OpenTrickler for DIY users

eamars · Jan 28, 2024

Hello All
I'd like to share my open source powder trickler system the OpenTrickler

Inspired by the AutoTrickler v4 and Super Trickler, the OpenTrickler is designed be printed and assembled using garden tools.

Currently the OpenTrickler supports the following precision scales

A&D FX-120/300 series
G&G JJ100B series

To build the OpenTrickler you will need

A functional 3D printer with minimum 200mm3 build volumn.
Basic electronics experience and skills, including soldering and identifying basic components.

Basic function demos
Powder charge

Powder discharge

BuildingConceptsllc · Jan 28, 2024

You printed a while trickler system???

eamars · Jan 28, 2024

BuildingConceptsllc said:
You printed a while trickler system???

Without the scale and the motor, yes.

BuildingConceptsllc · Jan 28, 2024

eamars said:
Without the scale and the motor, yes.

That's really cool. Very very cool

Aftermath · Jan 28, 2024

HOLY TRICKLE DOWN, BATMAN!!! I unashamedly clicked the watch button up there on the top right.

towerofpower93 · Jan 29, 2024

I have neither a 3d printer nor the other required skills listed in the OP, but that's really cool, dude!

wizit247 · Jan 30, 2024

This is epic and awesome of you to share. What would you say the cost is for all purchased components?

eamars · Jan 30, 2024

wizit247 said:
This is epic and awesome of you to share. What would you say the cost is for all purchased components?

Everything except for PCB can be purchased from Aliexpress for less than $50. If you can find 5 buddies and share the PCB fabrication feed then each fully populated board costs around $15.

For printed part I'm expecting you to use less than 1kg of filament which is around $15-$20 depending on the type of the filament.

Of course you need to supply the scale which costs heaps. And a 3d printer if you don't have one already.

anon · Mar 10, 2024

I knew I'd eventually find something to make with a pico. Always eager to learn a new skillset. I've been looking for some electromechanical device that holds my interest.

Thank you, very much.

wizit247 · Mar 11, 2024

I've started to build one of these to run on a GG J100B scale. I have a FX120i I can use for comparison sake as well.
Everything is printed at essentially factory settings on a Bambu X1 Carbon from ABS. Everything fits perfectly so far.
Ignore the short hopper, that was just a test print.

Here is the price list for everything I ordered. The PCB boards were $150 for the minimum quantity of 5 but I split it with some buddies.

Bmghunter · Mar 11, 2024

Didn't see this thread when it came out. Printing the parts now to see how it goes before ordering parts.

mynamejeff · Mar 11, 2024

maybe a dumb question, would there be a way to use this design with the bulk dropper and the IP trickler, using the autotrickler controller/software?

eamars · Mar 11, 2024

wizit247 said:
I've started to build one of these to run on a GG J100B scale. I have a FX120i I can use for comparison sake as well.
Everything is printed at essentially factory settings on a Bambu X1 Carbon from ABS. Everything fits perfectly so far.
Ignore the short hopper, that was just a test print.

Here is the price list for everything I ordered. The PCB boards were $150 for the minimum quantity of 5 but I split it with some buddies.

Here is my price for 10x PCBA

The average price per board is around $10 to $15 depending on your location.

eamars · Mar 11, 2024

mynamejeff said:
maybe a dumb question, would there be a way to use this design with the bulk dropper and the IP trickler, using the autotrickler controller/software?

You may run into the performance issue like over charge or slow trickling.

But hardware wise it should be compatible.

wizit247 · Mar 11, 2024

mynamejeff said:
maybe a dumb question, would there be a way to use this design with the bulk dropper and the IP trickler, using the autotrickler controller/software?

I have a Autotrickler V4 and IP trickler so will be able to test a lot of different configurations like this once mine is completed. I will also have a FX120i and GG J100b scale so any combos you want to see tested I can likely facilitate.

I also may work with @eamars to get the Open Trickler working on the Creedmoor Sports scale which has been gaining popularity.

eamars · May 15, 2024

Now the G&G JJ223BF is supported.

missed · May 15, 2024

Nice! I have been meaning to get back to mine.

I want to build mine where it can drop powder onto the Dillon 550 or have a shell holder carousel so you can put an empty shell in and not touch it again till it's loaded.

I'm just using a ESP-32 S3 on mine. I have thought about going to a raspberry pi so I could have a fancy screen and easier memory retention

Middoegal · Aug 9, 2024

Hello from Germany.
I have already built several opentricklers for myself and my hunting buddies. We love this little machine. It works great. But one thing is still not entirely clear to me. I don't understand all the values for the powder profiles yet. Some are self-explanatory, but not all. Is there a list where I can see which value does what exactly? I can't find anything about it in the building instructions.

eamars · Aug 10, 2024

Middoegal said:
Hello from Germany.
I have already built several opentricklers for myself and my hunting buddies. We love this little machine. It works great. But one thing is still not entirely clear to me. I don't understand all the values for the powder profiles yet. Some are self-explanatory, but not all. Is there a list where I can see which value does what exactly? I can't find anything about it in the building instructions.

Hi

The OpenTrickler controller is designed around the PID controller. I suggest the manual tuning at this stage. You should be able to find the purpose of each parameter according to the table below:

Please make sure Ki is 0 at all time and tune Kp and Kd to get the optimal response time and minimum overshoot.

Reference: https://www.ctrlaltftc.com/the-pid-controller/tuning-methods-of-a-pid-controller

Middoegal · Aug 10, 2024

Hi! Thank you for that. That helps me a lot. I also had some issues with the bearing covers. Fine powders such as Vitahvuori N110 and N120 somehow get between the cover and the bearing, even if the bearing cover is printed tighter. The tube then gets stuck. I have removed the bearing covers completely and I am using dust protected bearings. This is working well so far after a few thousand charges. But I don't know, if this will be a problem in the long term.

wizit247 · Aug 12, 2024

Middoegal said:
Hi! Thank you for that. That helps me a lot. I also had some issues with the bearing covers. Fine powders such as Vitahvuori N110 and N120 somehow get between the cover and the bearing, even if the bearing cover is printed tighter. The tube then gets stuck. I have removed the bearing covers completely and I am using dust protected bearings. This is working well so far after a few thousand charges. But I don't know, if this will be a problem in the long term.

I had the same issues until I printed and started using the volume reducing inserts. They can be found in the Dirtbit folder of the Community Contributions.

https://github.com/eamars/OpenTrickler/tree/main/CommunityContributions/dirtbit

eamars · Aug 12, 2024

wizit247 said:
I had the same issues until I printed and started using the volume reducing inserts. They can be found in the Dirtbit folder of the Community Contributions.

https://github.com/eamars/OpenTrickler/tree/main/CommunityContributions/dirtbit

There is another version from me to streamline the volumn reducer based on Dirbit's design:

https://github.com/eamars/OpenTrickler/tree/main/STL/OpenTrickler/Optional/VolumnReducer

eamars · Aug 15, 2024

OpenTrickler PCB v2 just arrived today. I will make a formal release in the next few days.

JordanC.eth · Sep 29, 2024

This

eamars said:
OpenTrickler PCB v2 just arrived today. I will make a formal release in the next few days.

View attachment 8480135

Did you get more than 1 PCB v2 made? I'm about to start this build and I would gladly buy one from you.

This is spectacular. I'm so glad I found this thread.

eamars · Sep 30, 2024

JordanC.eth said:
This

Did you get more than 1 PCB v2 made? I'm about to start this build and I would gladly buy one from you.

This is spectacular. I'm so glad I found this thread.

Hello Jordan

Perhaps you can join our discord channel to ask if there are spare boards in your country.

JordanC.eth · Oct 2, 2024

eamars said:
Hello Jordan

Perhaps you can join our discord channel to ask if there are spare boards in your country.

I'd love to. Do you have a link that you can share?

mynamejeff · Oct 2, 2024

I'd be interested as well.

Harman117 · Oct 2, 2024

Discord link is in the GitHub link in the first post

eamars · Oct 2, 2024

Harman117 said:
Discord link is in the GitHub link in the first post

JordanC.eth said:
I'd love to. Do you have a link that you can share?

The address is below:

https://discord.gg/ZhdThA2vrW

mynamejeff said:
I'd be interested as well.

FYI you will be able to purchase the board from Aliexpress after 7 Oct. The instructions will be given on discord soon.
Also you might be able to find someone could spare a board with you around the area you live on discord.

st1650 · Oct 2, 2024

Very very based ... what a cool project.
Definitely in as well

wizit247 · Oct 3, 2024

I have a few Gen 1 boards I would let go of.

Middoegal · Oct 21, 2024

Hey guys!
I'm currently working on another trickler for a friend. I'd like to do something different with the housing this time. I'd be interested to know how you place the controller board, power supply and display. So far I've put the controller board and the power supply in one housing on the side of the hopper and the 12864 on the front right of the plate in front of the hopper. I got the housing for the 12864 from thingiverse, but I had to modify it a bit. It works fine, but I'm not completely happy with it though.
I'm talking about the G&G scale version...

eamars · Oct 21, 2024

Middoegal said:
Hey guys!
I'm currently working on another trickler for a friend. I'd like to do something different with the housing this time. I'd be interested to know how you place the controller board, power supply and display. So far I've put the controller board and the power supply in one housing on the side of the hopper and the 12864 on the front right of the plate in front of the hopper. I got the housing for the 12864 from thingiverse, but I had to modify it a bit. It works fine, but I'm not completely happy with it though.
I'm talking about the G&G scale version...

In fact it works without the mini 12864 display.. So that's entirely optional except for the first setup.

Unfortunately I never worked on the G&G version so I'm not sure how people would normally mount the display. Perhaps you can join our discord and ask around?

wizit247 · Oct 21, 2024

Middoegal said:
Hey guys!
I'm currently working on another trickler for a friend. I'd like to do something different with the housing this time. I'd be interested to know how you place the controller board, power supply and display. So far I've put the controller board and the power supply in one housing on the side of the hopper and the 12864 on the front right of the plate in front of the hopper. I got the housing for the 12864 from thingiverse, but I had to modify it a bit. It works fine, but I'm not completely happy with it though.
I'm talking about the G&G scale version...

I was able to house the board inside the GG base. I also created channels to route the motor cables internally to make for a very clean final product. Paired with a modified version of another users screen mount it made for an extremely clean product with essentially no exposed wiring.
I kept the power supply outside the unit but mounted a DC5521 bulkhead fitting for a seamless connection.

wizit247 · Oct 21, 2024

Final Product-

lash · Oct 21, 2024

wizit247 said:
Final Product-

Great work! That looks great. Interested in hearing your use results.

wizit247 · Oct 21, 2024

lash said:
Great work! That looks great. Interested in hearing your use results.

I got it dialed in and it now lives at a shooting buddies house loading all of his PRS ammo. We've been very happy with it.
Only issue we've dealt with is minor clumping in the large tube that can lead to overthrows. Eamars and crew have been working on solutions for that.

Also note that this is an early version without the trap door system. Still capable of throwing 42 grains of H4350 in 14 seconds or less. Not far off the performance of my AT V4 with IP trickler.

Middoegal · Oct 22, 2024

wizit247 said:
I was able to house the board inside the GG base. I also created channels to route the motor cables internally to make for a very clean final product. Paired with a modified version of another users screen mount it made for an extremely clean product with essentially no exposed wiring.
I kept the power supply outside the unit but mounted a DC5521 bulkhead fitting for a seamless connection.

Oh man! Really nice work. Love it! To use the free space in the base didnt come to my mind. Well done. Looks really clean.

Middoegal · Oct 24, 2024

wizit247 said:
I was able to house the board inside the GG base. I also created channels to route the motor cables internally to make for a very clean final product. Paired with a modified version of another users screen mount it made for an extremely clean product with essentially no exposed wiring.
I kept the power supply outside the unit but mounted a DC5521 bulkhead fitting for a seamless connection.

Where did you get the mount? I'm currently modifying the inside of the base for the controller board like you did. I hope everything will fit. I can't find a mount like that anywhere. It has to be hollow on the inside for the cable. At least that's what it looks like.

eamars · Wednesday at 1:59 AM

The OpenTrickler v2 board can be purchased from Aliexpress and shipped worldwide now.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008080766173.html

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