Introduction: Bir Bot - the Only Bot That Keeps Your Beer Safe!

About: I build stuff.

Bir bot, from the Swedish slang term bira (beer) was my ohshititotallyforgottobuysomething gift to my father. I started to build him on the 18th of December and finished on the 22th.

Bir bot sits on top of your beverage of choice and guards it by beeping and blinking when someone gets close!

This project is perfect as a one-day gift if you have access to a 3D printer and are comfortable with electronics.
If you dont have access to a 3d printer you can check out 3d hubs.

If gardening is more of your thing check out bir bots brother plant peter!

Step 1: 3D Printed Parts

The parts can be found here.

There is no need for support material. The lid should be upscaled to 1.05 for a snugger fit.


Note: my prints had alot of problems because i printed them fast, but if you print at normal speed with some sort of cooling overhangs shouldn't be a problem.

Step 2: Electrical Components

You will need:

1x arduino nano
1x HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor
1x 12 segment led display
1x power switch
6x 120ohm resistors
1x battery holder and batteries (4xAA/AAA)

Step 3: Assembly

We will start by connecting up the led array. The leds are connected in pairs from the outside. Solder the resistors to 6 of the pins and connect them like the picture above. The negatives of the segment display can be bridged together and connected with one wire.

Connect the buzzer and ultrasonic sensor according to the picture above to the pins below:
Connections:

segment 1&12 - d2
segment 2&11 - d3
segment 3&10 - d4
segment 4&9 - d5
segment 5&8 - d6
segment 6&7 - d7

buzzer + - 9
ultrasonic trigger pin - 12
ultrasonic echo pin - 11

Connect the switch between the battery + and the arduino vin pin.

Now that you (hopefully) have your components connected to your arduino, we need to upload the sketch. You can download the sketch at the bottom of the page and upload it via the arduino ide. If your ultrasonic sensor is acting weird you can see the readings by opening the arduino serial monitor with the baudrate of 9600.

Throw everything inside the 3d printed enclosure and secure it with hotglue, you might have to play around a bit to get the parts to fit perfectly. A set of small files is always handy.

When everything works as it should, secure the lock with a dab of hotglue and admire your work. You are done! If you are wondering over anything, comment below!

Homemade Gifts Contest 2016

Participated in the
Homemade Gifts Contest 2016