News - Summer 2024 - Current and future projects

It's been a while since I've written anything about my current projects. Because even though I haven't published a blog post for a long time, I've still been busy in the background. I have summarized everything that has happened and continues to happen in this post 🙂

Store, Cults3d.com and Printables.com

Some of you may have already noticed: I've opened a store. When I started Nerdiy.de, my plan was to cover the running costs (hosting, material, etc.) with advertising revenue. Unfortunately, it has now become clear that this is not enough and that running Nerdiy.de is not only a time-consuming but also a financial burden.

However, I still believe in this project and would like to secure and justify it financially by opening my store.

But enough about the reasons and my store. Here you will find digital products (mostly STL files) for download. The aim is to offer products that encourage you to make them yourself but are also useful and don't just gather dust in a drawer after assembly. A few of the projects listed there are presented below.

If you're already curious, you can find my products here:

• Shop - You can always find all available products here. If you want to do me a favor, buy the products through this store, because then I don't have to pay any fees.
• Printables.com - Here you can find a few of my larger projects. Unfortunately, I currently only have five sales slots here. As soon as I have more, I will of course offer more products here.
• Cults3d.com - Here you can find many of my smaller projects.

eInk Ribba Frame insert

The more you get into the topic of SmartHome, the more you ask yourself how you can bring all this data into your normal life in the most convenient and attractive way possible. 

I have found a solution to this problem with my MagicMirror project developed. I have another one thanks to Madalena (https://github.com/Madelena) when I came across your GitHub repo a few months ago (https://github.com/Madelena/esphome-weatherman-dashboard). 

After I have expanded the project a bit, the Ikea Ribba eInk frame insert came out with which a battery-powered E-Ink display can be set up, which receives the data from a HomeAssistant instance.

To optimize the hardware structure of the Ikea Ribba eInk Displays I have created a 3D printable insert with which the E-Ink display and the complete electronics can be installed precisely in the Ikea Ribba 5″x7″ frame used.

You can find information about the eInk frame insert at here.

Sunchronizer

With the Sunchronizer project I am pursuing the goal of a solar tracker that you can build yourself. As always, I try to assemble it from 3D printed and standard mechanical components. The aim of this solar tracker is to optimize the energy yield of a 400W solar panel by aligning it optimally to the sun or tracking it.

The Sunchronizer S1 is my first design of a solar panel mount for a "standard" 400W" solar panel. Currently it is only able to track the elevation axis of the panel. However, I am already working on a tracking system for the azimuth axis. (A first prototype exists and is currently being tested).

The axis is tracked by a 6000N linear actuator, which is controlled by an ESP32 and corresponding electronics. The firmware of the ESP32 is based on ESPHome and can therefore be easily integrated into HomeAssistant or many other SmartHome systems. The Sunchronizer can also be used independently of a connection to other systems. For example, the position can be obtained automatically via a GPS receiver, which means that the current time is also known. Based on this data (and the configured orientation (compass direction) of the Sunchronizer), the optimum elevation angle is then calculated and set. To ensure that this can be set correctly, the angle of the panel is measured four times per second using a BMI160 acceleration sensor and adjusted accordingly if necessary.

I am also currently working on a circuit board on which the entire control electronics can be installed. Many thanks to pcbway.com for their support 🙂

SolSpot

In a way, "SolSpot" is a follow-up project to the Sunchronizer. SolSpot is intended to be a sensor with which the angle of the sun can be determined even without time and position data. After all, one thing is crucial for proper and fast solar tracking: measuring the current light conditions.

Below you can see my (current) final state of the SolSpot housing. To connect the individual components (hopefully) watertight, I use a TPU printed sealing ring. This is inserted into the grooves provided and clamped between the components. The watertightness of the front panel was particularly important to me, as the sensor electronics are located directly behind it.

Thanks to the cooperation with PCBWay.com (who support me with their PCB manufacturing service) I am currently testing the (hopefully) final PCB version of the SolSpot sensor. You can get a first overview of the PCB in the gallery below.

Below you can see a picture of the circuit board installed in the SolSpot housing. Four TSL2591 light sensors are installed on it, with which the brightness in the respective sensor element and thus the orientation/direction of the sun can be measured by comparing the brightness in the various segments. I have also installed an SK6812 side LED next to each light sensor. This allows the sensor to carry out a simple function test (at night, for example) to ensure that the light sensors are still working. Thanks again to pcbway.com for the support provided by their PCB service for this project.

I use a TSL2591 for the light sensors. These are read out via the I2C bus. Unfortunately, they do not have an adjustable I2C address. I therefore read out the individual sensors via a TCA9548 I2C multiplexer. With this IC, an I2C bus can be multiplexed to eight different buses. An ADXL345 acceleration sensor and a compass are also installed. I have replaced the ADXL345 in the current version with a BMI160.

PrintAirPipe

The PrintAirPipe project is one of those classic projects that start small and then keep escalating (in a positive sense). Initially, I just wanted to design a controllable butterfly valve for my solder extraction system. (Which I have also done here). In the meantime, however, it has become a 3D printable pipe system with currently almost 30 different segments. The individual segments can be combined as required and thus perfectly adapted to the desired application. A complete overview of the available segments can be found here. The following is a direct overview.

MagicMirror

When I moved into a new apartment, I was faced with a new (absolute luxury) problem.

My old MagicMirror, which I had previously installed in my bathroom cabinet, could not move with me as it would no longer fit into the new bathroom cabinet. But as I didn't want to miss out on the luxury, it was time for a new design. And this time I didn't want to repeat the design mistake from before: The new MagicMirror should also be "suitable for moving" and generally a little more timeless.

The result is the (quite classic) design shown below. The 4mm spyglass pane is framed in a self-made oak frame. Behind it is a Lenovo TFT display. I removed a few housing parts so that everything fits into the 50mm deep frame.

The whole thing is "powered" by a RaspberryPi Zero 2 W (which I was lucky enough to buy at a normal price before the chip crisis).

The display currently shows me the usual weather data, appointments and data from my SmartHome. However, you can configure the display according to your own requirements.

You can find the assembly instructions at HowTo: MagicMirror - Build your own MagicMirror - nerdiy.de - DIY, electronics, 3D printing and more...

Raspberry Pi case

Another rather practical product are various Raspberry Pi housings. I was annoyed that there are no well-fitting housings that you can also print out on the 3D printer. In addition, there were no housings at all for some HATs. I would like to close this gap with the enclosures I have created. You can find them here.