This instructable was created in fulfillment of the project requirement of the Makecourse at the University of South Florida (www.makecourse.com). The goal of this project is intended to help people control their breathing when they are distressed or just need to relax. The way this works is when the individual presses 1 on the control remote, the stepper motor will rotate to expand the ball while the person inhales and when the ball decreases the person will exhale.

Supplies

3D printer (I used the Flashforge Finder 3D Printer)

Arduino UNO

Stepper motor 28BYJ-48 + ULN2003 Driver Test Module Board

16x2 White on Blue Character LCD

IR Remote Control & Receiver

Male to Male and Female to Male Arduino wires

9V Battery Clip (connects to Arduino)

9V Battery

Step 1: 3D Print the Hoberman Ball

This part is the most time-consuming part of the project and I suggest starting to print the parts early into this project. I have attached the .stl files down below so you can start printing right away. You will need 96 prints of the "Arm_hoberman", 12 prints of "Sectional_hoberman", 168 prints of "Pin_hoberman" and only one print of the rest of the files. Once they are printed, you have to the pieces exactly like in the second picture shown. You will need to connect 8 "Arm_hoberman" pieces with the pins and then proceed to connect 4 "Sectional_hoberman" pieces at each end. Pay close attention to how you assemble it and make sure the "Sectional_hoberman" pieces are exactly assembled like in the third picture shown. Repeat this process until you make one full ring. After you completed one ring, repeat the process like in the beginning but attach it to the "Sectional_hoberman" pieces already in the first ring. Repeat until you have three rings that will properly open and close the ball. Next print the rest of the pieces that are "HOBERMANHEADmotor", "HOBERMANmotor", and "HOBERPLATEmotor", and assemble it as the fourth picture shows.

Step 2: Set-up Circuits

Set up the IR remote and receiver, stepper motor and LCD screen display as shown. You can connect the female to male to the LCD Screen display and the ULN2003 driver 1. Make sure you connect the IN1 on the ULN2003 driver 1 to pin 8 in the Arduino, IN2 to pin 9, IN3 to pin 10, and IN4 to pin 11. Also, make sure you connect the SDA and SLC to the correct pins on the Arduino (See the back of the Arduino to see the SDA and SLC pins). Lastly, connect the IR receiver as the third picture shows; S goes to pin 2, GND goes to ground, and Vcc goes to to the positive column in the breadboard.

When the code is done, connect the battery clip to the Arduino along with the 9V battery. I also strongly suggest buying another battery that will separately connect to the stepper motor. Connecting the stepper motor with the same battery that turns on everything else drains the battery faster and it might not work properly.

Step 3: Code

Download the Arduino IDE if you haven't already. I personally used and recommend the latest version 1.8.10. I have attached the code down below and make sure everything works properly. Have fun!