Applications & Implications
Dehydrator

Concept

For the Fab Academy Final Project I want to make a Dehydrator to control the drying of my biomaterial explorations in the MDEF project.

Dehydrator Box

Reference: Low Tech Dehydrator

BOM List and Supplies

Materials

· Wood Sheet (15mm): Fab Lab BCN
· Perforated Tray (for the shelfs): Chinos
· Aluminium Foil: Home
· Double Side Tape: Home
· Methacrylate Sheet (3mm): Servei Estació

Components

· Thermistor: Home
· Temperature and Humidity Sensor (2/3 units): Home
· Computer Fan (12V): Home
· LCD Screen: Home
· Clock: Home
· Relé: Home
· Mosfet: Home?
· Arduino: Home
· Wifi Module: Home?

Programming Systems

Input Devices

Measure temperature and humidity of the Dehydrator.

Output Devices

Control temperature, fan speed, clock and LCD screen of the Dehydrator.

Control WIFI Module

Send and visualize the data of the Dehydrator in a computer/mobile.

First Iterations: Low Cost Prototype

Planning

What questions need to be answered?

· Is the dehydrator drying the biomaterial samples?
· How does the relation between fan speed and temperature affect the drying of the sample?
· How long does it take to dry a sample? What happens if all the shelfs are full of material samples?
· How does the thickness of the sample affect drying?
· How much electricity does the dehydrator consume in a day?

How will it be evaluated?

To answer the evaluation criteria, I propose three questions:
· Are the different parts of the project well resolved?
· Is the dehydrator functional?
· Do people know how to use the dehydrator?