Final Project Journal

The idea of the smart tea maker circuit came from my interest in combining everyday habits with smart automation. Tea preparation is a daily routine, and I wanted to make it easier and customizable using Arduino. Similar vending/coffee machines inspired me, but I customized the design to suit a simple, affordable, and educational prototype. The main objective was to create a system where a user can choose the tea strength and sugar level with the push of buttons, and the machine would automatically dispense them. 

Electronic Circuit Description

The electronic circuit of the Smart Tea Dispenser was designed and tested first on Tinkercad Circuits, then implemented on a breadboard with the Arduino Uno. The system combines input components (push buttons) with action/output components (servo motors, LCD, buzzer), all controlled by the Arduino.

Input Components

• Push Buttons (4 pcs):
  
  

  • Three buttons are used to select tea strength (light, medium, strong).
    
    

  • One button is used to dispense sugar (each press = 1 spoon).
    
    

  • Each button is connected to a digital input pin with a pull-down resistor to ensure stable readings.
    
    

Action / Output Components

• Servo Motor 1 (MG90S): Controls the tea container opening to dispense tea powder. The rotation angle and duration depend on the selected tea strength.
  
  

• Servo Motor 2 (MG90S): Controls the sugar container opening, each 2-second rotation adds one spoon of sugar.
  
  

• LCD with I2C Module: Displays the user’s selections and system messages such as “Tea Strength: Medium” or “Tea Ready.”
  
  

Controller

• Arduino Uno: Acts as the brain of the system. It reads input from the buttons, processes the logic, and then sends commands to the servos, LCD, and buzzer.
  
  

Integration of Components

1. The user presses a button to select tea strength → Arduino records the input.
   
   

2. Arduino activates Servo 1 for a specific time (1 sec = light, 2 sec = medium, 3 sec = strong).
   
   

3. For sugar, each press of the sugar button makes Servo 2 rotate for 2 seconds to add one spoon.
   
   

4. During the process, the LCD displays the choices (e.g., “Strong Tea, 2 Spoons”).
   
   

Softwares and Tools used

• Tinkercad Circuits: For designing and simulating the circuit virtually.
  
  

• Arduino IDE: For programming and uploading the control code.
  
  

• Breadboard + jumper wires: For prototyping and testing the circuit connections before final integration

The smart tea dispenser is powered using a 9V adapter connected through a step-down (buck) converter to supply the required 5V for the Arduino Uno and the connected components.

Why this source was selected:

• Arduino Uno, MG90S servos, LCD, and buzzer all operate safely at 5V.
  
  

• Servos can draw relatively high current when rotating, so a stable 5V regulated supply is required rather than connecting a 9V directly to the Arduino.
  
  

• Using a step-down converter (LM2596) allowed me to regulate the voltage down from 9V to 5V and ensure stable operation for all components without overheating or voltage drops.
  
  

Final setup:

• The 9V adapter is connected to the step-down converter.
  
  

• The converter is adjusted to output a steady 5V.
  
  

• The 5V output is then supplied to the Arduino’s 5V pin and shared with the LCD, servos, 

In this project, I used an Arduino with an LCD, two servo motors, and four push buttons.
When the system starts, the LCD shows a welcome message and then displays "Ready..." to indicate it’s waiting for input.

Buttons:

• Button 1 runs the tea servo for 1 second.
  
  

• Button 2 runs the tea servo for 2 seconds.
  
  

• Button 3 runs the tea servo for 3 seconds.
  
  

• Button 4 runs the sugar servo for 1 second.
  
  

LCD Display:

• When the system is powered on, the LCD first shows “Welcome!” for a short time.
  
  

• Then it switches to “Ready...”, indicating that the machine is waiting for input.
  
  

• When a button is pressed, the LCD shows the current operation, for example:
  
  

  • “Tea 1 sec...” for light tea.
    
    

  • “Tea 2 sec...” for medium tea.
    
    

  • “Tea 3 sec...” for strong tea.
    
    

  • “Sugar 1 sec...” for adding sugar.
    
    

• After the process finishes, the LCD displays “Enjoy!” for a moment before returning to “Ready...”.
  
  

Functions:
The program includes a helper function showEnjoy() that simply handles the "Enjoy!" message and resets the LCD back to "Ready...".

AI Support:
To improve the programming, I used artificial intelligence tools to review my code and suggest optimizations, such as simplifying functions or making the logic clearer. This helped me refine the program and ensure it ran more smoothly.

1. Mechanical Assembly (Body Construction)
   
   

   • The main body of the machine was designed with laser-cut wooden pieces.
     
     

   • The wooden parts were joined together using slots and screws to form a stable box structure.
     
     

   • This provided a strong frame to hold the electronic components and the dispensing mechanisms.
     
     

2. Mounting the Electronics
   
   

   • After the body was assembled, the LCD display and buttons were mounted on the front wooden panel to make them accessible to the user.
     
     

   • The servo motors were fixed inside the structure near the tea and sugar compartments so they could control the dispensing.
     
     

   • All electronic components were firmly secured to the wooden frame to prevent movement during operation.
     
     

3. Electrical Connections
   
   

   • The push buttons, LCD, and servo motors were connected to the Arduino Uno using jumper wires.
     
     

   • A breadboard was used to organize the wiring and connect the buttons with pull-up resistors (via the INPUT_PULLUP configuration).
     
     

   • The LCD was connected through the I2C interface (SDA and SCL pins), reducing wiring complexity.
     
     

   • Power and ground connections were distributed to all components through the breadboard, ensuring a clean and reliable circuit.
     
     

4. Final Integration
   
   

   • Once all components were wired, the Arduino was uploaded with the control code.
     
     

   • The system was then tested step by step: first the LCD, then the buttons, then the servos.
     
     

   • After confirming functionality, the full system was run to demonstrate tea strength and sugar dispensing.
     
     

I received a lot of valuable support and feedback from my peers and instructor throughout the project, which helped me reach the final outcome.

• My friends helped me with cutting and building a cardboard prototype of the dispenser before moving to the actual fabrication. This step was very useful to test the design in real dimensions.
  
  

• They also supported me in coming up with a simple and effective working idea for the project mechanism.
  
  

• Mostafa and John specifically helped me determine the final dimensions of the project before printing and laser cutting, which saved me from making mistakes.
  
  

• Esraa (my instructor) guided me with the measurements, assembly, and even coloring the final project to make it look complete and professional.
  
  

I would like to sincerely thank all of them for their support and contributions. I am truly grateful for their help, encouragement, and teamwork during this project.

My project was quite large and included many detailed parts, so I couldn’t simply rely on ready-made designs available online. For example, I didn’t want to use regular round containers; instead, I needed containers with one curved side and a 3 cm spacing between them so that the powders could fall directly into the cup without moving it. Because of this, I had to design special containers myself.

I also had to create a customized servo arm. The standard arm size didn’t fit my nozzle opening, so I adjusted the design and scaled it up to match the nozzle while ensuring it was strong enough.

Another big challenge was designing the body of the machine. Since it was large with many parts, the joints and modifications were not easy. I had to file down the wood in some places so that the slot joints would fit properly.

On the electronics side, I faced some wiring problems where one part worked while another didn’t. The LCD screen also required a specific library, so I had to do extra testing and research to make it work correctly.

I also made a mistake while laser-cutting the wood: I forgot to add a speed-cut adjustment in one part, so the piece didn’t cut properly. I had to redo the design and re-cut the part with the correction.

Overall, I overcame these challenges through trial, research, and adjustments. For others doing a similar project, I’d recommend double-checking measurements before cutting, preparing proper joints for assembly, and testing electronics step by step to avoid confusion.

If I had more time, I would expand the machine’s functionality by adding hot water, milk, and mint options. This would make the machine more versatile and better suited to Egyptian tea-drinking culture, creating a truly “Egyptian-style” tea machine.