pi-nail

pi-nail is an implementation of an e-nail controller for the Raspberry Pi using Node.JS and TypeScript, with an accompanying mobile app written in React.JS/Redux/SocketIO.

After much research, I found all the custom solutions out there lacking for PID control under typescript, and very little available period. I did, however, find the ArduPID library by Tellicious, which seemed quite complete and well written, but in the wrong language :)

Summary

The following are some of the key features of the project:

• Port of the ArduPID library to Typescript
• Implemented in a component based approach to allow replacement of key modules:
  • Temperature Sensor Module
    • MAX6675 K-Type Thermocouple Sensor Implementation
    • MLX90614 IR Temperature Sensor Implementation
    • Multiple Sensor Implementation (allows using average, max, min of multiple sensors)
    • Change MLX90614 Address Program to allow Multiple IR Sensors
  • Heater Module
    • On/Off Heater Implementation for SSR/relay control
    • PWM Heater Implementation for PWM control for induction heaters or DC resistive coils
  • Socket.IO Service
  • React.JS/Redux Web Front End for Mobile
  • Console UI Module Implemented in [blessed](https://github.com/chjj/blessed) and [blessed-contrib](https://github.com/yaronn/blessed-contrib)
  • Can run as service without Console UI
  • Temperature Monitor Service that runs in the background and sends stop signals to the heaters if a maximum temperature is exceeded.

Demo

Configuring the application

Server

Update configuration for pins and default settings

1. Update pins in app.ts and tempMonitor.ts
2. Update default settings (ie. PID, etc.) in config.json
3. Copy config.json to build folder

Client

1. Update configuration in config/config.json

Running the demo

1. Download the package
2. Server
   1. Install npm dependencies (npm install)
   2. Build (node_modules/.bin/tsc)
   3. Run (node build/app.ts)
3. Client
   1. Install npm dependencies (npm install)
   2. Build (npm run build)
   3. Run (npm run start-ts)

Server (run from Raspberry Pi -- Runs well on PiZeroW)

git clone https://github.com/J-Cat/pi-nail
cd pi-nail-server
npm install
node_modules/.bin/tsc
sudo node build/app.js

Client (run from PC)

git clone https://github.com/J-Cat/pi-nail
cd pi-nail-client
npm install
npm run build
npm run start-ts

Running the temperature monitoring service

The temperature monitoring service can be run with the following command:

node build/tempMonitor.js

I would also recommend that you install the tempMonitor service to run in the background all the time. This can be accomplished by installing PM2 - Advanced, production process manager for Node.js. Once PM2 is installed it can be used to schedule the service as follows (from the build directory):

1. sudo pm2 start tempMonitor.js --name "tempMonitor"
2. sudo pm2 save

Mobile Installation Packages

 
• iOS

Upcoming Features

• Bluetooth communication module to allow for non-network mobile access.
• WiFi configuration screen in mobile app (can be configured when connected through Bluetooth)

Licensing

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.