glyecrine bliz
INDIA • + Follow
Components
Tools, APP Software Used etc.
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KiCad 9.0 |
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arduino IDEArduino
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VS Code |
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ClaudeAnthropic
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Description
solenoid_controller
this is a small device used to control a solenoid. we made it as part of a research projec t to study the electrical response of piezoelectric crystals when a specific force is applied.
we first calibrated the solenoid (find the froce it produces for a given pwm) using a 20kg load cell and HX711 module.
then we used this data to produce a function that could convert the speciied force to required pwm. thus the solenoid can apply the force specified. the final device has a 1602 lcd and a 4x4 keypad. it can take user input for the force and no of hits. it also has emergency abort button (assigned to 'A" button on the keypad).
havent made an enclosure for it yet. :)
Code
solenoid-controller.ino
C/C++
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
#include <Keypad.h>
// pin configuration
const int LCD_RS = 8;
const int LCD_EN = 9;
const int LCD_D4 = 13;
const int LCD_D5 = 12;
const int LCD_D6 = 11;
const int LCD_D7 = 10;
//pwm output for solenoid
const int solenoidPin = 3;
LiquidCrystal lcd(LCD_RS, LCD_EN, LCD_D4, LCD_D5, LCD_D6, LCD_D7);
// 4x4 keypad configuration
const byte ROWS = 4;
const byte COLS = 4;
char keys[ROWS][COLS] = {
{'*', '0', '#', 'D'},
{'7', '8', '9', 'C'},
{'4', '5', '6', 'B'},
{'1', '2', '3', 'A'}
};
byte rowPins[ROWS] = {4, 5, 6, 7};
byte colPins[COLS] = {A0, A1, A2, A3};
Keypad keypad = Keypad(makeKeymap(keys), rowPins, colPins, ROWS, COLS);
// solenoid on time and off time
const unsigned long hitTime = 200;
const unsigned long offTime = 400;
//constants in the pwm calculation equation
const float a = -6.29477;
const float b = 0.13048;
// input configuration
const int maxDigits = 3;
String inputBuffer = "";
// abort flag
bool aborted = false;
void setup() {
lcd.begin(16, 2);
pinMode(solenoidPin, OUTPUT);
analogWrite(solenoidPin, 0);
showInstructions();
}
void loop() {
aborted = false;
lcd.clear();
int force = getForceInput();
if (aborted) {
showAborted();
return;
}
if (force <= 0) {
showError("Invalid Force");
return;
}
// Calculate pwm and display
int pwmValue = calculatePWM(force);
displayForcePWM(force, pwmValue);
// Get the number of hits from user
int hits = getHitsInput();
if (aborted) {
showAborted();
return;
}
if (hits <= 0) {
showError("Invalid Hits");
return;
}
performHits(pwmValue, hits);
if (aborted) {
showAborted();
return;
}
waitForKeyPress();
if (aborted) {
showAborted();
return;
}
}
//prints instructions to the lcd about the button functions
void showInstructions() {
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Press * to clear");
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print("Press # to enter");
if (waitWithKeyCheck(4000)) {
return;
}
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Press A to abort");
if (waitWithKeyCheck(4000)) {
return;
}
}
//check for keypress
bool waitWithKeyCheck(unsigned long ms) {
unsigned long startTime = millis();
while (millis() - startTime < ms) {
if (keypad.getKey() != NO_KEY) {
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
//check for abort button
bool delayWithAbortCheck(unsigned long ms) {
unsigned long startTime = millis();
while (millis() - startTime < ms) {
char key = keypad.getKey();
if (key == 'A') {
aborted = true;
analogWrite(solenoidPin, 0);
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
//aborted message
void showAborted() {
analogWrite(solenoidPin, 0);
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Aborted!!");
delay(2000);
}
//get user input for force
int getForceInput() {
inputBuffer = "";
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("F:");
lcd.setCursor(2, 0);
lcd.blink();
while (true) {
char key = keypad.getKey();
if (key != NO_KEY) {
if (key == 'A') {
aborted = true;
lcd.noBlink();
return 0;
}
else if (key >= '0' && key <= '9') {
if (inputBuffer.length() < maxDigits) {
inputBuffer += key;
lcd.print(key);
}
}
else if (key == '*') {
inputBuffer = "";
lcd.setCursor(2, 0);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.setCursor(2, 0);
}
else if (key == '#') {
lcd.noBlink();
if (inputBuffer.length() > 0) {
return inputBuffer.toInt();
}
return 0;
}
}
}
}
//get user input for no. of hits
int getHitsInput() {
inputBuffer = "";
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print("Hits:");
lcd.setCursor(5, 1);
lcd.blink();
while (true) {
char key = keypad.getKey();
if (key != NO_KEY) {
if (key == 'A') {
aborted = true;
lcd.noBlink();
return 0;
}
else if (key >= '0' && key <= '9') {
if (inputBuffer.length() < maxDigits) {
inputBuffer += key;
lcd.print(key);
}
}
else if (key == '*') {
inputBuffer = "";
lcd.setCursor(5, 1);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.setCursor(5, 1);
}
else if (key == '#') {
lcd.noBlink();
if (inputBuffer.length() > 0) {
return inputBuffer.toInt();
}
return 0;
}
}
}
}
//display force and calculated pwm
void displayForcePWM(int force, int pwmValue) {
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("F:");
lcd.print(force);
lcd.print(" PWM:");
lcd.print(pwmValue);
}
int calculatePWM(int force) {
float pwmFloat = ((float)force - a) / b;
int pwmInt = (int)round(pwmFloat);
pwmInt = constrain(pwmInt, 0, 255);
return pwmInt;
}
//perform hits
void performHits(int pwmValue, int hits) {
for (int i = 1; i <= hits; i++) {
//update hit count
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print(" ");
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print("Hits:");
lcd.print(i);
lcd.print("/");
lcd.print(hits);
// Solenoid ON
analogWrite(solenoidPin, pwmValue);
if (delayWithAbortCheck(hitTime)) {
return;
}
// Solenoid OFF
analogWrite(solenoidPin, 0);
if (i < hits) {
if (delayWithAbortCheck(offTime)) {
return;
}
}
}
analogWrite(solenoidPin, 0);
}
//
void showError(const char* message) {
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print(message);
delay(1500);
}
//register keypresses
void waitForKeyPress() {
while (keypad.getKey() != NO_KEY) {}
while (true) {
char key = keypad.getKey();
if (key != NO_KEY) {
if (key == 'A') {
aborted = true;
}
break;
}
}
delay(200);
}
Schematic and Layout
reference circuit
circuit2.jpg
May 29,2026
184 views
solenoid_controller
this device is used to apply a specified force using a solenoid. the solenoid is already calibrated using a load cell.
184
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1
Published: May 29,2026
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Download Gerber file 1
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File Last Updated: 2026/06/09 (GMT+8)
File update record
2026-06-0914:09:14
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