While this is primarily a blog about technology and how it applies in our work school and play I’d like to use it to start tracking my first open source project combining two hobbies of mine. Inventing and drinking…
I don’t have a name for it yet but essentially it is an automated liquor dispenser, otherwise referred to as a Bar Monkey elsewhere online. The end goal is to be able to mix 8 different liquors/mixers in an automated fashion.
My intention is to by the end of the spring 2009 semester have a device capable of mixing a Long Island Iced Tea(mmmm) in less than 5 seconds with the press of a button.
After literally months of casual research I’ve evaluated every other Bar Monkey I could find.
One of the simpler models I saw is the Barduino powered by the Arduino microcontroller. Using just 2 windshield washer pumps it’s able to mix up a screwdriver on command. The Arduino is also how I plan to control the components in my model.
RIT provided a very nice example of automated liquor dispensing and I believe they take the cake when it comes to the complexity of the project. Their mixer even keeps track of how much of which mixers are left in the system and has an extensive library of drinks you can mix based on what is left in the system.
Barmonkey.net is an excellent rundown of about 5 models of automated drink mixers and v5.0 happens to be my favorite overall design. It is the right mixture of interface, functionality and features. These guys did a great job.
Obviously my engineering skills pale in comparison to these guys. After much research over the past few months I ran across these countertop liquor dispensers and realized that with a little modification it could make the basis for an excellent Bar Monkey.
Last night I placed the order for one of these beautiful little devices and am awaiting its arrival. After it arrives and I get a chance to examine it I will begin constructing a small enclosure for the project out of plexiglass and evaluating the type of servos to order. I’ll throw up a sketch of my design when I get home tonight.
Thanks for reading!
Hello, thanks for the link to the Barduino! Having built the Barduino, I thought I would pass on some advice having learned a thing or two.
- Pumps may not be the best idea, it seems adding pressure to the container and controlling a valve is the way to go. I had no clue what was inside my windshield washer fluid pumps and what was touching my liquids (or what the liquids were destroying in the pump). The pumps were also loud (though some people really liked the sound of it running).
- I really like your idea of hacking up one of those countertop liquor dispensers and I think you’ve got an awesome idea on your hands!
- Share as much data as possible: post source code, schematics, images etc etc and enjoy the press and feedback. Make sure you post your stuff to MAKE and other DIY sites.
- Be clever, one of the first things I did was rig up my application so it could be controlled via a webpage on the iPhone. It was fun and gimmicky, but there’s nothing wrong with that and I instantly had a wireless remote!
- Visit the Arduino official forums often. People are friendly and always willing to offer advice (which is how I ended up learning about relays and how to wire one correctly to the Arduino).
Good luck, I’ll be keeping an eye out for further developments!
Comment by Matthew Williams — March 17, 2009 @ 7:36 pm
Thanks for the comment! I’ve actually been super busy with school and work but after receiving the initial parts I began to research using some kind of Breech valve as the torque required to operate the consumer liquor pump was fairly high. I found these waterproof shipping tubes with a powdercoating type of caps that just slide on. As soon as I get caught up on my work I’ll be posting an update on how I plan to use this in conjunction with a servo to pump half-shot volumes of liquor, gravity fed into the glass.
I believe this is going to be my “summer project” as I won’t have class to worry about. I’d love to get the whole arduino community on-board with a final goal of “Barduino(Excellent name by the way!) kits” fully open sourced. I see this as a great resume and skill builder!
Thanks again for your input! I’ll be sure to update you as soon as I make any changes.
Comment by lifetwopointoh — April 6, 2009 @ 4:47 pm