How To: BrewPi LCD Add-On

[gromitdj]

Box Dimensions are 185mm Wide x 130mm Deep x 70mm High. It was designed around the CadiBrewer 1st version shield, but should accommodate any of them.

ETA: I would imagine it would also accommodate the original handbuilt shield from early in the thread.

 

[day_trippr]

That would be the beginning of the thread
Even more impressive - it's nearly as small as my Philmore PB-130 cases.

Cheers!

 

[LBussy]

Case dimensions? And which shield?

I've attached the plans (and also uploaded them to Thingiverse) so you can see dimensions.

Looks like he doesn't have a shield in there but it has an RJ11 jack on the side, so it could work for any of them, including the new v2.0 that we designed.

Don't tell anyone, but the new v2.0 shields arrived last night. I'm going to solder one up tomorrow and see what happens...

Yeah I forgot to plug the shield in for the pics but there's plenty of room for the v1.1 shields I have.

Don't the 2.0 shields use a different microcontroller?

View attachment Case Plan.pdf

 

[CadiBrewer]

Yes, v2.0 uses the Nano instead of the Uno. I realized last night that the box won't work as well for the new shield because you've got it perfectly set up for the inputs on the Uno to stick out the side of the enclosure. I really like your design. I can see myself printing at least two.

Kudos to the design team!

 

[CadiBrewer]

Just saw something on the enclosure that I had a question about. It looks like you've got a power supply inside for powering the Uno. I like the board that you've specd in the BOM. But if you've got the Uno oriented so that the USB and power jacks stick out the side of the enclosure, how do you access the power jack on the Uno from the inside?


Edit : are you just going to use the 5v and GND pins instead of the barrel jack? That would certainly work...

 

[LBussy]

Just saw something on the enclosure that I had a question about. It looks like you've got a power supply inside for powering the Uno. I like the board that you've specd in the BOM. But if you've got the Uno oriented so that the USB and power jacks stick out the side of the enclosure, how do you access the power jack on the Uno from the inside?


Edit : are you just going to use the 5v and GND pins instead of the barrel jack? That would certainly work...

Yes sir - you got it. The idea was the connections would be available - like for testing before a complete wire-up, but my intent was to power from the bus. Of course a person could leave the power supply out and power it from the barrel or even the USB if they wanted.

Another option is to power the relay separately from the Uno ... choices. It was intended to allow just about anything.

 

[LBussy]

Yes, v2.0 uses the Nano instead of the Uno.

I'd not considered going to the Nano ... mostly because the Uno works. It does seem like the Nano is a more compact package once you have it all said and done.

Looking at it ... it piggy-backs the Nano, shield, I2C, LCD, relay and BT module?

So, no "external" parts and the connections are USB for serial and power, probes, and the outputs from the relays?

 

[CadiBrewer]

So far, so good. Still need to test the bluetooth and the relay.

 

[CadiBrewer]

I'd not considered going to the Nano ... mostly because the Uno works. It does seem like the Nano is a more compact package once you have it all said and done.

Looking at it ... it piggy-backs the Nano, shield, I2C, LCD, relay and BT module?

So, no "external" parts and the connections are USB for serial and power, probes, and the outputs from the relays?

The relay, rotary encoder, LEDs and probes attach via headers. The probes can also attach via an RJ11 jack. The bluetooth slots into a female header under the shield, though you could certainly use a pin header and attach it via dupont connectors.

 

[colenz]

The relay, rotary encoder, LEDs and probes attach via headers. The probes can also attach via an RJ11 jack. The bluetooth slots into a female header under the shield, though you could certainly use a pin header and attach it via dupont connectors.

Do you have a pic of how the 2 temp sensor cables are joined to be crimped to the RJ11 cable that plugs into the RJ11 socket?

 

[day_trippr]

Or one of these for a full boat configuration...

Cheers!

 

[ame]

Do you have a pic of how the 2 temp sensor cables are joined to be crimped to the RJ11 cable that plugs into the RJ11 socket?

Have you soldered your sensors to an RJ11 cable yet?

Here's the general idea, but double check the RJ11 pinout. I think it should be 1-Vdd, 2-Data and 3-Gnd. Pin 4 on the RJ11 is not connected.

http://www.homenetworkenabled.com/content.php?179-Making-your-own-Temp-1Wire-Temperature-sensor-with-RJ11-interface

The cables can be any length, then hook them up to an RJ11 splitter/joiner as shown in day tripper's post.

Once you have a bunch of 1-wire devices attached to RJ11 plugs then troubleshooting and reconfiguring them is easy. Just plug and play. You'll need a handful of splitters and some RJ11-RJ11 straight-through cables, but you can buy them premade (for US telephones) or buy a bag of RJ11 plugs, a reel of 4-core flat telephone cable, and a crimping tool and you're all set.

 

[CadiBrewer]

Don't order the new v2.0 boards yet. I need to make a change to the bluetooth header layout. I have it 180 degrees from where it needs to be. Let me finish testing all of the functions this weekend and I'll put up revised board files for public consumption.

 

[colenz]

Sweet that works. wouldn't it be cheaper to just add another RJ11 port than have to buy the adapter? its nice to having it all directly plugging in without plugging in a extra adapter

 

[ame]

Sweet that works. wouldn't it be cheaper to just add another RJ11 port than have to buy the adapter? its nice to having it all directly plugging in without plugging in a extra adapter

Cheaper for whom? Nicer compared to what?

Since you are buying the components yourself it ought to be a wash. Buy two sockets for the box, or buy one​ socket and one splitter.

But, you're missing the point. The point is that the 1-wire bus can have as many devices on it as you like. It is not limited by the number of sockets on the box. Also, you can make your wiring simpler.

If your box was, say, 1m from the fermenter you could assemble two sensors with 1m cables and plug them in to the box (if the box has two sockets).

However, you could have two sensors with short cables, say, 20cm, or random unrelated lengths. With a single socket and a splitter you can have a single 1m cable from the box to the fermenter, add the splitter, then connect the two sensors to the splitter.

Furthermore, if you want to add a third sensor (room temperature?) you just need another splitter, not another socket on the box. In my opinion that's nicer.

 

[ame]

You might want a few of these:
http://www.dx.com/p/rj11-phone-cable-1-to-2-female-female-spliter-coupler-2671

They don't have the short RJ11 pigtail so you can make your own RJ11-RJ11 cable any length you need.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

I like the clean look of only one wire coming out of the box and having the splitter closer to the work.

 

[gromitdj]

I set my original box up with a 4 port outlet, and now I think the single port with a splitter is a much cleaner install.

 

[LBussy]

And there we have the reason(s) why choice is better than design.

 

[wbarber69]

When I thought up the nano backpack the idea was for it to be small and sleek. I think the board cadi put out is pretty close to what I envisioned. 2 temp probe ports would be nice. but it's not a deal breaker. the boards look quite small and therefore affordable. personally I would have made the backpack roughly the same size as the lcd pcb so I could space out the components and make porting out the features a little easier. but small is the key thing here. I would have put the barrel jack on the other side though. since its in the middle of the lcd like this. And not very accessible if you were to 3d print an enclosure for this setup. the first time I envisioned a small footprint brewpi like this, I was thinking of building an all-in-one ferment jacket. something you could stick in just about any cold space and then use only a heat wrap for temp control. with a single relay board. but that was just an idea I had years ago. but I learned how versatile the tiny nano could be and I almost switched over completely to nanos over unos. who knows maybe one day I'll take to a pcb design app and try my hand at coming up with a design. in the mean time, good job on the version 2 boards. can't wait till they are finalized.

 

[CadiBrewer]

This was a good post, wbarber.

When I thought up the nano backpack the idea was for it to be small and sleek. I think the board cadi put out is pretty close to what I envisioned. 2 temp probe ports would be nice. but it's not a deal breaker.

For my builds, I'd rather have more cables inside of or on my ferm chamber or keezer and only one cable going to the enclosure for the brewpi. That being said, I could see the flexibility of adding another probe port that I would use for a room temp sensor. It would also allow flexibility for people to build things the way it suits them. But I'm not going to add the second temp probe port due to the small size of the board.

the boards look quite small and therefore affordable. personally I would have made the backpack roughly the same size as the lcd pcb so I could space out the components and make porting out the features a little easier. but small is the key thing here.

Before laying everything out, I considered going the same size as the LCD board. That would be very easy to design and you'd have room for multiple connections on the board, as well as having them stick out either side of a 3d printed enclosure. But as you said, the price was quite a bit higher for the larger board. I can't remember exactly, but it brought the board cost over $25 each, which is more than the cost of the entire build for many of us. But maybe I'll throw a version together sometime in the future for fun as an option for people to use. Perhaps someone would reciprocate and design an enclosure...

I would have put the barrel jack on the other side though. since its in the middle of the lcd like this. And not very accessible if you were to 3d print an enclosure for this setup.

This was a complete oversight on my part due to my newbness of all of this stuff. I couldn't figure out how you'd connect power to your shield inside of your enclosure if you had the barrel jack on the outside with the temp probe port. Therefore, I purposely put it on the middle of the lcd so I could hook up to it inside of the enclosure. Now I realize that I could have just added a simple 2 pin header that ties into the barrel jack port on the board for hooking up power with dupont connectors instead of the barrel jack.

the first time I envisioned a small footprint brewpi like this, I was thinking of building an all-in-one ferment jacket. something you could stick in just about any cold space and then use only a heat wrap for temp control. with a single relay board. but that was just an idea I had years ago. but I learned how versatile the tiny nano could be and I almost switched over completely to nanos over unos. who knows maybe one day I'll take to a pcb design app and try my hand at coming up with a design. in the mean time, good job on the version 2 boards. can't wait till they are finalized.

I've been completely slammed at work and on the home front and haven't had a chance to hook up temp probes or a relay to the new board for testing. I have to modify the layout for a mistake I made on the bluetooth header. I'll look at the barrel jack and see how difficult it would be to move it adjacent to the temp probe port. If I can do it quickly, I'll modify it before I throw the boards back up for people to use. If not, it will have to be a future mod. Hopefully I can get stuff tested this week and available for folks.

 

[wbarber69]

It might be more fruitful to just add say a couple pins for a header instead of trying to move the barrel jack. that way if you built a small enclosure you could use a panel mount power jack and just bring the wires to the header. just make sure the through holes are played on both sides and then you can put the header on either side of the board of you want to try to slim down the build. another port on the rj11 is t necessary, a splitter taken apart could be an easy extender and an enclosure could be built around that as well. once you get something finalized I'll take a stab at making a couple enclosures for it. one for the minimalist and one that would be all inclusive.

I haven't had a chance to look at the boards, is there any reason the electrolytic capacitor couldn't be soldered on from the bottom? or would that interfere with anything else?

 

[CadiBrewer]

Nope, no reason you couldn't solder that cap on the bottom. It doesn't stick out any further than the nano or the RJ11 jack, though, so throwing it on the back doesn't buy you much compactness...

 

[CadiBrewer]

Okay it's taken a while, but here is the 3D printed case for the Arduino with Shield:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2106553

HUGE thanks to @gromitdj for his CAD work!

I've never had anything 3D printed. What material do I want to use? PLA? Anything else I need to know about when ordering?

 

[LBussy]

I've never had anything 3D printed. What material do I want to use? PLA? Anything else I need to know about when ordering?

PLA is the more common material and that's what I use for mine.

If you plan on putting this in a place that is subject to > 100 degree heat it might warp. So, if you live in the south and this will sit in an unconditioned garage or the like, you might want it printed in ABS. ABS has more stringent print requirements, so make sure the printer/person you chose is experienced with it.

If you are using something like 3DHub I would not expect the color printing (the logo) to be a part of the quote. Have a conversation with your chosen printer if you want that.

The clearances are reasonable but in some areas they are more precise. It's not unreasonable to ask if they've calibrated their printer and it can prevent some heartache.

This print will also require supports and a more experienced person will do a better job at that.

That's about it. I had my first enclosure printed by another person while I waited for my printer to be delivered. It was generally a positive experience.

 

[CadiBrewer]

Thanks Lee. That's exactly the advice I was looking for.

 

[colenz]

So far, so good. Still need to test the bluetooth and the relay.

View attachment 392174

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View attachment 392177

Could you make the micro header closer to the edge of the board to allow both the rj11 and micro usb port to be flush togeather to allow both ports to be used from the outside of the case? Same with the round port header unless it can be run off thr micro usb port alone for power for it?

 

[colenz]

Also is this correct RJ11 port for the build? https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32736174175.html

 

[wbarber69]

PLA is the more common material and that's what I use for mine.



If you plan on putting this in a place that is subject to > 100 degree heat it might warp. So, if you live in the south and this will sit in an unconditioned garage or the like, you might want it printed in ABS. ABS has more stringent print requirements, so make sure the printer/person you chose is experienced with it.



If you are using something like 3DHub I would not expect the color printing (the logo) to be a part of the quote. Have a conversation with your chosen printer if you want that.



The clearances are reasonable but in some areas they are more precise. It's not unreasonable to ask if they've calibrated their printer and it can prevent some heartache.



This print will also require supports and a more experienced person will do a better job at that.



That's about it. I had my first enclosure printed by another person while I waited for my printer to be delivered. It was generally a positive experience.

Use pla… abs is obsolete. try Makergeeks pla, doesn't melt till the 200s in C. And it's far superior to most pla's and abs

 

[LBussy]

Use pla… abs is obsolete. try Makergeeks pla, doesn't melt till the 200s in C. And it's far superior to most pla's and abs

I agree MakerGeeks Raptor PLA is very good (and they are close to me so Ground shipping is one day). If annealed it rivals ABS in strength and heat resistance. However, I discovered that if you for instance leave a PLA part in the car in the summertime, or put it in the dishwasher, expect it to warp (especially if it is thin like this case.) PLA and Raptor specifically is not a perfect replacement but it's getting close. Being able to choose what brand of filament to use is unlikely on 3DHubs though.

ABS is far from obsolete, but the conditions which warrant it's use are narrowing. It is being improved just as the PLA filaments are. Printing with ABS now is different than it was even a year ago. The reason it is losing it's popularity is because most printers these days are not enclosed making printing in it somewhat tricky.

A good example of where ABS is called for is a print head assembly for a printer (germane since mine is a RepRap). You'd not want to print parts which are near the extruder out of PLA.