Starting with the problem so you don't have to plough through acres of me rabbiting, I have a project that seems simple, so simple I can't find find a project like it, nor the documentation I need to determine how to do it. Plus, I don't know sufficient to even determine what technology rabbit hole I should dive down, so guidance would be appreciated. I do have confidence that I can read, understand and execute as required.
A couple of years ago, I bought some semi-decent espresso making machinery, including a manual grinder. At the time I baulked at spending the extra for any dosing options, the on demand timer version of the grinder I bought was over £100 more. I figured at the time that I would be able to judge the amount ground reasonably (or at least, sufficiently for my purposes), which proves to be largely the case. However, the option of a timed grind still seems attractive, so I've been considering how it might be achieved.
I thought Arudino or Raspberry Pi (as generic types) might be the way to go, and bearing in mind I know little about them and have never used them, started to consider the options
Features needed:
- Ability to switch on grinder for n seconds
- Ability to configure the number of seconds
Features desired
- Ability to cancel process
- Ability to override process (existing switch in parallel?)
- Fit inside grinder case
Comparison:
Arduino | Raspberry Pi
==================== | =================
Is a dedicated control device | generic compute
Can be very small | relatively large
Low power |higher power draw
Directly control solid state relay| may need interface
inbuilt comms limited | excellent comms
That all leads me to think that the Arduino style microcontroller is the way to go, without have the faintest idea of how it will happen or what to use. This appears to be a suitable starting point, directly controlling something like a solid state relay.
My specific asks are......
Am I in the right place? is there a forum more suited than this single product one
What tech variant sounds like the best fit for this use? (ie where should I put my effort)
Are there any docs related to control inputs (ie, changing the time). In my head I have no display but three small buttons - (1) Reset (2) time up in 0.5 or 1 sec increments (3) time down. The program to control that should be fairly simple, but others may have approached this more elegantly
Am I even asking the right questions......
