Solid powder demo (e.g. color-matching)

[sgbaird]

Some options for a solid matter color-matching demo

• Pigment (expensive)
• Colored sugar (easy to burn)
• Powdered, shredded, beaded wax (metal tealight holders)
  • Keywords:
    • sand wax
    • granulated wax
  • Can also be crystalline wax
    EDIT: difficult to handle with trickler style dispensers due to self adhesion
• Colored chocolate
• Toffee
• Taffy
• Cocoa powder
• Chalk
• Gelatin powder

How to mix while preventing cross-contamination between batches?

• Robotic arm attachments
• Standalone equipment
• Common funnel (mix while dropping)

Colored wax being deposited into and melted inside tealight holders seems like a good option.

[sgbaird]

Great suggestion by Lee Cronin to abstract the process to the XDL chemical language (https://gitlab.com/croningroup/chemputer/xdl, https://croningroup.gitlab.io/chemputer/xdl/index.html)

Something like:

• SynthReader
  • addition of multiple reagents
  • heat for a fixed time
  • allow to cool to room temperature
  • read sensor
  • waste
• Nodes
  • Pump (=dispenser)
  • Reactor (=tealight candle)
  • Hotplate (=incandescent bulb)

[sgbaird]

Here's a preliminary schematic for how the solid-mixing color-matching demo might go:

Empty tealight candle holders will be placed on a rotating platform and move to dispensing, processing (heating), and characterization (light sensor) positions, before moving back to the loading position to be placed in sample storage.

The goal is the same as the light- and liquid-mixing color-matching demos: find the input parameters that lead to some predefined color target. It will reuse the modular software and hardware components from the previous demos, and be fully controllable from the cloud (i.e., "cloud experimentation").

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[sgbaird]

https://www.mt.com/dam/P5/labtec/Product_Brochures/Quantos_HPD/BR_Quantos_Powder_EN.pdf## Hardware

Mobile robot arm

• https://hiwonder.com/products/hiwonder-jetmax-pro-jetson-nano-robot-arm-with-mecanum-wheel-chassis-electric-sliding-rail-support-ros-python?variant=40047484797015 ($849.99)

Powder dispensers

Capacity vs. cost is probably going to be one of the bigger issues.

• Low-cost automated powder dispensers #92
• Hornady Vibratory Powder Trickler https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-050102-Vibratory-Powder-Trickler/dp/B0787CV6KC/ ($58.77, 0.14 lb capacity)
• AutoTrickler V4 https://autotrickler.com/pages/autotrickler ($490, 1 lb)
  • Full reloading kit AUTOTRICKLER V4 + A&D FX-120I COMBO (1070 USD)
• Ingenuity Powder System
• Open Trickler https://github.com/ammolytics/projects/tree/develop/trickler https://blog.ammolytics.com/2019-04-30/diy-smart-trickler.html
  • Mini Vibration Brushed Motors https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073JKQ9LN
• Dandy 2-Speed Electric Powder Trickler https://dandyproductsllc.com/products/dandy-2-speed-electric-powder-trickler ($124.95) adjustable angle using a movable weight
• RCBS ChargeMaster Supreme Digital Powder Scale and Dispenser (580 CAD)
• Mettler Toledo automated powder dispensing system (Quantos, which forms a part of Chronect)
• Chemspeed benchtop solid dispensing

Generally no APIs by default. Bluetooth connection-based Android Apps in some cases (like with AutoTrickler v4). Perhaps some mileage that could come from using WayDroid as an Android app emulator on a Raspberry Pi.

A funnel stand (e.g., Laboratory Grade Metalware Set) may also be required. I'm not sure if/how the powder should be weighed (i.e., not just dispensed). Perhaps a retractable actuator of some kind for inserting/extracting the candle holder (similar to the XRD setup and the video I saw from A-Lab). I suppose the entire turntable could be placed on a balance, so long as the turntable and any load are less than 320 grams (assuming a FX-300i).

Rotating turntable

• https://www.tindie.com/products/fluxgarage/turntable-for-stepper-motor-kit/ ($65)
• https://www.google.com/search?q=turntable+stepper+motor
• https://learn.adafruit.com/motorized-turntable-circuitpython/introduction

Substrate

• https://www.amazon.com/WFPLUS-Aluminum-Containers-Packaged-Supplies/dp/B094FN41BH/ ($13.89) [CAN 48.65 CAD]

Powder Wax

• Red or Blue https://candlesand.com/store/ ($14.99/lb)
• Red or Blue https://www.amazon.com/Candlewic-Granulated-Wax-5lb-Red/dp/B01H7KHGNE?th=1 ($19.11/5lb)
• Yellow https://www.candlescience.com/wax/yellow-beeswax/ ($10.32/lb)
• Yellow https://www.amazon.com/Soapeauty-Organic-Natural-Pastilles-Supplies/dp/B07K7T5VZS ($57.49/5lb)
• Red, Yellow, or Blue https://candlewic.com/c/candle-making/wax/granulated/ (many out-of-stock 2023-03-04)

Soy wax has a lower melting point than paraffin wax according to one source, but there's a big range reported and not always consistent. Around 120-180 deg. F though. Beeswax (often yellow) around 150 deg. F.

Heating

• Halogen light bulb 25W https://www.amazon.com/Simba-Lighting-Replacement-Recessed-JDR/dp/B07WNBNWBC/ often used for candle warmers ($9.95/4pack), though not the typical screw in connector
• Adjustable halogen lamp with stand, high/low/off (50W bulb included) ($59.81)
• Dimmable heating lamp for reptiles 75W ($9.36)
• Simple Deluxe 150W Reptile Heat Bulb and 40-108 Degrees Fahrenheit Digital Thermostat Controller Included (bulb-only option, too) (fire hazard 🔥)
• Dimmable heating lamp for reptiles 150W
• Dimmable Candle Warmer Lamp (59.99 CAD)

I went down a rabbit hole of dimmable 120 VAC power plugs with APIs. Tasmota seemed like a good option given that it's open source and has a direct MQTT integration, except I couldn't find any modules with a US plug that had a dimmer and was sold in a prepackaged format, etc. etc.

Using an electrical box with a RobotDYN (triac-based I think) light dimmer (or SSR such as SSR-25 DA) inside of it and male plug and female wall plug on either side is another option, but then we start trying to put on our electrician hats as non-electricians and non-UL-certified solutions.

Eventually, I came upon python-kasa which supports KP400, KP401, and KP405. There seems to be reasonable API documentation for dimmers, and there seems to be a lot of buy-in from the community (contributors, # stars, recent activity, etc.). It turns out someone also made mqtt2kasa. Whether or not I'd use mqtt2kasa, it's promising to see that someone has done this. It looks like the subscription service is only for extra features for camera use (like retention of video for 30 days). It also appears that the Google Playstore app isn't necessary to use python-kasa.