Album: https://ift.tt/2AXBr2p a GIF in the imgur album above, but this one is higher quality and shows different angles: https://ift.tt/2P0j3J4 VersionI attach a box to my e-reader, I press a button on a remote, a servo rotates an arm that taps the screen to advance the page.Long VersionIt is a 3D printed enclosure that houses an Arduino nano, Radio Frequency (RF) receiver, micro servo and some wires. The servo arm has an extension on it that has a stylus tip with a connection to ground to make the capacitive touch screen think a person is touching it. It is powered by a micro USB port. The remote has a long range, and more importantly does not require line-of-sight so I can turn the page with my hand under the covers while laying in bed petting cats and the Kindle is held by a stand.Motivation: I got a Kindle Paperwhite at Goodwill for $15 and absolutely love it, but I don't like how you have to press the screen to advance the page. The old one had a button on the side and you could hold it in a more comfortable position and advance the page. This is an attempt to eliminate that "problem."I finally got a 3D printer and wanted to learn about designing and making stuff with it. This is my first 3D printing project with parts that I designed. Here are the files on Thingiverse: https://ift.tt/2B17X3S, I was motivated by a maker I like named David Neevel who makes great stuff. He posted this video on Instagram that does something much cooler.Research: In trying to find a product that does this, I saw something similar called "KindleLazy" which required a jailbroken device but I wanted to make something that could be used by people who weren't comfortable with that. I also found some bluetooth pedals that musicians use to advance the pages of their sheet music on their tablets. This could definitely be used for that as well, but the sound of the servo moving would interfere with any recording or performance.I had a somewhat difficult time figuring out how to get the stylus to advance the page when I wasn't holding it. I googled it for 10 minutes and only found people asking questions without any useful answers (lots of answers, none of them actually worked), so I learned about how capacitive touch screens work to figure out how to trick it. Basically, they cover the underside of the screen with electrons and anything that gives the current somewhere to go creates a capacitor for the electrons to flow into. Instead of using a human, I used the ground connection of the Arduino in this case. The stylus tip is some sort of conductive rubber, and the ground wire is wrapped around underneath the knob that it attaches to in order to make good surface contact for conduction.This is not a tutorial about how to make it, but it's pretty simple and I'm happy to answer any questions, share my Arduino code, share links to the parts I used, etc.DesignI designed the parts in Solidworks. The idea for the clip was inspired by this thing: https://ift.tt/2OYYsF3. I don't think the enclosure is well-designed for the parts it houses. There is a lot of wasted space. I might try to make something that has some fillets to better match the smoother curves of the Kindle. One thing I'm really happy with is the sliding box side and press-fit back. Designing within the limitations of 3D printing overhang was interesting, and this was my solution. It took a few test prints to get the tolerance correct for a slide fit on the side and a nice press-fit on the back, but that's the beauty of a 3D printer is that I can change it by 0.05mm and try again. This was also the first project that I designed in metric units. I don't own a metric tape measure, but all of these measurements were small enough for my calipers so I gave that a shot. While freedom units are probably still more comfortable for me, I think I'll be using metric from now on.I originally wanted to make something without a micro controller in it. I was going to use a mini solenoid with a mechanism to tap the screen and retract, but it was getting too complicated so I gave in and just used an Arduino and a servo. The servo sounds like a servo, which is annoying to your partner when you're laying in bed trying to fall asleep and they hear the whining of a bunch of tiny gears every minute because you're too lazy to hold and tap your own Kindle.PartsI used this RF Receiver: https://ift.tt/2AWVKNF RF Transmitter: https://ift.tt/2vzYLhM micro USB breakout board: https://ift.tt/2B7wDb4 Arduino nano clone (I had a few lying around, they were $3.50 but are completely overkill for this)Tower Pro MG90 ServoThis tablet holder (I don't love it): https://ift.tt/2vzYNpU PrintingI have a Monoprice Maker Select Plus (Wanhao Duplicator Plus). I printed this in black PLA with 0.1mm layer height. I like the printer a lot. This project was helpful in learning more about it. via /r/DIY https://ift.tt/2MiL4NJ
