conklinnick
Update: Peristaltic pump seems to be the best way to go about this, luckily thanks to the comment section I found a 3D printed version from another Hackaday post! Funny how that works out so nicely.
This is just a basic render with 3 stations. The end product will be scalable to fit the users needs / space requirements.
Another advantage of an open-source design is that it could make the switch from analog (traditional cigs) to an ecig easier by having the community generating / voting on juice mixes that mirror the taste of the name brand of cigarettes they are hooked on.
Ejuice sold in stores can't claim to be mimicking the taste of a brand name cigarette for obvious copy right reasons. This might turn smokers away from trying vaping or sticking to it because they can't find the flavor that most accurately mimics what they used to smoke. A DIY Home Mixer solves that...
Imagine a website, we'll call it TheJuiceBay.com for this example, where users that just made the switch can go and pick "Camel Clone v2" and out comes an ejuice that tastes no different than the brand they are imitating. Clones of big tobacco, Clones of Ejuice brands found in stores, Clones of Clones. You get the idea.
Why it matters:
1 - Low income smokers can spend upwards of 30% of their income on cigarettes.
Vaping is much cheaper but still not good enough when store bought juice can go for $23 per 30mL. Making juice yourself cuts cost down to $2-3 per 30mL. This will give people struggling with nicotine addiction a very large chunk of money back. In the long term the extra money may even help them quit entirely. Many studies show that addiction is made worse when there are no attractive alternatives (being broke) vs having money to spend on other activities which helps break the addiction cycle.
2 - Environmental Aspect
Vaping is much better for the environment. A DIY home printer increases that through several aspects. Shipping is cut down drastically. Instead of trucks shipping packs to stores then the smoker driving to the store and home, they will be able to just print of their nicotine fix from the comfort of home. Also waste is cut down immensely. Instead of 2 packs, 40 butts, and 2 cellophane wrappers being littered waste is cut down to a reusable bottle.
3 - It's better for the user (not saying healthy! Just a better alternative)
Just talk to any ex-smoker converted to ecigs. They'll explain this one for me. Cutting down on smoking related deaths and disease would be a huge win world-wide.
4 - Marijuana Legalization
What's this doing on the list you might ask. Well a DIY ejuice printer aids the quest for marijuana legalization in two ways. The first is that this printer and vaping in general stand to make the gov. loose billions in tax revenue (they will start taxing ejuice heavily but if everyone makes it at home they won't be collecting much). This will cause a massive tax deficit and force the gov's hand to legalize weed to make up for the difference. Politics are subject to change. Money is constant. For example a new president (Chris Christie) could easily destroy the systems some states already have in place if elected. It would be much harder for a politician to make a move like that if they no longer have the revenue from big tobacco. Hit them where it hurts.... right in the pockets.
4.20 - The second reason is that users can make THC infused ejuice and the flavoring masks the smell. Can't enforce prohibition if it suddenly goes from being the most detectable drug to untraceable.
This category hits home with me. I suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury) in my early teens. I started smoking weed and noticed it helped. Doctors confirmed this along with tons of research on the internet. It makes me sick that I live in a country where soldiers are so disrespected (many suffer TBI in the line of duty).
Lets make this change by crashing big tobacco on its head.
Giovanni Leal
Sam Ettinger
Jaime García
I have been using Ejuice me up for about 3 years, very easy to use. It would be cool if you could make use of their software http://ejuice.breaktru.com/. Look forward to updates.