This is an instructable for making a device that can make every roller blind automatic and "smart".

All you need:

Parametric 3D ball chain toothing CAD file from John Abella
Adafruit motor shield
Arduino Uno
Stepper motor
photo resistance
Jumpers
2 PCB push buttons
resistors
PCB

Step 1: Solder Your Adafruit Motor Shield on Your Arduino

First you have to prepare your Adafruit motor shield to put it on your Arduino uno. You do this by soldering the pins that come with your motor shield on your motor shield.

Step 2: Mount Your Stepper Motor on Your Motor Shield

Now that your motor shield is soldered you can connect your stepper motor to your arduino, preferably on the M4 and M3 port as you can see on the photo. If you have connected it, you can download a code from the adafruit site to test your stepper motor and learn more about your motor shield.

Step 3: Letting the Buttons Work.

Now you can add buttons to your project, this ensures that your roller blind can go up and down. First you have to recreate the above setup so that your buttons are mounted on your motor shield / arduino. If you have done this you can test your buttons by uploading the following code to your arduino:

Now that your buttons are working, you can solder them on a small PCB so that they are firmly attached if you put them in your box.

Step 4: Adding the Photoresistors to Your Arduino

Now that your buttons are working, we are going to add a photoresistor: this ensures that your roller blind goes down when too much sun shines on your window. Before we start soldering, we start making it on a breadboard and testing if everything works. Make the following setup again and upload the code and adapt it to taste, so that it works in your area.

Now that your photoresistor is working you can solder it so that everything is extra strong.

Step 5: Your Gear for Your Roller Blind 3D Printing

Your Gear for Your Roller Blind Necklace 3D Printing Now you can print the Parametric 3D ball chain gear CAD file of John Abella 3D. If you have a 3D printer at your disposal, you can easily print there. If you do not have a 3D printer at your disposal, you can have your 3D model printed via a site such as: shapeways.

Step 6: Now You Can Make a Casing.

If you want to make as small an enclosure as possible, you can make a box with MDF of 14 x 4.5 x 5.5 cm (Length x WIDTH X HEIGHT). Saw the pieces from an MDF board and attach them together with wood glue. When you're box is done you can drill the holes for the stepper motor, the buttons and for the ports on the Arduino. Leave the back open for a while, because then you can attach all the components you made in the previous steps to the box. This will all have to fit but maybe you have to make some modifications for your setup.

Step 7: The Last Finish

Now you can modify your casing to your own taste. I chose to wrap the box in fabric because I wanted a homely style. But you can have a completely different idea. Now you can attach your 3D printed gear to the stepper motor. Finally, you have to make a system so that you can easily mount it in your window frame. I used brackets for hanging wall cabinets. But if you have a better solution you should definitely do that.

That was it, you have your own automatic Arduino Shades!