[51] About time

It’s been a while since I’ve played with an Arduino. I’ve also been thinking about testing new components for a long time. Something like an NFC reader or a 4-digit display.

So I thought of many ideas involving both (and some of them may emerge someday), but one stood out: a timer for my kitchen, with cartridges that set fixed times (for boiled eggs, for instance).

But why did I choose that one, especially, you might ask?

Because for a long time now, I have been trying to get rid of my cell phone. And using the iOS timer was the last thing that “forced” me to have it in the kitchen.

So I started to bring together the components needed, to understand their wiring, and to build a test circuit.

I enjoy wiring components to a breadboard. Probably because it requires patience and forces me to slow down.

But I enjoy programming things even more. The Arduino platform (and its C-flavored language) is easy and fun to use.

My main concern was writing clean, easy-to-maintain code. I’ve learned that I can step away from a project for a few months, so readability is now a requirement in all my development work.

I could have used AI to write the code, but I’d rather do it myself instead. I strongly believe that the best way to learn is by doing things yourself and making mistakes. And to me, that’s where the fun is.

It’s all about the journey and not the destination, right?

Once happy with a working prototype, I realised the NFC reader was probably overkill. Removing it was easy thanks to my clean, well-sliced code.

I had a working electrical circuit, all the components needed, and a clean code. The “only” thing remaining was to design a box.

My process is straightforward: I measure every part, sketch a few layout ideas, and then start designing in Fusion 360.

To be honest, it’s been complicated. I had to print many prototypes to achieve a proper fit. Mostly because I forgot to isolate each part to test the dimensions before.

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But I managed to make it work, with time and patience.

The last part was the most satisfying: the assembly.

This step went smoothly, without any big issues. The dirtiest part is still the soldering. But it seems to be strong enough, and it’s completely invisible, so who cares?

It was an absolutely inefficient project, which cost me a lot more time and money than if I had bought a proper timer in a store.

And it’s awesome!

I mean, who cares? It’s a personal project, and the goal is to learn things and have fun.

Period.