The Alkomat uses an inkjet printer chassis, carriage and motors to serve alcoholic drinks.
The Alkomat machine
Ars Technica reported on the Alkomat, built by Russian hardware hacker ‘Strn’, which can serve “up to five different drinks at a time, then offers a toast”. The machine is Wi-Fi connected and is “built on the chassis of an old inkjet printer, using the printer carriage and paper feed motors to control the movement of its nozzle”.
In turn, the system itself is powered by a microcontroller, which is connected to a Wi-Fi module, with pumps sucking alcohol from bottles “hooked up to the Alkomat’s nozzle system” thanks to a motor driver. Drinks can be selected up to “five at a time” from a webpage on a server built-in to the system, while an OLED display and buttons can also activate the machine.
‘Strn’ used a 3D printer for the front display, and built a cabinet to include all the machinery “from furniture parts designed using a CAD-CAM programme”, while recycled countertop is used with “recessed positions” for drinks glasses. A series of photosensors detect “when the glasses are present” in the recesses, with the Alkomat automatically starting “once the right number of glasses has been placed in position”.
Another piece of old machinery – a recycled CD tray motor – is used to “move the tray into position and eject the finished drinks”, while a built-in MP3 encoder “plays a little music” as a toast. ‘Strn’ added that “his next step is a better user interface” and “an Alkomat app”. You can watch the Alokmat in operation below.