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Elijah Knupp’s status report for April 27th

This week’s accomplishments

  • Attended mandatory labs
    • filled out reports that analyzed the final presentations from other groups
  • Gathered data regarding the performance of our subsystems. Specifically:
    • mapping the MOSFET gate voltages to the corresponding flow rate
    • the performance of our PID loop that controls the heating element
  • Once again, this week was filled with troubleshooting. There was a push to integrate everything together, which resulted in many bugs. There was a point in which all subcomponents worked correctly with each other. However, for whatever reason, the pump stopped working with the software script. Many hours were poured into trying to figure exactly why this happened, but no definitive result has been reached. Troubleshooting will continue this week.

Next weeks plan

  • Complete the integration of the subsystems.
    • This includes troubleshooting the pump bug described above. As mentioned above, we were able to get the pump (and all of the other subsystems) to work together for a full pour-over cycle. This week, we need to isolate this bug and fix it.
  • Fine-tune the system. If needed, need to:
    • tune the pour-rate of the pump (if flow rates are changed after the pump fix)
    • ensure the total amount of water pour is accurate (up to 300mL)
    • ensure the nozzle’s movements are completely contained within its expected range (to ensure no splashing/spilling water)
  • Make the poster for the project
  • Begin writing the final paper

Status Report: On schedule

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Elijah Knupp’s status report for April 20th

This week’s accomplishments

  • Attended mandatory labs
  • To account for a drifting issue with the scale, added an automatic taring feature
  • Created slides for the final presentation
    • specifically, slides that corelated to the tests performed
  • Troubleshot the pump circuit for over 12 hours. The issue was with amount of voltage supplied to the circuit. Although this was a simple solution, there were several red herrings that lead to the long troubleshooting process. Ultimately, to solve this issue, we:
    • Consulted with 5 different individuals
    • Ran a plethora of troubleshooting tests
    • Ordered several sets of MOSFETS
    • Continually swapped out components
    • Tweaked and rebuilt the circuit several times

Next weeks plan

  • Perform the necessary tests for the pump and heater
  • Integrate all of the components together into one working project.
  • Finalize the slides for final presentation

Status Report: On schedule

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Elijah Knupp’s status report for April 6th

This week’s accomplishments

  • Attended mandatory labs
    • Demonstrated my portion of the project to Prof. Fedder and the TAs, received positive feedback
  • Added a manual taring feature the user can trigger at any time to zero the scale
  • Completed the Arduino’s script for the temperature probe, scale, heater, and PID loop
    • sends serial data from the temperature probe and scale
    • sends a confirmation signal back to the rpi that the change it requested from the PID loop was implemented
    • receives serial input
      • user can send a signal to manually tare the scale
      • receives signals from the rpi-implemented PID loop and turns the water heater on and off wrt to the signal’s value
  • Began testing the PID loop to control the heating element
    • Very close to being fully implemented
      • currently, the loop overshoots the target temperature by around 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit

Next weeks plan

  • Implement the pump into the project.
    • will need to ensure the pump’s flow rate are accurate per the user’s request
      • see testing plan below
  • Finish testing and verifying the PID loop for the heating element
    • see testing plan below
  • begin fabricating all of the different components on to the 3-D printer’s frame
    • will need to 3-D print a mount for the water pump. Will be placed on the very top of the frame.

Status Report: On schedule

 

Verification and Validation

  • Verification:
    • Heating element: As per the design project report, we aim to deliver water within +-5 degrees Fahrenheit of what the user specifies. Mentioned above, we are currently overshooting the temperature by only a couple of degrees. However, this may be necessary due to thermal loss whilst the water travels through the lines, as this temperature reading was taken inside the water heater.
      • TEST
        • Need to test the FULL range of temperatures the user can request (from around 180 – 212 degrees Fahrenheit)
          • Every 4 degrees (180, 184, … 212), will ensure that the temperature of the water hits the coffee grounds at +-5 degrees from the users request (although we will shoot for +-3 degrees)
    • Scale
      • Testing will be simple. The user will be using the integrated scale to check the amount of coffee grounds they have placed into the filter
        • TEST
          • Need to test the full range of weights of coffee grounds the user may use (around 10 – 40 grams of coffee grounds)
            • Every 5 grams, use a known weight to ensure the weight readings are accurate
  • Validation
    • The water system needs to be safe and intuitive for the user. Whilst the software side is being handled by Rio, I will need to make sure that user can easily and SAFELY handle the water system. I will need to ensure that there are no exposed wires or electronics that could be exposed and damaged if some water is spilled around our machine.
      • As of now, the user will need to unscrew the cap of the water heater (which is a converted electric kettle), which will have the temperature probe and tubing attached to this.
        • TEST:
          • I will ask several individuals to screw and unscrew the lid to ensure ease of use and durability of system.
      • Cable management is a major component of this as well. I will need to make sure that no wires could jar loose or come exposed.

 

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Team Status Report for March 30th

This week, the team prepared for the project demo. To do so, we fully integrated the scale and temperature probe into the project. We continued testing on the water pump, although that will need more work to fully integrate it.

Concerning the data from the scale and temp probe, we decided to route all signals through the arduino to the rpi. This simplifies the process and allows us to use the rpi as the command center, with the arduino working to gather and route the data. We also began working on pour patterners for the presets using a pen attached to the gantry.

For the pump, we were having issues with water left over in the tubes, and the pump not being able to pull water from the reservoir. To mitigate this, we were able to have the pump sit inside the water reservoir, and this solved all of our issues. Now, no water is left in the hose (good for ease of cleaning/food safety), and the pump can always be actuated without the need for priming.

There have been numerous testing scripts added to the webapp repository.  These will help us create the Gcode for brewing profiles.  We have also already used one to help us format the data coming from the arduino to the RPI. Work on the webapp is going well and is roughly halfway done

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Elijah Knupp’s status report for March 30th

This week’s accomplishments

  • Attended mandatory labs
  • Troubleshot the scale. There were bugs in the code that need to be ironed out
  • Integrated the scale fully into the rpi. Accurate to the gram
  • Integrated the temperature probe.
    • both signals from the scale and probe are routed through the Arduino to the rpi, creating a sleek and simple method to allow for the data to be incorporated into the project
  • Helped to integrate the water pump…still needs a good bit of work

Next weeks plan

  • Demonstrate what I have finished up to this point.
    • converted the analog scale into a scale that outputs signals readable by the rpi
    • integrated the temperature probe
    • tested the pump’s operation
    • assembled and tested the movement of the 3D printer
  • Implement the thermos into the project. Will need to work with signals from the temperature probe to monitor and adjust the temperature of the water

Status Report: On schedule

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Team Status Report for March 23rd

This week, the team began integrating and testing the different components into the (eventual) final project. We also completed an ethics assignment, which was split into two parts. The first included a written part that answered ethical questions regarding our project. Then, the team went to an ethics-based lecture, which was then followed by a breakout session. In this session,  the team answered some ethics-based questions that other teams raised. Overall, it was a useful thought experiment that we will use to help shape our final design.

On the technical side, the digital scale was altered to allow for full integration into the pour-over machine. While final testing still needs to occur, it was a big step into integrating the sensors. We also ordered the power management PCB  so that we can begin testing next week.

The biggest technical risk to call out at the moment would be the results of PCB testing, as the turnaround time is around 1 week plus the time it takes to reflow the board. To mitigate this, we ordered through-hole components which we plan on using for prototyping, which gives us more flexibility than the fabricated PCB during testing. We’ve done extensive research on how the different components work, so we feel confident in our ability to debug the circuit, but we haven’t worked with High Voltage AC source before, so there is some risk.

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Elijah Knupp’s status report for March 23rd

This week’s accomplishments

  • Attended mandatory labs
  • Finished the team’s ethical assignment
    • Personally answered 2 of the 5 ethical questions required for the written portion
    • attended the ethics-based lectures
  • Finished altering the digital scale to allow its integration 
    • Will need to finish testing the signals from the scale. Whilst attempting to tare and orient the scale, received some rogue and incorrect signals. Will need to troubleshoot and possibly replace the AD/C component if errors continue. Next, will need to ensure the rpi properly receives the signal (as I’ve been doing the testing on my PC).

Next weeks plan

  • Finish integrating the scale into the project. 
    • Troubleshoot the system. More than likely due to a bad AD/C converter. Once the errors are ironed out, will ensure the signals are properly read by the rpi.
  • Continue designing and creating custom movement patterns on the 3-D printer for the pour patterns. 
    • was unable to work much on this aspect this past week due to errors related to the scale
  • Plan out cable management for the added components (including the wires coming from the scale). Will be important to ensure the safe operation of the machine (so that no boiling water comes in contact with wires or exposed components).

Status Report: On schedule

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Elijah Knupp’s status report for March 16th

This week’s accomplishments

  • Attended mandatory lab
  • Finished the ethical assignment
    • Both the individual and team components
  • Began integrating the scale into the project
    • Deconstructed the scale, and cut the wires to directly wire into the AD/C, which will then be routed to the Arduino. From there, the signal will be sent to the rpi. This week, soldered the wires from the scale to the AD/C. 
  • Established connection between the 3-D printer and octoprint (on the team’s rpi), tested to ensure full control. 

Next weeks plan

  • Finish integrating the scale into the project. 
    • Create and route the jumpers from the AD/C to the Arduino and then from the Arduino to the rpi.
      • Cable management will be important to ensure all wires and components are safe from the gimbal’s movement and any hot water the machine will be producing
  • Begin designing and creating custom movement patterns on the 3-D printer for the pour patterns. 

Status Report: On schedule

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Team Status Report for March 9th

This week, the team traveled to their respective homes to visit with their families over spring break. This status report is intended to be combined with the status report from March 1st. 

While work was limited due to traveling and rest, we focused on preparing our machine for the next step: integration. This included taking measurements and designing the custom frames and mounts for the components that will need to be mounted to the frame of the 3-D printer.

 

Part A: Written by Corrado Govea

The outcome of our project has users who are not tech-savvy in mind. While being a complicated system to produce the best quality coffee possible, we aim for anyone to be able to actuate the machine without having any prior experience with computer systems. An example of this would be our design requirement to have 5 loaded presets that users can easily actuate without having to program much. By having this goal in mind, we are greatly increasing the size of our user group and ensuring that we’ve removed one of the biggest barriers of entry to lots of “tech-centered” solutions nowadays. It is very unfortunate that lots of these great products are completely inaccessible to non-tech-savvy people, so we are ensuring that this will not be the case with our project.

Part B: Written by Elijah Knupp

When we first began considering creating a machine that would deliver delicious and convenient pour-over coffee, we were really only focused on creating the machine for individuals who did not have the time or desire to learn a new, detail-oriented brewing option. However, as we spoke to others and read several Reddit posts, we realized that this machine could also potentially benefit those who struggle with fine motor controls.  Per the Reddit posts, the individuals who struggled with this spoke about how difficult (or impossible) it was for them to pour boiling water over coffee grounds in a controlled manner for extended periods (a task required for pour-over coffee).  When they asked for suggestions on how to overcome this, most of the replies suggested that they find a new brewing method. However, we did not care for this answer. We fully believe that our pour-over coffee machine will solve many of the issues that these individuals are facing, even though there may be a cultural belief that they should “find a different brewing method.” We believe that this pattern of thinking  (“let’s figure out a way” and not “try something else”) could increase the connectivity between different groups of people and bring joy to those formally excluded in some cultural activities.

Part C: Written by Rio Pacheco

Due to the wasteful nature of pod-based machines, we aim to provide similar ease of use without the need to buy coffee pods. The user will only need to use materials already used for pour-over coffee, which are paper filters and brewing devices.  Paper filters are compostable and the brewing devices are reusable, thus making pour-over a much more sustainable option compared to pod-based coffee machines.  Also, by giving people the ability to use any ground coffee they have, they can support local cafes and buy sustainably sourced coffee rather than being forced to purchase coffee in pods that were likely sourced from underpaid workers. Overall, our solution gives people a more sustainable and eco-friendly option to brewing coffee without compromising on ease of use.

… with consideration of environmental factors. Environmental factors are concerned with the environment as it relates to living organisms and natural resources.

Schedule is currently on track.