Tea Timer With an Automatic Teabag Remover

Are you like me and always forget to take the teabag out of the cup to the right time? Then I have the solution here, a tea timer that does it for you.

After the set time, the teabag is automatically removed from the cup.

Step 1: The Plan and the Parts

I've drawn all the parts in Qcad. Then they were laser cut, out of 4mm plywood and 3mm MDF

The front is made out of 3mm acrylic

All the CAD parts are on my Github

Step 2: The Mechanics

First test of the mechanics and the servo motor. The axes were made wit toothpicks.

Step 3: Electronic Parts

The electronic part list:

• 5 x LED's 5mm
• 1 x resistor 220Ohm
• 1 x active buzzer
• 1 x Servo motor G9
• 2 x TP223 touch sensor
• 1 x Arduino Nano
• Wires and Solderstuff

The Arduino code, can be found on my Github

Step 4: Paintjob and the Hook for the Teabag

All the parts were painted with acrylic colors. To attach the teabag, I used a alligator clip and I glued it with epoxy,

The text is engraved with a laser cutter an painted in gold.

Step 5: The Finish

My first Idea was to use screws to hold the acrylic glass in place, but I changed my mind, and I've glued small wood pieces in place.This looks much cooler

Step 6: The Result

I'm happy with this one, but I will build another one. This one will be battery powered and you will be able to use 30 sec steps.

I hope you enjoyed these building instructions.

Comments

[Graver]

You have a very fine project. I have tried to make one for my self but I made mine a little higher to clear the cup that I use. I have run into a problem and hope you can help me with it. Since the servo only troughs 180 degrees will have to change the number of teeth on the gears from the original design. How did you determine the number of tooth on your gears to game your travel. That is to move the tea bag from the water in your cup. My current trough 3.5 inches would like to have 4.5 inches. My gears have 16 teeth.

[AlainsProjects]

Hi, I usually always play around on this website, to find out which translation goes best. https://geargenerator.com/ . Hope this helps,

[Graver]

HI, I have made a copy of you tea timer . I am very proud of how it cam out. I am having a small problem with the servo action. I have been running your Arduino sketch It works very well except that my servo only moves a 100 degrees I was wondering if that is how it was programed. I am good at making things not at programing the Arduino I do work with them though.

[AlainsProjects]

Hi, if you have used my software, you can increase or decrease the rotation of the servo at the beginning of the Arduino code with these 2 parameters
int ServoMin = 460; // adapt this value if needed
int ServoMax = 2400; // adapt this value if needed
ServoMin is the position at the bottom of the teatimer and ServoMax at the top. Increase or decrease the values in steps of 50.

Regards
Alain

[Graver]

Hi
Thanks for the reply. I answered your E-Mail with a reply but the support team said you would not get it sorry. I went on about not clear how you came up with the gear teeth number. I now am having a problem with down loading from Gethub. I down loaded your project but can't get that to work. A little help with that would be nice. I would send Images but don't know how to do that.

[mata.attila]

Great idea.
Many people just don’t have a laser cutter at home.
But I have a 3D printer.
Can the parts be printed with a 3D printer?
Or need to shape them?
Can you help me with that?

[buzzbizzle]

I really like this idea. It reminds me of something I might see in Wallace and Gromit. You note that the pieces were laser cut. Did you have that done through a service? Or do you have a laser cutter? In either case, would you let me know what you recommend for a laser cutting service or for a home laser cutter? thank you!

[AlainsProjects]

Hi, I had the chance, to win an Epilog laser cutter here on instructables, and I love this machine :)

[buzzbizzle]

I'll bet! Congratulations! which model is it?

[AlainsProjects]

An epilog laser zing 16 30 Watt.

[Ropka]

Very cool! Do you need the box half that is on the left side? I have a very large cup which wouldn't fit within those dimensions. Thanks so much for sharing!

[AlainsProjects]

No, I checked the design. In fact the left part can be removed. I think, I will redo the tea timer, with a few changes, and this will be one of it. Thanks for the input :)

[cspann560]

I'd love to build one if only as an exercise in arduino. I usually make my tea really strong and leave the bag in the mug for as long.as I'm drinkng it. I never knew you had to remove it at a certain time.

[stevelorenzut]

That is finer than frog's hair! I gotta try it out just because it's so darn kool!

[jeff.verive]

I really like the old-world aesthetic that hides the high-tech electronics!

[Alex in NZ]

Excellent! Well done, and thank you for sharing your work :-)