Cisco switches converted into a cocktail machine

If you want to whip up a cocktail, you can measure out the components by hand, or you could use a robotic assistant like this setup by creator Sven Tantau.

Tantau’s project employs an Arduino Nano to control 24 peristaltic pumps via a relay card, plus an ESP32 to run a web interface and send I2C commands to the Arduino letting it know which pumps to enable.  

The pumps, along with the relays and other components, are arranged inside the stripped shell of two Cisco Catalyst switches. In fact, the only electrical part from the router that’s still in use is the 12V power supply. 

This does, however, do a fantastic job of looking good while hiding the electronics inside, and transport tubing is nicely arranged on a 3D-printed grid where the Ethernet plugs once connected!