User:Kmcgiver0970/combolockpick

Write problem/project Goal
Build a structure to mount the lock on to the motor. Determine how much force is necessary for the solenoid to open the lock. Determine a way for the arduino to know when the lock is open.

My First Task
Determine the amount of force required by the selenoid to open the lock.

Summary of actual work over first weekend
The amount of weight necessary to open the lock was much greater than what I had expected.

Week1 Narrative
Over the weekend I determined how much weight was necessary for the lock to open. I weighed various bolts, washers and screws and tied them to the lock with a piece of string. I hung the weights from the lock upside down and increased the amount of weight until the lock opened. I repeated this process with three other locks. They all opened at around 40 oz or 2.5 lbs.

My Second Task
Learning about the arduino and trying to get it to power the motor.

Summary of actual work over second weekend
The arduino is a lot less complex than I had anticipated. I gained a strong understanding of what it is and what it is capable of.

Week2 Narrative
Over the weekend I learned a lot about arduinos. Specifically, I learned about the Duemilanove arduino. I successfully powered the motor through the arduino. MotorKnob, a program from the example library Stepper,is currently installed on the arduino. I did not understand the pins referenced in the Stepper class. The motor spins but with no apparent precision or pattern.

My Third task
Write a program to spin the motor in a specific and precise way. Upload it onto the arduino.

Summary of actual work over third weekend
I planned on writing a new program for the arduino. I instead found a new library, AFMotor, used for powering stepper motors. It is much more intuitive than the previous library's example that was being used. The function calls are descriptive and easy to follow.

Week3 Narrative
I tried modifying the code already installed on the arduino. I could not figure out how to access the pins, 8, 9, 10, and 11, that were being referenced by the instance of the Stepper class. I found a new library, AFMotor, used to power stepper motors on ladyada.net. The example currently uploaded onto the arduino can be found here under the section labeled "Steppers". The program and its function calls are explained in the few paragraphs posted before the program itself. This program will serve as a nice starting structure and reference point for the final program.

My Fourth task
I plan on continuing to work on the software aspect of the project. I plan to work on compiling a program that will successfully test all 64000 combinations of a master lock. Also, I plan on trying to identify and incorporate the use of the digital pins on the arduino into the program (with led's for now).

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
Over the weekend I had planned on writing a program that would test all possible combinations of a master lock. I was able to write this program after finding the correct number of steps in the stepper motor and also incorporated the use of the solenoid through the digital pin #10 on the arduiono.

Week4 Narrative
Over the weekend, through trial and error, I determined the correct ratio between the number of steps in the stepper motor and the number of steps(1-40) in the master lock. Our stepper motor has 200 steps per revolution and is "half-stepping", so it has a .9 degree step. Through some math I determined that in order to get to a specific number on the master lock, that number has to be multiplied by 2.5 (25 steps on the stepper motor would give 5 steps on the master lock). I wrote a few programs to demonstrate this:

The program I wrote to demonstrate the stepper / lock ratio can be found here under Sketch One. It opens a master lock with the combination of 6 - 16 - 22.

The program I wrote to test all 64000 combinations of a master lock can be found here under Sketch Two.

The program I wrote to test all 64000 combinations of a master lock and open and close the solenoid after each combination can be found here under Sketch Three.

Complete Team Page
Team Page