Meowton food scale
This part will measure the food that the cat eats with great precision.
After using version 2 for a while, i noticed i had to "do stuff" once a week to fix it. This is solved in version 4:
- Easier to assemble
- Easier to clean
- Better protection against too much pressure.
- Better protection against food crumbs jamming up.
I've been using it for months without needing manual intervention.
You can find them at either of these sites:
To protect the very sensitive loadcell, i've made small clearances. If there is too much weight applied, the scale should be limited by this, thus protecting the loadcell.
Because of this its important to ensure this part is printed smooth and precise.
Feel free to improve the design and share it: https://a360.co/2X7kwmL
The most critical part is a 100g loadcell of a specific size.
Since the 3D parts are drawn to exactly fit this one, you'll need the same one I used.
You can find it here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/0-100g-200g-300g-750g-Electronic-Scale-Aluminum-Alloy-Weighing-Sensor-Load-Cell-Weight-Discount-50/32670225988.html
If anyone knows if this is a specific size or type, let me know. Other types are welcome as well. Internally I call this "type 3".
I made the fusion 360 quite parametric, so adjusting it for other loadcells should be easy. If you modify the Fusion 360 drawings to fit other types, please share them and let me know so i can update the wiki.
The bowl needs to be bolted down to something, see Cat scale
I only have european measurements:
- 4 x M3 Bolt, 15mm length
- 2 x M3 Nut
Look at the Meowton-setup page where to get this.
The white part of the loadcell is delicate: Make sure you dont apply a lot of force during assembly. This also means dont pull/push the scale too hard when its complete.
Make sure the loadcell is connected such that the ARROW points down and is connected to the moving RED part.
Bolt and screw the loadcell to the green and red parts. One side of the loadcell has threads, the other side needs the nuts.
Its important that the RED part in the above drawing can move freely and doesnt touch the other parts.
Here is a sliced version so you can see whats going on inside:
As you can see the stuff thats connected to the topside of the loadcell is supposed to "float" and not touch anything.
When assembly is done make sure the cables go through the hole, and screw the green part to the base plate.
The bowl (white) should fit loosely into the red part. This is to allow easy maintenance and cleaning.
Its important its loose! If its too tight you will damage the loadcell when removing it.
The blue protection rim is to prevent food from falling in and jamming up the red part.
Its fitted pretty loosely, so i might redesign it to snap into it better.
You can now continue with the Electronics