The Auto Creamer

The Auto Creamer is potentially the worlds first automatic whipped cream dispenser. I worked with a group of six, and while originally only responsible for the chassis, I ended up being essentially responsible for all the mechanical components, while my group mate handled all the software.

ideation sketches

Once we settled upon a concept, I began sketching ideas to get a fix for what we needed to accomplish the task. These sketches represent the rough body of the machine, two methods for raising and lowering the drink carriage, and considerations for whipped cream nozzle placement.

We needed to find a way to support both the cooling system and the actuating mechanism while allowing for one rotational and one translational degrees of motion. My group mate had originally wanted a carriage that lifts with one motor and rotates the whipped cream canister with another, and I helped him ideate on that idea.

However, this design was over complicating the matter, so I instead proposed a hinged platform that would achieve the same results with a single motor, which can be seen in the pictures below

the first build

I decided to use an 80/20 kit for its ease of assembly and versatility, and this is the first embodiment of the product. The problems we encountered were twofold: motors and solenoids too weak and not enough airspace to place and remove a drink. I found stronger motors / solenoids and rearranged the top platform to offer more clearance for the drinks.

What we built was a product with a stepper motor to raise the bottom platform, two motor boxes (geared for high torque) for each the spinning of the cup and raising the hinged platform, and two solenoids to actuate the delivery of whipped cream. I had to custom build all of the mounting hardware to make compatible attachments with the 80/20 kit, as well as both the platforms and the rail attachment supports.

To finish the product off, I built and stained coverings from 1/4in veneer to hide all the components for presentation, complete with a product/team logo. Ultimately, we were happily surprised to see how well this product worked, and a picture of the whipped cream delivery can be found below.

At the bottom of this page can be found a quick and dirty product video I made using Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects for our final presentation, don't forget to watch!