool project! I've thought about getting myself some feeders as well, but never got to do so because I can't control the portions each cat gets to eat, even more so with only one bowl. Do your cats share the food evenly? How would you control this? I've seen feeders that only dispense food / open if they read a certain tag from the cat, that way the same cat could not trigger it multiple times in a row, it's not 100% fail proof, but it would be a nice and challenging adition to this project.

[@gioraver]

tu gato negro esta bien chulo . Que buen proyecto para consentir a nuestras mascotas

[@SalihArtAndTech]

Excellent Video and interesting project! 👍👍👍

[@VDC48]

Thank you for sharing the project...😊👍👍👍

[@oshao2382]

This is very useful indeed. Thanks for sharing!

[@ivovass195]

A very useful project indeed. Thanks

[@AdemOmerovicBA]

Great job. I was thinking of doing the same for my 😺.

[@kennethquiroschaves209]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing.

[@ImperiumSerama]

How many servo motors can be controlled by a single arduino? I want to build something similar for rabbit cages. A main feed tube along the vertically stacked cages, individual short tubes stemming off the main tube will supply food to each cage. There will need to be servos and food dividers in each short tube.

[@desmond856]

Anyone know what type of ball bearing he used ? he didn't mention it

[@GambiarraOnline]

Thanks for sharing, its great project

[@mhammn]

Hola Electronoobs! Me encantan tus proyectos Tengo una sugerencia para ti Un limpiador ultrasónico DIY! Gracias!

[@ChrisHalden007]

Cool project. Thanks

[@danobione]

Thanks for the tutorial! This is a brilliant mechanism! I want to make a feeder for two cats, so I need to change the 3D model. In which program is the best to do this? Tell me please. Thanks in advance!

[@aminabudahab]

I have both a dog and two cats. I wanted to build 2 dispensers because the food is different and my dog would eat the cats' food. So I need to add like a door on the cat's dispenser so that it can only open for the cats to get to the food. I thought of putting some sort of metal on the cat's collar and make something like a metal detector but I couldn't figure it out

[@AJayTheStageArtist]

Cute cat 😍😍

[@vishwarajgatkul9517]

For automatic water dispenser u can use solenoid vale

[@Hotcubcar]

I made one a while back using a stepper motor and a screw auger instead of a paddle wheel. Also recently added a battery backup so it can run even if the power goes out. I've been thinking of adding some way to detect the food level and remind me when it's low. No solid ideas yet other than counting the used portions and estimating.

[@cedricpereira72]

Hello, maybe an infrared emitter and infrared sensors at different heights could do the job.

[@santopino2546]

Isn't there a risk that humans become useless and the cat treats this machine as their personal slave?

[@desmond856]

Hey! May I know how you add a battery for backup use ? I also want to add a battery to my project as back up power supply. How you do it , can share the video link ?

[@RESO_44]

Couldn't you use a stepper motor? More torque and more controolability on movenents

[@EasyOne]

Good job

[@Drxxx]

great project!

[@מאורלוי-ד1ח]

first, thanks for sharing i have a question, is it ok to connect the servo motor only to the arduino and set delay bitween the feeding times without the clock?, only with the "delay" code.

[@yarch4e227]

Hello, first you should avoid using delay, use millis for delays etc. Second delay is inaccurate on such ling periods of time, so rather not use it.

[@desmond856]

It is not recommended to use delay ms to keep track of the feeding time. It's not accurate and not precise to count time specifically for hour units , it would get bugged by time. 2nd is because if we use delay function, it wouldn't save the time if there's an electricity shut down. once electricity came back, your cat feeder wouldn't continue to run the schedule.

[@pablovicentico]

Brilliant! I would make the ramp shorter or else is a bit in the way of the cats when they it.

[@keli5308]

Hi welldone and very educational videos

[@rinokentie8653]

Great idea!

[@zero2583]

Shouldn't take long for the food to jam the wheel. Tried the same style feed wheel with 3, 4, 5, and 6 blades with different types of funnel positions to no avail, it will jam eventually. Even sounds like you can hear it fighting some kibble in the video.

[@yarch4e227]

Is there any good solution?

[@zero2583]

@yarch4e227 I ended up designing my own castle cat feeder that uses a horizontal auger feed screw.

[@yarch4e227]

@@zero2583 thanks, I also thought of that. Now I am redesigning.

[@desmond856]

Would auger screw mechanism cause food jam?

[@zagranichnaja_zhizn]

thank you very much!

[@sebastiancaioni7518]

En español por favoooorrrr.... Muy buen proyecto.saludos👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🤣🙋🏽‍♂️

[@stoffel89]

What books and recources do you recommend to get started with electronics? The math issue is not a problem.

[@stoffel89]

And also resources/ books to arduino coding

[@anisia9358]

Is there a way in which you can select the grams of food that you want to dispense?

[@mibrahim4245]

As usual, a very nice project ... adding nodemcu to make an IoT device would be another nice addition .. but, is there another way for the rotating mechanism without the rod going out the chassis .. Thanks

[@gabiruman]

you can cut the rod the length you want and then put a cover on the end ( with enough space to let it rotate freely).

[@desmond856]

​@@gabirumanwhat cover we should put after cutting the rod. Do you have the specific name of that cover ?

[@giuseppezerbo2459]

hi when I compile the arduino IDE firmware it gives me the following error on line 11 DS3231 rtc(SDA, SCL); Firmware:11:21: error: no matching function for call to 'DS3231::DS3231(const uint8_t&, const uint8_t&)' DS3231 rtc(SDA, SCL);Thank you

[@Ans_is42]

thanks a lot, you the best

[@vutran5739]

Your video is so good but what if you make a PCB for your project instead of a bunch of wires :D

[@dennisdecoene]

A hopper level sensor and mqtt status reports are the only things I would add

[@Istoryahetvvlogs]

excellent... 👍👍👍

[@patrickmaartense7772]

was the pla catfood safe ? :) q: what not an esp32, can use wifi for clock, and configure and setup from from phone

[@PêcheOuCapot]

I'll try to make this and it's catastrophic, blade touch kittle funnel, nuts return deep in blade, i'ved to cut the blade. Servo motor forcing and damaged internal gear. I'm sad of the issue.

[@TopTalentVoices]

It's very good

[@jp040759]

OOOOHH!!!!! I thought it was a device to feed a cat to another preditor.

[@rubenrodenascebrian3855]

voy hacer este comedero para los gatos avandonados de mi pueblo que son muchos, ¿tienes video en castellano?

[@ithaajja5724]

Hi,,,,please continue make BadAss Tank, with your 3d print remote

[@prathameshraikar5428]

🔥🔥🔥

[@andycrask3531]

But I haven't got a home made cat?

[@diykakiss6257]

Excellent work, can you make a magnetic field accept coins, for the first time I ask you something 🙏

[@DynosWoW]

Hello, in which direction should the holder be positioned to print without support?

[@Mohamed_Ali-24M]

Please tell me how I can write a code for control Esp32 bluetooth car ( Esp32 built in Bluetooth +l298 driver and 2 motors) with mobile phone

[@keli5308]

Please can you do an arduino pressure controller for gas

[@eonnieeonnie533]

if i want to 8 like this but use the sae motors can? example the 1 motor/ electrics only work for 8 dispenser @ 8 in 1

[@eonnieeonnie533]

do i need to upgrade anything?

[@AndrewAHayes]

I would have to enclose the motor cable and make it battery powered as my kitty would definitely start playing with anything that resembles string!

[@renzodaal7445]

Hi, nice project. For me the cat food still gets stuck even with that extra blocker part. Any ideas what I can do?

[@desmond856]

Try using smaller cat foods or replace the 3D printed blades with rubber material blades

[@phamphu7723]

Nice

[@tonyvarghese75]

Can you please make driver drowsiness detection system using raspberry pi and usb camera

[@husinz-animation]

This i am waiting, almost 2 week i make cat feeder, and always fail, cat food always stuck.

[@linasbarzdaitis8711]

Hello, how much did the whole project cost?

[@stenlya1116]

hello friends, I can't work on the coding part, it always fails, please ask for a finished one

[@gabrielkerne9175]

Why not just use a regular dc motor instead of doing that workaround for a servo motor?

[@desmond856]

Not sure which DC motor you referring to

[@your.free.electrons]

Jonny looks like Beluga for some reason :3

[@GHILLIESARCADEANDMORE]

Cool

[@tareksma1]

Can u please add esp32 and make it send email to let you know each time its triggered? So i can know that its working

[@jenuvian2880]

wouldnt 3D printing plastic be not safe for food?

[@danobione]

There are different types of plastic - harmful and safe.

[@Markus-t1w]

Pleas answer were can I buy the Buck converter

[@arthurmorgan8966]

Esp32, lifepo4. Would be amazing combo.

[@arthurmorgan8966]

I’d also put this in a room with security camera so I can remotely see how kitties are doing, if food dispenser is still working

[@MitsuZer0G]

The Russian KZbinr AlexGyver made pretty much the same project some time ago 😅 But what if your cats unplug the power? 😂

[@kusmaedimr7258]

Can You help me, I need information for bearing code

[@raba650]

I subscribed to your channel since as an aspiring full Stack Web developer I’m interested in embedded programming. Thanks!

[@COW879]

Kitty go meow!

[@zaidhashmi1055]

Sir please give link for arduino programming of Radio chat

[@SMARTGAMERZ25]

can you make a rc transmitter like radio at 10 plz

[@WD40651]

Or you could use continuous rotation servo motor