Hi everyone!
I’ve been contemplating the practical construction of a DIY mixer for a while. I need it. The V0.1 has already been tested. So I’ll report on this, and the V1.0 is also being prepared. The goal is for the electronics and what’s needed for it - without the power supply - to be cheap… And I’m still thinking about how much… There will likely be two versions with completely identical capabilities, with one twist: one will get a display, the other will ‘just’ use a phone/laptop. Anyone who wants to build it after me will have all the plans and programs available.
Well, the first ‘swallow’ of V1.0, its component, is starting to be born. This is the mixer board.
Regarding electronics… We’re using a small smart WiFi board, a stepper motor (with its driver), and a small board to replace the dual power supply. As you can see, this is a breadboard model. Yes, it would probably need a base board too, which would accept the boards. Well, if anyone would like to contribute to this part, you are warmly welcome.
The procurement. Actually, 5 vials are thrown at you for about 1600 forints. One size. Good for mixing 75-150 ml. It’s worth buying motors in bulk too… Perhaps more vials/motors, anything else needed for even less. 2-3 vials are enough for one person. If only the courier wasn’t expensive here…
A base board isn’t necessary, but I’m making one for my own design and some plan. Since the plan will be open, you can even have it manufactured locally. Essentially, only the small disc placed on the motor is needed, the rest… can be solved in any way according to the DIY principle.
I’m also thinking about top, blade mixing. Or magnetically coupled mixing with a small tower and bearing requirement.
Continuation:
Since it’s summer break… so I didn’t make much progress today either 
. I finished this component. The motor is on it, I haven’t made the mixing disc yet. However, I no longer need to modify the plans! Or at least not for this setup, I’m working with standard screw lengths available in regular stores. Design-wise, I’ve concluded that this setup could also have a top blade mixer attachment. That hole serves that purpose. The blade design will come later… The A4988 heatsink design is already ready. If the mixer will have 2 motors… then it will probably be a good idea to have 2 A4988s for it. Heating… I don’t consider it a good idea, so I think I’ll give up on it (I have all the parts for it). It increases the distance from the vial itself, the power consumption. And unfortunately, then you really need a base board for it. For temperature measurement. Currently, it can even be built from wood.
However, if it doesn’t increase complexity, the PCB, which is currently only in my head, will get such an attachment. It could have been heated with the motor, unfortunately, there’s an issue with the motor controllers I have or the function libraries; they don’t do what they should. I considered having one controller drive both motors. But the A4988 costs 6-800 forints, it’s not worth it. The external “top mixer” will have a connector.
Those who want to replicate it need to know how to solder. It’s not a complicated procedure, and you can even ‘mod’ it because there are ‘510’ soldering iron tips.
So, the main thing isn’t visible here yet because it’s not finished. And this is the magnetic disc. Which is aluminum, and gets a few strong magnets.
Temu borosilicate glass vials… they look like they have a little dust in them, or are “sandy”. Or like they’ve been ground on glass. If it doesn’t come off… it’s not a problem anyway, because the mixing won’t take it off either. It was 1200 forints for a set of 5 pieces, 100-5 ml. The vial is good for 150-100 and perhaps the 50 ml glass. I’ll measure that 100 ml later 
. Maybe it turned out as expected. Obviously, we won’t measure the ingredients with this.
I’m mixing already.
Although there’s a new program, I haven’t uploaded it yet. My favorite Blizzard aroma is currently mixing. I skipped the nicotine. I’ll add that at the end. I usually mix that for 1 hour.
A video where I explain how everything works. There will also be an assembly video sometime.
There’s a bit of something else too… Then I’ll start again. When it’s all together and looks nice, I’ll pack it up. Then a door. And for rest, the vaper mixer again. I think I need a small fan too.
Packed up… Fan on its way. As soon as it arrives, I’ll probably be done with a few more things and continue. The problem is I can’t write the BOM list yet as long as even one item is missing.
. It would be good if I could hand it over to the community in a buildable form by Christmas. This also means that it needs to be in a publishable form well before, because who knows what kind of “Chinese” rush there will be. Currently, it’s about 3 weeks and everything will be here. But in the peak season…