Pi Chef, a 3D Printed Cooking Assistant

Introducing the Pi Chef, your latest tool in helping you cook!

With the Raspberry Pi controlled display, you can easily browse recipes, set timers, view the weather and news and even enjoy high-quality audio music while cooking!

With a detachable display powered by its own battery and a base with speakers, a subwoofer, and a hidden amp, Pi Chef is the best tool in the kitchen!

In this Instructable, you’ll learn how to build your own Pi Chef step by step. I'll be covering everything from 3D printing the custom parts, soldering the electronic components, assembling the base and display, wiring up the audio and charging systems, and finally setting up the Raspberry Pi software!

To build Pi Chef, you will need the following things:

Display:

1. Raspberry Pi 4
2. Micro SD Card with Raspberry OS (SSH must be enabled)
3. HDMI 7-inch display
4. Micro HDMI to HDMI adapter
5. Right angle HDMI connector
6. Right angle Micro USB cable
7. Micro USB connector (This will be cut and soldered for powering the display)
8. USB-C cable

Power:

1. 2 x 18650 batteries (to be wired in parallel – see Step 2)
2. 18650 battery holder
3. MH-CD42 Charge and Discharge Module (controls charging the battery via wireless power, and powers the Raspberry Pi when disconnected from external power)
4. 5V 2A wireless charger receiver and transmitter
5. 12V, 10A power supply

Magnets:

1. 6 x 12×6mm magnets for the display
2. 2 x 8*3mm magnets for the amp control knob cover

Audio:

1. 2 x Speakers
2. 1 x Subwoofer
3. 2.1 Channel Amplifier Module with Bluetooth
4. 5.5mm right-angle power jack for the amp
5. USB-C breakout connection board

Misc:

1. Reed switch
2. 2 switches
3. 2 x 40 mm fans
4. A bunch of wires and jumper wires
5. Hot glue
6. 3D Printer
7. PLA Filament

First up is 3D printing the parts!

To begin, download the attached files and then slice them in your preferred slicer. For your slicer settings, I would recommend a 0.2mm layer height with 15% infill and tree supports!

Most of the parts require minimal supports but they detached super easily from my setup.

I also split the base into two parts - the top and the bottom - since it would be a lot easier to print and assemble the entire thing!

Once you have finished printing all the parts, clean up your print by removing any supports or debris.

Now we can begin by preparing our necessary wires.

First, cut and wire the following cables with jumper connectors to their + and - cables:

1. USB C Cable
2. Micro USB Cable - I cut mine super short until it reached the PCB.
3. Right angle power jack

Then, solder on wires and/or jumper cables for the following components:

1. Subwoofer
2. Speakers
3. Fans
4. 2x Switches
5. Wireless Power Module
6. Reed switch

Finally, once that's done, wire up your 18650 batteries in parallel!

Now we can get on to the fun stuff and actually build our Pi Chef!

To begin, mount the subwoofer to the base plate using 4x M4*12 screws and nuts! Make sure to screw the subwoofer in tightly or else it will cause vibrations.

Then, mount the two speakers on either side of the bottom base using 8x M4*20 screws and nuts. Make sure to note which speaker is left and which one is right since this will be important later on when wiring up the amp.

Once that's done, use some hot glue to attach the USB C board into it's designated spot at the bottom back of the base before slotting in the switch at the back.

Finally, once that is done, screw in the subwoofer-attached plate to the bottom of the base using 4x M5*12 screws!

Now, we can begin assembling the top base!

First, use some hot glue to mount the wireless charging coil along with the 12mm magnets into their designated spot at the top of the model. Then, glue the wireless charging module near the coil, making sure it is in view of the fan hole since the board can get quite toasty at times!

Afterwards, carefully glue your reed switch into its spot above the charging coil, making sure not to damage it since it can be quite fragile. Additionally, connect one end of the reed switch to the positive cable of the wireless charging module. This is needed so our wireless charging module doesn't waste power and instead turns off when our display is disconnected.

Then, use 4x M3*20 screws and nuts to mount the small 40mm fan into it's designated spot. Make sure to position it the correct way and have it blowing air inside of the build and not out!

Finally, glue in one of the small 8mm magnets into the spot for the amplifier cover!

Now, take a short moment to glue in your other 8mm magnet into the designated spot on the amplifier cover!

This cover will be used to hide the amplifier's control knobs in order to keep the clean and minimalistic aesthetic!

Now it's time to install the amp!

To begin, thread the speaker and subwoofer wires through the amp opening.

Then, unscrew the amp terminals and wire up the speakers correctly!

Make sure to wire the correct speaker to the respective terminal. E.g., the left speaker to the left speaker terminal. If you wire it up the opposite way, your audio may be inverted!

Then, slot in your amp into the designated opening. Make sure to also connect your right angle power jack while you're at it!

Then finally, use some hot glue to secure your amp in place!

Now that that's done, it's time to wire up our base!

First, connect the reed switch to the positive cable from the USB C input. Then connect the wireless charger's GND to the ground from the USB C board.

Then, wire up the 40mm fan to the 12V lines of the USB C board correctly.

Finally, attach the power jack's positive and negative lines to the USB C board correctly!

If you're confused, you can refer to the schematic attached above.

Finally, we can glue the two bases together!

While making sure all the wires are inside, use plentiful amounts of hot glue to attach the two halves together.

Try and keep the bases aligned for a neat finish!

Once you've finished that, you're finished with building the base! You can now place the front magnetic cover over the amp controls to give it that nice, clean look!

You can try powering it on and testing out the sound system by using your phone!

Now we can begin installing the display!

First, attach the 90-degree HDMI connector, micro USB touch cable, and micro USB power connector to the display.

Make sure to be gentle with the connectors since they can easily be damaged and stop working.

Then, secure the display into housing by using 4x M3×8 screws. Then, place the display cover over the back of the display. This cover is crucial since it will allow us to place the Raspberry Pi on the back of the display without a fear of any shorts occurring!

Now, carefully use some hot glue to secure the Raspberry Pi, battery, and MH-CD42 charge/discharge module onto the back of the display.

Make sure to not get any of the cables in the way while you're doing so and to also leave plenty of space between the batteries and Raspberry Pi since the board can get quite hot while in operation.

Finally, connect up all the cables for the Raspberry Pi! You'll need to use the micro HDMI adapter to connect the display to the Raspberry Pi!

Once that's done, place the display to the side for a moment and grab your display back plate. We can now install the necessary components onto it.

First, glue the wireless coil into its designated hole before gluing the receiver board nearby.

Then, glue in the two 12mm magnets into each of the magnet holes in order to later attach the display to the base for charging!

Afterwards, use 4x M3*20 screws and nuts to mount the 40mm fan into the display back plate, making sure that it is blowing air inside of the case!

Then, attach a small 8mm magnet above the charging coil in order to activate the reed switch when the display is docked.

Finally, slot in the 15mm switch into its designated slot until you hear a satisfying click!

Finally, it's time to wire up everything!

First, wire up the wireless charger’s positive and negative leads to the VIN and GND of the charge/discharge module.

Then, connect the battery leads (remember, the 2 batteries should be in parallel as mentioned in step 2) to the switch, and then to the charge/discharge module’s battery inputs. This will allow us to turn the display off when it is not needed.

Finally, make sure that the charge/discharge module’s 5V out and GND are connected to the Raspberry Pi’s USB-C cable, the touch display micro USB cable, and the fan!

If you're confused about the circuit, refer to the diagram above as a guide!

Finally, screw the back of the display to the main display housing using 4x M4*12 screws!

Once that is done, flip the switch on and the Raspberry Pi should boot!

Now that the hardware is assembled, we need to set up the Raspberry Pi to run Pi Chef!

First, SSH into the Raspberry Pi and run

This command:

1. Fetches the latest package list (sudo apt update)
2. Upgrades all installed packages (sudo apt upgrade -y)

This process may take a few minutes. Once finished, reboot the Raspberry Pi with:

Since Pi Chef uses a touchscreen, we need a virtual keyboard to type when searching for recipes. The best option is Onboard, a lightweight virtual keyboard. Install it with:

Then, install AT-SPI2

Once installed, launch Onboard from the Raspberry Pi menu and then go to Preferences > Onboard. Then configure Onboard to auto-appear when selecting a text field (Enable "Auto-show when editing text"). You can also optionally adjust the keyboard theme and format to match the Pi Chef display.

Now, since the Pi Chef app runs on Electron, we will need to install Node.js and npm.

To install Node.js, follow this guide: https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-nodejs/

After installing Node.js, verify the installation by running:

Next, install npm (Node.js package manager) by running:

And verify it works with:

Now to install Electron, use this command.

Then confirm it works with:

Once you've finished with that, download the Pi Chef files.

This will create a new folder named Pi-Chef on the desktop containing all the project files.

Now, navigate into the Pi Chef directory:

and run this command

Then, within the new text file:

Exit and save by pressing:

1. CTRL + X to exit
2. Y to save changes
3. Enter to confirm

Then make the script executable with:

Then, run

And at the bottom, just before exit 0, enter this line:

Then finally, save and exit the file and type:

Now, Pi Chef will automatically open on your Raspberry Pi on boot!

Congratulations! You’ve now successfully built and set up Pi Chef, your very own 3D-printed smart kitchen assistant! Now, you can find recipes, set timers, and enjoy music while cooking, all powered by your Raspberry Pi!

I hope you enjoyed this Instructables and happy cooking!