Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge (Remix)

thingiverse

Just made a more complete, ready to print thing out of the original design by Rutgerkdejong. The axle holes are 2mm (from what I remember). You could use some type of nail or wire, etc. for the axle. I just used a little rc car axle I found and cut it to size. No supports are needed, except for maybe the half circles on the enclosure. I printed that part with support, just for assurance, so I can't say whether it will come out clean without support or not. The elevated platform on the inside of the enclosure wall is meant to be for whatever sensors you might use to detect the bucket tips. I used a SparkFun line follower (IR detector/emitter) https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9453 . Hot glue this on the side platform, and then glue a square of aluminum foil (for IR reflecting) on the elevated tab on the tipping bucket. I wasn't a fan of the form or function of reed sensors for this application, being how small this setup is, getting the right combination of magnet size/power, distances, etc., didn't seem reliable. Oh and I allowed enough tolerance between the lid and the enclosure, so you shouldn't have to modify the scaling of either. The files are ready to print. From my calculations (which may not be totally accurate) with each tip of the bucket, 0.6579mm of rainfall occurs. If anyone does their own calculations I would be glad to hear them.