Donald Bell

Outstanding work, Bill! Everyone's emailing me about this project, and they don't even know we're cousins. 😁I'm putting this one on my 2021 build list for sure. A future family heirloom!

Beautiful outcome!

Thanks Elaina. I went fancy!

Beautiful and very clever. Some code and SVG files would seal my vote.

The lead photo is not yours. It belongs to Jorvon Moss (https://www.hackster.io/Odd_Jayy/build-your-own-robot-monkey-companion-bot-dexter-8c0c9e). You need to remove it. It is misleading.

Thanks, C-Zone!

Not sure, but it can't hurt to be prepared!

You're welcome! Selfishly, after a project like this, I'm motivated to write it all down just for my own future reference. A year or two from now, all these little details will escape me (or I'll lose the code). Better to have Instructables hold onto it for me.

I don't see why not, but never more than two. The last guy who tried it started yodeling mountain shanties.

Thanks! After months of chipping away at it, I'm glad to finally have something to show off.

Appreciated! Thanks.

Thanks!

Ha! I think that one falls short of brilliant, but it saved me from shopping around for a spring. Frankly, no false modesty, there's a lot of bloat in this project. The relay board is overkill for switching low voltages. I'm not even using the Pi screen's touch capability. I'm sure someone smarter than me could accomplish the same result with half the Arduino's and a single Pi. That said, I hit my deadline, the damn thing works, and it might be the coolest thing I've ever made. I'm actually fairly pleased that I know enough to know how it could be better.

Thanks Arley!

All great points. I will say that the one benefit of having the tubes all easily accessible is that it makes it easier to pull them out, detach them, and boil/clean them. For home use, maybe not a big deal, but when you're bringing a machine like this out to an event and pouring dozens of drinks in a night, it's nice to be able to pop off all the tubes and throw them in some hot, soapy water. These McMaster connectors unseat pretty easily from the hub in its current design. That said, I do think that concealing them in the dispenser arm would be slick. I've yet to see the height difference of the nozzles influence any leakage from the pumps.

Thanks Tom! Though I'm proud of it, I'm simultaneously embarrassed about how long it is, and at the same time how much more I have to say about it. At some point I'd like to write a broader guide on generally planning and executing a cocktail machine. I figure once I have three distinct cocktail machines built, I'll have earned the right to talk authoritatively on the subject.

Thanks!

I'm confident he'd at least like the main drink it makes (which isn't depicted here in the video because I didn't want to waste any). It's a rye whisky drink that's similar to a manhattan, but with a few question marks.

Thanks Matt, and great questions! The tubes seem to take up the liquid very quickly. The first time you drop the tubes in the bottles, you'll probably want to run a drink once to prime it. But if it's just for home use, you can leave the tubes in the bottles and never worry about it until you run low and need to swap a bottle out. I bought a set of rubber bottle covers and poked a hole in the top to feed tubes through. The seal is tight enough that it keeps the liquids (and their smells) locked in nicely. For the Cocktail Robotics competitions, most competitors run straight vodka through the pumps a few times before packing things up. Not only does it clean the tubing, but it evaporates away eventually without leaving behind a residue or much smell. Also, especially if your cocktail has a…

Thanks Matt, and great questions! The tubes seem to take up the liquid very quickly. The first time you drop the tubes in the bottles, you'll probably want to run a drink once to prime it. But if it's just for home use, you can leave the tubes in the bottles and never worry about it until you run low and need to swap a bottle out. I bought a set of rubber bottle covers and poked a hole in the top to feed tubes through. The seal is tight enough that it keeps the liquids (and their smells) locked in nicely. For the Cocktail Robotics competitions, most competitors run straight vodka through the pumps a few times before packing things up. Not only does it clean the tubing, but it evaporates away eventually without leaving behind a residue or much smell. Also, especially if your cocktail has any juices or syrups, have baby wipes nearby to wipe everything down when you're done. After dispensing a few dozen drinks throughout a night, the drink splatter tends to collect and leave a mess behind.

Thanks Penolopy! I feel like I just wrote a book.