Inspiration
I've been studying and working from home ever since the pandemic began. I realized my PC has been getting really hot over time, due to the nature of the software applications I'm using. Instead of buying a PC cooler, I decided to build one!
What it does
It's a cooler for your computer, cooling it down as it starts to heat up. If you have an Arduino lying around, it can easily be built within a few dollars. An added bonus is its energy efficiency - a temperature sensor consistently checks the PC temperature and accordingly regulates the fan speed, allowing you to work knowing you're taking care of your PC while not wasting energy / electricity unnecessarily.
How we built it
A DC motor (capable of connecting up to 2 DC motors with the L293D chip used) was used with fan blades serving as the fan that cools the PC. An L293D chip is used to control the DC motor direction (blowing cool air towards the PC). Using PWM, the DC motor speed is controlled. An Arduino Uno was used to deploy the code and run this apparatus, while a Temp/Humidity sensor was used to measure the temperature of the PC. The code checks the temperature every 5 seconds and automatically changes the fan speed accordingly. And the optimal PC temperature I set was between 20 - 25 degrees C.
Challenges we ran into
Time was definitely a major challenge - balancing this with work and term courses was definitely the biggest challenge (going into an in-person hackathon automatically carves out a set time to work on this, but with the pandemic, it was definitely a challenge to ensure I carved out enough time to complete this project). Another challenge presented itself during testing - to ensure that the PC cooler worked properly (changing fan speed when the temperature changed), it was a small challenge getting the air to heat up to 30 degrees C and back down to 20 degrees C to ensure all the edge case conditions were met. I got around this by using a heat gun and a much larger fan to ensure the code worked optimally!
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Proud of the fact that this was accomplished in the short time I had between work and study. Getting all the individual pieces to fit together and actually build something useful (this problem presented itself during the pandemic and it's something I've been meaning to make for quite some time) that I will actually use is quite rewarding!
What we learned
Learnt that a PC cooler that is also quite energy-efficient that can be built at the fraction of the market cost - quite a rewarding experience!
What's next for PCool
I'll be adding a Red and Green LED to visually display whether the PC is hot or cold (for the user). I would like to use an Arduino Nano instead (due to the smaller form factor) and solder all these connections onto a perf board, so I can easily put this into a mechanical enclosure I plan to either 3D print or make out of materials found around the house. I was in the middle of adding a function that increases and decreases the fan speed gradually, as opposed to an immediate jump (this will probably take about 30 min to implement and test with the project to ensure it works well). I would also like to find a better motor that can run off 5V and still deliver quality air flow, so I can plug this device into my computer, allowing it to be powered by my PC just like a real cooler!
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