Developing efficieny and innovation, open discussion: Automated Bud Curing System

[Duder1984]

Lets discuss the challenges of this system and the plausibility of engineering a functional prototype.

If a current prototype already exists and the plans are available for public disclosure I apologize for opening this thread and if you could please provide a link to the materials I would greatly appreciate that.

My main objectives are maximizing efficiency and consistency through ecconomic use of easily obtained tools and materials with the goal of providing an automated/programmable system to aid in curing buds harvested off our beloved plant.

Any Ideas?

 

[Duder1984]

My ideal is fairly simple:

Have an electronic scale hooked up to a computer that monitors weight in real time, maybe at a rate of 1 minute cycles. The computer taking the measurements will then close or open a valve depending on the rate at which what ever is on the scale is losing weight... in the instance of our buds: they are losing weight at the rate moisture is evaporating off them. Throw a few heating/cooling elements and thermostats in there and it then becomes possible to speed up/slow down the rate of evaporation by adjusting the temperature controls.

The ideal here is that over time you develop a process in which to use your system that produces a desirable result. One problem with this design obviously is what kind of computer do we use to make these measurements?
that really is where my imagination falls short as I really dont have the knowledge of automation and control computers that'd i like to have.

Any thoughts?

 

[bb419]

You musta fell and crackked yo skull.....

 

[ofofo]

Perhaps practicing spelling, or at least the use of spell check would be a better use of your time...But, continuing discussion...

I think the most practical method of automated curing would be to keep the concept of conventional curing today with canning jars, but removing the human element. You would need a container/canister that has a built in hygrometer or similar device that could accurately measure the temperature, RH, and oxygen levels inside the container. Then, you would have to devise a way to correct each of those levels independently. Correcting RH could be done using a mini dehumidifier inside the container, temperature could be--

Forget it. I'm just going to sum up why this probably won't happen for awhile. -_-

This is all very possible with the use of Arduino chips, but that would push the production cost of a single canister to something like $35-$50; including the addition of other devices (dehumidifier, temp control, co2 injection???). There would be no market for something that can easily be done with an 83¢ jar from your local grocer and bit of common sense...Maybe even throw a Cal III hygrometer into the equation and you've got a fail-safe cure.

 

[Duder1984]

This is all very possible with the use of Arduino chips, but that would push the production cost of a single canister to something like $35-$50; including the addition of other devices (dehumidifier, temp control, co2 injection???). There would be no market for something that can easily be done with an 83¢ jar from your local grocer and bit of common sense...Maybe even throw a Cal III hygrometer into the equation and you've got a fail-safe cure.

Sorry about the typos mate, eyesight isn't what it used to be.

Moving on, if we can simplify the matter and limit the number of jobs being performed, I think that with utilizing trial and error techniques we can develop tables to help define our process.

For the sake of simplification, lets limit the design to three components:
1. Electronic scale
2. some sort of small dc actuator
3. A computer that can sense the scale and adjust the actuator.

I see no reason why a pc couldnt do job number three. 1 and 2 are easy to get. So now we need interfaces between the scale and the pc; the actuator and the pc. This is where I need help the most. Also we will need a GUI to record data and perform the job of adjusting the actuator when it senses a drop in weight, of a proportion we will have to define manually at first.

Basically what will happen is that you will fill an air tight container with say, 1 lb of ready to cure buds. You of course will zero out the weight of the container on the scale before you place the buds inside. The container seal is then hooked to the computer controlled actuator. Say .025% of the original weight evaporates off the buds. once the computer has sensed this, it will close the actuator and seal the container. Here we will program the computer to keep the actuator closed for something like 48 hours and then to repeat the process.

That is a basic example of the programming, you could easily fine tune it making use of a very sensitive scale.

 

[Duder1984]

Well by now I know no one really gives a shit anymore but I did have another ideal for a prototype i think is pretty interesting

Forget the scale and the vent, we can use an air tight microwave with one way exhaust vent to aid out curing process.Add a humidity meter to the microwaves electronics and presto it now has potential as a curing tool

All you would need to do is put the bud in the microwave, and program the microwave to turn on once the humidity reaches a high point and to shut off once it reaches the low point you set.

Microwaves already have an exhaust built in to their design, but I think beefing that fan up a bit would be a good idea to avoid prolonged on period....you would probably want to set a buffer so that for every 15 seconds the microwave stayed on it would shut off for 1 minutes to avoid run away absorption.

Through working with RF technology I know that absorbtion concerns can be almost eliminated by clever placement...you'd have to suspend the buds on a plastic rack inside the microwave so that they arent touching each other or any surfaces of the microwave...plastic clips would be used to support the weight of the buds from an elevated height....you might get some burn at the point of contact between the plastic and the stem but otherwise the uniformity should be good