Mar 12
One critical part in the honey stick machine is the optical sensor. They will be used in several locations in the honey stick machine to determine if a straw is in position and when honey is in the straw at a particular location. it consists of a very simple circuit containing an IR LED and …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/honey-stick-machine-part-4d-optical-sensor/
Mar 05
In keeping with the modular theme for the prototype, I’ve assembled the AC Driver board as a separate circuit. It contains 4 of the very simple AC driver circuits designed earlier. Assembly and testing was uneventful. There is a lot of wasted space on this board that can be eliminated later with a …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/honey-stick-machine-part-4c-ac-driver-assembly/
Mar 02
There is also be portions of the honey stick machine, including heaters and pump, that will need to be run on 120VAC and sill be switched on and off by the Phidgets interface. Relays would be the simplest option here, but again these mechanical relays have a far less than desirable rated lifespan in …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/honey-stick-machine-part-4c-ac-driver/
Feb 26
The local association’s meeting was canceled tonight due to snow. This gave me a little bit of time to work on the honey stick machine that’s been left sitting for awhile while I caught up on other things. I was able to finish and test the final 4 to 8 decoder previously built …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/journal/honey-stick-machine-part-4b-update/
Dec 12
One of the challenges in the circuit design that I was worried about was obtaining the additional outputs I expect to need for the honey stick machine. The Phidgets USB controller only has 8 outputs and while I could simply add a 2nd Phidgets module, I’d really rather avoid the extra expense in the …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/honey-stick-machine-part-4b-4-to-8-decoder/
Dec 10
Given the unknowns developing a machine such as this, I’ve opted to build much of it in smaller functional blocks. This certainly won’t be a cost effective way to produce machines if we end up marketing it, due to the increased cost of parts. And assembling circuits on these generic prototype boards is quite time …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/honey-stick-machine-part-4a-dc-driver/
Dec 06
It’s winter again, or at least it looks like it out the window. We had several inches of snowfall Tuesday night and it looks like it’s going to stick around for awhile. So it’s time to get back to the honey stick machine. It’s been over a year now since I designed the simple …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/honey-stick-machine-part-4-circuits/
Nov 26
Now you can own your own ‘non working’ orignal Sticky Machine. Only $430 right now on ebay, a fraction of the original $3000 price tag. Unfortunately it sounds like the seller had as many problems with the machine as others I’ve talked to about it.
Having filled quite a few honey sticks …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/the-sticky-machine-makes-another-appearance/
Jul 24
With a change of jobs and being in the middle of bee season, I haven’t had much time to devote to much else, including working on the honey stick machine.
I have noticed however that Dunbar Honey Farm is now advertizing their honey stick machine in the American Bee Journal for $1900 (Phone 586-770-9953). …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/honey-stick-machine-update/
Nov 22
I recently was informed of another Honey Stick Machine it is on the market. It is not automatic, but sounds like it may work a bit faster than how I’ve currently been filling straws. It consists of a special pump that is made special in india that fills the straws with raw, unheated honey …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/honey-sticks/another-honey-stick-machine/
