Smart Lamp-Anderson, Besze and Garcia

Hello, we are the Popotes, our names are Agustín Anderson, Joaquin Garcia and Santiago Besze. We are 15 years old, we are studying at the Roberto Rocca technical school and we are from Campana, a city in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

The project is about the creation of an intelligent lamp. The teachers presented us the idea of different types of lamps and we had to choose, easy, medium or advanced level. Then we chose the groups with classmates of our same level of English. In our case we choose the average level of the lamp, because we wanted a good challenge, but that it doesnt take us long to achieve it. The objective of our project is to illuminate the atrium of the school, with colored lights to use during events. The lamp works automatically due to the programming we did with the C++ language in Arduino Uno. The program makes the leds change color randomly every 5 seconds. It also makes the lamp rotate by servomotors transversely in two directions, vertically and horizontally.  

To make this product, it is necessary to have some block programming knowledge, to know how to make protoboard circuits, how to do some components work, how to calculate the circuits and the IRAM standards , how to use Onshape and it’s also necessary to know a little bit about technical drawing. 

We have used:

The material we used to build it, is fiberboard, we decided to use this type of wood since it is not as hard as the common one and it is easier to cut, carve, paint, drill and screw. But it is still pretty tough.

Electronic componentes:

4 RGB LEDs

16 resistors

2 servomotors

1 switch

1 Arduino Uno

1 Breadboard

Extra materials:

Duct tape

Glue

Screws

Hinge (for swivel base cap)

The first step to start with the lamp is to choose which components will be used, what will be it's function and how many will be used. Then, define the material for the construction of the lamp shell.

In our case we used fiberboard for the construction. In "supplies" you can see why we chose this material over other options.

In the supplies part of this instructable you can see what components we have used, what we have used them for and how many we have used. You can also see a brief explanation of the function of each one and its properties.

When we already choose all our components, we make the datasheets of each one. This with the goal of remembering how each component is connected, what its measurements are and what it's function is.

The next step is to see how this reflector will be and define it's measurements in millimeters.

The measures we have chosen are:

Floor and top: 180 x 180 millimeters

Box wall: 50x180 millimeters

Swivel base: 90x90 millimeters

Led support: 90x40 millimeters

Led head and where the cables pass: 40x40 millimeters

Lamp walls: 50x90 millimeters

We have used these dimensions because we think they are the best that we could use in order to comply with the obligatory requirements.

This obligations are that a protoboard and an arduino with all the cables enter in the box, that all the leds and their cables enter in the led head and that the swivel base supports the entire weight of the top of the lamp.

Then we started to make the sketches to get our first ideas of how we wanted the lamp to be.

We made these sketches with the objective of seeing where each component would go, how the assembly of the parts of the lamp would be, and to define the production sequence.

When we have the measurements defined, we advance to the next step which is to make the sketches with the dimensions. This is done in order to make the final adjustments to the plans, for example, define the final measurements and see where the holes for the leds and servomotors will be.

To start with the programming, we must first think about what we want our lamp to do.

With my group we decided that what we wanted the lamp to do was to change the color of the leds every 5 seconds to make it more beautiful to see. In addition, we wanted the servomotors to be, one horizontal and one vertical, so that they rotate the lamp in two different directions. We also wanted that every 3 seconds they rotate 180°, return to 0° and repeat this process forever, this made the lights always shine in different directions.

After finishing the previous step and doing the assembly simulation, we can start programming.

First, with Tinkercad, we simulate how we want our components to be placed, which pins to use, and how to connect each component. After having everything armed and working, we begin to program so that the circuit works

Our recommendation is that you program it in Tinkercad too. If you are not very expert in the subject, you can do it in block since it is easier, but it is always best to program it in text since you can realize and fix the errors faster.

The next step to get closer to the first prototype was the 3d modeling, we had to do this shelling design to check that the measurements were correct and that the components were in their proper place. Also, with the modeling you can have a clear idea of ​​how the lamp is going to be since it looks better than in a drawing.

Finally, we have to make our first prototype at a smaller scale to see if it stays balanced and manages to move in the directions we want. Also to see if the components that go inside the lamp are properly maintained and fitted easily. We had to do this prototype as an anchor design to see if everything looked good after gluing and screwing it.  

The next step is the construction of the circuit in real life.

We had to do this with the objective of testing the circuit with real components and to see if it works as it had been tested in Tinkercad. We also did it to have the circuit assembled so that later we only need to build the lamp and put the physical assembly inside.

Before we can start building the final prototype, we have to do the manufacturing drawings. These plans will help you to build each part of the lamp perfectly because you can see all the measurements, where the holes are located, which are the parts that are joined and then transfer all that information by drawing the construction material. When we have our fibrofacil marked, we can start cutting the parts of the lamp.

The next step when we finish cutting the parts is to glue the box. When we have the box glued we can start putting the assembly. Then we put the switch next to the box and glue it. Also, we put the servomotor on the top of the box so that the rotating base rotates and we put the other servomotor on one of the legs that hold the lead head and in the other leg we put a screw so it rotates.

Once these steps are finished, we pass all the cables through the hole in the lid and put the hinge on the lid to be able to open it when we need it. Then, to the rotating base we glue the legs of the lead head. We also glue the lead head to the legs that hold it. After all these indications are done, you should have your lamp built

Our recommendation and conclusion if anyone wants to make their own automatic lamp for their home, is to build a PCB. But, what is a PCB? It is a printed circuit whose function is to replace all the cables with a plate which save's you a lot of space and is more practical to carry.