Published September 22, 2023 © GPL3+

Automatic pet feeder

A feeder for pets that pours food on a schedule or on a remote control.

IntermediateFull instructions provided12 hours802

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Espressif ESP32-CAM

SG90 Micro-servo motor

USB Type C Connector Board

OV2640 2Mp/FOV120-NV

Female/Female Jumper Wires

SparkFun Solder-able Breadboard - Mini

Male Header 40 Position 1 Row (0.1")

Accessory, Screw

Machine Screw, M4

Machine Screw, M3

Nut, M3

Software apps and online services

Home Assistant

Hand tools and fabrication machines

3D Printer (generic)

Wire Stripper & Cutter, 18-10 AWG / 0.75-4mm² Capacity Wires

Solder Wire, Lead Free

Soldering iron (generic)

Multitool, Screwdriver

Story

Introduction

Video Version of the Article:

Video with English subtitles

The sleep and feeding schedules of humans and cats differ significantly. To ensure that your furry friend can eat whenever they please, you can create an automatic cat feeder.

This is the first version of the feeder, and it had the following drawbacks:

Inconvenient food addition to the container
Ants are attracted to the cat's bowl
Food gets stuck during dispensing

1 / 3 • Pet Feeder v1.0

Introducing Cat Feeder 2.0

Printing and modeling took several days. In total, about 700 grams of plastic were used for the entire project, but only 300 grams are needed for the final version. This is because nearly every component had to be printed twice to improve the design. PLA natural-colored plastic was used.

Printing the parts and assembling the base

1 / 2

Creating an electrical junction for connecting the USB port, servo motor, and ESP32-CAM

1 / 2

Attaching the servo motor and the food dispensing gear

Attaching the power connector

Installing the ESP32-CAM enclosure

Now we need to create a new ESPHome device for the ESP32-CAM and flash it with HomeAssistant.

Connecting ESP32-CAM and wiring it up

1 / 2

For this version of the pet feeder, I decided to create something akin to a conveyor system. Under the force of gravity, the food drops onto a rotating shaft and is pushed further towards the bowl.

Assembling the food dispensing mechanism

1 / 3

Attaching the design elements

Initial Testing

Testing the feeder with peas and various types of cat food

1 / 3

It's ready!

Now you can create an automation in HomeAssistant for automatic feeding at scheduled times or simply feed your pet with a single press of a widget.

1 / 2 • Inscription: Cafe "Four Paws"

Thank you for your attention.

Schematics

Code

pet_feeder_v2.yaml

esphome:
  name: pet-feeder-v2
  friendly_name: pet-feeder-v2
  
  on_boot:
    priority: 100
    then:
      - light.turn_off: bowl_light

esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  framework:
    type: arduino

# Enable logging
logger:

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  encryption:
    key: "your encryption key"

ota:
  password: "your ota passwrod"

wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password

  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Pet-Feeder-V2 Fallback Hotspot"
    password: "your ap password"

captive_portal:

esp32_camera:
  external_clock:
    pin: GPIO0
    frequency: 20MHz
  i2c_pins:
    sda: GPIO26
    scl: GPIO27
  data_pins: [GPIO5, GPIO18, GPIO19, GPIO21, GPIO36, GPIO39, GPIO34, GPIO35]
  vsync_pin: GPIO25
  href_pin: GPIO23
  pixel_clock_pin: GPIO22
  power_down_pin: GPIO32
  name: "Bowl Camera"
  resolution: 1600x1200

output:
  - platform: ledc
    pin: GPIO4
    id: led_output
    channel: 2
    frequency: 500Hz

  - platform: ledc
    id: pwm_output
    pin: GPIO12
    frequency: 50 Hz

switch:
  - platform: template
    name: "Bowl Camera LED"
    id: bowl_light

    turn_on_action:
      - switch.template.publish:
          id: bowl_light
          state: ON
      - output.turn_on: led_output
      - delay: 15s
      - switch.template.publish:
          id: bowl_light
          state: OFF
      - output.turn_off: led_output
    turn_off_action:
      - switch.template.publish:
          id: bowl_light
          state: OFF
      - output.turn_off: led_output

servo:
  - id: feed_servo
    output: pwm_output

button:
  - platform: template
    name: "Feeding Button"
    on_press:
        - switch.turn_on: 
            id: bowl_light
        - servo.write:
            id: feed_servo
            level: 100%
        - delay: 0.4s
        - servo.write:
            id: feed_servo
            level: -100%
        - delay: 2s
        - servo.detach: feed_servo
        - delay: 0.2s

Credits

Craftiarenko

4 projects • 7 followers

Making simple things difficult :)

Automatic pet feeder

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Introduction

Introducing Cat Feeder 2.0

Initial Testing

Custom parts and enclosures

STL files

Schematics

ESP32 circuit

Code

pet_feeder_v2.yaml

Credits

Craftiarenko

Comments

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Automatic pet feeder

Automatic pet feeder

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Introduction

Introducing Cat Feeder 2.0

Initial Testing

Custom parts and enclosures

STL files

Schematics

ESP32 circuit

Code

pet_feeder_v2.yaml

Credits

Craftiarenko

Comments

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