So, to build an automatic pet feeder, I used a device called SOMA Smart Shades (https://somasmarthome.com/) It’s basically a smartphone controlled motor for my window shades but I thought why not try it out as a motor for pet feeder.

It has all the features I wanted: solar powered, time triggers, strong enough motor and most importantly, SAFETY FEATURES. We are dealing with live animals here!

After the initial setup I did some test runs to make sure my new automatic cat feeder is safe - my test dummy was my Vermont Teddy bear and as we can see from the pictures - safety testing is important with hacks like this!

SAFETY TEST WITH TEDDY BEAR (warning: graphic content).

I figured out that the problem was with my inital SOMA Smart Shades setup - I had the food bowl inside the feeder, so when the Smart Shades did the first calibration it measured the weight it had to lift, so it did not notice any deviation in resistance and did not stop.

New test run with correct calibration:

Safety test passed, in case of any disturbance the motor automatically stopped.

First I made a 3D model. If interested here are the files https://cdn.hackaday.io/files/253711085472864/Feeder.skp

I used all the 50 shades of different scrap wood I could find in my house. And glued it together.

Afte I cut out all the parts I assembled the parts together using wood glue. Once the glue dried, I sanded the panels until they felt smooth. Most parts are glued besides the linear guide rail, you can buy or recycle some cheap guide rail, I used NSK LS15 which is bit of an overkill but no regrets here.
I discovered that the linear guided rail needs a stopper, so I made one and glued onto the bottom of the feeder.

I used double-sided tape and fixed the Smart Shades in place. Connected the chain to the lower part of the feeder. A nail was used for an anchor for the chain. Now I download the Smart Shades app and followed the instructions.

Testing the two different feeding protocols available:

• ASAP or the Instant feeding with a swipe up and down on my smartphone,
• Scheduled feeding using mobile app and setting delayed triggers.
  
  

Plans for the future:

• Add cat meow detection (thinking of some kind of Arduino setup with machine learning) so I could train my cat to meow it’s food from the SPCF
• Figure out a proper branding and name for the device and start a startup company :)