A DIY Pet Feeder based on ESP8266

[@83vasko]

Great work! Specially how you stuck to resolving the design issue so you make it work with that particular motor. I had doubt about that motor strength when you posted that project earlier, I'm glad and amazed how you make it work. Keep up a good work, I hope you have more projects like this to share.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks a lot! I spent a lot of time (and filament ) dealing with the jamming of the grains. I'm glad you noticed it :)

[@miguelavello7493]

Hello Sebastian, my name is Miguel Avello from the US I recently discovered your channel and am truly impressed by the quality and ingenuity of your projects. Your approach to electronics, especially in the way you share your knowledge, is remarkable. You not only provide videos but also share all content in a structured and clear manner, which showcases your technical skills as well as your creativity and attention to detail. The way you make complex concepts easily understandable is truly commendable. As someone who shares a passion for Smart Home Automation and DIY projects, I find your content both informative and inspiring. Your project on [specific project] particularly resonated with me, as it closely aligns with my interests in building sensors and integrating them into home automation systems. Keep up the fantastic work! Your channel is a treasure trove for anyone passionate about electronics and DIY projects. I am eagerly looking forward to your future videos! Best regards, Miguel PS: I sent you a small donation for you great work and for the way you share all your knowledge.

[@TheFeday]

Very cool, I'd love to see a addon to this project: a food bowl attachment with a lid that only opens when the right cat (RFID chip) is near. That allows cats on a diet to get their portion (or special food) and the other cat(s) to get it's own "normal" food.

[@harold5774]

Criminally underrated channel.

[@ei23de]

Super cool, as always =) Next project idea: Build an ESP Chip dispenser for makers ;-)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks! As for your idea, I love it! :) Maybe you want to cooperate with me on this project? ;)

[@ei23de]

​@@SmartSolutionsForHome Sure! There are many hungry Makers need to be fed with chips ;-)

[@mdqminer]

No se que es lo mejordel video, si el dispenser de alimento o el mate!! Saludos desde Argentina

[@Droneoflife]

Great project and nicely done.. :D About the coding part, I don't find it boring, and people can just fast forward when that parts come if they don't like it. But maybe it could help if there were some confusion on where to put code, just a thought.. :)

[@BasonTech]

Really nice project, well done! Great you took the time to write everything out and shared the source + designs 👍🏻

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I'm glad you like it :)

[@BasonTech]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome We are using the Catmate c3000 to feed our cat. One day I would like to open it up and make it connected with an ESP8266 😄

[@liamalexcolman]

Builds a highly sufficicated automatic cat feeder - uses a cardboard box as a monitor stand 😃😺 (this is not meant to be an insult) Nice project (that's what I actually came here to say)!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I wondered when someone notices it 😃 This cardboard is my "temporary" solution, which I've been using for about 3 years now 😃

[@jarenhudson9794]

Beautiful printed circuit assembly sir!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks!

[@kherhitesh]

Great video, Why not use a time-scheduled-based feeding ?

[@kamilx6188]

Świetny projekt, aż dziwne że dopiero dziś trafiłem na Twój profil

[@mauroignaciorodriguez2601]

aguante ese mate ! buen proyecto exitos

[@juanignacio6479]

Lo note cuando vi el video por tercera vez. ¿Dónde habrá adquirido la costumbre?

[@huseyint]

Thanks for sharing the details. I had lots of issues with an auger based pet feeder in the past, have you really prevented the jamming problem?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

It probably depends on the particular cat's food. But, it has been working for 3 months in my house, and it hasn't jammed even once. So I guess I managed to prevent jamming :)

[@Johncoffee2002]

Awesome as well. You are stunning. Hats off!

[@brub5174]

Great idea, love how you implement easy accessible for cleaning. You got my like. I might even rebuild this

[@MrCzeslaw88]

Rewelacja! Gratuluję pomysłu oraz super wykonania. Zostaję na dłużej! :)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Dzięki! :)

[@sheminasalam]

Hi there. Awesome project. I had a doubt. Is there food stored in there protected from atmosphere? If its not an air tight container, won't it affect the quality of food?

[@murrayschreiber739]

Awesome video. I was looking to see how I can do an auto feeder for my fish tank. Suppose it's the same concept just a bit smaller. I think you should add on a level sensor to check how much food is in the container, then HA will tell you to top-up. Great work

[@juanignacio6479]

Great video. I was thinking to make a similar project with an arduino nano but now I think the microprocessor you used fits better tonthe task. How much time did this project take you from start to finish?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thank you. If you don't plan WiFi connectivity, Arduino should be ok. Otherwise, I'd choose ESP8266 or ESP32. Are you asking how long does development take me? Or making this feeder right now, when I have already designed everything?

[@aykutaltuntop232]

Hi, how can I access to source files? Didn't get it when I entererd my mail adress. Thanks and great project!

[@Jonafets]

Where can I buy this? You should produce and sell it online! Very cool

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I am :) store.smartsolutions4home.com/product/ss4h-pf-pet-feeder/

[@Pyth0nym]

So cool! You are so smart!. Would love a video on how to design pcb:s. Also waiting for you to create a poe doorbell :)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks, Jacob! You aren't the first person to say that I should make a video about PCB design. I guess I really should do it :)

[@franciscocubero3291]

No podía faltar el mate jajaja, great job!

[@esenterre]

My dog have much bigger dry food. I wonder if it will work with that. But still, one of the DIY pet feeder I've seen so far!

[@makalacc]

Great project ! Definately subscribing , hope to see some Raspberry Pies in following projects as well :)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks! I've some RPi project ideas on my to-do list :)

[@GillesMorysse]

Bonjour pensez-vous que le produit pourrait fonctionner à l'extérieur ? Merci

[@nourson54]

Well done ! Really nice design ! I think I will use it and add a BLE beacon detection to filter out cats :)

[@pangit9999]

Nice job. My cat said "meow, I want one too"

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

You must listen to your cat! Better make him that feeder :)

[@Neptune730]

This is cool. I am needing something like this. Although I would need to build 4.

[@PrazsmaryD]

Thank you for sharing this awesome project! We are waiting for the next one :)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

My pleasure! Hope you liked it :)

[@marcusalx]

Best video I've seen and very informative!! Also impressive chip!

[@emyalfaro]

Thanks for the files!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

The pleasure is mine!

[@4olovik]

amazing, and with attention to details

[@matiasmarangone8865]

Hi Sebastian! Nice project, thanks for sharing and I'll try to do this one for a friend. By the way, are you drinking mate at the end of the video? Cheers from Argentina :)

[@brunopelinzon8013]

Awesome project dude! Thanks for sharing! 👌

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks, man!

[@abrahimdias]

Hello Sir. Your cat feeder is extremely amazing and useful. I am impressed. I have a question. Is it possible to program this to be used with a home assistant like Alexa or google home? Thanks!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Yes, of course :)

[@fabiorodo]

that's amazing

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I'm glad you like it :)

[@0xfog_]

Drinking mate?! Niiiiiice

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I love mate!! I drink it almost every day :)

[@eldrab]

Piękna robota!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Dzięki! :)

[@39_phamhoangtri59]

hi, i’m just new to this field and i intend to do this project. I have a question that I already bought step motor and mtiny esp8266, do I need to buy an Adruino Uno,tks guys.

[@NehuyStealer]

Hello! I made two of these for my cats, everything running, but I can't find a method for the device to release around the same amount of food everytime, sometimes I run the cycle to drop around 15 grams of food, one of the machines drops fine, the other almost nothing, and this can repeat on the other one. Also, one of the cats could just touch the feeder with his paw and some pieces of food would drop, and he can keep doing that for quite some time. Any suggestion is more than welcome.

[@SantaRosaBmx]

Treemendo! Pero... QUE ONDA CON EL MATE? de donde sos?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

¡Gracias! Soy de Polonia. Pero en lugar de café, tomo mate ¡Me encanta! :)

[@ukasz8631]

Hej, kończyłeś Elektronike i Telekomunikacje czy inny typ studiów elektronicznych?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Co mnie zdradziło? ;) Skończyłem Automatykę i Robotykę.

[@claudiojuarez3329]

excelente !!! tambien me gusto el mate ..

[@bbbarham6264]

Super cool!! Would love to see more. (Also, there was a time or two the music was a bit too loud over your voice.)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Noted! I'll keep the music quieter in future videos. Thank you for pointing it out to me :)

[@aarriikknn33ll]

I just ordered the parts for it, just needed a stepper

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Great! Let us know when it'll be ready and how it works :)

[@aarriikknn33ll]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome sure man! I was gonna make my own design twist on it tho, today i will design it in fusion :P I was thinking of using a preexisting container that i have at home that has thread in bottom of container so i can thread it on or off the auto feeder. :)

[@atlaskaiser9951]

Hi so basically if i just wanna use the simple board on this project without PCB do you have some schematic i can follow, it means a lot to me, thank you !

[@antoniodelgado2694]

Which battery do you use in this proyect?

[@lutherpascua9951]

Very nice💪💪💪

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks! :)

[@MrCBRXX1100]

Hi Sebastian:) Can you help me, how to manage the PCB order at JLC PCB ? I can figure out to upload the Gerber files, but I have a problem with the BOM part. The BOM file you added is a PDF document. Would you be able to make an excel file that is capable of to be handled at JLC PCB? Or is it possible to get the seller you link to at aliexpress send only the parts for this board (it seems it gonna be tooo expensive), because many of the items is sold I 10 pieces or more.

[@ChristopherPSamuels]

Awesome project! I'm going to iterate on your design a bit and try to as RFID and a food cover. Fat cat issues

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I love this idea! Could you elaborate? Cats on their necks would have tokens? RFID, unfortunately, has a poor range.

[@ChristopherPSamuels]

Yes exactly! I've seen feeders that only open for the appropriate animal. I figure I can add some logic to "listen* for the RFID tag so a cover opens for the right cat. Hopefully putting the sensor near the front of the tray and and tag on the collar is sufficient. I'm going to try out your prints this weekend !

[@nourson54]

@@ChristopherPSamuels Yeah RFID has a poot range , the only benefit it's that the chip is already integrated in the cat :) On my side I will try to use an BLE tag and an ESP32 as RSSI tracker . The most complicated thing is to find a mall enough tag. btw , my cat is a 11kg maine coon , it should not be a prob 😁

[@nourson54]

I just printed the design and it s jamming with big kibble. They're stuck at the front between gear and front internal slope😢

[@omomom5961]

Thanks!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thank you very much for such big support of my channel! :)

[@hl2run]

good job!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thank you!

[@mahfoudcherabi2590]

The motor is very weak i tried it and he can't push

[@NS-SMART-ELECTRO-ROBOTICS]

Do you ship to Nigeria?

[@FabricioFHS]

Here in my region it is very common for ants to appear, does this project have a fence between the food and the exit? Or can the ant climb up and reach the food?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Unfortunately, it isn't ant-proof.

[@peterpoggi]

I'd like to put one of these out in my field for the feral cats. What kind of solar power supply would be needed?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

This is a very good question. It depends on how much sun there’s where you live on a daily basis. And how often do you plan to feed the cats. It's also important whether you plan to have permanent remote access via wifi or a meal schedule is enough. Then the ESP chip could go into sleep mode in between. The device normally consumes about 67mA, and when the stepper motor is on, it is ~210 mA for a few seconds. In addition to the power of the solar itself, the capacity of the battery that will be charged between feedings should be taken into account.

[@peterpoggi]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome I would only need it to activate once per day. It’s a back up for when I can’t get out there. So it could be on a regular schedule without a need for Wi-Fi

[@peterpoggi]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome I guess the stepper motor is 5 V? Or was it 12

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

@@peterpoggi It's 5V

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

@@peterpoggi I'd have to calculate it, but I think that a cheap and popular 6W solar panel would be enough.

[@Dan-xr4ue]

Do you have a lot or woild.you sell your documentation for DIYer to build one?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I don't sell the documentation for DIYer... I give it away for free :) Go to my page about this project, I wrote everything there: smartsolutions4home.com/ss4h-pf-pet-feeder/

[@brunob.7792]

is it possible to schedule dispensing instead the need to press the button at the app?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Of course :)

[@erenbas9503]

it is still working after 1 years ?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Like a charm :)

[@erenbas9503]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome good job man. i like it. you deserve respect

[@SuperAntyfan]

Hi, will this work with any Nema17 stepper motor? 🤔

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Hi, a stepper motor has to be unipolar with 5 wires to be compatible. Unfortunately, most of the popular Nema17 Steppers (e.g. from 3D printers) are bipolar, so the ULN2003 driver won't be able to drive such a motor.

[@semiheroglan1167]

Hi Sokol, Can I control in when i out of mobile phone?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

It depends on the system you want to integrate it with. You have to have an external IP to be able to "get" to home when you are out.

[@AhmadEid1]

what is the name of holder cutter ?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I'm not sure. I bought it in a building supply store years ago.

[@_ShubhamKavale]

I want file and information about project

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

smartsolutions4home.com/ss4h-pf-pet-feeder/

[@shannonbreaux8442]

The cat feeder still for sale?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Hi Shannon, the new batch should be ready soon. I've most of them ready. I need a "moment" to get down to it. There is a form on the product page. Could you please leave an email there? Thanks to this, as soon as they are in stock, I'll send you an e-mail.

[@shannonbreaux8442]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome I did try submitting on your website but it didn't let me gave me an error. Contact administrator. What's the price is it $89.00 US dollars?

[@spwim]

did he say "immortal" or "a mortal" ESP8266 chip :D

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

"immortal" of course :) ESP8266 will never die! :)

[@spwim]

awseome video, immediately subscribed haha

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

@@spwim Thanks, I appreciate it! :)

[@isabeladesa649]

mvp

[@thatpspguy]

store link is broken

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Hmm.. works for me. I don't know why it doesn't work for you. store.smartsolutions4home.com

[@noxdesu5014]

esta tomando mateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[@dmitryno4819]

OMG! Building a space ship? Your device will fall down after a push of a dogs paw. Useless, expensive (3D project!). Only looks cool

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

With all due respect, you are wrong. Contrary to appearances, this device is very stable. I've been using it for almost a year and it hasn't tipped over once. But I assume that with bigger and more aggressive pets it could've happened. If you think it is expensive and useless (although I totally disagree) then this project isn't for you. On YT you will find lots of other designs that will suit you better, good luck :)