Analog Cooktop Knob To Servo Powered Timer (Arduino Powered)

Here is a project idea to convert analog cooktop knob to servo powered timer which is powered by Arduino. We have listed the Hardware components and explained the core matters, closely related projects. This is not a complete project because I lack coding capability with Arduino’s library to control so much things. If you can not code yourself, you can ask someone to professionally help to get the end product for your own cooktop.

Arduino Powered Analog Cooktop Knob To Servo Powered Timer

You will need components like :

1. TM 1637 7 segment LED display
2. Hollow shaft rotary encoder with 10-20 steps/rev
3. Few 100nF capacitors
4. Few 10K0 resistors
5. Few 470R resistors
6. 8Ω loadspeaker
7. Arduino components to make the thing really usable without Arduino board
8. Ball bearing
9. Some work with mechanical part like gears
10. Push buttons with green, yellow, red LED or something like that
11. May be our way to make PCB

We have explained the project in the infographics and shown a sketch for using rotary encoder with 10-20 steps. We have Arduino traffic light with 7 Segment LED Display With Push Button Tutorial, Arduino Servo Motor with Push Button sweep tutorial.

These guides will further help you :

Working Principle

This is for ordinary cooktops with only auto ignition. Normally the green LED of push button will glow. Upon pressing the red LED push button, the servo motor will rotate the cooktop knob and thus mechanically start the auto ignition. At this point, the servo will rotate to 180 degree to assist ignition and then you can program like to automatically come back to 90 degrees to make the knob set to 50% power. The hollow shaft rotary encoder will sense the position and according to your program, that position will translate to time in minutes and seconds. The timer itself will not start. Up to this is non-timer mode. Pushing the green LED push button will rotate the servo motor and thus rotate the knob put off the fire. But if you press the yellow LED push button, the timer will start. After end of the timer, the servo motor will rotate the knob put off the fire.

Actually this is a robot. This can be extended with functions like adding a LPG or smoke sensor to rotate the knob put off the fire, control over the Internet or apps, add temperature sensor etc.

Such whole bigger project is better to be done in an engineering college’s lab. It is very useful project and really cost saving for many households.