News – Summer 2022

It's been a while since I gave an overview of my current projects. So here's a little update. 🙂

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WinDIY_2

I've been working on the second version of WinDIY for quite a while now. On the one hand, this is because I only work on it sporadically. On the other hand, I've also made a few changes to the planned concept in the meantime.

The following videos and photos give you an insight into the current status of development.

hub

The hub is the part that I first built completely and unfortunately only then realized that the construction can be simplified considerably. Instead of driving each blade with a separate motor and electronics, the new design uses one motor to control all wings in parallel.

This makes the structure less complicated, lighter and also cheaper. You can get a few insights into the structure in the following videos.

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printonTurbine – A 3D printed pelton turbine

With the printonTurbine I want to test whether it is possible to build a Pelton turbine from 3D printed components. Similar to WinDIY or WinDIY_2, the structure should consist largely of mechanical standard parts and 3D printed components.

The following videos and photos give you an insight into the current status of the development.

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pxlBlck_16x16micro

The pxlBlck_16x16micro board is one of my last PCB projects. This allows a 16×16 pixel LED matrix to be set up. Only the LEDs are soldered on the board, which (for example) can be controlled by an externally connected ESP32. For example, the matrix can be used with the pxlBlck plugin or to play GIFs on it.

By the way, I used the only 1.5×1.5mm large SK6805-EC15 LEDs for the construction. The manual assembly was quite a challenge. 😀

I had the board made by the board manufacturer PCBWay.com, who made it available to me free of charge. At this point, many thanks again for the great service and cooperation. 🙂

See the videos and photos below for more details.

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pxlBlck_10x11mini

With the pxlBlck_10x11mini board it is possible to set up a 10×11 pixel LED matrix. In addition to the LED matrix on the front, the following components are also installed.

• ESP32 Wrover-B
• DS3232M RTC
• USB-C connection including programming option
• BME280 climate sensor
• Micro SD card slot
• TSL2591 brightness sensor
• MPR121 touch sensor for up to 12 touch electrodes
• MAX98357 3W I2S DAC
• ADXL345 accelerometer

I had the board made by the board manufacturer PCBWay.com, who made it available to me free of charge.

See the videos and photos below for more details.

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pxlBlck_ringMicro

With the pxlBlck_ringMicro PCB I want to realize a small version of the pxlBlck_ringClock. 60 SK6812-EC20 LEDs are installed on the circular circuit board. For the first time I used an ESP32 PICO here. I also changed the USB to serial converter from a CH340G to a CH340K. The latter is a bit more compact and an external quartz is not necessary.

You can find more details about the components used in the following list and photos.

• ESP32 PICO
• DS3232M RTC
• USB-C connection including programming option
• BME280 climate sensor
• Micro SD card slot
• TSL2591 brightness sensor
• MPR121 touch sensor for up to 12 touch electrodes
• MAX98357 3W I2S DAC
• ADXL345 accelerometer

I had the board made by the board manufacturer PCBWay.com, who made it available to me free of charge.

See the videos and photos below for more details.

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solarSens

SolarSens is my design for a modular weather station.

SolarSens can be equipped with various sensors. Sensors that need to be exposed to sunlight can be waterproofed on the “sensor phalanx” below the solar cell. For example, brightness and UV exposure can also be measured.

Additional sensors can be installed inside the weather station (eg temperature and humidity sensors). In addition, an SDS011 can be installed on the back of the housing to measure the fine dust concentration. The solar cell on the front powers the electronics and charges the built-in 18650 LiPo cells.

The measurement data can then be sent to your own SmartHome via WLAN, for example.

I am currently working on a new circuit board that will enable data to be forwarded via LoRa and/or GSM/LTE.

See the videos and photos below for more details.

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pxlDigit24_mini

Another project that I have secretly completed in the meantime is the pxlDigit_24mini. To do this, I installed the circuit board in a housing printed from aluminum. I use black semi-transparent acrylic glass as a diffuser.

I had the board and the aluminum 3D-printed housing made by the board manufacturer PCBWay.com, who gave me both free of charge.

See the videos and photos below for more details.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYtyvJoKesd/