As I mentioned in Blog #9 that I need to change bigger motor and do the cover for the grinder. Here is the picture of my handmade cover.
I bought the new bigger motor and yes it consumes more current. My current motor driver did not work anymore.
I had changed from full bridge to half-bridge with HB1, HB2, HB3, HB4 connect to low side. I do need to change my Arduino program too.
The update source code is available at GitHub https://github.com/wtos03/WasteFoodMgmt.
I also change the grinder's rotor for bigger diameter. This will increase more Power. Here is the picture of the new installation motor.
After changing motor, I gott better power. I tested with egg shells, it’s working fine. You can see
in my update Video for testing here.
However, for hard shell-like watermelon. The machine still doesn’t have enough power to crush into
small pieces.
Lesson Learned and improvement suggestion
===================================
o Use meat grinder for food crusher is OK but it will not clean. After use, all waste food will be struck into grinder and it’s hard to clean. We should use a spinner knife will get cleaner. However, you need to get a sharp knife and it’s more dangerous than use meat grinder. And you need high-speed motor to drive the shaft.
o Use good quality products for testing, I bought meat grinder very cheap from Website. As a result, it very sticks even I use my hand power. So I wonder maybe my meat grinder is below standard, knife is not sharp enough and screw is not fit that made the hole between screw and machine. My motor seems to have lower torque than the spec.
o Speed needs to be improved. You may spend the whole day if you have many dry leaves from your garden.
o We need to seal the machine to prevent smell when you use it for a long time.
o For Crusher Motor driver, I suggest using relay or power switch better than use IC driver. Because the current is very limit. But for stirring motor, use IC driver will give you an advantage for control the direction and speed.
o I have spare two LEDs for checking EM empty and Full bin alert.
This is the end of my Project. I do need to improve a lot of things to make it practical to use. But this project can prove the concepts and show the real-life issues that need to address. If you use this machine for dry waste like leaves, eggs, soft vegetables. It’s perfect to use. But some ingredients will face difficulty using with this machine.
At final, here is the finished products I got from this machine. You can use it in your garden perfectly.
I would like to Thank you Element 14 and Infineon to give me the opportunity to test the Wast Food Management concept with wonderful products from Infineon.
Especially 3D sensor will be the next generation of UI for control machine. You can do a lot with this small component. Motor driver is great for small current projects.
But if you want to control bigger machine. You may need to find alternative solutions. XMC4700 Relax kit with Arduino support makes your life easier. All sensors and drivers
used in this project support Arduino library that shortens my development time a lot.