Dionaea Muscipula:Touch Me and I Will Bite Youღ(๑╯◡╰๑ღ)

We live in a rich and colorful world. All kinds of creatures use their own way to obtain nutrients and survive. In people’s perception, plants are usually used to produce organic matter through photosynthesis to support their own various life activities, with no harm to animals.

However, the Venus flytrap is an exception. It can not only perform photosynthesis, but also sense the entry of insects and other creatures through the small needles inside the leaves, and then close the leaves to complete the predation.

Our team designed and produced a flytrap model, and I will introduce how to make it in the following.

Before going to next step, please aware that the non-metal laser cutting machine and the electric soldering iron will be used in this project.

Let's get start and have fun!

Team Members: Yixin Chen, Cong Fu, Huihui Hu, Zhengjie Liu, Xingyu Meng （sort by first letter of last name）

Electrics Parts Preparation

1× Arduino Uno

1× Breadboard

n× Male-to-female Dupont Line，male-to-male Dupont Line

1× LCD1602 Adaptor Plate

1× LCD screen

1× Rotary Potentiometer(small)

1× Piezo Speaker

2× Piezo-ceramic sensors

2× Basic Servo

Shell Material Preparation

1× 3mm Basswood Laminate（>=350*440mm）

1× PVC pipe with a diameter of 1cm

1× Chevron board

1× Flower pot

Processing Tools Preparation

Non-metal laser cutting machine

Wood file, saw, scissors, utility knife, glue

PS:If you ask a merchant to perform laser cutting, neither the basswood laminate nor the laser cutting machine need to be prepared.

These materials are easily available and relatively cheap. You can go to Taobao and other e-commerce platforms to purchase all these materials.

Download the shell design file of the Venus flytrap below, which can be directly used for laser cutting.

You can complete the cutting process by yourself, or you can ask a friend who has a non-metal laser cutting machine to help you, or you can pay a fee to ask a merchant who specializes in related work to do the cutting.

If you take the first method, please pay attention to operational safety. Because the laser energy is very high, mistakes in operation may cause burns to eyes, skin, etc.

It should be noted that the size of our design drawings does not completely match the size of the electronic components, especially near the position where servos are placed.Therefore, if you do not want to use files, saws and other tools for further trimming in the later assembly, you can modify the design drawings.

Please note that during the modification process, the drawings used for laser cutting cannot have overlapping lines, and each closed figure must be independent.

1.Use glue to splice the shaft (note that the two halves of the shaft can rotate relative to each other)

2.Assemble the servo-fixed device (if the drawing is not improved further, you will need to use a file to enlarge the notch)

3.Assemble the leaves, and stick the piezoelectric ceramic sensor disc on the inner wall of the blade, with the sensor wires extending from the square hole between the blades to the outside.

4.Align the round hole between the two servos with the square hole between the blades, and align the servo's rocker arm shaft with the small hinge shaft to determine the position of the small hinges on the blades.

5.Glue the small hinges and leaves together

6.Splice the blades and the fixed servo device，making the servo rocker shaft coincide with the small hinge shaft.By pasting some small wooden blocks on the surface of the small hinge near the servo side, the position of the servo rocker arm is limited, so as to realize the fixation of the relative position of the blade and the servo.

7.Insert the PVC pipe into the round hole between the servos.

8.Extend servo cables and piezoelectric ceramic sensor cables with male-to-female DuPont cables.The servo wires pass in and out of the PVC pipe, and the sensor wires rotate downward along the outside of the pipe. Both reach the bottom space of the flowerpot.

9.Cut the chevron board so that it fits into the mouth of the flowerpot. Cut out a round hole slightly less than 1cm in diameter in the center of the chevron board of the cutting opening, then insert the PVC pipe into it. Consequently, all related lines enter the hidden space between the chevron board and the flower pot.

According to the circuit diagram Dionaea muscipula_2021-6-19.fzz uploaded by us, you should be able to complete the circuit construction smoothly.

PS：LCD1602 Adaptor Plate is required to use LCD screen. To combine them together, you need an electric soldering iron to complete some small soldering work.

Nothing happens.

LCD screen: I am hungry.

You press the piezo-ceramic sensor for the first time.

LCD screen: One time!

Less than 5s later, you press the sensor for the second time.

LCD screen: Two times!

Less than 5s later, you press the sensor for the third time.

LCD screen: I have bitten!

The leaves close quickly.

Another 5 seconds later, the leaves open slowly.

Every time you press the sensor disc, the buzzer will beep once.