Today, I completed building a circuit that can find the weight of an object. It works by collecting the readings from three force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) and passing them through an analog-to-digital converter. The FSRs are the dark, paddle-shaped things standing up from the breadboard. Once the frame is built, the FSRs will support the weight of a load placed on a platform. The signals from the FSRs will be combined and converted to a real-world weight with a calibration equation.
This circuit and the code that runs it are part of a project I am working on in the MakerSpace class I am taking at UAF. My team and I are building an inventory system to keep track of the 3-D printer filament stock. The plan is to create a device that will weigh a filament spool, read the RFID tag on the spool, and update an inventory spreadsheet with the amount of filament left on the spool.
I am taking this class because I tried to learn Raspberry Pi programming and circuit design on my own, but found it frustrating. There were too many picky details. Learning it in a classroom environment simplifies matters because there are people to ask when something goes wrong. Usually, it is something dumb, like using spaces instead of a tab when writing a program.
The project we are tackling is much to my liking. Before taking the class, I made a list of learning goals I wanted to achieve. Learning to read weights, learning to read RFID tags, and learning to send information to a spreadsheet were all high on my list. Being able to do those things will enable me to move forward on some dream projects after the class ends.
