Automatic Fish Feeder

When The Aquaponics Project first started my class was divided into different groups to tackle different tasks. My group consisted of myself and my classmate Caroline Sheets. Our task was to use the engineering design process to create an automated way to feed fish that required little to no maintenance.

When we set out not the internet for inspiration we found many different automated feeders for sale that had a variety of feeding methods. Some would use large cavities for each day, others would use corkscrews. Our idea for this divide got most of its inspiration from MacDonald though(Caroline's workplace). McDonald's uses a device with a rotating disk to move Oreo bits from one side of a container to the other by letting the Oreos fall into holes that slide to the other side of the disk and fall into their containers. this design also allowed us to avoid the problem of moisture. the separate stages of dispensing allow the food to stay dry from all the evaporating water in the take keeping the food fresher.

By the end of the 2021 school year, we had designed the entire lower rotating cavity and had begun designing the upper half. When school started up again in the fall of 2021 Caroline had left the Pre-Engineering class and the rest of the project was now my project.

I used new knowledge of transistors to replace the need for a large relay in the design. To use a DC motor I had to research to learn how to adapt an ATX Power Supply to fit my needs and to work along with an Arduino Uno board. Once I had constructed a mock version with just electronics I began to work on the mechanical part aging. Using many screws and adapter parts I was able to 3D print the full device by mounting the motor above the food holder and having an enclosed shaft to spin the disk below. Mounted above the motor the Arduino with all the wiring is enclosed and I added an indicator light to show if all the power was being received by the device. this was important since the device would only run once a day meaning it would be easy to miss if the voltage disconnected.

This is now in its finished form and works like a dream. The feeder can last a long time without needing to be refilled. At one point I hope to go back to this because there is a slight problem with food getting stuck behind the shaft but the amount lost is very little.