Automated Loading Systems

[Farid]

One area where vaporizers have never really been able to compete with smoking is very long, effort free sessions, with large amounts of weed.

Even with the best desktop vapes you have to reload frequently, and the there are inconsistencies between the first hits and last hits.

I've been thinking about ways to mitigate this. One way which I've been exploring involves automatic dispensing of dosing capsules.

Imagine a desktop wand vape that you fill with 10 or so prefilled capsules. On the mouthpiece side of the wand (where you hold it) there is a button. Pressing the button would activate the loading system that would eject the old capsule and load a new capsule. This would allow you to have long sessions with easy, rapid, and frequent reloads. It would eliminate issues of handling hot capsules, and would allow you to have sessions with inexperienced friends. Every other hit could be green as well, making it so the flavor is good throughout the session.

Now I'm not really the target demo for this. I use tiny amounts and never in groups. But there was a time when something like this would have been perfect for me.

What do you guys think?

 

[666Honeybadger]

Great idea.
I imagine some device with a top loading reservoir (think paintball guns). And forget about the capsules, just have a preloaded big "capsule' on top of the actual device. With the right shape the ground weed will automatically fall in the oven/bowl when it opens.

Now if your vape would be the 'gun' you'd just need an eject system that pushes out the spend load while simultaneously reloading by opening the top loaded reservoir allowing ground weed to fall in the bowl. There would be different designs possible i reckon, could be revolving bowls or one bowl that ejects and refills before retracting to loaded position... I can see it in front of me already!

Maybe it would be cool if it has a reload system like a sniper gun. Just a manual lever that triggers the action!
Pull the trigger to vape and draw the lever for eject and reload action!
Imagine that great sound of reloading a gun for vaping purposes!!
This would eliminate the need for capsules and allow different sized containers to fit on the connection..
For the heavy users you could even build in an electric grinder so they just pour an ounce of buds in there and vape on... LoL

 

[Farid]

The benefit of capsules is the easy cleaning, and eliminating a lot of variables. Different types of bud will have very different properties, and making a system that loads bud would be much more complicated. It would have to have a tamping mechanism, and ejection would be much messier.

I thought of a sniper rifle style bolt action type design when I was considering portables, but after further consideration I realized that for the types of long sessions that people want, you really need the power of a desktop. I also want this to be usable when sitting back on the couch, with no need to get up and handle the vape itself at all. Ease of use is key here.

My current idea would use a sprin loaded spiral shaped reservoir, sort of like a drum mag on a machine gun. The ejection mechanism would be a spinning piece which would knock the old capsule out, into a spent capsule reservoir, and simultaneously push a new capsule into place. The hard part is making it so that the vape will seal aroun the new capsule, but this could be done with some springs and a few mm of movement on the heater.

The overall shape/ footprint would be similar to a small hookah.

I'll try and get some drawings made.

 

[Farid]

Here are some drawings I made showing a basic version of this idea. The images are pretty low res, so I apologize.

image-2 hosted at ImgBB

Image image-2 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

image-1 hosted at ImgBB

Image image-1 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

The shorter cylinder is the heater. I didn't model the heating element yet, nor the electronics of the loader. The larger cylinder is the "magazine". This one is just grav fed. The blue cylinders are the dosing capsules. The hose is not shown, but it would attach to the 90 degree piece.

Pressing the button would cause the loader to move a new capsule in from the magazine while simultaneously dropping an old capsule down the hole. I'll try to get an animation made later, I'm operating on a smart phone rn, so it's difficult to do much.

 

[cx714]

What would be amazing is if you had a vape that had, say, 3 chambers arrayed around a center axis so that instead of constantly reloading, you could just spin a fresh chamber in, revolver-style.

It would be like perfecting the wheel.

 

[LesPlenty]

Get a Plenty...my session usually lasts a movie on one bowl (4+grams is the norm),

 

[AJS]

Cool idea, I've had a similar comparison to smoking as well and the convenience associated with it.

It is annoying that vaping flower is only able to hit a certain level of performance, and will never be magical enough to give us fantastic flavor throughout an entire bowl. Can't deny physics.

Granted...it sure is a hell of a lot better tasting than smoking.

So yeah, a reload option seems to be the only way. I can't think of a super practical application for it for myself, but would love for one to be found.



As for this....SHEESH!

 

[Flow]

go and have a look at the ZEUS ARC GT or something like that... newer version with a full "loading station tray"…

 

[Farid]

That is very far from what I'm describing. I'm talking about a desktop that would use an automated loading system to give on demand quality hits, with a session style experience if desired.

 

[Shit Snacks]

That is very far from what I'm describing. I'm talking about a desktop that would use an automated loading system to give on demand quality hits, with a session style experience if desired.

So you mean, pre-filled little discs, so you can take on demand hits as many as you like at any setting, and then it automatically swaps the pod with a fresh one at the press of a button? But you would have to fill them, like capsules, I don't know what automated means exactly in this context otherwise

 

[Farid]

More or less yes. Imagine an on demand convection desktop like a ball injector vape, but it uses dosing capsules instead of a bowl, and pressing a button would load them from a "magazine" where you could preload like 10 filled capsules.

I get the comparison to the plenty - they serve a similar demographic. But it's sort of like comparing a mighty to a milanaa - one is session, the other on demand.

 

[justcametomind]

With vaporizers you’re getting almost all the goods from herb. Combusting is getting 10% of cannabinoids and wasting the rest.
If I had this automated system my tolerance would get sky high.
The fact that vaporizing is time consuming is true but I’d go with tinctures if I had to chain vape like that. Or else I’d use a Plenty but it’s usually cbd. Still think that vaping large amounts at once is not healthy even if it’s cbd.

 

[Shit Snacks]

More or less yes. Imagine an on demand convection desktop like a ball injector vape, but it uses dosing capsules instead of a bowl, and pressing a button would load them from a "magazine" where you could preload like 10 filled capsules.

I get the comparison to the plenty - they serve a similar demographic. But it's sort of like comparing a mighty to a milanaa - one is session, the other on demand.

Alan is working up a sort of paper capsule, or rather Dan Morrison, more of a portable application, I think Alan could make them for an injector, I'm not sure how well the extraction would be though comparatively or the ease of use? I guess you would just toss them?? I don't know having to actually prefill the capsules is the annoying part I think

 

[Farid]

For the design I made it would need to be a solid capsule, probably just a piece of 316 stainless tubing with a screen in it, so it could seal properly.

Prefilling it would be a task, like cleaning it, but it would eliminate the fiddling during a session. This would allow you to vape with less experienced people who might be prone to burning themselves if they try to pack a bowl or mess with anything. Like rolling a joint, the person preparing it would need to do some work, but once prepared you could have long uninterrupted sessions.

I imagine another application for something like this could be in rec "weed bars" where users wouldn't have access to the actual vape, but just be handed a hose from behind the counter. Like the hookah bars in Egypt, where the patrons control the coals and packing the bowl.

 

[Farid]

With vaporizers you’re getting almost all the goods from herb. Combusting is getting 10% of cannabinoids and wasting the rest.
If I had this automated system my tolerance would get sky high.
The fact that vaporizing is time consuming is true but I’d go with tinctures if I had to chain vape like that. Or else I’d use a Plenty but it’s usually cbd. Still think that vaping large amounts at once is not healthy even if it’s cbd.

Then this may not be for you. I barely vape a cumb of weed, and exclusively alone - this is not for me either.

This is for people who like to have group sessions. Or people who like to chain vape while doing other stuff like playing video games, or drinking. It's not about speeding up your session, it's about making them as laid back as possible.

Here is a gif I made that hopefully illustrates this idea a bit better:

autoloader hosted at ImgBB

Image autoloader hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

 

[invertedisdead]

Then this may not be for you. I barely vape a cumb of weed, and exclusively alone - this is not for me either.

This is for people who like to have group sessions. Or people who like to chain vape while doing other stuff like playing video games, or drinking. It's not about speeding up your session, it's about making them as laid back as possible.

Here is a gif I made that hopefully illustrates this idea a bit better:

autoloader hosted at ImgBB

Image autoloader hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

After seeing the animation it’s honestly pretty epic, I could definitely picture something like this in a “coffee shop“ environment where you purchase prefilled capsule “tokens” in a variety of flavors, and can enjoy a chill laid back session with no loading/grinding/fuss needed. It would keep the vape relatively maintenance free as well between uses/users.

 

[gordontreeman]

Yeah, there are fully automatic espresso machines that have a hopper for coffee beans that are ground, loaded into a portafilter, tamped, pull a shot for you, and then dumped I think (not sure if they dump for you, I guess!). It seems like this would in theory be possible, just ditch the pressure head and water system for an injector head, use something better suited for grinding weed, and calibrate your doses accordingly.

For what it would cost, though, this would not be a consumer device. This would definitely be the cafe experience that some were describing. I think those espresso machines run into the tens of thousands of dollars when they are built for commercial purposes (e.g. to be repairable and last).

 

[Farid]

Grinding weed would make this infinitely more complex, and make cleaning a pain. Weed is sticky unlike coffee beans, and it would be inconsistent. I see preloading capsules as a small price to pay if the benefit is a long uninterrupted session with on demand flavor and consistency, with little chance of burning yourself (I'd probably add a cage over the whole top, so the only area you have access to during normal use is the loading mechanism, not the heater).

The capsule magazine idea would certainly be costlier than most desktops, probably in the $1000 range. But none of the additional parts are particularly complex.

I'm not looking to take this anywhere either fwiw. More just sharing an idea I had in case it inspires anyone out there.

After seeing the animation it’s honestly pretty epic, I could definitely picture something like this in a “coffee shop“ environment where you purchase prefilled capsule “tokens” in a variety of flavors, and can enjoy a chill laid back session with no loading/grinding/fuss needed. It would keep the vape relatively maintenance free as well between uses/users.

I was thinking the same thing. It would make it easy to provide guests a metered dose, while not having to constantly repack and monitor them. This way you could ensure they were just using your establishment's product and not packing their own weed in your devices. That said a commercial version of this would have to be made a bit more compact so that you could have a line of them behind a bar, one for each seat

 

[gordontreeman]

Grinding weed would make this infinitely more complex, and make cleaning a pain. Weed is sticky unlike coffee beans, and it would be inconsistent. I see preloading capsules as a small price to pay if the benefit is a long uninterrupted session with on demand flavor and consistency, with little chance of burning yourself (I'd probably add a cage over the whole top, so the only area you have access to during normal use is the loading mechanism, not the heater).

Yeah, its all just a thought experiment for me. I don't know though: coffee beans have a ton of oils in them as well. MY BCG stays cleaner longer than my burr grinder, but putting that into a design with a hopper and motor is maybe easier said than done.

 

[Farid]

So I've been playing around with this idea again. I have a pretty solid design for the mechanical elements, and the heater assembly. It's the electrical loading components that I need help with cause I lack much of an electrical background.

I think I'd like to go with a stepper motor which is attached directly to the loading "wheel" mechanism. Stepper would need to work such that one press of the button makes the motor turn 60°. I think 2 18650 batteries would be enough to power the loader (the heater mechanism would be totally separate, an enail style setup plugged into mains).

Anyone who knows electronics please weigh in, I'm real green when it comes to this stuff.

 

[Haze Mister]

One area where vaporizers have never really been able to compete with smoking is very long, effort free sessions, with large amounts of weed

I like your thinking.... but I wonder if you are overcomplicating things. There must a simpler way. If several loosely packed capsules are stacked on top of each other in a tube, then you'll get lots of flavour... then pop out the top capsule when it's done and push the next one up/down towards the heater at the end of the tube?

This way you could ensure they were just using your establishment's product and not packing their own weed in your devices.

whoa, hold up

 

[Farid]

I like your thinking.... but I wonder if you are overcomplicating things. There must a simpler way. If several loosely packed capsules are stacked on top of each other in a tube, then you'll get lots of flavour... then pop out the top capsule when it's done and push the next one up/down towards the heater at the end of the tube?

I've played around with this setup. It would be very different in that each successive capsule would be coated in resin from vaping the previous capsule. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but it would lead to a very different experience. It would "res up" like a joint does, and getting a good seal would be difficult between the capsules.

 

[Haze Mister]

What do you mean a seal between the capsules? They are all in an imaginary tube which attaches to a heater? The" resing up" is desirable I believe- it isn't tar after all! It would only work with a certain tube diameter I guess.

 

[Farid]

If you don't seal and direct the airpath through the capsules the path of least resistance for the air to flow will be around the outside, and you will not be able to vape the herb effectively. Then you'll also have to deal with sticky capsules, which will get really nasty really quickly.

Regardless, the idea with making it automated is to make the session easy. Sit back and pass the hose, without touching the device directly - like a hookah. It's not particularly complex either, on par with the volcano.

 

[scoobindedoob]

More or less yes. Imagine an on demand convection desktop like a ball injector vape, but it uses dosing capsules instead of a bowl, and pressing a button would load them from a "magazine" where you could preload like 10 filled capsules.

I get the comparison to the plenty - they serve a similar demographic. But it's sort of like comparing a mighty to a milanaa - one is session, the other on demand.

This sounds like the vape version of a pellet smoker. I love the idea. I've long been searching for the 'cigar' version of a vape, where a session can last much longer than 15 minutes. Closest thing I've tried is the OG Solo (of course this is less than 15 minutes but it's a good porch sitter).