[chbot] Home Automation - Curtains

Mon Sep 25 21:27:26 BST 2017

Hi Carl,

Nice to hear from you.  Glad you're still hacking on stuff.

I'm using this motor:
http://www.dx.com/p/diy-37mm-high-torque-silent-60rpm-12v-
dc-precision-gear-motor-grey-383488

It's pretty grunty, but 60rpm is a bit sedate.  Banggood have an 80rpm
variant and a 130rpm one.  They fit nicely onto the smallest purlin
bracket, which I've bolted to the wall with timber cladding screws.

Once I have one working I can buy six sets of parts for the windows in the
lounge.

I have also just bought a 3D printer.  It should arrive tomorrow so for the
benefit of everyone else reading this I'll start a new thread then
(assuming it's not a dud).

Best wishes,

Andrew

On Sep 25, 2017 9:57 PM, "Carl Ranson" <carl.ranson at gmail.com> wrote:

Hey Andrew,

been a while.

I actually did this for a blind in my house this year.
I had a friend building a house who wanted to do 18 of them (yes, 18!). Not
wanting to pay $400 each he sourced the motors from China for about 50
bucks a piece. These came with a remote control and settable limits etc and
they mount inside the blind itself.

Problem was, they didn't have attachment hardware. In comes the 3d printer.
problem solved and I got a motor for mine as payment.

Before that I'd tried door window motor with extra gearing. even that
didn't have enough oomph to draw the blind (although I probably could have
added weight to balance it a bit).

Hope that helps.
CR

On 25/09/2017 5:38 PM, Andrew Errington wrote:

There's also "fishing line I happen to have to hand", which is clearly
unsuitable in this case.

I'm going to try the builder's line again.  This time with a cable tie that
I can crank down on to get the tension.

Thanks,

Andrew

On Sep 25, 2017 5:01 PM, "Charles Manning" <cdhmanning at gmail.com> wrote:

There's fishing line... and fishing line.

Nylon stretches like anything. Braid (eg. https://www.completeangler.co.
nz/line-95/braid-97/) has practically no stretch and is available in many
colours and strengths.

On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 3:51 PM, Andrew Errington <erringtona at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I thought I'd start a new thread, as we got away from the relative merits
> of Banggood vs DealExtreme.
>
> I am trying to motorise my curtains, particularly as there are six windows
> in one room, plus home automation is cool.
>
> So far I have identified a suitable motor and gearbox, 12Vdc supply, 60rpm
> output, with good torque and fairly quiet.
>
> At one end the motor, with a 16-tooth GT2 pulley, is attached to the wall
> using a purlin bracket (purlin brackets are cool).  At the other, I am
> using a sewing-machine bobbin on an M6 bolt as a pulley.
>
> It's early days, but I have tried builder's line, which doesn't stretch,
> but does slip.  I have tried fishing line, which does stretch, and slips.
>
> I think GT2 toothed belt would work well, but I haven't tried it yet.
>
> The motor is temporarily connected to a 12V battery for testing.  Later I
> will use an ESP8266 with microPython to control the motor.
>
> Finally, I'll link it to home automation software and relax in my chair as
> the sun goes down and the curtains gently and quietly close.
>
> That's my plan, but there is plenty of room for alternatives or failure.
>
> The attached link is for a belt clamp and tensioner made from zip-ties,
> which I think I will adopt!
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Andrew
>
> http://diyprojects.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/belt-connec
> tion-zip-ties.jpg
>
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