As I was busy automating many things in the house, I decided to also automate my curtains using the Xnorduino bus system.

The steppermotor drivers have been completed and an (early) example video has been added to this page. I've however not been able to install these motors above my windows yet, as no cat6 communication and power cabling has been foreseen during recent renovations. That's something I'm planning to finalize around early november / end of december.

I wanted the PCB design to fit against a typical Nema17 stepper motor, which is around 42×42 mm. I therefor created the PCB within 40×40 dimensions. As can be seen in some of the print-screens underneath.

The circuitboard was designed by reusing parts of prior schematics to speed up development. Which is fairly easy using hirarchical sheets in KiCad. The circuitboard was then ordered through JLCPCB, soldered, programmed with firmware and tested.

I had to design and 3D print some custom parts, in order to fit the Nema17 motors on my curtains axis. In addition, I also wanted everything in a neat looking case, preferably transparant so the LED indication lights on the PCB where visible during operation.

The PCB fits neatly behind the motor, as can be seen in the images below. A PWM fan header is used as easy (non-reversible) connection between motor and pcb.

This project is still a work in progress, more information will be added to this page after installation has been finalized.