I got tired of opening and closing my blinds so I automated them using Blynk and the Timer Widgets (to open and close every morning and evening). The goal was to get a super clean look so you wouldn’t notice the motors (it’s the white box on the right).
Components:
- ESP32 Pico D4
- Trinamic TMC5072 motor driver
- 2X NEMA 17 stepper motors
- Home Depot no-brand blinds (Others might not work for this)
To achieve the super clean look, I created a custom PCB that holds the ESP32, motor driver, and DC-DC voltage regulator (easier said than done haha)
Controls:
-There are 2 stepper motors inside the housing, connected together via a 3D printed part
-One motor is connected to a belt which drives the blinds across the track. You can see the belt coming out of the motor housing
- The other motor is connected directly to the vertical shaft which controls vertical pitch
So why stepper motors? First, you can move them when there’s a power loss which is really important. Second, the accuracy and control is incredible and will move to 1/51200th of an inch, every time. You can also set whatever ramp up and ramp down speeds you want.
Finally, they sound so cool! 
I can make a write up for anyone interested. But without that custom board, it’ll be really hard to conceal everything. Let me know if you have any questions! 