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Automatic Pet Feeder for Less Than $25

As technology becomes cheaper and more accessible, DIY projects become as easy and cheap as ever. This is how to make an automatic pet feeder for less than $25!
Automatic+Pet+Feeder+for+Less+Than+%2425

Hello pet lovers! Are you going on a long trip and don’t want to pay $500 for a dog sitter? Are you too lazy to feed your dog every day? Do you want to not spend $100+ on a dog feeder? Well, in this instructable, I will will tell you how to make a simple, easy and cheap automatic pet feeder with Arduino!

Supplies:

  • 1 Arduino UNO. (This one is cheap and inexpensive.) $18
  • 1 micro servo. (Here is a cheap 2 pack) ~$4
  • Jumper wires (M to M) (Here‘s a lot of a cheap price) ~$1
  • 3d printer (Optional)
  • Any food container (Depends) ~$5
  • Some cardboard (Depends) ~$0-1

Step 1: Making the Circuit

Making the Circuit

We start by making the circuit. The servo motor acts as a lid to the food container, and the Arduino is the commonly known microcontroller. The servo motor will rotate at a certain angle therefore opening and closing the lid. You can wire it by looking at the picture above. The colors of the wires represent where they should plug into.

Step 2: 3D Printing the Pet Feeder

Building the Physical ObjectBuilding the Physical ObjectBuilding the Physical Object

The next step is to 3D print the parts. You can download the files from Thingiverse or Google Drive. (Links) If you don’t have a 3D printer, you can go on PCBway to order some for cheap. They are not sponsoring me, I just think that they are great.

Step 3: Testing the Servo

 

 

Twist the servo horn without power connected, and it should turn a full ~175°. If not, change the position accordingly until you can turn it ~175°. Most servos should not have a problem with this. If there’s a physical limiter on the servo, then you will have to buy a new one with a 180° turn angle.  Use the 2 pictures above for reference.

You could also use the servo tester to do the job if you have one handy.

 

Step 4: Programming the Arduino

Programming the Arduino

This program should be pretty straightforward. Download the file below, and upload it to your Arduino. Basically, you start the code at 7 am, and it will deliver the food. After 7 hours, it will open again, which is at 2 pm, then at 9 pm, it will open again. Finally, it will wait 10 hours, and it will start again at 7 am. In the code, it will explain a bit more.

You can watch the YouTube video for more information.

Step 5: You Are Done!

You are finished! Now just add the food, start the machine up at 7, and you are all set!

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you are successful with your build!

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