Intro: The Flood Alert Build Guide
Welcome!
If you’ve just landed on this page, I hope it provides a good build guide for the Flood Alert. You can find the Code Guide here, with GitHub links. CAD Files are online (See Downloads - below).
If you’re interested in the backstory of how the Flood Alert project came to be, the highs and lows of the design research process, interspersed with my occasional musings on ethics and philosophy of design, then please rewind - and enjoy some insights into user search, industry insights, and initial ideation. (link). Or if keen to get going, scroll on…
The entire project is open source, and indeed, the general functionality of a WiFi microprocessor with some ‘traffic lights’ and an e-Ink display - makes for a good ‘generic’ piece of OS Hardware. Indeed, I reused it 6 months later when working on a Smart [Solder] Sense project in 2024, with almost no modifications beyond decals/text!
So please do feel free to reuse and remix this (please read CC licence), or make one yourself for alerting you to flood risks - read on!
3D Printing Files & Printing Tips
Please download the STL Files for Printing below / GitHub.
If you’re new to 3D printing, I created 15 tips for RS DesignSpark, ranging from the Essential to the Professional, and lastly some Obscure and Quirky Tips too!
The two main parts of the enclosure should be placed ‘flat’, and I’ve designed it to need no ‘support’, with 45-degree buttresses to ‘build-out’ as it goes layer by layer - meaning you can likely print this in half an hour, with a 0.6mm nozzle, at a 0.32mm layer height, though if not in a rush, I recommend a 1.5hr print with 0.6mm nozzle, but in ‘fine’ or ‘standard’ layer height for a nicer finish.
Tip: You can even place the button in the ‘windows’. Noting that there is a ‘flat’ face to the button, which should be placed on the print surface. Again, no support needed.
Post-Print Clean-up
You will need:
Threaded Brass Inserts (M2 Size) and corresponding M2 Machine Screws.
You may also find the Inserts go in better if you pre-drill the holes with the corresponding drill bit sizes (1.5 to 5.5 mm in a Set for example).
Using a Soldering Iron or Blowtorch to place the Inserts in ‘hot’ is also typical, and covered in the tips in a video with more detail.
Basic Tools Needed
The Holes for the Brass Inserts are the same size as the ‘innermost’ collar of the Insert - so if 3.5mm wide with knurling, and it has a 3mm smooth face, then drill out with a 3mm drill bit.
Similarly, if your print yields 4.75mm holes for the LEDs, it’s intended to ‘drill out’ to 5.5mm, or 5.25mm if you want a very snug fit. Buttons need a 3.5mm drill, etc. Safe to say, nearest imperial sizes will work ok too.
Heat up the Brass Insert on the end of a long (25mm) M2 Bolt, until you see a tiny colour change (no longer than 10 seconds). I’ve made mine into a ‘DIY tool’ with a wooden handle, as it does get hot over dozens of uses when working in large batches, but for a 1-off you’ll likely be fine! Press in as shown, until flush. When it feels less soft/wiggly, carefully unscrew the bolt, taking care to ensure it’s perpendicular at the last turn. If wonky, simply correct whilst warm, or heat the bolt tip up with the blowtorch, screw in and allow the heat to dissipate and this will allow you to reset things to suit. I used a metal tip of my mechanical pencil to push down any slight bit of plastic splurging out, to ensure it is flush with the screw-boss.
If you’ve not pre-drilled the hole, this is where you’ll likely get a significant excess of melted PLA plastic splurging-out around the sides, but you can trim this off with a knife when cool, or buff-down with a rotary tool… but pre-drilling takes less time in the long run!
For the Back Plate, do the same with pre-drilling and inserting the Brass Inserts as shown.
Clean out any swarf/debris from the screw-hole recess if needed. If you have a deburring tool - clean any burrs off the magnet holes if needed, or carefully use a scalpel if not.
I forgot to take a photo of screwing the Countersunk Magnets in, but you get the idea, as shown below.
I had a Dymo Printer, and tried sticking labels to it, as shown - and suddenly found this was a terrible idea, as within a day or moderately warm weather, the stickers simply fell off the 3D printed surface… This will not stand!
I searched Google for how to get better stickers for 3D prints. I’d used some for RadioGlobe, but these were essentially very fancy, and cost about £75 for professional printing, and I did it as really there was no other option and RS kindly offered to pay for it to ‘finish in style’ with nice decals. However, that was just two stickers: “RadioGlobe” and “RS DesignSpark” - this Flood Alert needed 12 (!) - and I may even need more, as the project was still very much in development. I needed to figure something out.
Part 2 shows how I solved this, and I’m going to wager that this is the most viewed page of the blog series, as with RadioGlobe, as cool as the project was, evidently Brass Inserts - although obvious to me having worked at Dyson, where I first encountered them - were relatively unknown in the hobbyist/enthusiast world - so I think DIY Decals for under £1 a set is a game changer! And hence, I’m expecting this to be the ‘Uber Tip’ of the project! Haha!
Bill of Materials (BOM):
Case:
3D Printing: PLA (832-0223)
M2 Machine Screws (Slimline) : https://amzn.to/3zwDWIj
M2 Brass Threaded Inserts : https://amzn.to/47MnQa5
Electronics:
Arduino 33 Nano IoT / ABX00032: (192-7589) ~£24
E-Ink Display Module - 2.9" (296x128) / SKU: WAV-12956: https://thepihut.com/products/eink-display-module-spi-2-9-296x128 ~£21
Buzzer: (511-7620) or Bulk: https://amzn.to/3XQYx1S
Red LED: (228-5988)
Yellow LED: (228-6010)
Green LED: (228-6004)
RGB LED: https://amzn.to/3XGywSY
Header (Female) Strips: https://amzn.to/4gOZeSc
Resistors (Bumper Pack) : https://amzn.to/4dsZZNY
Button 5.9mm : (479-1435)
Button 90degree 3.85mm : (758-1994)
Button 90degree 8.25mm : (758-1991)
BC547BTA NPN Transistor : (671-1113)
Power Supply Unit / USB Micro: (177-0222) (or similar).
Optional JST Clips (for Serial RX/TX Port) : (820-1557)
Optional Protoboard: https://amzn.to/3zOZ10s
WiFi & SIM Setup:
TP-Link WiFi SIM: https://amzn.to/43Sgajn
24month 24 Gb SIM Cards: https://amzn.to/46aMrEr
Genuinely these are a bargain - for what issues they solve with doing Citizen Science research and data privacy, etc. at ~£70 to make those issue 'go away' is such a no-brainer in hindsight. They are even less, since I started this project.
Decals (Text on 3D Prints):
Print at Home (Inkjet) Decals: https://amzn.to/4dwNRv4
Clear Spray Paint: (017-4053)
Blog Series Contents:
Prologue - The Case for 'Hyper-Localisation' of Civic Data
Research & Development:
Part 1: Filling the Local Data Gap
Part 2: Civic Services & User Experience Research
Part 3: Ideation of Flood Alert Concept
Part 4: Prototyping Back-Story
Part 5: Citizen Science Learnings
Open Source Build Guide:
Part 6: Build Guide for 3D Printed Assembly
Part 7: DIY Decals for 3D Prints
Part 8: Code & Data Guide
Future Ambitions:
Part 9: Project Reboot with Machine Learning
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