AutoPickle 3000

Drop a raw egg in the top. Pull a pickled egg out the front. One machine: cook → peel → pickle, fully automatic.

[ One button. One egg in per day. Always pickled eggs ready. ]

Stages

~14 min

Cook + Peel

6–12

Egg Reservoir

~$190

Parts (DIY)

01CAD — Cutaway Cross-Section

Front elevation, sectioned on centreline. The machine is a gravity-fed vertical stack: egg enters top, falls through each process chamber, exits as a finished pickled egg into the dispense jar.

FIG 01 · AutoPickle 3000 · cutaway, front elevation NTS · centreline sectioned · rev A

02The Three Stages

STAGE 01

Cook

Pressurized steam, not boiling water — faster, less water, more consistent.

Egg drops into steam chamber
212°F steam, ~12 min hard set
60 s cold-water flush quench
Thermal shock loosens shell

STAGE 02

Peel

Textured silicone drum vibrates and rotates while water jets strip the shell.

No blades, no mechanical arms
Compressed-air + water principle
Shell washes through mesh filter
Fragments drain to catch tray

STAGE 03

Pickle

Peeled egg drops into a sealed, recirculating brine reservoir.

Vinegar, salt, dill, garlic, pepper
180°F hot-pickle infusion burst
24 h quick / 7 d full cure timer
Holds 6–12 eggs in rotation

03CAD — Exploded Assembly

Major sub-assemblies, separated along the vertical build axis. Item numbers correspond to the bill of materials in section 04.

FIG 02 · exploded assembly · 6 sub-modules build axis vertical · rev A

04Process & Control Flow

State machine the controller runs. One press of the button starts a cycle; the reservoir runs the long pickle timer in the background so eggs are always ready.

FIG 03 · controller state machine 1 input · fault-safe abort · bg cure timer

05Bill of Materials

DIY prototype build. Prices approximate (USD), commodity hobby/appliance parts. Item # ties back to the exploded view (FIG 02).

#	Component	Spec / Notes	Qty	~Cost
1	Input funnel + lid	Food-grade silicone / PETG print	1	$12
1	IR break-beam sensor	Detects egg present at intake	1	$6
2	Steam chamber + 200 W heater	Stainless cup, PTC element, gasket	1	$34
2	Solenoid water valves	12 V, fill + cold quench	2	$16
3	Servo drop-gate	MG996R metal-gear, food-safe flap	2	$14
4	Silicone peel drum	Textured inner wall, cast or printed mold	1	$22
4	Gearmotor + vibration motor	12 V 30 RPM + ERM pancake	1	$18
4	Water-jet pump + nozzles	12 V diaphragm, 2 fan nozzles	1	$15
5	Mesh filter + shell tray	Stainless mesh, slide-out drawer	1	$9
6	Brine reservoir + lid seal	1.5 L food-grade, gasketed	1	$20
6	Recirc pump + 100 W heater	Food-safe pump, immersion element	1	$17
—	ESP32 + relay bank (8ch)	Controller, Wi-Fi status, OTA	1	$14
—	2× waterproof temp probes	DS18B20, cook + brine	2	$6
—	12 V 6 A PSU + button + LED	Single power brick, 1 control button	1	$17
Estimated DIY prototype total				~$190

Note: all wetted parts must be food-grade (silicone, 304/316 stainless, PETG/PP). Vinegar brine is acidic — no aluminum or bare carbon steel anywhere in the wet path.

06Development & Build Guide

Five phases. Build and bench-test each stage standalone before stacking them — integration is far easier when each module already works alone.

PHASE 1 Frame & gravity stack ~1 weekend

Build the vertical chassis (aluminium extrusion or laser-cut ply). Total height target ~520 mm.
Mock the three chambers as empty shells. Confirm an egg free-falls cleanly top to bottom with gates open.
Fit the two servo drop-gates. Tune flap angle so a cooked egg passes but doesn't jam.
Mount the slide-out shell tray and the front jar door. Verify reach & clearance.

PHASE 2 Stage 1 — steam cook ~1 week

Plumb fill solenoid → chamber → PTC heater. Add the cold quench solenoid.
Drop in the DS18B20 cook probe. Closed-loop the heater to hold steam temp.
Calibrate: tune time/temp on a dozen eggs until the shell reliably loosens after quench.
Bench acceptance: 10/10 eggs hard-set with no green ring and an easy-start peel.

PHASE 3 Stage 2 — peel drum ~1–2 weeks

Cast/print the textured silicone drum. Inner ribs grip the shell without bruising white.
Couple the 30 RPM gearmotor + ERM vibration motor. Run dry first to check balance.
Add the two fan water jets timed with rotation. Iterate nozzle angle & pressure.
This is the hardest stage — expect many tuning passes. Target ≥ 80% clean peels unattended.

Reality check: mechanical egg peeling is genuinely hard. Budget the most prototyping time here; commercial peelers use the same air+water trick but tune it heavily. A 20% reject rate is an acceptable v1.

PHASE 4 Stage 3 — pickle reservoir ~1 week

Fit the gasketed reservoir, recirc pump, and immersion heater. Leak-test with water first.
Add the brine probe; closed-loop the 180°F infusion burst, then idle recirc.
Implement the per-egg cure timer (track entry time; flag eggs as "ready" after 24 h / 7 d).
Test acid compatibility: run real vinegar brine 72 h, inspect every wetted part for corrosion.

PHASE 5 Controller, integration & safety ~1 week

Flash the ESP32 state machine (pseudocode below). Wire the relay bank to all actuators.
Integrate: one button press runs COOK → PEEL → PICKLE end to end.
Add fault handling: probe out-of-range → cut heaters, drain, blink red, refuse new cycle.
Add Wi-Fi status (optional): cycle state + "eggs ready" count pushed to a phone.
Soak test: 20 consecutive eggs unattended. Log peel success rate and any jams.

07Controller Firmware (sketch)

Reference state machine for the ESP32. Times/temps are calibration starting points — tune in Phases 2–4.

// AutoPickle 3000 — controller state machine (pseudo-Arduino)
enum State { IDLE, COOK, QUENCH, PEEL, INFUSE, CURE, FAULT };
State s = IDLE;

const int COOK_F=212, INFUSE_F=180;
const long COOK_MS=720000, QUENCH_MS=60000, PEEL_MS=90000;

void loop() {
  if (tempFault()) s = FAULT;       // probe sanity, every tick

  switch (s) {
   case IDLE:
     if (button() && eggPresent()) { gate(1,OPEN); s=COOK; t0(); }
     break;
   case COOK:
     gate(1,SHUT); fill(); heatTo(COOK_F);
     if (elapsed() > COOK_MS) { s=QUENCH; t0(); }
     break;
   case QUENCH:
     heater(OFF); coldFlush(ON);
     if (elapsed() > QUENCH_MS) { coldFlush(OFF); gate(2,OPEN); s=PEEL; t0(); }
     break;
   case PEEL:
     gate(2,SHUT); drum(SPIN); vibe(ON); jets(PULSE);
     if (elapsed() > PEEL_MS) { drum(STOP); vibe(OFF); jets(OFF);
                                  gate(3,OPEN); s=INFUSE; t0(); }
     break;
   case INFUSE:
     gate(3,SHUT); brineHeatTo(INFUSE_F); recirc(ON);
     if (brineAt(INFUSE_F)) { logEgg(now()); s=CURE; }
     break;
   case CURE:
     recirc(IDLE); markReady("24h / 7d per egg");
     s = IDLE;                  // ready for next egg; cure runs in bg
     break;
   case FAULT:
     allHeaters(OFF); drain(); led(RED_BLINK);
     break;
  }
}

Design intent: the machine returns to IDLE the moment an egg enters the brine — cure time runs passively in the reservoir, so you feed one egg per day and always have a ready batch. The "eggs ready" count is just timestamp bookkeeping.

08Specifications

Footprint	~ large drip coffee maker (≈ 240 × 240 × 520 mm)
Input	Single raw egg, dropped into top funnel
Output	Pickled egg, retrieved from front jar-style door
Controls	One button (start) + status LED; optional Wi-Fi status
Cook	Pressurized steam, 212°F, ~12 min + 60 s cold quench
Peel	Vibration + rotation + water jets, ~90 s, no blades
Pickle	180°F infusion burst, recirculated brine, 24 h / 7 d cure
Reservoir	6–12 eggs in rotation, ~1.5 L brine, weekly refill
Maintenance	Empty shell tray, refill brine reservoir weekly
Power	12 V DC, ~6 A peak (heaters); single brick
Status	Concept · rev A · open build — not yet prototyped