Pinch Valve

This is a simple way to control the flow of water via a microcontroller or similar. Most commercial irrigation valves require a certain amount of water pressure. This valve is designed for low water pressure. It is used in the eRiceCooker project, a fully automated system that cooks rice according to the frequency of news reports about genetically modified rice.

Step 1 The Parts

You will need:
- A servo motor
- Enough flexible latex tubing, outside diameter 3/8" (medical supply store)
- Metal pipe outside diameter 1/2" (home depot)
- Four zip ties (they can be a bit wider than the ones pictured)
- two tiny screws & bolts
- Flat material which can be cut, sanded and drilled (plexiglass, wood, aluminum, etc.)

Comments

[maker12]

I HATE MICRO,S (all haill nash for non micro based ic,s)

[VelvetElvis]

Nice photos! I wish all Instructables were this clear.

[cheesy]

Any suggestions on where to get cheap servos? Also, tips on hooking them up to microcontrollers?

[bluelip]

Check your local RC/Hobby store. I picked up two Futaba S3004 servos last week for $13 each. I thought it was a good deal since the last time I bought a servo, a few years ago, they were over over 20 bucks each.

[trebuchet03]

oooo -I like that microcontroller setup (except it requires a programmer for initial setup :P) That site is acting a bit flaky (not sure if it's my end to blame) - I've been wanting to get into microcontrollers and I think this is how I'm going to do it (fits the budget :P).

[Myself]

Allow me to plug the Serial Wombat here. I picked one up a few months ago at Hamvention and it's pretty sweet: A programmed PIC that can act independently, but is mostly an I/O peripheral for your PC. It's incredibly easy to do tasks like drive steppers and servos, read encoders and pots, and control LCDs.

[rimar2000]

Excellent.

[Crash2108]

I was going to make an automated risotto maker.

[LasVegas]

Love the automated rice cooker. Now can you make an automated potato masher? Or, better yet! an automated port roaster for every time a federal bill is passed.

[ARVash]

Rofl XD. i like it :3