Version 2 of my coffee roaster will entail a lot more technical details than the first rough prototype. This includes automatically controlling the roasting temperature. Now there are products out there that can electronically control a regulator, but those are rather expensive and if I were to use them, I would feel like I am kind of cheating in this design. So the first step I went with to make a home-made automatic propane regulator is attaching a stepper motor. This was a perfect time for me to continue working on my 3D modeling and print out a custom designed enclosure for this! So far I have completed the proof of concept by utilizing an Arduino nano to interface with the stepper motor’s driver board. Below you can see how this will come together.
Overall enclosure
Open to see inner components
Bottom view