I did an Auto Pet Feeder.
First, I went to the Makerspace in the Idea Forge to see if there’s a scrap of wood available in the size range I need. Luckily, I found what I’m looking for.
It’s about 25″x13″ so I cut it in half using the bandsaw. Then, I gave them to my artist friend, Batool Altaher. During that time, I went to Walmart and bought a $1 water bottle (1 gallon) and a $2 cat food bowl. After that, I went to the ITLL to read and learn all about vinyl printer.
I decided I want to Print “Food Here” with cat footprints. The picture below might be hard to see due to the color.
Then, I cleaned the water bottle.
After that, I cut the bottom of the bottle using a knife.
Then, I covered it with a white rectangular sticker.
Then, I used the footprints stickers I made.
I got my wood back from my friend and I loved it so much!
I set it up and used the “Food Here” sticker with the footprints.
I have my Arduino code working and I just need to attach it to the design. I checked out the Arduino from the ITLL which makes my total budget $3 only!! That’s way less than what I had in my mind. I really loved how it turned out!
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Your design process was really well thought out and it was even cooler that you had a background involved. The whole piece looks amazing!
I think this came out looking really nice! The painting of the cat is a nice touch and I can definitely see this in someone’s home. You said you left a space in the back for the electronics, do you plan on creating a casing to cover them too?
I love the final painting on the project. Everything looks well together, and I’m glad that it works like you’d hoped it for. Also making your project fully tailored for cat owners is a great idea, I really like how you said you wanted to add more cat-related toys and objects to make it a full package.
Adorable cat painting! its Really prudent to hide the control button from cats reach. As a cat owner myself, I know how fast the food will disappear if you let your little friend hold the trigger of feeding.
This is such a cool project Fatema! I have a cat that will eat 24/7 if there’s food out, so this is something I could definitely use for him. I think it would be cool if you could install a camera and make the treat button transportable, so the owner could dispense treats whenever they want, even if they’re not home.
I really like the aesthetic of a pet-friendly and inviting color scheme. I would be curious how skeptical some animals may be of an automatic feeder, but the blue color definitely makes it more inviting. Its also a great painting!
I am amazed how $3 can turn into such an interesting project. The painting of the cat is on point! It catches all the characters of your friend’s cat. The overall idea is great, however I feel like the scale of the project is a little too small that cats may damage it very easily. I think it’d be beneficial to increase the weight of the base to make it more stable.
Fatema, your painting is so cute! I loved this idea and love the final product even more. I think that enforcing this with a stronger material would be cool as well. It sounds like you learned a lot throughout this design process. As with all things, design challenges are faced and difficulties arise. I enjoyed hearing about how you overcame these.
I like this idea, being a pet owner myself. This s something I could see myself buying and using in my daily life. The final product turned out great and the integration of using an arduino was a creative solution. Good job!
What an amazing little painting of a cat! I really like the paw prints on the bottom there. Adorable! How does the cat fit its head into the bowl to eat food?