Automatic card shuffler and dealer

Automatic card shuffler and dealer for board games with a display and buttons to select the number of players and the cards to be dealt.

info

Author: Dragusin Matei Cosmin
GitHub Project Link: Repository

Description

This project is an automatic card shuffler and dealer for board games. The device consists of three main sections:

1. An upper section with left and right input zone equipped with IR sensors to detect the cards.
2. A middle shuffling area with rubber rollers driver by DC motors to mix the cards.
3. A lower section with a rotating base controlled by a servo motor to deal the cards.

Users can interact with the device through a simple OLED display interface and control buttons, allowing them to select:

1. Number of players participating in the game
2. Cards to be dealt per player

Motivation

The motivation behind this project is to create a fun and interactive device that can enhance the experience of playing card games. The automatic shuffler and dealer will save time and effort, allowing players to focus on enjoying the game rather than dealing with the tedious task of shuffling and dealing cards.

Architecture

Log

Week 5 - 11 May

Week 12 - 18 May

Week 19 - 25 May

Hardware

The automatic card shuffler uses a Raspberry Pi Pico 2W as the main controller, connected to an OLED display and buttons for user interface. The mechanical system includes three DC motors driving rubber rollers for card movement, one stepper motor for the rotating dealing platform, and IR sensors for card detection, all powered through a wall outlet.

Schematics

Bill of Materials

Device	Usage	Price
Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W	The main microcontroller that runs the embedded Rust software and controls all system components	35 RON
ULN2003 Stepper Motor Driver	Controls the stepper motor for precise rotation of the card distribution platform	17 RON
GA12-N20 DC Motor with Gearbox	Drives the rubber rollers for card movement and shuffling (need 3 units)	75 RON
LM2596HV DC-DC Step-down Module	Regulates power from the wall adapter to appropriate voltage levels for motors and electronics	12 RON
Round Cap Buttons	User interface controls for selecting number of players, cards per player, and distribution angle	3 RON
V-Groove Roller with Bearing	Provides smooth, low-friction movement of cards through the shuffling mechanism (need 4-5 units)	17 RON
OLED Screen	Detects card presence at various points in the system for automated control and error detection	27 RON
L298N Dual Motor Driver	Controls the DC motors for the shuffling mechanism	20 RON
Consumables	Cards, adhesives, and other small items needed for assembly and operation	30 RON

Software

Library	Description	Usage
embassy-executor	Async/await executor	Managing concurrent tasks for motor control and user interface
embassy-time	Timekeeping and delays	Timing for motors, animations, and card distribution
embassy-rp	RP2350 HAL	Hardware interface for Raspberry Pi Pico
embassy-sync	Synchronization primitives	Resource sharing between tasks
st7735	Display driver for ST7735	Used for the display for the Pico Explorer Base
embedded-graphics	2D graphics library	Used for drawing to the display
tinybmp	BMP image handling	Loading and displaying card images
defmt	Logging framework	Debug information during development
defmt-rtt	RTT debug channel	Real-time debugging output
embedded-hal	Hardware abstraction	Generic hardware interface for motors and sensors
rand	Random number generation	Card shuffling algorithm implementation
heapless	Stack-based collections	Memory-efficient data structures
cortex-m-rt	Runtime support	Core functionality for ARM Cortex-M
critical-section	Critical section API	Thread-safe operations for motor control
panic-probe	Panic handler	Error handling during development
display-interface-spi	SPI display interface	Communication with the display
step-dir	Stepper motor control	Precise control for rotating platform
ssd1306	OLED display driver	Alternative display option if needed

Links

1. Automatic card shuffler and dealer on Amazon