This Week
The first half of this week was spent preparing for the proposal presentation and working together as a team to ensure we knew our product well going into the presentation. Post-presentation, we altered our Gantt chart to put me in charge of researching solenoids and solenoid control. What I have learned is that there are some solenoids that pull and some solenoids that push and pull, aptly referred to as push-pull solenoids. Push-pull solenoids are the type of solenoid we will be using for our project, as we require solenoids that can push the piano keys down when powered.
GPIO pins of an STM32 can output 3.3V, but a push-pull solenoid can require 12V. So, in order to control a solenoid with GPIO pins from an STM32 chip, as we plan to do, we will need to have the STM32’s GPIO pin output of 3.3V act as an enable line. One way to do this may be through using a PMOS’s gate as an enable line.
Next Week
Schematics will be made for the solenoid system of solenoid control, along with calculations to justify the design. These should be completed by the end of this upcoming week (week of 09/22/2024). I will also speak with Shravya about her plans for power management to ensure that our designs will work well together.
As a team, we will be working together on the design presentations.
I am on schedule currently and am prepared to allot more time in the coming week towards designing the solenoids control system.