Motorized tilt control for horizontal slat style blinds

• Using a standard NEMA 17 stepper motor (choose your torque)
• Sensorless homing and quiet operation via TMC2209 stepper motor driver
• Mechanical parts can be off the shelf or 3D printed (STLs included)
• Optional external button

Building

If you've never attempted a project like this, I highly recommend first checking out (or attempting) this project: Motorized_MQTT_Blinds. Watch the video, read the issues, etc. to understand the concept and challenges.

Parts

• D1 Mini ESP8266
• TMC2209 Stepper Module (FYSETC 3.1)
• 12V DC power supply
• Buck converter
• (Optional) Momentary push button
• Mounting hardware (see section below)
• Recommend snapping JST connectors for power, button, motor quick disconnects
• Standard stuff like hookup wire, heatshrink, soldering iron, etc.

Wiring

Mounting

• If not 3D printing, use the parts below. Measure the tilt shaft of your blinds. Mine is square 6.5mm, so 10mm works.
  • NEMA17 Stepper Bracket
  • 5mm to 10mm shaft coupler
  • Momentary push button
• The connection between the motor shaft and the tilt shaft is all that's needed to secure. You'll need some wiggle room anyways so I recommend not trying to secure the mounted motor, its weight will be enough.
• The STLs included for the button housing is for a 12mm DIP style pushbutton that can be mounted on a wall.

Firmware

• Update the HOSTNAME, SSID, and PASSWORD variables

Usage

• The calibration process moves the blinds to each extreme position, captures the time it takes, and uses this time to determine position. It's accessible in the web ui.
• Using the web ui:
  • Open a browser to the IP of the D1 mini (port 80)
• Using the REST API:
  • See the srv_settings and srv_motor_go functions. The settings_t members are accessed by their index.

Other

• HTML minifier (Watch out for those double quotes!)
• FYSETC Wiki
• A previous version is in the branch v0_customspool. This version uses a custom spool and drives the existing tilt gear mechanism. It requires a bit more parts and work so not really recommended.