To start off this would be my first ever project for something like this.
I’m looking to make a device that will be able to press a physical button (approximately dime sized) 3 times with exactly 1 second each in-between the presses. Very little force would be needed for the press, and it would not need to travel more than a centimeter (probably half a centimeter at most). Once it is triggered all that matters is the precision of the 3 presses.
Ideally this would be portable and not clunky, and was thinking around the size of a chap-stick tube for the actual mechanism/actuator (battery could just be taped on, not looking to impress anyone )
Quite awhile ago I started my college journey in the computer science world so I’m not completely illiterate in that realm, but I did change to business path 2 years in.
So I guess what I’m mainly looking for with what I’ve supplied so far are:
The materials needed (bonus for cost estimates)
Estimated time to complete the project (For someone like myself, or even somebody very experienced)
Thanks for any help
Will gladly take photos and document my progress to help out anyone in the future doing something similar if I think I can tackle this.
Hello @Crowup1 and welcome to the RobotShop forum,
You could use a small solenoid like this one:
You’ll also need a microcontroller, preferably a nano or micro one so it doesn’t take that much space, you could even look for one in the DIY Wearables section. You won’t be able to control the solenoid directly from the microcontroller because it will draw too much current, so you’ll also need some other electronic components like a transistor and a diode.
You will also need a button to trigger the device (or maybe you want to trigger it another way, that’s up to you), a battery, maybe a battery holder.
Here’s a nice tutorial that could help you:
As for the time it will take to complete, as it is a very simple project and you already have some experience in the computer science world it shouldn’t take too long to complete, especially since you mentioned you don’t want to impress anyone, so you won’t be spending much time trying to make it look “clean”. As for the costs, it should be really cheap, the most expensive part would be the microcontroller and as you don’t need much from it you will probably find a cheap option.
I hope that helps!
And yes! It would be great if you could share your progress.
)
