Don't Go 'round Tonight/It's Bound To Take Your Life/Theres A Bad Idea On The Rise...

[Liger Zero]

Ok, I seriously love those cold coffee drinks that the various Coffee Shops (like DD and Starbucks) put out... McDonalds is alright in a pinch.

One thing in common though is when they hand you the drink it's in layers because cold drinks don't seem to mix well. You got your coffee-swill, your lightener and your sugar all in layers.

Now they COULD use a mixer to mix the drinks but that's dangerous, Dumb Kids behind the counter could be injured by the spinning parts. Plus you have to sanitize it... and the big thing is cleaning it between different types of drinks.


I'm remembering all the way back to school when I played with ultrasonics. Seems to me I remember mixing a beverage with an ultrasonic transducer as a part of a lab project or demo or something... I don't recall the details as it wasn't "important" to my overall major at the time.


Where I am going with this... Where can I find small ultrasonic transducers and control units to play with? I want to see if it's possible to develop an ultrasonic cold drink mixer or possibly inspire someone else to come up with an idea.

[ckelloug]

You can find big ultrasonic transducers with expensive control units at www.sonics.com. I don't know where to find small ones. I want a Sonics unit for my epoxy research as ultrasound can induce chemical changes in epoxy by breaking certain bonds.

All I can think of is to take apart an ultrasonic humidifier.

[Liger Zero]

You can find big ultrasonic transducers with expensive control units at www.sonics.com. I don't know where to find small ones. I want a Sonics unit for my epoxy research as ultrasound can induce chemical changes in epoxy by breaking certain bonds.

All I can think of is to take apart an ultrasonic humidifier.

Yeah, those are a bit too pricey for me.

The humidifier... I can pick those up at the Salvation Army. Good idea.

That leaves me with figuring out how to alter the output.

[dp]

UltrasonicArrays.com in Woodinville, WA used to be in this market but they've been bought out by AlbionDevices.com so things may have changed. They make production line real-time equipment for bottle cappers, boxing equipment, and other rapid operations that have a requirement to know if an item has tumbled, is an empty container, too tall for the line, etc.

[ckelloug]

Note I said _want_ a Sonics unit, not have a sonics unit. I think they're about $4000 new. They promise me they'll give me a steal on a customer demo unit with only a couple hours on it but it's still pricey and there are so many other things I need. . . Damn industrial toys will be the death of us.

[Liger Zero]

Note I said _want_ a Sonics unit, not have a sonics unit. I think they're about $4000 new. They promise me they'll give me a steal on a customer demo unit with only a couple hours on it but it's still pricey and there are so many other things I need. . . Damn industrial toys will be the death of us.

No kidding. I found a TAIG CNC mill on the other side of Rochester for "only" $3500 including a metric iso****ton of tooling and accessories.

I tried the "but that's half price" trick on the wife she still gave me The Look. *sigh* Maybe someday.

[Just Bob Again]

.... possibly inspire someone else to come up with an idea.

It's called a "spoon". Works pretty well. Why would I want a $100 ultrasonic mixer when I can use a 3-cent spoon?

Most of those cold drinks are sweetened with corn syrup and are loaded with thickeners and additives. Corn syrup will dissolve in cold water. I don't eat that junk anymore. Read a little about how corn syrup is manufactured and what contaminants might be in there. Sulfites and mercury. If it isn't sweetened with cane sugar in small amounts, I won't eat it. Limits my fast-food options, but I have no complaints there. Sugar won't dissolve well in cold drinks. Have to make hot coffee or tea and cool it which is what I do.

[Liger Zero]

Well the process flow behind the counter is thus:

They pour the coffee into the cup over a block/huge scoop of ice, then they add the sweetener and the cream then they slap a lid on it and hand it to you.

During peak times those workers aren't going to stop the flow of product to spoon a drink... if you slow down during peak times you get fired.

The machine I visualize works like this: You put the cup on the transducer, assemble the drink, put the lid on, press the button and serve. Don't know if it's possible to do it, that's why I'm looking for pieces/parts to play with.


Heck even if it goes nowhere I'll end up learning something.

[Dragons_fire]

they sell ultrasonic cleaners for eyeglasses. would one of them work for you?

[Liger Zero]

Not sure... how's it set up?

I'm thinking of sonic-cating the beverage through the cup, that way there is no product cross contamination.

[derekm]

(in a Peters Sellers french accent)

And what will Monsieur like to drink?

(in a Sean Connery accent)

A Vodka Martini - Buzzed, not stirred

[fasto]

Well, I can't stand sugar in any drink, but I do like my coffee with half&half. I just put my finger over the straw hole & tip it upside down and back a few times.
Do this before you get into your car for best results.

[camdigger]

Any chance you can pick up an ultrasonic spark plug cleaner at a flea market?

[Liger Zero]

I'll look around for one.

[pressurerelief]

My wife has an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner, little vessel sits on top and gets shaken away. About the right size to.

CKelloug, google, "Immersible Ultrasonic Transducers and Generators" they are alot cheaper thatn $4k.