Fully Automated Brewing System Design

[ben_sa]

of the 26,000 views of this thread, and assuming each visit has been 5 minutes in duration, you owe the brewing community over 2000 collective hours of personal time.

If my boss knew how much time (time = money) I had spent reading this.... I reckon he'd come hunt you down Bandito.... J/K

The most productive thing that appears to have come out of this thread, Is Bandito's post count...... h34r:

EDIT: sidenote: I honestly hope this does all come together though.... Would be great to see it in action.....

(edited to make sure i didnt offend anyone.... Just havin a chuckle at work on this ****** 13.C sunday in adelaide)

 

[Bandito]

I will finnish this . My lifes work I mentioned has nothing to do with this - killer robots that take over the world! Automating my dads soap factory will be done for free as a gift. I doubt anyone will use anything I bodge up either. This is my main aim atm

 

[yardy]

I will finnish this

stop ******* around then mate, no more cows with headphones, soap or robots hell bent on world domination, I'd hate to be paying you by the hour Burrito.

 

[bigfridge]

I will finnish this . My lifes work I mentioned has nothing to do with this - killer robots that take over the world! Automating my dads soap factory will be done for free as a gift. I doubt anyone will use anything I bodge up either. This is my main aim atm

Can you please make sure that you let us know what Brand of soap your dad makes. This way we can ensur ethat we NEVER buy any by accident - I don't want to risk 'pure caustic' soap because your pinch valve didn't pinch enough.

 

[Zizzle]

Wow, thanks heaps to Zizzle and Kirem. I really do appreciate the feedback and advice. I have read your posts a few times, and am listening.

I will be hooking up the normally open pinch valves to the relay boards this weekend and dialing in the required activation voltage. And time permitting the grain and hops dispenser too. Will be the first time I actually use labview, so it will be fun.

I will be automating each component one by one on the couch, and slowly building up the labview schematic.

While I am listening and taking note, you have cought me 85% into the project, and am way beyond the point of no return. There is not much left to get, from here on its prety much hooking up 12V circuits. Do you really want me to abandon the project that on the current schedule will be assembled and ready for full scale testing in 42.5 days?

Such a big change in 10 days? Why give up now if there is only 15% left to do?

Seriously, just build an automated HLT already. Make some actual progress. If labview and PCs are chewing time and money, go and order a brewtroller like kirem recommends and forget about that part for now.

It should give you (and those if us still wondering) an idea of how capable you are of doing this stuff. And if you decide to go BIAB you can still use it.

As far a patents go, I think the dream that the lone little-guy inventor can make it big is a myth that hasn't been possible for decades. So many large corporations own so many patents on basic, obvious and trivial stuff, that your invention likely violates some patents.

How you plan on recouping costs on your patent? You haven't shown much ability to actually make anything with this brewery, so unlikely that you will move into building and selling your invention. Most companies that produce stuff have their own R&D departments and only license patents from other big guys (usually after they are sued). Hell, the Chinese don't give a damn about patents and will manufacture anything anyway. There are investment firms that buy patents and try to monetize them. But they buy at bargain basement prices, since they are taking all the risk. And finally there are patent trolls: just wait until someone starts making your invention or something similar and start suing (probably unlikely in your case, and big capital investment in lawyers needed). Of course the lawyer is not going to tell you this, he was want you to spend the money for you to file it via him.

So probably a waste of money.

My background is just working mainly in the software industry. I have a patent application with my name on it going through the US patent system by a previous employer. A bit of a blow to my Open Source street cred

 

[pablodubloon]

I am too far into following this thread for it to not reach any productive conclusion. Please get on with it Bandito. How ever will I recover my time spent reading this thread if there is no productive outcome. I had an idea that one day I would build a fully automated brewing system that would brew in 1 pint lots. This would allow me to tweek my recipes to no end in a really short time frame and I could sample at least four or ten brews in one sitting.

 

[yardy]

how's the welding progressing, fabbed that MLT yet ?

 

[schooey]

Bandicoot? :unsure:

 

[bum]

Perhaps he got sick of getting raped?

 

[jakub76]

Perhaps he got sick of getting raped?

I doubt it. I don't think he was ever into brewing, I think he was just lonely.

 

[Cocko]

Jayse71?

SHould we check the dates?

 

[bum]

I doubt it. I don't think he was ever into brewing, I think he was just lonely.

I don't think you read his posts. Sure, his system was always of a higher priority than the beer but, quite frankly, I have been confused since day dot about how everyone else didn't understand that - beer actually isn't so hard to make that it needs a large sum of money spent on it to automate the process - you do it because you want to.

And he has posted periodically in other threads about about beers he's built in pretty much the same fashion as this system.

One of these kids is doing his own thing.

Anyway, at the risk of taking a random stab too seriously, I think he copped far too much flak. Flak was certainly required at times but there was too much in total.

 

[DangerousDave]

I have finished mine

 

[yardy]

nice, where's the valves ?

 

[Googs]

hey bandito,
great idea, i would love a system like this...but...you mentioned patents? i think you may find that now you have posted all this information and discussed it openly on a forum you may have some issues. should you be successful in your patent application and then decide to market the idea in any way, every individual who has had comment toward your "invention" would be eligible for royalties.

 

[bum]

He's talking about something else up his sleeve in regards to the patents.

And I'm not sure how much royalties might have been earned in telling him to get his hand off it.

 

[yardy]

i can't really see ipods for cows taking off to be honest..

 

[bum]

This cow will buy one:

 

[yardy]

how do you know that ?

 

[bum]

Ah. I forgot my audience, didn't I?

This help at all?

 

[yardy]

is that you ?

 

[bum]

Dude. Orange is so last year.

 

[schooey]

Dude. Orange is so last year.

so it was you last year?

 

[yardy]

it's him yesterday.

 

[bum]

Soooooo glad I didn't really meet anyone at the bulk buy.

This would not end well for me.

 

[yardy]

well, if i do frequent any ahb functions i will definitely be avoiding the orange headphones bloke.

 

[bum]

You will be strangely drawn to him. He has an undeniable magnetism (patent pending).

 

[yardy]

 

[thelastspud]

Come on bandito defend yourself.

 

[Bandito]

Come on bandito defend yourself.

Meh...

I'm spending my time building ****, and programming. My desk is full with a disassembled linear actuator, a grian dispenser etc etc.

I have ordered parts for a home made 3d printer to print a grain dispenser - link: reprap.org

So I will be 3dprinting my own plastic grain dispensers and other miscelaneous stuff. I will upload the models to thingyverse when tested.

With the default motor it would have taken too long to dispense the malt - 50 seconds per 53 grams! By replacing the motor I got it down to 23 seconds - but I still want it to be faster. So I will take the design and print gears and the whole lot to dispense in a few minutes.

Obviously the schedule has blown out, but meh, its my project! Complaints can be emailed directly to [email protected]

Things are really getting into the nitty gritty. Little details now rule my world. Its not anywhere as easy as I thought it would be- especially the programming - but is still doable.

Once again - everything to do this project will be open source and open design. I dont want any patents on brew ****. I will have a grain dispenser that anyone, even me can print for a price soon. See ya's in another month with an update. Hopefully it will be close to being finnished by then.

Thanks for the support!
Bandito