Automated Burger Machine

According to a recent survey, Americans eat nearly 50 billion burgers a year, which approximates to 0.5 burger per day for every single person in the United States. However, it is becoming increasingly more expensive to hire labor to make fast food like burgers. Moreover, customized orders are often mishandled during peak hours. An automatic burger machine is an effective approach to solve these problems by cutting down the labor costs and make food based on customers’ orders without making any mistakes. The machine consists of a conveyor and eight ingredient cylinders above it. Along the conveyor, these ingredients are sequentially dropped on a burger bun according to customers’ requirements. The mechanism of dropping the ingredient is performed by crank connecting rod, twisting tap, and rack and pinion. Major supporting parts were tested through FEA for safety. Arduino was chosen as the controller coordinating orders and motors to finish the whole process. Infrared sensors were implemented to detect the arrival of bun precisely, then trigger ingredient’s release. Using the same design method, it’s possible to provide customers with more options including various burger patties, vegetables and different sauces. From further perspective, the hardware structure and automation method can be applied to other customized foods such as hot dogs and tacos.