HOT SIPS

Description: As a college student who loves coffee, it is so frustrating when my coffee gets cold after 30 minutes. Therefore, I created Hot Sips to ensure that my coffee would stay hot. In doing so, I coded an Arduino so that when pushing the button, located on the top right, it would turn on the heating element inside of the box. The red LED located to the left of the button is to signify when the heating element is active. The LED will, according to the time preferred, automatically turn off as well as the heating element to make sure, if left alone, it will not damage any surface it is located on.

Making Hot Sips was very rewarding yet challenging. It brought out my best problem solving skills and challenged my ability to work well under pressure. I genuinely enjoy creating projects that are practical and contribute to my love for coffee and calligraphy.

Pictured above is the initial idea and sketches for keeping coffee hot. The idea was to use a 3D printed mug and place the components within the bottom portion of the mug. I quickly realized this was not a very feasible idea.

This was the initial heating element(heating pad) and its wiring where a potentiometer controlled the amount of heat it produced.

Once I realized the heating pad did not produce enough heat (nothing over body temperature), I began planning for the function of the heat bar pictured in the middle image above.

The final wiring schematic with the new heating element.

These are the form prototypes ensuring it could hold weight as well as provide enough heat through another layer of metal.

During testing, I realized that by using the potentiometer, it was hard to control the heat to the desired temperature and to know if the element was turned on at all. This is where I added a button sensor instead of a potentiometer and adding a LED to indicate when the heating element was active making it more intuitive for the user.