How to make a smart mirror using Raspberry Pi

This project shows everything I did to build a Raspberry Pi smart mirror. Through the smart mirror, I can access weather, time, news, and several other custom modules.

Supplies

Display 30.5cmx51.2cm

Dual-purpose acrylic mirror

Raspberry Pi 3B+

Wood glue

HDMI cable (3 feet)

Plywood (I used 12"x24" boards, but any size will work)

32gb micro SD card

Mouse and Keyboard

Woodworking clamps

Epoxy resin

Step 1: Design the Model in CAD

Before I could build the frame I needed to design a 3d model in the Fusion360 software. If you don't have Fusion360, use other CAD software of the same caliber. After getting the dimensions of the monitor and plywood, I started working. Since I would be laser cutting my wood, I designed the "fingers" or dove joints that would help interlock the cut pieces of wood like a puzzle to create a frame box. The model on the left shows the frame with the monitor and mirror, while the model on the right is just the finished design of the frame.

Step 2: Setting up the software

When setting up the software, I referred to Zach 's guide on how to install the Magic Mirror 2 software to keep track of the steps I needed to take to set up my Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and download the Magic Mirror 2 software. The Magic Mirror 2 software is open source software developed for the smart mirror. Since it is open source, third parties can add or code their own modules to make their mirrors more unique.

After downloading the MagicMirror software to my computer, I transferred the downloaded software to an SD card and then inserted the SD card into my Pi. The Pi began flashing and once it stopped, I gently removed my SD card and connected my mouse, keyboard, and HDMI cable to it. Lastly, I made sure the Pi's power cable was connected and had to connect my Pi to my network .

Step 3: Prepare and Test Assemble Parts

After installing the software, I wanted to make sure I wasn't using any faulty electronics and test that everything was working. I plugged the RaspberryPi into a power source, connected the HDMI cable to the pi and the monitor, and powered everything on.

Once I verified it was working fine I checked the components and then disconnected everything focusing on removing the bezel from the display. This will ultimately make the finished display more flush with the mirror, help reduce glare and increase brightness with the two-way mirror.

Step 4: Wood Cutting

After completing the CAD design of the picture frame, I imported the picture frame files into Adobe Illustrator in order to format them for the laser cutting software. (The alternative to laser cutting is sawing) However, since each of the wood boards available in my classroom was too thin (1/8 inch), I had to cut all of the individual pieces twice and then glue them together in order to give each piece of wood a 1/4 inch structural integrity. To glue my pieces of wood together, I used woodworking clamps. Since I added dovetail joints, it allowed me to connect the wood pieces together without using any screws.

Step 5: Design the 3D Printed Bracket

When I tried to mount the monitor to the finished frame, the monitor slid up and down because I left some space between the monitor and the frame to prevent any mistakes. That's why I ended up using a 3D printed bracket to hold the monitor. Because I wanted to avoid screwing into the wood, I designed the bracket on Fusion360 that I could 3D print and epoxy onto the plywood so that the monitor would stay centered and in place after final assembly. When designing the bracket, my goal was to keep the part as small as possible while still maintaining good structural support.

Step 6: Final Assembly

After I glued down all the wood parts that I had to cut out, I now had the pieces that would make up the frame. Using wood glue and clamps , I put the frame together, mounted the 3d printed brackets, attached the Pi to the back of the monitor, and mounted the back pieces for the frame. The 3d printed brackets were placed as close to the corners of the monitor as possible to make as sturdy a structure as possible. I attached the acrylic mirror and brackets to the frame using 2 part epoxy. One last minute thing I had to add was mounting the Raspberry Pi to a piece of wood so that I could avoid shorting the circuit if it was connected directly to the monitor. After I cut a small piece of wood to size, I attached two velcro strips to the bottom of the wood and monitor so that I could take it out if I had to upgrade or move any components.

Throughout this project I learned many new skills and improved many of the skills I already had including woodworking, 3D design, and coding. This project was so much fun to make and I highly recommend it to anyone who really wants to spice up a room or enjoys making fun electronics . It's a testament to my skills in CAD and electronics and overall I'm really happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy this project as much as I did!