Logo
Diagram of the Dumpling Bot 9000
Loading wrappers into the lazy susan
Diagram of clamping mechanism - note the rack missed one side of the clamping mechanism.
Ladle + pulley mechanism to pull dumpling into water
GIF
Meat pusher demo
CAD of the rack and pinion used to push the hinges on the lazy susan up to clamp the dumpling
CAD of the meat syringe holder

Inspiration

Every year, Hack the North produces some of the most impressive hackathon projects in the world, projects that aim to solve real world problems that impact billions.

We said screw that and made a robot that makes dumplings automatically for fun. cause why not??

Why take 7 minutes to boil frozen dumplings when you can spend 36 hours automating the process? We at Dumpling Dynamics asked ourselves this question, and have developed cutting edge research to develop our latest invention - the Dumpling Bot 9000.

What it does

The Dumpling Bot 9000 automates the process of making dumplings from scratch. The user preloads dumpling wrappers onto the marked "lazy susan", as well as preloads the meat into a syringe (placed into the holder that snaps into place). They click the start button on the GUI to begin the dumpling making process.

Dispensing Meat: A tensioned syringe deposits the correct amount of filling into the wrapper. Two rows of offset unidirectional latches alternate, powered by servos, allowing the plunger downwards to push the syfinge. Afterwards, another servo closes the cutter, separating the portion from the rest of the filling.

Clamping the Dumplings: The lazy susan on a bearing is turned to the correct position using a stepper motor connected to a pulley and string. The lazy susan has six 3 inch holes where a dumpling clamper is mounted. After the area with the meat dispenser, the lazy susan is turned where 2 rack and pinion mechanisms are pushed up to close the dumpling clamps. The original design for the dumpling clamps allowed the dumpling to fall out the bottom after being completed into the ladle, however due to lack of planning the ladle did not fit into the correct position.

Boiling the Dumplings: A wire mesh ladle that has theoretically collected the dumplings is pulled into a pot of hot water using another stepper connected to a string pulley. The dumplings boil for 5 mins and are then (theoretically) ready to eat.

How we built it

The mechanisms were made using CAD software and printed on a Prusa Mk3. Shout out goes to my room mates who let us assemble and hack in our living room and run loud tools at night.

Challenges we ran into

Raw meat. Raw meat everywhere. Don't do it. We were so stupid.

Also WE DIDNT INTERGRATE ANYTHING PROPERLY.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

All the individual components of the dumpling maker 9000 work well, however in our frenzy to finish this on time we skipped over integrating the mechanisms in cad, which we deeply regret. But the fact everything works extremely well by itself is something to be proud of.

Also, we unanimously agree this was one of the most fun hackathon experiences we've had (making dumpling meat at 2 am to be placed in a syringe is a new experience) despite our hack not turning out exactly the way we wanted.