A Tool Tracker V1 - Stardance

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@Bepfrm on A Tool Tracker V1 · about 1 month ago

first physical design of the tool tracker

This is the first iteration of many of my tool tracker idea. Its currently running a Pico W on a breadboard with limit switches hooked up to a 5v power bank. The python on the Pico calls ntfy, and every event (a tool gets removed or placed back), will call ntfy and send a notification telling which tool was removed/placed. It’s meant to be placed inside a toolbox, and the owner of said toolbox can accurately track the current inventory of their tools. I also implemented some commands on ntfy, mainly being /status, which tells you the immediate status of all the tools. This is meant for robotics teams/makerspaces because a lot of people have access to tools, and the mentors being able to know which tools are being used makes it a little better considering that a tool may be pretty costly.

future implementations

Most likely, I would be making an app of sorts instead of just relying on ntfy, but that will be till the end
will implement stuff such as ID tracking; so a user inputs their ID before they can use tools, so people can track who is currently using the tools.
-improving the design of the limit switch placement so that it can actually seat a tool instead of it just sticking out of a flat plate.

3 devlogs
5h build

Video of Project → See source code →

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@Bepfrm on A Tool Tracker V1 · about 1 month ago

58m logged

First Physical Prototype

finally put together the first physical protoype of the tool tracker. Its running off of a pico W thats powered by my power bank. Its currently connected via wifi and connects to NTFY and sends update notifcations. On NTFY, I also added commands such as /on /off and /status. I’ll upload a video soon!

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@Bepfrm on A Tool Tracker V1 · about 1 month ago

3h 8m logged

Started working on the coding aspect of this

I finally figured out how ntfy works and how to code with a raspberry Pico W. It doesn’t fully work right now, but will update you guys with videos and photos once I get it running!

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@Bepfrm on A Tool Tracker V1 · about 2 months ago

32m 43s logged

Initial Design of Tool Tracker

this is the initial design of my tool tracker. The goal of this DIY tool tracker is to track the inventory of certain tools (expensive ones). The main audience of this would be robotics teams, or makerspaces, as they deal with frequent use of high end tools. It uses a rsby pi pico W along with limit roller switches on amazon. Its paired with an app that allows one to check the current inventory without actually opening the toolbox.
Future implementations: Add a ID tracker or a toolbox door open detector to have the same functions as snap on tracking toolboxes. Tools are supposed to sit ontop of the holes(which are fitted with the switch) to detect whether they are present or not)

V2 ideas: Make this gridfinity compatable and to work on the app/ntfy code to send notifications to your phone.

if you have any ideas lmk