The BarBot – Touchscreen Automated Drink Maker
I’ve been working with 3D printers for a while now. Watching them move and print can be mesmerizing. I wanted to make a fun gadget that would demonstrate my skills and create an interactive conversation piece for a party. Hence The BarBot. It’s not a new idea but, I knew I could do it better than most that I’ve seen online and take it a step or two further.
My BarBot features two stepper motors to create linear actuation in two directions; Move the drink from bottle to bottle and dispense the ingredients. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. Along with the motors there are two end switches to home the motors so they know their positions. I designed and printed all the plastic parts. The horizontal linear actuator is a single steal rail with two rail guides. eBay Link to Steal Rails
Also my dispensers measure one shot every time. Making it do half shots and quarter shots is much tricker. Here’s a link to those racks where I used two for 12 bottles. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q42XL9Q
I have an Arduino Uno controlling the motors and acting as the I/O controller. From there I have the Uno connected via USB Serial to the Raspberry Pi. Connected to the Raspberry Pi is a 7″ touchscreen and a 1080p Camera with an extended ribbon cable for camera placement.
The main brains (RasPi) boots up directly to my custom application that holds the drink database, system state (making drink, current ingredient, motors homed, etc), and real-time communication to the motors. I developed the applications using Javascript with Node.JS, C programming language, Socket.IO and JSON.
This project is intended to demonstrate my Software, Electrical, Mechanical and Automation skills. I hope you like it. I am still adding more features and fine tuning the system. Stay tuned for more. Check out my YouTube Channel for updates. https://www.youtube.com/c/ConsultingjoeOnline
